A new soccer prodigy in blue-white-and-black history
On February 24, 2024, Montreal FC kicked off their season in MLS, Major League Soccer, by taking on Orlando City FC live from Florida, USA. The hard-fought match ended in a 0-0 draw, but regardless of the clean sheet, the season was underway in the heart of MLS.
Montreal FC began the regular season in search of results following the previous season, in which they finished 10th in the league's Eastern standings. However, during the previous season, Montreal FC reached the Eastern Conference final, a first for the Canadian concession that joined the Major League of Soccer in 2012. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, blue-white-and-black, many aspects of the club have changed since then, and the squad must now cope without many of the key elements responsible for the success of that emotionally-charged year. These include coach Wilfried Nancy, nominated for Coach of the Year for the last two seasons, Kei Kamara, Alistair Johnson and Ismaël Koné. Koné has just shone at the Copa America 2024, which ended with Argentina and its illustrious captain, Lionel Messi, winning another title.
Since 2012, the year in which the team entered North America's most prestigious soccer league, Montreal FC, formerly known as the Montreal Impact, has, apart from a few bumps in the road, steadily improved and positioned itself ever more favorably on the Circuit administered by commissioner Don Garber. If this tumultuous rise to the top is possible, it's thanks to some very talented players, ambassadors, who agree to wear the club's colors and give their all to defend them. They include Ignacio Piatti, Marco DiVaio, Ivorian international Didier Drogba and world champion Thierry Henry.
Sometimes, prodigies come from Quebec.
Around the world to come home
Such is the case of Patrice Bernier, who wore the colors of the Montreal Impact from 2000 to 2002, then from 2011 to 2017. Before ending his career at home, the native of Brossard, Quebec, Canada, enjoyed an impressive career that took him to Norway, where he played for Moss FK in 2003 and 2004 and for Tromso IL from 2004 to 2007, then to Germany, where he played for FC Kaiserslautern in 2007 and 2008, and then to Denmark, where he played for FC Nordsjaelland from 2008 to 2011 before moving to Lyngby BK in 2011. The rest I mentioned in the preamble to this paragraph; from 2012 to 2017, the Captain played for the Montreal Impact back home in Montreal. During this exceptional career, he defended Canada's colors at the 1995 Under-17 World Cup in Ecuador. Patrice Bernier joined the senior team in 2003 for a friendly match between Canada and the Czech Republic. He subsequently took part in three Gold Cup tournaments in 2005, 2007 and 2009. As for the World Cup, he wore Canada's colors for a total of twelve matches in 2006, 2010 and 2014. Over the course of his international career, he has scored 36 goals in 505 matches.
As agile on ice as on grass
Not bad for an athlete who had to choose between soccer and field hockey, since he also excelled on the ice. He accumulated 13 points in 35 games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, making him his team's seventh-highest scorer.
And he played defenseman.
At the time, he was wearing the colors of the Foreurs de Val-d'Or, just as the famous Roberto Luongo had done the previous season, in 1995-1996, when he defended the net for the New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers.
We can only dream of what he might have achieved had he chosen field hockey over soccer, like his cousin Maxime Fortunus who played for the Dallas Stars, but his achievements as a professional soccer player remain extraordinary.
Capi: an irreproachable leader wherever he goes
As captain of the Montreal Impact, whether in the A League or MLS, he led his team to the CONCACAF Champions League final and the MLS Eastern final in 2016. During his six seasons at home in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, he behaved impeccably as a true ambassador for the Impact, for soccer, for Montreal, for Canada.
Today, at the age of 43, he acts as: lecturer, television analyst where he is hailed for: his relevance, his eloquence and his knowledge, lecturer and assistant coach. Even today, the world of soccer, like the world in general, continues to benefit from: his talent, his humanism, notably thanks to his foundation.
A man who gives and gives of himself
Through the Patrice Bernier Fund, the athlete, now fully invested in the community, aims to optimize his philanthropic actions and thereby have a lasting effect on society. One of the major events organized by the 43-year-old is the “Patrice et ses amis” event, an annual tournament of Futsal, indoor soccer. During the event, funds raised will be redirected to other causes important to Patrice Bernier. These include : La Maison Haïti and the Fondation Bon Départ (Canadian Tire). https://patricebernier.com/the-foundation/
Even today, Patrice Bernier shows that the greatest captains of all sports stand out first and foremost by their actions, by concrete gestures that go far beyond fine speeches. In this sense, he will forever be...
The captain of all Quebecers.
A place among the greats
On Saturday, May 6, 2023, the man whose reputation is already well established received an honour that only four other people can boast. The legendary captain of the blue-white-and-black team was inducted into the Montreal FC Wall of Fame on the occasion of the match between Montreal FC and Orlando City FC, the same team against whom they began the current season. Before him: defenders Gabriel Gervais, Nevio Pizzolito, goalkeeper Greg Sutton and striker Mauro Biello were inducted on this wall, testifying to an extraordinary career. That's all there is to it. Here's the list. Needless to say, this is an unusual mark of recognition on the part of the organization. But Patrice Bernier has received it, because his career and his contribution to the community are like the names on this wall:
Will go down in history.
David Leboeuf
A tremendous career that led Patrice Bernier to the Montreal FC wall of fame summed up in a short video
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