2012 Montreal Impact season

Background

Prior to the start of the season, a Division 2 soccer club of the same named played in the North American Soccer League finishing in seventh during the regular season, failing to qualify for the playoffs.

On May 7, 2010, the club's owner, Joey Saputo, was granted a 19th franchise in Major League Soccer, starting in 2012. The MLS franchise will be privately owned by the Saputo family.

On June 14, 2011, the Montreal Impact announced they've reached a five-year agreement with the Bank of Montreal (BMO) to become lead sponsor and jersey sponsor when they join MLS as an expansion team in 2012.

Review

October 2011

The building of the Montreal Impact MLS team started on October 3, 2011 with the signing of defensemen Nelson Rivas, who previously played for Inter Milan of the Italian Serie A. The club later awarded MLS contracts to former NASL team defensemen Hassoun Camara, goalkeeper Evan Bush and midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic.

November 2011

On November 23, 2011, the league held the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft which allowed the Impact to select ten players from their existing club's unprotected list. Brian Ching (from Houston Dynamo), Zarek Valentin (from C.D. Chivas USA), Justin Mapp (from Philadelphia Union), Bobby Burling (from San Jose Earthquakes), Jeb Brovsky (from Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Collen Warner (from Real Salt Lake), Josh Gardner (from Columbus Crew), Sanna Nyassi (from Colorado Rapids), James Riley (from Seattle Sounders FC) and Seth Sinovic (from Sporting Kansas City) were selected by the Montreal team. James Riley was immediately traded to C.D. Chivas USA with allocation money for Justin Braun and Gerson Mayen. Seth Sinovic was later traded with allocation money to Sporting Kansas City for eventual captain Davy Arnaud. The club continued to build by adding defensemen Tyson Wahl, midfielder Bryan Arguez, and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.

December 2011

The club's roster continued to take shape as the club signed Miguel Montaño who had been loaned to their NASL team by the Seattle Sounders FC, veteran goalkeeper and former Impact Greg Sutton, Quebec native midfielder Patrice Bernier and Brazilian midfielder Felipe.

January 2012

The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was held on January 12, 2012. With the first overall pick, the Impact selected Andrew Wenger from Duke University. Defender Calum Mallace was the team's second round choice. The team also added Jamaican defensemen Shavar Thomas to the roster.

February 2012

After a long period of uncertainty regarding his desire to play in Montreal, forward Brian Ching was sent back to Houston Dynamo for a conditional pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft. The following day, Impact selected Eddie Johnson via allocation process, but immediately traded him to Seattle Sounders FC for Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle. After making a good impression in training camp, veteran forward and long time Impact player Eduardo Sebrango was awarded a contract for MLS.

March 2012

On March 1, 2012, Italian defender Matteo Ferrari was signed by the club. On March 10, 2012, the Impact played their first-ever MLS game, a 2–0 loss against Vancouver Whitecaps FC. A week later, the team made its home debut at the Olympic Stadium, playing to a 1–1 draw with the Chicago Fire; the match attracted 58,912 spectators, surpassing the previous record for professional soccer in Montreal established in a 1981 Montreal Manic home game (58,542). Former Serie A forward Bernardo Corradi was signed by the club on March 15, 2012 after a successful tryout period.

April 2012

The Montreal Impact captured their first ever MLS win on April 7, 2012 against Canadian rival Toronto FC. On April 20, 2012, Mike Fucito was traded to the Portland Timbers for either the Timbers' highest second round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft or a 2013 international roster slot conditional on Fucito's performance.

May 2012

On May 12, 2012, the Impact played in front of a crowd of 60,860 spectators during a game against the Los Angeles Galaxy, establishing a record attendance for a professional soccer match in Canada. On May 24, 2012, Montreal Impact announced the signing of their first-ever Designated Player in Italian striker and Serie A veteran Marco Di Vaio.

June 2012

Quebec defender Karl Ouimette became the first player to graduate from the Montreal Impact Academy when he was awarded a contract on June 5, 2012. June 16, 2012 marked the opening of the fully renovated Saputo Stadium. Impact went on to win 4–1 against the Seattle Sounders FC before 17,112 spectators.

July 2012

In July, the club added two defensemen in Italian international Alessandro Nesta and Swiss Dennis Iapichino. Justin Braun and Tyson Wahl were traded to Real Salt Lake and Colorado Rapids respectively. Bryan Arguez and Miguel Montaño were sent on loans and Bobby Burling, who was selected in the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft but never signed with the team, was traded to C.D. Chivas USA for an international roster slot.

