The Impact de Montreal's Ignacio Piatti (left) celebrates after scoring at Club America in the first leg of the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League final on April 22, 2015. (Photo: Mexsport

MONTREAL -- Last year, Ignacio Piatti helped San Lorenzo to the 2014 Copa Libertadores title and a berth in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Unfortunately, for him, the Argentine never saw either accomplishment come to fruition.

That July, while San Lorenzo was still involved in the South American club championship, he signed a contract with the Impact de Montreal.  Both parties reached an agreement that would allow Piatti to remain in Argentina through the first leg of the Libertadores final, which ended in a 1-1 draw on August 6.

Following that game, even though the decider was to be played a week later, the then 29-year-old reported to the Impact.

San Lorenzo won the second leg 1-0 to lift the trophy and qualify for the Club World Cup, where it finished as runner-up after falling 2-0 to Real Madrid in the final.

Piatti was happy to begin a new chapter in his career, but retained the thought of eventually competing against the best teams in the world.

That dream, however, could become reality, when Montreal and visiting Club America meet in the second leg of the 2014/15 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League (SCCL) final on Wednesday at the Stade Olympique.  The sides enter the match level at 1-1 after last week’s opener at the Estadio Azteca.  Piatti, of course, netted the Impact’s goal.

Now, he is thinking – once again -- about playing in the FIFA competition.  Reaching that rarified air would provide a measure of revenge for the midfielder.

“Yes, in some ways it’s a revenge, that is why I’m focused 100% on this match”, said Piatti before training on Monday.  “It would be really important for me.  I couldn’t do it with San Lorenzo and to be able to achieve it with the Montreal Impact would be special because it would be the first time an MLS club wins this trophy.”

After shaking hands on a deal with Montreal owner Joey Saputo, never did Piatti think that another shot at playing in a Club World Cup could happen so quickly.

“I knew we were in the CONCACAF Champions League, but to think about winning it, it seemed like a difficult task to fulfill,” he remarked.  “But match after match that dream became a reality and now I’m just one game away from accomplishing it.”

There is an additional motivation for Piatti to become a CONCACAF champion: his late grandfather, who passed away last month and has become the center of his goal celebrations.

“Abuelo, te amo (Grandpa, I love you)”, is written on the shirt underneath his number 10 jersey, a sentence that he’ll be delighted to display once again on Wednesday.

“Every time I step on the field, he’s with me,” said Piatti.  “He taught me many things and I miss him very much. I’ll always be grateful to him.”