1986 National Soccer League (Canada) season

The 1986 National Soccer League season was the sixty third season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in late May, 1986 and concluded in early October, 1986 with the NSL Championship final where Toronto Italia defeated Toronto Blizzard.[1] Though the Blizzard would still manage to secure a treble after finishing first in the standings to claim the regular season title, and defeating London Marconi for the NSL Ontario Cup.[2][3][4] Toronto would earn the treble by defeating Vancouver Columbus Italia for the NSL Canadian Championship.[5] A fourth piece of silverware was claimed by the Blizzard after defeating Luso Stars of the Quebec National Soccer League (LNSQ) for the NSL Canada Cup.[6]

National Soccer League
Season1986
Champions
League cupToronto Blizzard
← 1985
1987 →

Overview

As the formation of the Canadian Soccer Association's (CSA) sanctioned national professional league was becoming more apparent, and with its policy of no ethnic associated clubs the National Soccer League (NSL) began organizing an alternative model to the CSA's version of a nationwide league.[7] The newly appointed NSL commissioner and Toronto Italia owner Rocco Lofranco began the process of formalizing affiliated agreements with professional leagues throughout the country in order to implement a national model with a regional format.[8][9] The regional format would consist of separate regional leagues with independent schedules with the regional champions qualifying for a postseason tournament, which would ultimately determine the national champion.[8] The primary purpose of the regional format was to reduce the costly travel expenses associated with a national league employing an interlocking schedule.[7] The NSL's presence was successfully established in British Columbia through an affiliated agreement with the Pacific Rim Soccer League and in Quebec with the creation of the Quebec National Soccer League (LNSQ) in 1986.[10]

As the NSL expanded into British Columbia, and Quebec each league supplied their own regional champions in a tournament for the NSL Canadian Championship with intentions of providing a Canadian representative to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.[11] The previous time a Canadian club competed in the Champions' Cup was in the 1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup represented by Toronto Italia.[12] Several proposals and changes to the league's infrastructure were approved at the annual general meeting with the acceptance of the Petro Canada Soccer League as the NSL's developmental league, and the renaming of Toronto Dinamo to the Toronto Blizzard.[13] All teams from the previous season returned with Windsor AC Roma renaming themselves as Windsor Wheels in an attempt to appeal to a wider audience.[14]

Teams
Team City Stadium Manager
London Marconi London, Ontario Cove Road Stadium
St. Catharines Roma St. Catharines, Ontario Club Roma Stadium
Toronto Blizzard Toronto, Ontario Varsity Stadium[11] Dave Turner[15]
Toronto Croatia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium[11] Bruno Pilaš[16]
Toronto First Portuguese Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium[11]
Toronto Italia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium[11] Carlo Del Monte[17]
Toronto Panhellenic Scarborough, Ontario Birchmount Stadium[18] Colin Byron[19]
Windsor Wheels Windsor, Ontario Windsor Stadium Vern Mittermeier[20]

Coaching changes
Team Outgoing coach Manner of
departure		 Date of
vacancy		 Position in table Incoming coach Date of
appointment
Windsor Wheels Gus Moffat[20] dismissed August 1, 1986 7th in August Vern Mittermeier[20] August 1, 1986

Final standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Blizzard (C) 14 10 1 3 34 12 +22 21 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Toronto Italia (O) 13 7 3 3 25 12 +13 17
3 Toronto Panhellenic 14 6 4 4 23 23 0 16
4 London Marconi 14 7 1 6 27 24 +3 15
5 Toronto First Portuguese 14 6 3 5 17 18 −1 15
6 Windsor Wheels 14 6 3 5 24 29 −5 15
7 St. Catharines Roma 14 3 2 9 19 36 −17 8
8 Toronto Croatia 13 0 3 10 9 30 −21 3
Updated to match(es) played on September 18, 1986. Source: [21]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner.

Playoffs

Finals
September 24, 1986 Toronto Blizzard 0–1 Toronto Italia Toronto, Ontario
20:00 [[22] Report] Commisso Stadium: Varsity Stadium
Attendance: 2,127
Referee: Tony Evangelista

Cup

The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all eight 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 to a singles match for the Cup. The winner of the league cup would face the Quebec National Soccer League (LNSQ), and Pacific Rim Soccer League cup titleholders for the NSL Canada Cup.[5]

Finals
September 19, 1986 Toronto Blizzard 4–3 London Marconi Toronto, Ontario
Marinaro
Ntsoelengoe , , 		[[23] Report] Phil Murphy ,
Louie Fotia 		Stadium: Varsity Stadium

NSL Canadian Championship

Since the 1986 season a joint effort was conducted between the Pacific Rim Soccer League of British Columbia, National Soccer League and the Quebec National Soccer League in order to provide a national champion.[24][25] The original intention of the national tournament was to provide a potential Canadian representative to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.[26] The previous time a Canadian club competed in the Champions' Cup was in the 1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup represented by Toronto Italia.[27] Their regional champions would face each other in a single-elimination tournament with a single match for the championship.

