They may have finished at the foot of the Eastern Conference
last season but Montreal Impact are on the verge of becoming Canada’s first
Champions League winners.
Impact drew 1-1 with Club America in the first leg and now
welcome the five-time winners to the Olympic Stadium in front of a sellout 61,004
crowd – a Canadian soccer record.
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| Piatti celebrates his first leg goal |
If Montreal triumph in the two-legged showpiece they will qualify
for the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup to be held in Japan in December.
The Canadian outfit are only the fourth MLS side to navigate
their way to the final but how have their predecessors fared?
Champions’ Cup Pioneers
The Champions League previously ran under a different name
and a different format before its 2008/09 overhaul and LA Galaxy were first to
make an impression.
The 1997 tournament was the first year that MLS franchises
took part in the competition and Galaxy had a remarkable story ended by Cruz
Azul in the final.
Washington D.C. hosted six of the eight games in the final
tournament and saw an all-American semi final as LA knocked out D.C. United.
Mexican outfit Azul proved to be one step too far for the
West Coast side as they succumb to a 5-3 defeat in a highly entertaining affair.
If at first you don't succeed
After finishing joint third in 1997, following a 2-2 draw in
the third place play-off, D.C. United were determined to translate their
domestic dominance to the Champions’ Cup.
All eight matches were again played in the US capital as
America continued to show they could compete with the continent’s best sides.
In front of 12,607 fans they secured MLS’ first
international crown, just two years after the league had been formed to show
soccer really was developing.
Eddie Pope, the second overall draft in 1996, scored the
only goal in United’s win over Club Toluca in the same year he was voted MLS’ Defender
of the Year.
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| Hendrickson led LA Galaxy to Champions League glory |
Guess who’s back?
After missing out in 1997, LA Galaxy had learnt from their
mistakes and ensured that the new Millennium began with another American
winner.
With the final tournament now moved to Los Angeles, the home
crowd helped the franchise overcome Club Deportivo Olimpia of Honduras.
Again knocking out D.C. in the semi-finals, Carey Talley
joint top scored in the finals, netting three goals in just three games.
But he didn’t turn out to be the match winner, that honour
fell to Ezra Hendrickson who grabbed his second of the day 12 minutes from time
to seal a 3-2 win and the trophy with it.
MLS resurgence
After Galaxy’s victory secured a second title in three
seasons for MLS, it would be a decade before another American side made it to
the final.
Real Salt Lake were MLS’ first finalists in the Champions
League era but were left heartbroken after losing 1-0 at home to hand the
trophy to Monterrey.
The Mexican side went on to win three successive titles so
it was no disgrace to lose to such a strong team, but having secured a 2-2 draw
in the first leg they were in a commanding position.
Nat Borchers and Javier Morales scored in Mexico but they
could not get over the line – something all the Montreal Impact players and
staff will want to avoid tonight.
Images courtesy of Hector Vivas/STR and AFP, with thanks
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