Patrice Bernier honoured by CF Montréal

Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honoured member Patrice Bernier was celebrated by CF Montréal on Saturday 20 August as part of an in-match presentation at Stade Saputo. It turned out to be a special night for Bernier and the club as CF Montréal ran out 4:0 winners over the New England Revolution to maintain second place in the MLS Eastern Conference standings.

Bernier was honoured earlier this year as part of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022. He was formally celebrated as an inductee at Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team home match on 9 June in Vancouver, a 4:0 win over Curaçao in Concacaf Nations League.

Bernier was 20 years old when he turned pro with Montréal in 2000 and played three seasons in the USL A-League before he left for Europe in 2003. He returned to the club in 2012 and played his last six seasons with the club in Major League Soccer. He won Canadian Championship titles in 2013 and 2014 and helped the club reach the Grand Final of 2014-15 Concacaf Champions League. He won the Giueseppe Saputo Trophy as the team’s Most Valuable Player in 2012.

“I have known Patrice for more than 25 years and I have been privileged to play alongside him at the amateur, university and professional levels with both the Impact and on the National Team,” said Gabriel Gervais, CF Montréal President and CEO. “He has given a lot to soccer and the community, both provincially and nationally. He fully deserves this honour. I am proud that one of our own, a former captain who made history with the Club, is being added to the list of greats immortalized in the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame.”

Bernier represented Canada in three cycles of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers as well as four editions of the Concacaf Gold Cup, notably reaching the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinals in 2007. In all, he made 56 international “A” appearances from 1999 to 2017, including three starts as Canada’s captain.

At the professional level, he played in Canada, Norway, Germany and Denmark, including appearances in UEFA Cup and Concacaf Champions League. Along with his two Canadian titles with Montréal, he also won two Danish Cup titles with FC Nordsjælland. He was an eight-time Québec Soccer Professional Player of the Year and was also inducted as an honoured member in the Québec Soccer Hall of Fame in 2017.