Canadian Soccer League (1988-1992)
Tombstone
Born: 1988 – CSL expansion franchise
Folded: Postseason 1992
First Game: May 29, 1988 (T 0-0 vs. Toronto Blizzard)
Last Game: September 20, 1992 (L 1-0 @ Vancouver 86ers)
CSL Championships: None
Stadium
Marketing
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owner: Frank Aliaga
Background
F.C. Supra de Montreal was Quebec’s entry in the low-budget Canadian Soccer League during the late 80’s and early 1990’s.
Supra finished in last place in the CSL in each of its first two seasons. The club posted winning records in 1990 and 1991 and made the postseason every year from 1990 through 1992. Supra lost in the opening round of the playoffs each time.
In February 1991, Supra hired Eddie Firmani as Head Coach and General Manager. Firmani won back-to-back Soccer Bowls as manager of the famed New York Cosmos in 1977 and 1978 in the NASL. He later coached Le Manic de Montreal of the North American Soccer League during the early 1980’s. The intervening years had taken Firmani further afield. He coached in the Iraqi Premier League in the late 1980’s. Three months before signing with Supra, he was released by Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime after being held captive for several months during the first Gulf War.
Closure of the Canadian Soccer League
The CSL and F.C. Supra both folded after the 1992 season. The Montreal Impact formed at the end of 1992 to fill the void left by Supra’s demise. After two decades of lower division play, Impact founder Joey Saputo secured a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in 2010. The Impact began play in MLS in 2012.
Montreal Supra Shop
Montreal Supra Video
The Supra host the Kitchener Kickers at Robillard Stadium during the 1991 season. TSN broadcast.
Links
Canadian Soccer League Media Guides
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