August 2012

On August 7, 2012, Impact swapped goalkeepers with Portland Timbers, sending Donovan Ricketts to Portland for Troy Perkins.

On August 25, the expansion Montreal Impact set the record for most goals scored by an expansion team in MLS in a single season, with their 3–0 win against D.C. United, giving them 42 goals scored, breaking the mark of 40 goals scored by the Portland Timbers in 2011.

Competitions

Pre-season matches

Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic

Mattocks Le Toux Patrice Bernier Collen Warner Corey Ashe Andre Hainault Will Bruin

Other pre-season matches

Justin Braun Juan José Pena
Reda Agourram
Aaron Schoenfeld
Mircea Ilcu Calum Mallace
Sanna Nyassi
Miguel Montaño Cam Weaver Patrice Bernier Zarek Valentin
Sanna Nyassi
Felipe Campanholi Martins
Evan James Siniša Ubiparipovic
Steven Miller Eduardo Sebrango

MLS regular season

Table

;Eastern Conference Table ;Overall Table

Results summary

Results by round

Match results

Camilo Bonjour Bernier Neagle Nyassi Oduro Pardo Vargas Urso Francis Nyassi Gardner Warner Cooper Ballouchy
Mapp Corradi Corradi Wenger Nyassi Harden de Guzman Emory Koevermans Perez Shea Felipe Wahl Pontius Wahl Corradi
Ubiparipović Rivas
Bernier
Ubiparipović
Wahl Ferrari Beckham
Juninho Brovsky Cooper McCarty Richards Moor Rivero Marshall Thompson Castrillon Arnaud Wenger Mapp Wenger Thomas Rivas Neagle Hurtado Johnson Montero Romero Ángel Agudelo Arnaud Arnaud Camara Bernier Felipe Clark Bruin Boswell Moffat Nyassi Bernier Johnson Koevermans Russell Salihi Arnaud Valentin Bernier Warner Arnaud Kamara Peterson Sinovic Warner Valentin Bernier Tchani Mirošević Rentería Pajoy Valdés Nyassi Boswell Iapichino Di Vaio
Arnaud
Nyassi Miller McCarty Ferrari Rivas Felipe Gabriel Gómez Nyassi Nyassi Iapichino Di Vaio Neagle Bernier Wondolowski Beitashour Hernandez Bernier
Marshall Rentería Di Vaio Gargan Alex Fernandez Arnaud Peterson Joseph Ferrari Camara Nyassi

Amway Canadian championship

Semi-finals Eckersley Johnson Cann

Regular Season Friendlies

Wenger Cissokho Koné Fofana Briand Gomis Gardner Ubiparipović Mallace Wenger Messoudi Essabr

MLS reserves

Main article: MLS Reserve League

The Montreal Impact will compete in the Eastern Division for the 2012 MLS Reserves season. The division consists of seven teams, including Columbus Crew, D.C. United, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union and Toronto FC.

League table

Match results

Perry Montaño Arteaga Angulo Palsson Ouimette Fucito Ubiparipović Sebrango Neagle Own Goal Williams Hall Orestano Arnaud Montaño White Brovsky Jackson-Hamel Lopez Ubiparipović Andrew Wenger Rivas Andrew Wenger Lopez Sebrango

Player information

Squad information

Player transactions

In

Out

Loans Out

International Caps

Players called for senior international duty during the 2012 season while under contract with the Montreal Impact. ;

Management

Statistics

Appearances, minutes played, and goals scored

Goalkeeper stats

MLS Player of the Week

MLS Team of the Week

MLS Save of the Week

MLS Goal of the Week

MLS Coach of the Week

Montreal Impact MVP

Miscellany

Allocation ranking

Montreal is in the No. 19 position in the MLS Allocation Ranking after using the No. 1 position to select Eddie Johnson. The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking.

International roster slots

Montreal has 9 MLS International Roster Slots for use in the 2012 season. Each club in Major League Soccer is allocated 8 international roster spots and Montreal acquired one slot in a trade with Portland Timbers.

Future draft pick trades

Future picks acquired: *2013 MLS SuperDraft conditional round 2 pick from Portland Timbers; *2013 MLS SuperDraft conditional pick from Houston Dynamo; *2013 Supplemental Draft conditional pick from Columbus Crew; *2014 MLS SuperDraft conditional pick from Real Salt Lake.

Future picks traded: *2015 Supplemental Draft round 4 pick to Portland Timbers.

References

References

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