Drogba may be the club's catalyst, but the Montreal Impact's recent renaissance in Major League Soccer goes beyond one of the globe's most-recognizable soccer names.
Which is good for Montreal's followers, but bad for those expected to pack in Rio Tinto Stadium Saturday night in hopes of seeing the 38-year-old Ivory Coast striker whose star rose higher as a physical, deft scoring machine with a thunderous right foot in the English Premier League.
"Yeah," said RSL defender Chris Wingert, "he's a beast, man."
But the beast won't be in Sandy. Drogba continues to rehab a thigh injury that kept him out of Montreal's dramatic 3-2 come-from-behind win over the New England Revolution last weekend, Impact coach Mauro Biello told reporters in Montreal this week.