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Mauro Biello: From Montreal to the CanMNT’s Interim Head Coach

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The CanMNT Head Coach Mauro Biello in Guadalajara, Mexico

Mauro Biello was born in Montreal, Quebec on August 8, 1972. He stayed in Montreal for his education as he went to St. Monica’s Elementary School, then went to high school in Vincent Massey High School, and then went to play soccer at Vanier College and Concordia University.

Mauro Biello: His Road to the CanMNT Head Coaching Role

Legacy With Montreal

Biello has been involved in Montreal professional soccer clubs since the year 1991. His first professional season was in fact, the last year of the formerly first-division pro soccer league called the Canadian Soccer League from 1991-92. He played 16 games for that team and scored one goal. There would not be another first-tier pro men’s soccer league in Canada until the Canadian Premier League started in 2019.

He then started play with the second-tier division, Montreal Impact, which can be traced to the present CF Montreal team that exists today. In terms of playing career, this team was probably what most people remember of Biello. He played with the team from 1993-98 (scored 32 goals in 108 appearances) as well as from 2000-09 (scored 40 goals in 235 appearances). Additionally, he also played with the Impact’s indoor soccer team from 1997-00 (scored 133 goals in 116 appearances).

Biello held the record for the most goals scored by any Impact/CF Montreal player before Ignacio Piatti broke that record in 2019. This is what club president, Joey Saputo, said about Biello on September 4, 2015 (source: Noel Butler of TSN):

 “Mauro embodies the Montreal Impact. At the start of his career, he fought to get his spot on the team and then had an exceptional career. All young soccer players should look to Mauro as an example. He has accomplished extraordinary things for the club, while at the same time serving as a pioneer for the development of soccer in Quebec.”

Biello also has the trophies to prove it. He has won the APSL Championship in 1994, two USL First Division Championships (2000 and 2009), five USL First Division Commissioners Cup (1995-97, 2005-06), and seven Voyageurs Cups (2002-08). This included the memorable 2008 Voyageurs Cup, where they won the competition over MLS-side Toronto FC. CF Montreal, then called the Montreal Impact, which was still playing in the second-tier of professional U.S. club soccer at the time.

His number 20 has been retired by the club, which shows how much he has meant to the team and the club.

Other Roles in His Playing Career

Biello also played for the Buffalo Blizzard from 1995-97 (48 goals in 59 appearances) and the Toronto Thunderhawks from 2000-01 (44 goals in 39 appearances). What he might be most known for though was winning the U.S. Open Cup with the Rochester Raging Rhinos in his lone season with the club in 1999. The Rochester team still stands as the only second-tier division team to ever win the U.S. Open Cup. With the Rhinos, Biello scored eight goals in 28 appearances.

Mauro Biello’s Transition to the Coaching Staff

Biello transitioned to the coaching role of his local club in 2012, when the then named Montreal Impact became part of MLS in 2012. He was the assistant until 2015 when Frank Klopas was fired and Biello took over the reigns of the club. This is what Heath Pearce, who was with the Impact in 2014, said about Biello (source: Olivier Tremblay of MLS Soccer):

“He’s always had that ability to deliver that message,” Pearce says. “I got to see him do that in the head coaching role. He came in, and he exploded at one point at halftime,” Pearce stated. “He came in, still stuck to his points, stuck to what he wanted to say, but he said it in a way that you could feel his energy. But it still had a purpose. … Everything that came out of his mouth had a value.”

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He was coach of the team from 2015-17. In that time-span, the Impact experienced success they did not have before in MLS. For example, in 2015, they made their first-ever Eastern Conference Semi-Finals appearance after thrashing Toronto FC 3-0 at Stade Saputo (Saputo Stadium). The Impact would then have their most successful year to date in MLS, where they made their first and so far only Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2016. In that thrilling two-leg series, the Montreal Impact lost to Toronto FC in extra time at BMO Field.

Mauro Biello on Playing and Managerial Career with the CanMNT

Biello played four games with the CanMNT, with his first game coming on May 28, 1995 against Chile and his final game being played in a January international friendly against Trinidad and Tobago. He also played for the Canadian team in 1989 U17 youth World Cup in Scotland.

As for his coaching career, it began in 2018, a year after he was let go from the head coaching role in Montreal. As an assistant, he saw the rewards of what a very long and tough Concacaf World Cup qualifying campaign was, where Canada made the final stage of FIFA World Cup qualifying for the first time since 1998. They then qualified for their first-ever FIFA World Cup appearance for the first time since 1986 with a resounding 4-0 win over Jamaica.

This also included getting a win and a draw each against both Mexico and the USMNT. The Canadians also made the finals of a Concacaf-related competition for the first time in 23 years with a 2-0 win over Panama in the Concacaf Nations League. Also, in 2021, the Canadian team made the Gold Cup semi-finals stage for the first time since 2007 with a 2-0 win over Costa Rica.

The Chance to Head Coach the CanMNT Permanently

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READ MORE: Analysis: John Herdman Leaves the CanMNT for Toronto FC

Biello was hired as the interim head coach of the CanMNT after John Herdman left the position to become head coach of Toronto FC beginning on October 21, 2023.

The Canadian from Montreal though wants to become the head coach, permanently, as this is what he said (source: Devin Heroux of CBC Sports):

“I know there’s a process and I respect that. But I’m going to do everything I can to be the head coach of this team. And I know it won’t be easy but I’m going to focus on what I can control and that at the moment is preparing this team the best I can to win games,” Biello said. “”My whole life I worked for this moment. I went through the different levels having to manage different high profile players and into the international world and having that opportunity to work with John [Herdman],” Biello said.

Biello also led the CanMNT’s under-23 men’s team for the last two Concacaf Olympic qualifying campaigns. This includes a positive showing in the 2020 Concacaf Olympic qualifying, where Canada fell just short of qualifying for the Olympics.

Time and Date of the Game Against Japan

The Canadians will face Asian powerhouse, the Japanese, on Friday, October. 9. The game will take place at Denka Big Swan Stadium in Niigata, Japan on OneSoccer at 6:35 AM ET.

 

Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying
22 March 2021 – Guadalajara, JA, MEX
Canada Soccer by Mexsport

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