MONTREAL – As part of the club’s 25th anniversary, the Montreal Impact president, Joey Saputo, announced on Thursday that former defenders Nevio Pizzolitto and Gabriel Gervais will be the first two Impact alumni to be inducted into the club’s Wall of Fame. Both players will be honoured at half-time during the home opener against Toronto FC, this Saturday at 3pm, at Olympic Stadium.
The Wall of Fame will be a permanent space at Stade Saputo, on which will be inscribed the names of players who have marked the club’s history and who distinguished themselves in an important way during their careers, both with the team and throughout the league. The names will also be displayed inside Stade Saputo, where they can be viewed by all 20,801 supporters.
The players are selected as per the following criteria: a minimum of 100 games with the Impact, has not been with the club since at least five years and has played a first game with the club at least 15 years ago. Every year, one or two players will be added to the wall.
NEVIO PIZZOLITTO – DEFENDER – 1994-2011
Team captain in 2010 and 2011, Nevio Pizzolitto finished his career with a total of 248 games started out of 291 regular season games played, recording 11 goals and six assists over 23,030 minutes played. He was named Defensive Player of the Year for the Impact in 2005, 2009 and 2010, as well as being selected as a first team all-star in 2008 and a second team all-star from 2004 to 2006.
The Montreal native ranks second all-time in terms of games played, games started, and minutes played for the Impact, behind only Mauro Biello. He played five seasons with over 2,000 minutes on the pitch and 10 seasons with over 20 games played.
During his career, he won three playoff championships (1994, 2004 and 2009), five regular season titles (1995, 1996, 1997, 2005 and 2006) and one Canadian Championship in 2008. He also took part in 10 Concacaf Champions League games, most notably the two quarter-final games against Mexican side Santos Laguna.
At the international level, Pizzolitto played eight games with the Canadian national team, participating notably in the Concacaf Gold Cup in 2003, and one World Cup qualifier in 2004. He also represented Quebec at multiple levels during his youth.
GABRIEL GERVAIS – DEFENDER – 2002-2008
Originally from Brossard, Gervais joined the Impact in 2002, helping the club win the playoffs in 2004, as well as the regular season championships of 2005 and 2006. He made his debut in the USL First Division in 2000 with the Rochester Rhinos.
Gervais played 150 career games with the Impact, 146 of those as a starter. He helped the Impact post the best defensive record in the league during four consecutive seasons, from 2003 to 2006.
He was named the Impact’s Defensive Player of the Year three times, in 2002, 2003 and 2006, and won the Giuseppe-Saputo Trophy, awarded to the Impact’s most valuable player, in 2004. He was also named Defender of the Year in the USL First Division in 2003, 2004 and 2006, becoming the league’s first-ever player to win the award three times. Gervais was also selected for the USL D1 All-League First Team for six straight years, from 2002 to 2007.
Gervais played 11 games with the Canadian national team, most notably playing qualification games for the FIFA World Cup in 2004. He also played for Canada during the Concacaf Gold Cup in 2005.
