1988 National Soccer League (Canada) season

The 1988 National Soccer League season was the sixty fifth season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began on May 10, 1988 and concluded on September 14, 1988 with Toronto Italia winning the NSL Championship by finishing first in the First Division.[2][3] Toronto would also secure a double by defeating Montreal Superga of the Quebec National Soccer League (LNSQ) for the NSL Canadian Championship.[4] The NSL Ontario Cup was won by Toronto Croatia on September 17, 1988.[5] Croatia would face St. Leonard-Corfinium of the LNSQ for the NSL Canada Cup, but were defeat by a score 3-1.[6] St. Catharines Roma II were the reserve division champions.[4][7]

National Soccer League
Season1988
ChampionsToronto Italia (8th title)
League CupToronto Croatia
Top goalscorerCarlos Salguero (18)[1]
← 1987
1989 →

Overview

Significant reforms were unanimously approved by the board of the directors at the annual general meeting on January 23, 1988.[8] Changes included an increase in club membership due to the return of a reserve division, which required each member to field a reserve team.[8] The newly formed division would serve as a developmental platform for younger players and provide the senior teams with a larger resource of talent.[8] The league's playing format was revised with the elimination of the postseason system with the winner of the regular season determining the overall champion. The First Division retained the majority of members from the previous season with the exception of Toronto International.[9]

The league organized a friendly tournament named the Friendship Cup which involved Toronto Croatia, Toronto Italia, and Windsor Wheels in a series of matches against Cosenza and Palermo F.C. of Italy.[10] Toronto Italia would defeat Cosenza in the finals to win the tournament title.[11] The league continued its collaboration with the Quebec National Soccer League (LNSQ) in order to form a national championship by providing their league and league cup winners to crown a national champion.[12][13]

Teams
Team City Stadium Manager
America United Toronto, Ontario
Chile Lindo Toronto, Ontario
Mississauga Lakers Mississauga, Ontario
London Marconi London, Ontario Cove Road Stadium Bill Gillis[14]
St. Catharines Roma St. Catharines, Ontario Club Roma Stadium
Toronto First Portuguese Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium
Toronto Croatia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium Mišo Smajlović[15]
Toronto Italia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium Ivan Marković[16]
Toronto Panhellenic Toronto, Ontario
Windsor Wheels Windsor, Ontario Windsor Stadium Mirko Bazic[17]

Final standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Italia (C) 18 14 2 2 59 10 +49 30 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Toronto Panhellenic 18 11 5 2 35 22 +13 27
3 Windsor Wheels 18 12 2 4 52 26 +26 26
4 Toronto Croatia 18 11 3 4 49 18 +31 25
5 St. Catharines Roma 18 6 3 9 34 40 −6 15
6 Toronto First Portuguese 17 6 2 9 29 49 −20 14
7 Chile Lindo 17 4 3 10 17 36 −19 11
8 America United 18 4 3 11 20 37 −17 11
9 Mississauga Lakers 18 4 3 11 17 48 −31 11
10 London Marconi 18 3 2 13 19 46 −27 8
Updated to match(es) played on September 17, 1988. Source: [18]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion.

Cup

The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all ten 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) cup titleholder for the NSL Canada Cup.

Finals
September 15, 1988 Toronto Croatia 2–1 Windsor Wheels Etobicoke, Ontario
Mike Lupenec  10' (o.g.)
Drago Šantić  20'		 Report Victor Quni Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium
September 17, 1988 Windsor Wheels 1–1 Toronto Croatia Windsor, Ontario
Mike Lupenec  55' Report Bakota  70' Stadium: Windsor Stadium
Referee: Mladen Moric

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.[19][20] Their regional champions would face each other in a single match for the championship. The Pacific Rim Soccer League participated in the first tournament, but ceased operations in 1987. While their league cup champions would compete for the NSL Canada Cup. Toronto Italia would win the championship by defeating Montreal Superga of the Quebec National Soccer League (LNSQ).[4]

September 25, 1988 St-Leonard Corfinium 2–1 Toronto Croatia Saint-Leonard, Quebec
Windsor Vertus
Paul David 		Report Zoran Narjanovic

References
  1. Da Costa, Norman (October 31, 1988). "Ontario decides to dump soccer tours of Britain". Toronto Star. p. D6.
  2. "CSL Past Champions – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  3. "1988 NSL Season" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca.
  4. Da Costa, Norman (October 31, 1988). "Ontario decides to dump soccer tours of Britain". Toronto Star. p. D6.
  5. 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.
  6. "Padres' Feeney resigns - Miscellany". Montreal Gazette. September 26, 1988. p. D9.
  7. "Wheels to meet Croatia looking a little wobbly". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. September 16, 1988. p. 57. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  8. Waddell, Dave (January 23, 1988). "Major facelift to inject NSL with new blood". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  9. Da Costa, Norman (August 22, 1988). "Soccer's king seeking peace and order". Toronto Star. p. D8.
  10. Koep, Bob (June 16, 1988). "National Soccer League tourney to feature two clubs from Italy". Toronto Star. p. F6.
  11. Koep, Bob (June 23, 1988). "Italia roughs up Cosenza to capture Friendship Cup". Toronto Star. p. C6.
  12. "Wheels not finished yet". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. September 6, 1988. p. 17. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  13. "Local Roundup - Soccer". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. September 10, 1988. p. 21. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  14. Waddell, Dave (September 1, 1988). "Wheels advance to final". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. p. 16. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  15. Sopta, Marin (July 3, 2016). "Istaknuti nogometaši i treneri hrvatskog iseljeništva - treći dio" (in Croatian). Retrieved 2017-10-11.
  16. Hales, Derek (February 11, 1988). "Soccer Roundup". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. p. 22. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  17. Waddell, Dave (February 20, 1988). "Wheels sign Bazic". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. p. 19. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  18. "Soccer - National League Standings". Windsor Star. September 14, 1988. p. 22.
  19. Ferriss, Alan (September 18, 1986). "Support Soccer". Newspapers.com. Montreal Gazette. p. 33. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  20. "NSL expansion plan is to grow to 11 clubs". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. September 9, 1986. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-11-07.


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