The war is not won for the Montreal Impact, but the club’s management team can congratulate itself from winning the first battle after turning the tide of its inaugural campaign in Major League Soccer.
The arrival of Marco Schallibaum, the team’s collective efficiency on the field and Marco Di Vaio’s production are all main factors explaining why the Impact is the most improved MLS club of the first quart of 2013 compared to the nine first games of 2012.
Montreal has a 5-2-2 record after nine games in 2013 (26.5 % of the season) for a total of 17 points against eight points (2-5-2) at the same stage last season.
These nine points of improvement puts Montreal ahead of FC Dallas (+8) and Toronto FC (+7) among the best improved teams of Q1. Dallas has a very good start in 2013, leading the Western Conference standings after missing the playoffs in 2012. As for TFC, it’s tough to do worse than 0-9-0 in 2012.
The bottom-dwellers of 2013’s Q1 are the San Jose Earthquakes (-12), the Seattle Sounders (-10) and DC United (-9).
Nine of the 10 playoff spot teams after nine regular season games in 2012 made it to the post-season tournament, the only exception being Colorado who dropped out in favor of the MLS Cup champs LA Galaxy in the Western Conference.
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Team standings after nine games in 2013 (Q1)
1. Dallas 20 points (+8)
2. Montréal 17 (+9)
3. Houston 17 (+5)
4. Portland 14 (+6)
5. Los Angeles 14 (+4)
6. Kansas City 14 (-7)
7. Philadelphia 12 (+5)
8. Columbus 12 (+1)
9. Seattle 12 (-10)
10. Chivas 11 (+2)
11. New York 11 (-5)
12. Real Salt Lake 11 (-5)
13. San Jose 10 (-12)
14. New England 9 (-)
15. Colorado 9 (-3)
16. Vancouver 9 (-8)
17. Toronto 7 (+7)
18. Chicago 7 (-8)
19. DC United 4 (-9)