Montreal's Champions League success would enhance MLS credentials

The Montreal Impact exercised some long held demons last night by advancing to the CONCACAF Champions League final, becoming the first Major League Soccer team to do so since Real Salt Lake in 2011 and only the second since the competition changed formats in 2008-09. Support came pouring in from around MLS for the new continental posterboys, even if no one would have ever expected the Impact to be the second MLS team to reach this stage of the competition. While this is a fantastic achievement for the club and MLS, what does it really mean for the league?

MLS wants to be one of the top leagues in the world by 2020. That much Don Garber cannot stop repeating. In order to stretch even that far, MLS has to the best league on its own continent first. The only measuring stick the league has in that regard is the CONCACAF Champions League, however wonky and stilted the competition is to MLS teams. The group stages take place during the hunt for the playoffs, and the knockout stages begin sometimes before MLS’ new regular season campaign does. To do well in this competition is increasingly difficult, especially since the rest of CONCACAF has had a month plus of league games under their belts.

Montreal has beaten the seventh place team in the Liga MX Clausura at present, and the fourth place team in the Costa Rican league for their Verano season. Not exactly murderers row, but considering the struggles D.C United had against the same Alajuelense team just a month ago and looking back on how Portland, Sporting Kansas City and the Red Bulls flopped in the group stage, Montreal’s achievements are prolific. They have overcome injuries and the schedule being against them to make the final, and no one can dispute that. They’re not MLS’ deepest or most talented roster, but how Frank Klopas and company have propelled the Impact this far needed to be lauded.

If the Impact win the competition, it will be the first time an MLS team has won a CONCACAF competition since 2000 Champions Cup when the Galaxy were champs. But this would mean much more. Montreal would play in the FIFA Club World Cup and get a chance to play against the Champions of Africa, South America and possibly even Europe. Even if that tournament is paper thin and means little in the larger scope, having an MLS team there would finally give the world a glimpse into how good the league has become, and how good individual teams are. We can only speculate as to how Montreal would fare against a River Plate, a TP Mazembe or comparable African Champion or even an Asian champ from Japan, China or Australia, but at this tournament we’d get a clearer picture.

The Impact winning the Champions League and stopping the run of Mexican teams dominance in the competition would mean very little unless their success is replicated by one of the five MLS teams in next year’s dance, of which the Impact are not one of. The Galaxy, Sounders, DC United, Real Salt Lake and Whitecaps are all in the competition next season, and all could go on a run like the Impact have, but in order to really prove themselves they will probably have to win to give MLS the impression around CONCACAF it needs before it takes on the world.

The Montreal Impact are 180 minutes away from a historic continental triumph for not only themselves, but MLS. But in the grand scheme, the Impact would have to be the first of many to really make a statement.