Mar 29 Veteran Impact Midfielder Patrick Leduc Retires

Montreal Impact midfielder Patrick Leduc announced his retirement Tuesday, after an 11-year professional career, all with the Montreal Impact.

"I'm hanging up the boots and I’m in peace with my decision," said Leduc. "To the whole Montreal Impact organization and its president Joey Saputo, I want to say thank you for building a platform to let me play and do what I like the most, here in Montreal, close to where I grew up. I am proud to have contributed to the two championships and the first Canadian championship. Those are my greatest memories with the Impact."

Leduc played in 222 games starting in 2000 and started in 163 of them. He saw sparse play in his last few years as a nagging foot injury kept him sidelined or restricted to a limited role. I for one will miss his dangerous big shot from outside the box during his pre-injury years, which he couldn’t quite replicate towards the end.

"Patrick Leduc was a model for our youth, on the field with his teammates and through all his actions off the field," said Montreal Impact president Joey Saputo. "He was loyal to this organization for more than 10 years and always gave his best to help this team succeed."

“Patrick has been around this team a long time and had a great career with the Impact,” said Impact sporting director Nick De Santis. “He was here when it was more difficult for this club and has always contributed to the development of our sport and helped it progress in Quebec.”

In the playoffs, he started 15 of the 22 games he played for a total of 1,405 minutes of play, helping the Impact win two playoff championships in 2004 and 2009.

Leduc also contributed to the Nutrilite Canadian Championship in 2008, being one of the four players to play all 90 minutes of the four games of the tournament. In the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions League, he injured his right foot against Real Esteli FC, on August 27, 2008. He was out of the lineup for more than a year and missed a total of 33 games.

Lecuc  adds to an increasing list of Impact veterans who have decided to hang them up on the eve of the franchise’s leap to the MLS. The most recent being goalkeeper Matt Jordan and  defender Adam Braz.

Tags: Midfielder \ MLS \ Montreal Impact \ NASL \ Patrick Leduc \ retirement \ soccer