By Joey Strizzi
Patrice Bernier has always been a leader on the field. In fact, his first professional coach with the Impact way back in 2000-2001, Valerio Gazzola, once told him that he’d end up captaining the Impact one day.
Now, Gazzola had no way of seeing into the future, knowing that the Impact would one day be in MLS, nor that Bernier would go on to have a successful career in Europe for almost 10 years before returning to play for his hometown, but the former Impact coach, who won a championship with the club in 1994, was on to something.
With the departure With the departure of Davy Arnaud to D.C. United in the off-season, a new leader would have to be chosen by the coaching staff to wear the armband. After three weeks of pre-season training, it became clear that on a team with a whole bunch of great leaders, Bernier was the best choice.
To read the full article, purchase the 2014 souvenir magazine at the Impact's home opener, this Saturday, March 22, at the Olympic Stadium, for the special price of $2.
