The Montreal Impact have named Patrick Leduc director of academy, the club announced Tuesday. Leduc spent more than a decade with the Impact as a player and previously served as the club's administrative director of soccer operations.
Leduc takes over for Philippe Eullaffroy, who left the club last week after initially being named to the position in 2010. Leduc has his Canada Soccer B License and served as a performance analyst with the U20 Canadian national men’s team’s technical staff.
“The academy is here to stay, and the objective of our restructuring is to continue to improve,” sporting director Olivier Renard said in a statement. “Patrick enters this role with lots of experience and after having accomplished good work with the club. We certainly do not want to diminish our desire of developing our young talent. We would like to thank Philippe for his enormous contribution to the club in the last 10 years.”
Leduc made his debut with the Impact in 2000 and played 222 regular season games with the club, including 163 starts, before announcing his retirement from professional soccer in 2011. As a midfielder, he scored 10 goals and added 16 assists. He participated in 22 playoff games, helping the club win titles in 2004 and 2009. He also earned three caps with the Canada national team.
“I’m excited to face this new challenge,” said Leduc. “We are lucky to have a solid foundation in place at the academy thanks to everyone who has been through it since its inception. I am confident that together, we can bring the Academy and the club to new successes.”
The Impact academy has produced the likes of Ballou Tabla, Maxime Crepeau and others throughout the years.
