MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact announced on Wednesday the signing of Swiss defender Dennis Iapichino. He will officially join the roster upon receiving his International Transfer Certificate (ITC). As per club and Major League Soccer (MLS) policy, details of the contract were not disclosed. The 21 year old defender had been on trial with the club in June.
WATCH: Iapichino meets the media
Iapichino joins the Impact after spending much of his development years with FC Basel, one of the most prestigious clubs in the Swiss first division, playing 29 games with the Under-21 team in 2008/2009 and 2009/2010.
“Dennis is a very good left sided player who we think will establish himself in MLS after some strong years in Switzerland,” said Impact head coach Jesse Marsch. “He did his training at FC Basel, which is a club that is renowned for developing great players.”
“We’re very happy and excited to add a young player like Dennis to our roster,” added Impact sporting director Nick De Santis. “At his age, he’s already played a lot of professional games at a high level and we feel that he can settle right away in MLS like Felipe, Andrew Wenger and Zarek Valentin. It’s tough to find left sided players and his technique and abilities are very good. We have a great nucleus of young players that could eventually be the future of this team.”
Iapichino was loaned by the club to FC Biel-Bienne for the second half of the 2009/2010 season, where he played 12 games in the Challenge League, the country’s second division.
He then joined FC Lugano on loan for the 2010/2011 season, playing 25 regular-season games and two Swiss Cup games, alongside current Impact midfielder Felipe. He made a permanent move to Lugano for the 2011/2012 season, adding 20 regular-season games and two Swiss Cup games.
Internationally, he took part in six friendly games with the Swiss U20 National Team, including games versus the Italian U20 National Team and the German U20 National Team.
Iapichino will count as an international player on the Impact roster.
Upcoming games
The Impact will play its next game on the road on Saturday, July 14, versus the Philadelphia Union at 7pm (ET). The game will be broadcast live on TVA sports, and will be available on illico web, illico mobile and MLS Live.
The club will then return home on Wednesday, July 18, to host the New England Revolution at Stade Saputo, at 8pm. Group packages, 3 or 6 game partial plans, as well as special promotions are available by calling 514-328-3668.
In other news, the club will organize its second open house, free admission, at Stade Saputo this Thursday, from 5 to 7pm.
DENNIS IAPICHINO
Position: Defender
Height: 5’10
Weight: 160 lbs
Birth date: July 27, 1990, Frauenfeld, Switzerland
Place of residence: Frauenfeld, Switzerland
Former club: FC Lugano (Switzerland)
Acquired: July 11, 2012
