1980 National Soccer League (Canada) season explained

Competition:National Soccer League
Season:1980
Shield:Toronto Italia
Shieldtitle:League cup
League Topscorer:Mike Burke (24)[1]
Best Goalkeeper:Robert Judd
Prevseason:1979

The 1980 National Soccer League season was the fifty-seventh season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in May 1980 and concluded in October 1980 with the NSL Championship final where Toronto Panhellenic defeated St. Catharines Roma. The Toronto Falcons won the regular-season title but were defeated by Toronto Italia for the NSL Cup.[2] [3] [4]

The NSL was operative in the United States and Northern Ontario for the final time in the league's history.[5] [6]

Overview

The decade ushered in a unique era in Canadian soccer as many attempts and proposals at forming a national major soccer league were executed throughout the 1980s. The first notable example occurred in 1980 when several investors presented a nationwide soccer league known as the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) to debut in 1981.[7] Before the commencement of any season the project initially debuted in a tournament known as the Red Leaf Cup, which featured teams from Europe and Brazil.[8] [9] [10] The planned Canadian Soccer League failed to materialize and the next attempt at creating a domestic national league successfully occurred in 1983.[11] [12]

Meanwhile, the Ontario-centered National Soccer League (NSL) continued having a presence in Northern Ontario with Sudbury Cyclones representing the city of Sudbury, and an American representative from Upstate New York known as the Buffalo Blazers.[13] [14] The membership in the league decreased to twelve clubs as the NSL lost its presence in Quebec, and Detroit, Michigan as the Montreal Stars, Detroit Besa, and Detroit Vardar departed. While the Hamilton Italo-Canadians requested a sabbatical and returned for the 1981 season. Buffalo was denied participation in the playoffs because of financial and player issues.[15]

A friendly tournament known as the Toronto International Soccer Cup was organized with Toronto First Portuguese and Toronto Panhellenic representing the NSL against S.L. Benfica, and Partizan Belgrade.[16] Benfica would win the tournament after defeating Partizan in the final.[17]

Teams

TeamCityStadiumManager
Lackwanna Stadium[18] Carlo Del Monte[19]
Bradford MarshlandersBradford, OntarioBradford Community Centre[20] Dave Reid[21]
London CityLondon, OntarioCove Road Stadium
Serbian White EaglesToronto, OntarioLamport Stadium[22] Nikola Ivetić[23]
Sudbury CyclonesSudbury, OntarioQueen's Athletic Field[24] Gino Pacitto[25]
St. Catharines RomaSt. Catharines, OntarioClub Roma Stadium
Toronto CroatiaToronto, OntarioLamport Stadium
Toronto FalconsToronto, OntarioLamport Stadium[26]
Toronto First PortugueseToronto, OntarioLamport Stadium[27] José Testas[28]
Toronto ItaliaToronto, OntarioLamport Stadium[29] Fiorigi Pagliuso[30]
Toronto PanhellenicToronto, OntarioLamport Stadium[31] Arthur Rodrigues[32]
Toronto UkrainiansEtobicoke, OntarioCentennial Park Stadium

Playoffs

Finals

Cup

The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all twelve teams took part. All the matches were separate from the regular season, and the teams were grouped into two separate divisions. The two winners in the group stage would advance in a two-legged match final for the Cup.

