The Impact became the first Canadian team to qualify to the CONCACAF Champions League after winning the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, July 22, with a 1-1 tie against the Toronto FC.
Real EstelĂ FC qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League after beating Walter Ferreti 1-0 in a home-and-away series on aggregate goals in early July. In the first game, the two teams tied 0-0 at Independencia Stadium. In the second game, Elmer Mejia scored in the 90th minute to give the Real EstelĂ a 1-0 win.
“If we stay disciplined defensively and capitalize on our offensive options, we will have success,” said Impact head coach John Limniatis. “We have respect towards them because they are here for the same reason we are. The first game is perhaps the most important because if you win, you put pressure on the other team during the second game.”
“If we play with the right intensity, we should have a good result,” noted midfielder Patrick Leduc, who will be on hand for the game after missing his first game of the season, Sunday, due to a light ankle injury. “We are expecting them to be a little more conservative and organized in front of their own net. We will have to put them under pressure and be aggressive to provoke things and finish off our scoring chances.”
“This is a huge deal for me, my teammates and the club as we will be putting a stamp on the club’s history by moving on to a major tournament,” said veteran defender Nevio Pizzolitto. “For the first time, a Canadian team will play in this tournament so representing Montreal is a huge accomplishment.”
“It’s like a playoff series, the difference being we have a week between both games and we don’t know the team we are facing like the teams in our own league, said midfielder Sandro Grande. So we’ve got to think about ourselves and play like we did in the last couple of games, and then we’ll adjust on the pitch to what they do.”
The 24-team CONCACAF Champions League features four clubs each from Mexico and the United States; two clubs each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama; one club each from Canada, Belize, and Nicaragua; and three clubs from the Caribbean.
Sixteen of the 24 clubs, including the Montreal Impact, are taking part in a preliminary home-and-away series in late August and early September. The preliminary round winners will join the other eight seeded teams in the group stage.
For the ninth time this season, the Impact will play in front of a sold out crowd, having already sold all 13,034 tickets.
“It’s a huge opportunity for the Impact and soccer fans to see teams we are not used to seeing,” added Limniatis. “We will have the chance to play other international games if we move to the next round.”
“It brings further motivation for players that have been with the team for a long time. Even if it sounds cliché, it’s something that I will tell my kids and the young players I’m coaching because this is one of the most significant games of my career,” concluded Leduc.
The second game will be played Tuesday, September 2 at Carlos Miranda Stadium, in Comayagua, Honduras, as no stadium in Nicaragua was in line with FIFA norms.
OTHER FACTS
• Impact midfielder Félix Brillant was chosen United Soccer Leagues First Division Player of the Week (19th). It’s the first time this season that an Impact player receives this honour. Acquired on July 30, Brillant tallied two goals and one assist in a 3-1 win over Atlanta, Sunday, at Saputo Stadium.
• Team captain Mauro Biello will be out of the line up approximately two weeks due to a left heel injury.
• Forwards Roberto Brown (2) and Severino Jefferson, as well as midfielders David Testo and Joey Gjertsen had scored in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.
• Goalkeeper Matt Jordan played all four games of the Canadian championship and registered two shutouts.
• All 26 players on the Impact roster are entitled to play in the CONCACAF Champions League.
• Estelà finished first in the first of two season championships (Campeonato Apertura), losing only once in 18 games and recording an impressive plus 32 goal differential.
• In the second season championship (Campeonato Clausura), Estelà finished fourth with a record of 10 wins, five losses and three ties.
NEXT GAMES
• Saturday, August 30 – IMPACT @ Carolina – 7:30 pm (Radio-Canada, USLlive.com)
• Tuesday, September 2 – IMPACT @ Real Estelà FC – 10 pm (Radio-Canada, 11 pm)
• Friday, September 5 – Minnesota @ IMPACT – 7:30 pm (Radio-Canada, FSW, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990)
CONCACAF Champions League
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Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668, Ext. 227