Semifinals
September 26, 1986 Laval Lavallois 0–1 Vancouver Columbus Italia Toronto, Ontario
[[28] Report] Frank Ciaccia Stadium: Lamport Stadium
Attendance: 75

Finals
September 28, 1986 Toronto Blizzard 2–1 Vancouver Columbus Italia Etobicoke, Ontario
Marinaro  58'
Hooper  88'		 [[29] Report] John Guzzo  67' Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium
Attendance: 1500

NSL Canada Cup

The NSL Canada Cup was a separate tournament intended to crown a national league cup champion.[5] The participating teams were the league cup titleholders from the Pacific Rim Soccer League of British Columbia, National Soccer League and the Quebec National Soccer League.[9] The format of the competition was a single-elimination tournament with a single match for the national cup.

Semifinal
October 3, 1986 Toronto Blizzard 3–0 Vancouver Columbus Italia Montreal, Quebec
Report Stadium: Université de Montreal Stadium

Final
October 5, 1986 Luso Stars Mount Royal 0–2 Toronto Blizzard Montreal, Quebec
[[30] Report] Hooper  17'
Ntsoelengoe  58'		 Stadium: Université de Montreal Stadium
Attendance: 532

References
  1. Koep, Bob (September 25, 1986). "Italia blanks Blizzard for playoff cup". Toronto Star. p. D7.
  2. Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 117.
  3. "CSL Past Champions – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  4. "1986 NSL Season" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca.
  5. Zwolinski, Mark (September 29, 1986). "Blizzard tops Vancouver to capture national title". Toronto Star. p. B6.
  6. Meagher, John (October 6, 1986). "Suspended striker causes row after playing in semi-pro finale". Montreal Gazette. p. C5.
  7. Da Costa, Norman (July 7, 1986). "Tough sledding for Blizzard opponents". Toronto Star. p. B4.
  8. Da Costa, Norman (June 30, 1986). "Soccer boss proposes regional leagues format". Toronto Star. p. B6.
  9. Da Costa, Norman (September 1, 1986). "11 teams in 2 divisions possible for new league". Toronto Star. p. D5.
  10. Da Costa, Norman (July 21, 1986). "New pro league starts play in May". Toronto Star. p. C8.
  11. Koep, Bob (May 1, 1986). "Soccer loop aims to be truly national". Toronto Star. p. D7.
  12. "Italia retains NSL title with win over Hamilton". The Globe and Mail. September 30, 1976. p. 58.
  13. "NSL adds farm system, creates Quebec league". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. December 16, 1985. p. 31. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  14. Waddell, Dave (March 18, 1986). "Wheels to create image of speed and excitement". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. p. 21. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  15. "Argentinian aces turn on the power". Toronto Star. May 19, 1986. p. B4.
  16. Da Costa, Norman (September 9, 1986). "Ottawa added to soccer league". Toronto Star. p. G6.
  17. Waddell, Dave (June 16, 1986). "Wheels run away with victory". Windsor Star. p. 28.
  18. Duffy, Andrew (August 12, 1986). "Scarborough soccer star, 19 has both craftiness and speed". Toronto Star. p. E12.
  19. Da Costa, Norman (October 14, 1986). "Canadians offered $1,000 to throw game". Toronto Star. p. B8.
  20. Waddell, Dave (August 1, 1986). "Wheels fire Moffat". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. p. 31. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  21. "18 Sep 1986, 12 - The Windsor Star at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  22. Koep, Bob (September 25, 1986). "Italia blanks Blizzard for playoff cup". Toronto Star. p. D7.
  23. "Blizzard claim 2nd soccer title". Toronto Star. September 20, 1986. p. D5.
  24. Ferriss, Alan (September 18, 1986). "Support Soccer". Newspapers.com. Montreal Gazette. p. 33. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  25. "NSL expansion plan is to grow to 11 clubs". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. September 9, 1986. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  26. Koep, Bob (September 24, 1986). "Soccer champions ready for kickoff of east-west series". Toronto Star. p. H12.
  27. "Italia retains NSL title with win over Hamilton". The Globe and Mail. September 30, 1976. p. 58.
  28. "Vancouver to meet Blizzard in NSL final". Toronto Star. September 27, 1986. p. D8.
  29. Zwolinski, Mark (September 29, 1986). "Blizzard tops Vancouver to capture national title". Toronto Star. p. B6.
  30. Meagher, John (October 6, 1986). "Suspended striker causes row after playing in semi-pro finale". Montreal Gazette. p. C5.
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