1976 National Soccer League season
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- Toronto Italia (regular season)
- Toronto First Portuguese (playoffs, 2nd title)
| Season | 1976 |
|---|---|
| Champions |
|
| League cup | Toronto Panhellenic |
| Top goalscorer | Emmanuel Kulu - Second Division- (21)[1] |
← 1975 1977 → | |
The 1976 National Soccer League season was the fifty-third season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in late April and concluded in early October, with Toronto Panhellenic securing the league double (NSL Championship and NSL Cup) by defeating Toronto First Portuguese in a two-match series for the NSL Championship.[2] In the NSL Cup final, Panhellenic defeated Toronto Italia, while Italia successfully defended the First Division title by finishing first in the standings.[3][4][5] In the Second Division, Hamilton Italo-Canadians defeated Toronto Croatia for the division title and NSL II Championship.[6]
Toronto Italia and Serbian White Eagles were scheduled to participate in the 1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, and the NSL was sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) for the season.[7][8] The NSL was operative in Northern Ontario and Quebec and expanded into the United States with a franchise in Buffalo, New York.[9][10]
The National Soccer League (NSL) expanded its boundaries outside of Canada with a franchise based in Buffalo, New York, known as the Buffalo Blazers.[10] The NSL made further territorial gains with a return to Northern Ontario with the acceptance of the Sudbury Cyclones.[10] The previous time the NSL was active in the northern region was in the 1971 season.[11] Both Buffalo and Sudbury were placed in the Second Division.[10]
Though the league expanded beyond the Montreal–Windsor Corridor, the membership decreased from 21 teams to 18. The slight decrease resulted from Srbija Kitchener and Toronto Melita taking a leave of absence when both clubs were suspended by the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA) for payments to amateur players.[10] The two other departing clubs were the Ontario Selects, and Toronto Ukraina took a two-year sabbatical and returned for the 1978 season. Further changes included the relocation of Oakville United to Toronto and the addition of another team in the Niagara region, as Hamilton City became known as Welland Lions Croatia.[12] Another notable change occurred with the renaming of Toronto Homer to Toronto Panhellenic.
Several changes were implemented to the league's structure with the approval of a new constitution, which transferred more voting power from the league's executive committee to the league ownership.[13] Reports were also circulating of the creation of a league commissioner to replace Joe Piccininni as league president, but Piccininni resumed his duties throughout the season.[13][14] The regular-season schedule was revised to prevent interlocking play between the First and Second Division teams, but both divisions were permitted to play one another in the NSL Cup.[15] Restrictions were also placed on the allowance of five imported players to each team.[16]
Teams
Coaching changes
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure |
Date of vacancy |
Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sudbury Cyclones | Peter Gallo[43] | replaced | May 1976 | Fulvio Stepancich[43] | May, 1976 | |
| Buffalo Blazers | Al Block[44] | replaced | June 1, 1976 | Vincent Lauricella[45] | June 1, 1976 | |
| Toronto Italia |  Arthur Rodrigues[33] |
replaced | July 9, 1976 | 1st in July | Fiorigi Pagliuso[34] | July 9, 1976 |
| Windsor Stars |  Roy Cheetham[42] |
fired | August 5, 1976 | 8th in August |  Ivan Marković[42] |
August 5, 1976 |
Standings
First Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Italia (C) | 27 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 53 | 13 | +40 | 41 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 2 | Montreal Castors | 27 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 47 | 18 | +29 | 37 | |
| 3 | Toronto Panhellenic (O) | 27 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 46 | 19 | +27 | 37 | |
| 4 | Toronto First Portuguese | 27 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 51 | 27 | +24 | 33 | |
| 5 | Windsor Stars | 27 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 47 | 31 | +16 | 28 | |
| 6 | London City | 27 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 44 | 40 | +4 | 28 | |
| 7 | Serbian White Eagles | 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 38 | 48 | −10 | 26 | |
| 8 | Toronto Macedonia | 27 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 33 | 49 | −16 | 21 | |
| 9 | Hamilton Croatia (R) | 27 | 4 | 3 | 20 | 26 | 68 | −42 | 11 | |
| 10 | Welland Lions Croatia (R) | 27 | 3 | 2 | 22 | 18 | 88 | −70 | 8 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Second Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton Italo-Canadians (C, O, P) | 21 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 11 | +39 | 39 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 2 | Toronto Croatia (P) | 21 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 48 | 27 | +21 | 31 | |
| 3 | Toronto Polonia | 21 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 38 | 21 | +17 | 24 | |
| 4 | Buffalo Blazers | 21 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 20 | |
| 5 | Ottawa Tigers | 21 | 9 | 1 | 11 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 19 | |
| 6 | Sudbury Cyclones | 21 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 27 | 32 | −5 | 18 | |
| 7 | Toronto Falcons | 21 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 18 | 47 | −29 | 10 | |
| 8 | St. Catharines Heidelberg | 21 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 16 | 42 | −26 | 7 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
Playoffs
Finals
| October 7, 1976 | Toronto Panhellenic | 0–1 | Toronto First Portuguese | Toronto, Ontario |
| [[46] Report] | Barros  |
Stadium: Lamport Stadium Attendance: 3000 |
| October 10, 1976 | Toronto First Portuguese | 0–1 (2–4 p) | Toronto Panhellenic | Toronto, Ontario |
| 15:00 | [[37] Report] | Alberto Gerez |
Stadium: Lamport Stadium Attendance: 5000 | |
| Penalties | ||||
| Mike Boorman |
Alberto Gerez Araquem de Melo Kozak |
|||
Cup
The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all eighteen teams took part. The tournament would conclude in a final match for the Cup.
Finals
| September 20, 1976 | Toronto Italia | 2–3 | Toronto Panhellenic | Toronto, Ontario |
| Di Pede Loparić |
[[4] Report] | Fernando Barbosa Araquem de Melo , |
Stadium: Lamport Stadium Attendance: 4000 Referee: Bill Devorski |