Almost five months after being released by the Montreal Impact, Patrick Leduc announced that he was officially retiring from the game.
The midfielder rejoigned the Impact today in a press conference in which he thanked the organization for his 11 seasons and president Joey Saputo for 'building a platform to let me play and do what I like the most'.
Leduc signed with the Impact in 2000 sand has played over 250 games. He's won two series championship as well as 6 Voyageurs/Nutrilite Cup. The midfielder did suffer suffered a few injuries towards the end of his career and was often used as a substitute in the last season.
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Patrick Leduc joined the club at a time where people just didn't care about them. The Impact had trouble getting 200 people at Claude-Robillard and I remember receiving free tickets to the games and not even going. But Patrick Leduc was there. He was there also, when 14000+ people filled that same stadium in the 2004 Championship final.
The player was a loyal servant to the club and it's fair to say that his contributions to the game are far greater than the 15 000+ minutes he played.
I would have like to have seen Patrick Leduc involved in the Impact's development program: an ideal candidate and role model for the young players dreaming of joining the first team. Anyways....
Patrick Leduc will still be relatively close to the club. He has confirmed that he will be the game analyst for the Impact games on Radio-Canada.
A gentleman of the game, both on and off the pitch. Thanks Pat.
Photo : Impact de Montréal/Pépé