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Analyst, TSN Radio 690 Montreal

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No player is more synonymous with the Montreal Impact than team captain Patrice Bernier. The veteran midfielder, now 37, started his career with the club back in 2000. He made 73 appearances for the team in the A-League before taking his game overseas, making stops in Norway, Germany and Denmark over the next decade. He also became a stalwart for the national team, playing in 53 matches, including 38 starts, while taking part in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2005, 2007 and 2009, as well as in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 2004, 2008 and 2012.

The native of Brossard, Que., came back home in December of 2011, signing with the Impact ahead of the club’s debut in Major League Soccer. Now, in the final year of his professional career, Bernier is still contributing on the pitch (he was named to the MLS team of the week in Week 3 of the regular season) while also getting ready to transition into a coaching role at the Impact’s academy. He spoke to TSN’s Noel Butler about the next chapter of his career and the growth of soccer in Quebec.  
 
Who is your football mentor?
 
My dad. He is the biggest influence for me in terms of soccer.

What are your thoughts on soccer’s growth in Montreal and across the province since first signing professional terms with the Impact back in 2000?
 
There’s been a lot, tremendously a lot. The growth in soccer has been exponential, with the players registered and the fact we have a soccer-specific stadium. It’s grown from playing at Claude Robillard to now having Stade Saputo full with 20,000 and a training facility for the academy that attracts Real Madrid and Chelsea and big-name clubs.
 
While playing in Europe you were a regular attendee of Impact matches during your off-season. Did you always envision returning to the club?
 
I can’t really say I wished I would come back, but at that time with my European career I didn’t really plan on coming back. Let’s just say I had a hope, but no real actual plan to come back. Things just transpired the way they did.
 
How disappointed were you to be passed over for the Impact captaincy back in 2012?
 
I didn’t put really high hopes at that time because I figured that Davy [Arnaud] knew more about the league and that he would probably be captain. I didn’t put myself in any high hopes at those times to be captain.
 
Throughout your career who is the one opponent you most admire?
 
Deco when I played against Portugal in an international game. He was playing in Barcelona. Just an outstanding player, impossible to get close to.
 
Who is your toughest ever opponent?
 
The player in the league I hate the most to play against is [the Columbus Crew’s Federico] Higuain. The toughest place I have played is Galatasaray, Istanbul.
 
What is your favourite MLS city and why?
 
My favourite MLS city, in terms of stadiums, is Sporting Kansas City. There are many reasons: First goal scored in MLS, playing the MLS All-Star game there in 2013, plus the rivalry between Sporting Kansas City and Montreal. In terms of a city, I love going to Chicago and I love coming to LA.
 
MLS hopes to become one of the best leagues in the word by 2022. What is the vital thing the league needs to do to achieve this objective?

It’s really simple: more money. I guess more freedom for every market to invest how they want and probably to allow more of a salary cap, or to abolish the salary-cap system.
 
Fast forward to 2022, where do you see the Montreal Impact?
 
By 2022, hopefully the Montreal Impact has solidified itself in terms of a successful club in the playoffs. Hopefully they have won one or two MLS Cups by then and may or may not have won a CONCACAF Champions League also.

During your career the club scene across Canada has witnessed unprecedented growth and improvement. Not so for the men’s national team. Why do you think the national program has lagged?
 
[The issues are] Mostly in terms of identity and maybe mentality.
 
With your outstanding play to date, have you given any thought to extending your playing career beyond this season?
 
No.
 
Are you available for Gold Cup selection?
 
Yes. 

Soon your focus will be on the next generation of Impact players. What are your thoughts on 18-year-old Impact academy product Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla?
 
Ballou is, I think, a very interesting player and has great potential. This is great to see because he is giving a lot of hope to a lot of players to know there are possibilities to play at that young age, and to start for the Impact. It’s nice to see him play and show that he has the quality to play at the MLS level.
 
How excited are you to unearth and help develop young soccer talent from across Quebec?
 
I’m looking forward to the second life. …To have some sort of, not just a coaching role, but also with the mentoring of younger talents at the academy. Plus, giving some of my experience in the hope to better the ways for those young players and make it easier for them to become professionals.
 
 Montreal Impact vs. Atlanta United on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, on CTV, TSN5 and TSN690

This interview has been edited and condensed.