Montreal's historic run could make lasting Impact on Canadian soccer

Last Sunday, in the unseasonably bright and warm surrounds of Dublin's city centre, I met a friend - Irish-born, Canada-based - for brunch. It was an energetic catch-up. We gave our respective theories on how Mad Men would end, celebrated and forensically analyzed the wonderful absurdity of cult sitcom Fr. Ted and ebulliently praised the remarkable story of Montreal Impact who, just days before, had returned from an imposing, intimidating and traditionally brutal trip to Mexico with a 1-1 first-leg result in their CONCACAF Champions League final clash with local side Club America.

“Of course”, said my friend, “No one cares about the story in Canada – it's an afterthought.”

I took a second before nodding in agreement. It was an illuminating comment.

In the days before and after the Impact's superb performance at the iconic and easily overwhelming Azteca Stadium, I had read various reports on the game and the wider context of the result. But the majority of the words were published on the websites of UK media outlets. The Guardian, who have excelled in delivering excellent Major League Soccer and North American-related soccer content for a while now - offered a thoughtful, in-depth preview and subsequent match report.

The Daily Telegraph, using former Premier League star and current Impact midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker as the angle, ran a nice feature on the eve of the clash. They followed that up with a recent piece on what a Montreal Champions League victory would do for the worldwide reputation of MLS.

Elsewhere, ESPN has provided plenty of coverage across its various platforms while the the official MLS website, to its credit, has produced a litany of content devoted to what is a genuine feel-good narrative for the league.

So, a widespread and detailed trail across Britain and the USA then. Yet, a quick glance at the CBC's website today shows their lead sports story is about Canadian swimmer Ryan Cochrane.

Later tonight, as the second-leg takes place at the city's Olympic Stadium, the Montreal Impact can make history. No soccer team from North America has ever won the CONCACAF Champions League. But dig deeper and the success story becomes even more fascinating and eyebrow-raising.

Mexico and the United States each gets four representatives in the tournament. Costa Rica has three teams. Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama has two each. Canada gets one, along with Nicaragua. That's the reality of Canada's standing in the competition – the very bottom. And this season, to make matters worse, the Canadian team that qualified (as the winner of the country's domestic six-team championship) was 2014's worst MLS side.

The very fact the Montreal Impact – a club that has endured rather than enjoyed its three-year stint in the league – has got to the latter stages of such a notoriously treacherous competition is mind-blowing. Drawn in a group alongside FAS and New York Red Bulls, they won both their home games thanks to goals from 38 year-old Marco di Vaio, picked up a magnificent, hard-fought and confidence-infusing triumph in El Salvador (Di Vaio with two more) and rounded off a superb first-stage with a 1-1 draw in New Jersey last October (only conceding an equalizer six minutes from time).

Three days after confirming their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Montreal drew 1-1 with DC United in their final MLS game of the season:15,000 Impact fans were there. The previous March, 27,000 turned up at the Big O for the first match of the campaign against Seattle but local support inevitably dwindled as Montreal struggled. In the end, they managed just six wins in 34 games. As bad as things were in Toronto, Montreal finished thirteen points behind them. Vancouver, the best-performing Canadian side in the league, won twice as many games and were ten places higher. Yet, the Champions League, having provided solace for much of late-2014, has sprinkled stardust this spring.        

A trip to Mexico to face heavyweights Pachuca – four-time winners of the Champions Cup/Champions League in late-February - was ominous. It had been a good run for Montreal. The quarter-finals was an astounding showing in the circumstances. Everyone feared the worst. Instead, for four minutes, the Impact led by two goals and managed a 2-2 draw. That same night, as if to prove the magnitude of Montreal's result, DC United were thumped 5-2 by Alajuelense in Costa Rica.

A week later, Cameron Porter, in front of almost 40,000 at the Olympic Stadium, scored a 94th-minute equalizer to beat Pachuca on away goals. Drawn against Alajuelense in the final-four, home advantage proved critical again as Montreal won the first-leg 2-0 before doing enough in the return game to ensure their place in the final.

This is a romantic North American news story, not just some niche sports footnote. When the Women's World Cup comes to town, many Canadian media outlets will go big on their coverage and revel in it. More to the point, they'll tell everyone just how huge the coverage is. The lie will also be proudly peddled by many – that hosting the tournament is great for the development of the game in Canada. For the five weeks of the tournament, the sport will be given the respect it deserves. Afterwards, soccer will inevitably revert to its weird status as often-overlooked and rarely understood.

Of course, editors and executive producers will argue that's because of the country's lack of soccer history or because of a wider lack of interest. Montreal Impact have already made history by reaching the Champions League final. And 61,004 tickets have been sold for tonight's second-leg. That's a Canadian record.

Should Montreal win tonight, they will qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup in December, playing against the world's finest. But a victory is largely irrelevant to the bigger story. What Montreal has already achieved is scarcely-imaginable and should be lauded, respected, celebrated and admired regardless of whether they win or lose against Club America. 

It's fitting that the Stade Olympique, the venue for this evening's clash, is located on Montreal's Avenue Pierre-de-Coubertin. The Frenchman, seen as the founder of the modern-day Olympics, always preached the importance of the good fight - not the triumph.

In Canada, it's time to stop the struggle with soccer and instead, enjoy the success it's finally bringing.