Read the full transcript from Impact President Joey Saputo's statement during the 2013 season review.
Hi,
Today is the post-mortem of our second season in MLS.
We achieved our main objective this season, which was to participate to the playoffs, and as a bonus, we participated in the CONCACAF Champions League following our Canadian Championship title.
But after a first half of the season that was exceptional, the end of the 2013 campaign was less than acceptable.
I am disappointed with how we qualified for the postseason. After fighting for most of the season for top spot in the Eastern Conference, I never thought we’d have to watch the results of three other games to find out if we made the playoffs after losing our final game of the season to Toronto.
With opportunities to clinch a spot over the final stretch of the season, we were unable to impose ourselves, especially at home.
And our performance in Houston last Thursday, especially our lack of composure at the end of the game, is not what we expect as a club.
On behalf of the club, I would like to extend an apology to our supporters and the entire MLS family for our behaviour in Houston. This is not the image we want to project for our club.
There was a lot of frustration over the last couple of weeks of the season, but that does not excuse our actions.
Despite some of the difficulties experienced at season’s end, there were a number of positives that came out of the 2013 campaign:
In only our second year, we got more points this season than any other Canadian team in MLS history.
Our 50 goals scored were second best in the Eastern Conference.
We had solid performances on the road, with character wins in Seattle, Portland and Kansas City, but also results in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Jose.
Individually, the performance of our first Designated Player, Marco Di Vaio, stood out as he was in the race for the Golden Boot all season long as the league’s top goal scorer.
With a lot of stability in our roster, the group was united all season long, in victory or in defeat.
I am proud of our players from the Academy who gave us important minutes. With our help, they now have to continue the progression they showed this season.
Even though there is still room for improvement, we had the 4th best average attendance in 2013 with 20,603 spectators.
And the backing of our supporters was once again phenomenal all season long. The ambiance at Stade Saputo was extraordinary, making it one of the most intimidating places to play in all of MLS.
As for the situation with our head coach, we still have not made a decision. It’s too early to say if Marco Schällibaum will be with us in 2014.
We had an excellent discussion with Marco yesterday, but we want to take our time in making the best decision possible.
Marco is a passionate coach who helped the group experience some great times and some tough times.
But the most important thing is that we realised we need to continue to improve this team, and we have to keep working to see how that can be done.
Therefore, we will continue analyzing the situation over the next few weeks.
I would like to clarify that all season long, roster choices, substitutions and technical decisions were made by Marco and his coaching staff.
I am insulted that people would think otherwise.
A passionate president and a sporting director like Nick and me are not synonymous with interference.
We have the success of the club in our hearts, so it’s normal that we are involved, especially when we see our club nose diving.
With that said, we never superseded the authority of the head coach.
As for the roster, important decisions will be made in the upcoming weeks. We have to improve the roster in certain positions.
I am confident that these changes will help the team progress, as our objective is to improve each year and be better than the previous season.
And as we continue to improve our team on the field in MLS, we want to further the development of players within our Academy.
As such, we will be making an announcement in the near future concerning our U21 team, but also the expansion of the Academy.
It is with great optimism that we look to the future. We want our supporters and members to be proud of their club.
And as you’ve done over the past 20 years, we ask our supporters to put their faith in us because together, we will ensure success for another 20 years.
Thank you.
