Montreal looking for Canadian championship repeat

[Grizzly]

From CONCACAF: http://www.concacaf.com/view_article.aspx?id=4731

Montreal looking for Canadian championship repeat to finish Champions League quest

4/27/2009 -

By Vijay Setlur

The Montreal Impact feels like it has some unfinished business in the CONCACAF Champions League. First, the club will have to repeat as Canadian champion.

Montreal will defend its title when it faces Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and United Soccer Leagues First Division rival Vancouver Whitecaps in the second edition of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship beginning May 6.

The winner will claim Canada’s lone berth in next season’s Champions League, which will kick off in late August

John Limniatis’ side won the inaugural Canadian title on the final day, and then initiated an improbable run that came within seconds of a final four berth in the Champions League.

The performance captured the imagination of Montreal, culminating in a crowd of 55,571 – a Champions League record – at Olympic Stadium for the first leg of the quarterfinal series against Mexico’s Santos Laguna.

Many of the players that keyed the run – Tony Donatelli, Roberto Brown and Matt Jordan - are back and now steeled with the experience of Champions League competition.

It’s an advantage that Limniatis believes gives his side the edge over the more celebrated Toronto FC from Major League Soccer.

“I know Toronto felt they'd be an automatic winner, but they'll try to get through this year,” Limniatis said. “Vancouver saw the success and the good run we had, so they want to duplicate that. So from our perspective we know what it’s like. Despite Toronto being the favorite, we're the ones coming in as defending champions. So at the end of the day we're the ones to beat.”

Vancouver is the reigning champion of the United Soccer Leagues’ First Division, and Toronto has some pride to regain for MLS.

The Whitecaps beat another Champions League semifinalist, the Puerto Rico Islanders, in the USL final in October, while Toronto FC added depth and is determined to make amends for last year’s performance.

Widely predicted by analysts to win the inaugural tournament, Toronto FC fell short watching the Impact celebrate at BMO Field, where it was almost unbeatable.

Toronto bolstered its depth in the off-season adding Canadian internationals Dwayne De Rosario and Adrian Serioux.

The Reds were guilty of taking their Canadian counterparts too lightly, but captain Jim Brennan is confident the side won’t make the same mistake twice.

“We want to do well and win it this year and be in the situation they (Montreal) were going down to Mexico,” said Brennan, a defender on the Canadian national team. “Of course it is important for us to have a better performance this season and we are going to take every match very seriously.”

Teitur Thordarson’s Whitecaps will look to parlay their league championship into a domestic title. The native of Iceland views a Canadian championship as a chance to play CONCACAF’s top clubs and develop his team, so he’s made the tournament a high priority.

“These are very good teams, and the games we played against them were extremely tough games,” Thordarson said. “We have only four games to do it. Having seen what Montreal has achieved, that is something that I'd like to do for my team….They'll be very tough games and we have four games to do it and we can’t afford to make mistakes.”

Adding intrigue to this tournament is Vancouver’s announced ascension into Major League Soccer as the league’s 17th franchise, a graduation that won’t occur until 2011. At the announcement, Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi proclaimed Vancouver a bigger soccer city than Toronto and Seattle.

Montreal was also in the running for an MLS expansion franchise, but, , withdrew its application and will remain in the USL First Division for the foreseeable future.

Toronto kicks off the tournament when it hosts Vancouver in the first match on May 6.

2009 NUTRILITE CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Wednesday, May 6

Toronto FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

Wednesday, May 13

Toronto FC vs. Montreal Impact

Wednesday, May 20

Montreal Impact vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

Wednesday, May 27

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Montreal Impact

Tuesday, June 2

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Toronto FC

Thursday, June 18

Montreal Impact vs. Toronto FC

_________________

#1059;#1083;#1100;#1090;#1088;#1072;#1089; #1052;#1086;#1085;#1088;#1077;#1072;#1083;#1100;

[Portuguese Sensation]

Does anyone else find it a little weird that they're doing qualifiers even before the Champions League Champion is crowned? I realize that they've gotta get in the games before the tournament begins in August, but it almost seems like this is a year round event.

[nazzer]

quote:Originally posted by Portuguese Sensation

Does anyone else find it a little weird that they're doing qualifiers even before the Champions League Champion is crowned? I realize that they've gotta get in the games before the tournament begins in August, but it almost seems like this is a year round event.

Doesn't seem strange at all. In Europe the previous seasons champions are the ones that make the next years Champions league tourney, so 'qualifiers' have been happening in England since August and the Champions league hasn't finished there either.

[Portuguese Sensation]

I guess when you look at it that way, you're right.

[Grizzly]

quote:Originally posted by Portuguese Sensation

Does anyone else find it a little weird that they're doing qualifiers even before the Champions League Champion is crowned? I realize that they've gotta get in the games before the tournament begins in August, but it almost seems like this is a year round event.

The Champions League champion was supposed to be crowned tonight before our qualifiers take place but has only been delayed because of the swine flu situation.

[Duane Rollins1555362254]

quote:Originally posted by Grizzly

From CONCACAF: http://www.concacaf.com/view_article.aspx?id=4731

The Reds were guilty of taking their Canadian counterparts too lightly, but captain Jim Brennan is confident the side won’t make the same mistake twice.

Did Brennan say that, or is the reporter putting his opinion into the piece. If I were a Montreal fan I'd take offense to that because it implies that Toronto would have won if only they had tried harder.

Toronto just couldn’t score. It had nothing to do with effort or "taking the USL teams lightly."

[Grizzly]

quote:Originally posted by MediaGuy

Did Brennan say that, or is the reporter putting his opinion into the piece. If I were a Montreal fan I'd take offense to that because it implies that Toronto would have won if only they had tried harder.

Toronto just couldn’t score. It had nothing to do with effort or "taking the USL teams lightly."

Sounds like the reporter's opinion to me. I don't think Toronto took us or Vancouver lightly. It is possible some of the foreign players were not players were not fully motivated but TFC just had a poor team last year. I think they have definitely improved over last year but we have done so as well so I think they will be competitive matches.

[Mpenza]

Well Canadian Championship games are not PART of the Champions League tournament.

But I think Portuguese sensation was referring to the "real" CL qualifiers that have been going on in the past few weeks in CONCACAF...