Star Powered Solution

The Montreal Impact are a good team, after they managed to squeeze into the playoffs last season, many thought it would be an early round exit as the earlier seasons suggested, but to everyone’s shock, they managed to advance themselves to the eastern conference finals, only to lose a heartbreaker against their Canadian rivals, the Toronto Football Club.

Being the underdog seemed to have worked in the Impact’s favor last season, having possessed the oldest average aged players in the entire MLS, they still managed to put on a cinderella story like the effort that does deserve decoration, but how long can the adversity work in the Impact’s favor?

The edge that Toronto F.C seemed to have over the Montreal Impact last season, and against the entire MLS as well was their boast of star power making up their starting eleven. The acquisition of Sebastian Giovinco launched TFC to a playoff birth in 2015, and then to securing a bye in the first round of the 2016 MLS playoffs the following year. As the Impact team does have the experience and undisputed talent with the likes of Nacho Piatti, Matteo Mancosu, Laurent Ciman, and even the legend Marco Di Vaio himself from years prior. The lack of star power is what seems to plague many teams vying for a championship in any sport, as you'll see stars and veterans added to many contending teams to give them that extra nitrous boost of skill and morale needed to jump the final hurdle and win it all.

From a spectator standpoint, there is a case to be made as well. The Impact was without a doubt more enticing to watch when Didier Drogba took the pitch. Whether he contributed to the extent expected or not, having a name like that on your squad brings the team spirit, skill, and revenue to the next level. This type of practice is not necessary, but at this time, it seems like it would be a great option for the Montreal Impact to look into. As their Canadian counterparts have already started the process with the likes of Giovinco, along with notable names like Jermaine Defoe and Bradley in the past, and it has worked out quite well for past teams such as the L.A Galaxy, who have icons David Beckham and Landon Donovan to thank for their 5 MLS cup championships.

All in all the Montreal Impact need to think long and hard about what kind of team they want to be down the road, and if adding some extra star power is the answer to an MLS cup championship one day. The Impact has been connected to players such as Bastian Schweinsteiger last offseason, and with an owner who has a higher net worth than Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, money obviously is not the issue. Timing is what will decide this team’s fate as contenders or pretenders.