For Montreal Impact assistant coach Peter Pinizzotto, the game will be somewhat of a homecoming, since he was head coach of the Lynx for seven seasons before joining the Impact in 2004
“I have some particularly good memories from the club’s first year, in 1997,” says Pinizzotto, whose primary residence is still in Toronto. “We made the playoffs and we won 10 games in a row during the season, which I believe is still a league record for an expansion team.
“I also have good memories from 2000, when we had a good run in the playoffs, beating Long Island and Richmond in the first two rounds. We then lost to Rochester in the conference finals.”
A few days later, the Raging Rhinos went on to win the league championship, the first of two straight.
“But what I’m most proud of is all the players who developed with the Lynx and who went on to play in Europe,” adds Pinizzotto, alluding to players such as Paul Stalteri and Milan Kojic.
“He is patient with the players, and he always taught us to work hard,” says defender Mauricio Vincello, who played four years under Pinizzotto with the Lynx before joining the Impact through a trade before the 2004 season. “And what I liked is that he was never afraid of playing an attacking style (with the Lynx). He would sometimes put three at the back and five in the midfield, to try and be more offensive.”
Although he went from head coach to the role of an assistant when he joined the Impact before the start of the 2004 season, Pinizzotto came into a good situation in Montreal. The circumstances were all the more ideal that De Santis was making his pro debut as head coach.
“I had plenty of years of experience, and Nick and I discussed the fact that I could come in and help him out, ” says Pinizzotto. “That’s how it started.”
“Peter having been a head coach for seven years, I never really treated him as an assistant coach,” says De Santis. “We have a good relationship in the way we see the game. I think of us as two coaches who are bettering the team. There is a good understanding between us, and in the way we act towards the players.”
“What made things easier is that Nick and I get along really well. From day one, we’ve had the same mentality in terms of style of play. We both seem to agree on the way to go,” explains Pinizzotto. “I got to know Nick as a player with the Toronto indoor team (in the former NPSL), where he was also my assistant coach. That’s the reason I’m here, I knew it would be a smooth adjustment.
“And we have very good players here in Montreal. There is a winning tradition here. And with the large crowds that come to the games, there is a lot of emphasis on the importance of keeping that winning tradition going.”
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