Saturday, October 17, 2009
MONTREAL, QC – The face of the Montreal Impact and one of the most recognizable and respected veterans of the USL First Division, Mauro Biello had no special announcement after the game regarding a potential retirement. The decision on his future has been put on hold in favor of a party.
“Right now, I’m gonna worry about having an amazing party tonight and after that a nice vacation,” said Biello after the match. “And then we’ll make a decision on if I’ll be back here next year. But right now, it’s about time to party and enjoy it with my teammates.”
The club’s all-time leading scorer and only active player remaining from the inaugural 1993 Impact season finished a season where he arguably played a larger role as an assistant coach on the bench than he did on the field, came into the contest with 10 minutes remaining.
Biello replaced Championship Series MVP Roberto Brown, who had a goal and an assist in the match, but a huge standing ovation at that moment was clearly intended for Biello has he raced onto the pitch.
“It was an unbelievable feeling to be able to come on and help my teammates out in the last 10 minutes, and to hear the crowd was just a great feeling. I’m so glad that we were able to win this championship and raise the cup here in front of all our fans.”
The 10-plus minutes before the sold out crowd is being anticipated by some as the last of his career, which has seen the midfielder and forward capture three championships with the Impact in 1994, 2004 and 2009. In addition, he helped lead the Rochester Rhinos to their famous US Open Cup championship in 1999 when the Impact did not play outdoors in addition to capturing the regular season league title and reaching the championship game, which they lost in Minnesota. He also guided the Impact to the inaugural Nutrilite Canadian Championship a year ago.
Montreal’s victory Saturday in the USL-1 Championship, his fifth trip to a final, pushed the star player’s championship tally to 11, having won a Canadian title, three USL-1 crowns and five regular season championships with the Impact in addition to the two with Rochester.
“It’s an unbelievable organization,” he said about the Impact. “To be a part of it, we have such a great soccer culture here in Montreal. To be able to play in front of your friends and family you can’t ask for more. I’ve been lucky that I’ve been able to stay healthy this long and to play in front of my friends and family - it is just an unbelievable feeling to win a championship right here again for them.”
The 15th and 16th seasons in Montreal for Biello saw a significant reduction in minutes played in league competition, but the six-time All-League honoree arguably experienced his busiest time with the club during its participation in the Canadian Championship and CONCACAF Champions League. He missed some time with the club in 2008 due to wrist and heel injuries.
The personal injury adversity of the past two years, combined with the club’s struggles, made the victory all that much sweeter Saturday.
“It got pretty rough in that celebration with 200 pound guys jumping on you,” he said. “But it’s all in good fun. It was a difficult season for us. The [loss to] Santos Laguna and the psychological impact that had on us, starting off the season really bad and then coming back and growing as a team, showing character with the results and confidence and peaking at the right time. That’s what happened. The momentum we had at the end of the season, we brought it into the playoffs and I gotta congratulate all of my teammates and the organization on the fantastic job they did.”
Who can blame him for taking a little time to make a decision? He’s certainly earned it.
