Victor Montagliani: "From the technical side, there are a handful of players in MLS who could be part of the team that would be at the Gold Cup. And it would hurt if those players weren’t playing. But, when you look at all the countries in CONCACAF, we might be one of the ones least affected by an MLS work stoppage. Certainly, it would not affect us like it would the United States, where the majority of their players play in MLS.”

MLS and NASL teams aren’t forthcoming about the terms of their contracts. But the MLS Players Union sheds some light on how the salaries are paid out. According to MLSPU Executive Director Bob Foose: “All contracts are calculated in U.S. Dollars, players can then choose to have them paid in either, or a combination.”

Issue 4 of Plastic Pitch is out today! What will you find inside?

Certainly, improving the Impact’s young prospects wasn’t the prime motivation for Saputo to join a consortium that purchased Italian Serie B side, Bologna. But he knows an improvement to the Impact’s youth development stream is a byproduct of the deal.

He’s advised soccer programs throughout Quebec. He’s worked with youth national teams. Former Montreal Impact coach Valerio Gazzola has quietly made a massive mark on the game in Canada...

Canadians used to heavily populate the professional indoor circuits. But, as the indoor game begins a new chapter with the formation of the new Major Arena Soccer League, it’s hard to find our players. The one exception is in the state of Wisconsin, where Ian Bennett and coach Giuliano Oliviero, are expected to lead the Milwaukee Wave to championship heights. Is the Wave Canada’s indoor team? You bet.

In 2009, the Montreal Impact gave up two stoppage-time goals to Santos Laguna, and fell at the CONCACAF Champions League’s quarter-final stage. In 2015, the Impact is set to meet Pachuca in the quarter-finals — and the Canadian side is carefully preparating for its Mexican opponent. Can the Impact exorcise the demons of 2009?

Well, at Tuesday’s roundtable, Garber confirmed that there isn’t going to be a new approach. When pressed by Leduc, Garber retreated back to the argument that U.S. labour law prevents Canadians from being domestics on American soil. He said a Canadians can’t be treated any differently than a Mexican, a Honduran or a Brit. So, Garber made it clear that the status quo will remain — and that roster equality will not become reality in MLS.

And, if Major League Soccer cared about the integrity of its playoff system, it would do the world a favour and jettison the No. 4 vs. No. 5 conference playoff games.

They aren’t getting a lot of MLS playing time just yet, but a group of locally trained players have steadily moved up the ranks all the way to the Montreal Impact’s senior roster. Will they eventually get their chances to play?