Finals

References

  1. Web site: 1980 NSL Season. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140628214309/http://canadiansoccerleague.ca:80/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/NSL_1921_1992.pdf . 2014-06-28 . canadiansoccerleague.ca.
  2. Web site: CSL Past Champions – Canadian Soccer League. 2020-09-06. canadiansoccerleague.ca. en-US. 2020-10-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20201030000639/http://canadiansoccerleague.ca/csl-past-champions/. dead.
  3. Book: Jose, Colin. On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. 2001. Vaughan, Ontario. 117.
  4. News: September 8, 1980. Mike Burke sparks Italia. B6. Toronto Star.
  5. News: Pascal. Randy. June 20, 2020. The Sudbury Cyclones and their semi-pro soccer stint. B1. Sudbury Star.
  6. Web site: Pascal. Randy. March 29, 2021. Semi-pro push highlights strategic plan for Sudbury soccer community. live. 2021-04-09. thesudburystar. Sudbury Star. en-CA. https://web.archive.org/web/20210423014317/https://www.thesudburystar.com/sports/local-sports/semi-pro-push-highlights-strategic-plan-for-sudbury-soccer-community . 2021-04-23 .
  7. Web site: May 29, 1980. Soccer promoters unveil grandiose plans. 2021-01-05. Newspapers.com. The Province. 16. en.
  8. Web site: Wayne. Jamie. June 7, 1980. The goal for Canada: Second soccer league. 2021-01-05. Newspapers.com. National Post. 20. en.
  9. News: Mayoh. Rick. June 11, 1980. Top soccer teams set for Canadian series. 35. Ottawa Citizen.
  10. News: Habib. Marlene. June 16, 1980. Varsity becomes 'battlefield' muring Red Leaf Cup soccer. S5. The Globe and Mail.
  11. News: December 3, 1981. Another soccer league. 10. Nanaimo Daily News.
  12. News: Konotopetz. Gyle. December 24, 1981. Proposed league has Rudi laughing. 30. Calgary Herald.
  13. News: October 11, 1980. Sports activities for everyone. 75. National Post.
  14. News: March 25, 1980. In trouble. 11. Nanaimo Daily News.
  15. News: September 8, 1980. Playoff chances good after Cyclones win. 13. Sudbury Star.
  16. News: Kernaghan. Jim. June 24, 1980. Lisbon soccer star shuns America. F4. Toronto Star.
  17. News: Koep. Bob. August 5, 1980. Soccer fans get kick from Benfica. B2. Toronto Star.
  18. News: May 11, 1980. Blazers Shut Out Sudbury. 44. Buffalo Courier-Express.
  19. Web site: 1981 Hamilton Steelers - Team of Distinction. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200924111521/http://hshof.ca/team/1981-hamilton-steelers/. September 24, 2020. January 5, 2021.
  20. News: 7 May 1980 . They need support . The Bradford Witness . 4.
  21. News: Bolender . Keith . 26 March 1980 . Dave Reid is back for another year . The Bradford Witness . 9.
  22. News: Falldien. Jack. August 18, 1980. Cyclones blank Buffalo squad. 9. Sudbury Star.
  23. Web site: Head Coaches . Serbian White Eagles FC . 2023-11-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231123031110/https://serbianwhiteeagles.ca/en/head-coaches/ . 23 November 2023 . dead.
  24. News: May 12, 1980. Sudbury Cyclones lose as Albuquerque scores. 13. Sudbury Star.
  25. News: Desilets. Peter. April 25, 1980. Cyclones will operate this season. 10. Sudbury Star.
  26. News: Falldein. Jack. May 26, 1980. Cyclones lose, draw on weekend. 13. Sudbury Star.
  27. News: June 13, 1980. Cyclones off to Toronto. 13. Sudbury Star.
  28. Web site: MOURATO. SERGIO. February 18, 2017. Após cumprir missão da vida, 'Baixinho' quer morrer em paz sem dores – 416 NEWS TORONTO. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170709170112/http://416news.com/apos-cumprir-missao-da-vida-baixinho-quer-morrer-em-paz-sem-dores/. July 9, 2017. 2017-07-09. 416news.com. en-US.
  29. News: August 9, 1980. Cyclones hurt, play tonight. 13. Sudbury Star.
  30. Web site: 2018 Wall of Fame Induction. live. January 2, 2022. torontoazzurri.com. 17. https://web.archive.org/web/20220102202314/https://torontoazzurri.com/index.php/wall-of-fame/ . 2022-01-02 .
  31. News: July 28, 1980. Loss and tie for Cyclones. 11. Sudbury Star.
  32. News: April 30, 1980. Abascal a la National Soccer League. 10. El Popular.

External links

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