1983 National Soccer League (Canada) season

The 1983 National Soccer League season was the sixth season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in May, 1983 and concluded in early October 1983 with the NSL Championship final where Toronto Italia secured the title against Dinamo Latino in a penalty shootout.[3] Toronto would also secure the double by defeating Toronto Panhellenic for the NSL Cup.[4] Toronto Panhellenic achieved a milestone in league history as it won its first regular-season title.[5][6]

National Soccer League
Season1983
Champions
  • Toronto Panhellenic (regular season)
  • Toronto Italia (playoffs, 6th title)
League cupToronto Italia
Top goalscorerCesar Figueredo (14)[1][2]
← 1982
1984 →

Overview

Before the commencement of the regular outdoor season, the National Soccer League (NSL) operated an indoor season for the winter months.[7][8][9] When the regular season debuted the league faced competition from the newly formed Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL) as it became the country's first truly national professional soccer league.[10][11] The CPSL had an NSL presence as both Hamilton Steelers and Toronto Croatia (operated as Mississauga Croatia) were participating members in the league while still retaining reserve teams in the NSL.[12][13] The national experiment ended disappointingly as Inter-Montreal FC and Toronto Nationals departed from the league midway through the season, which forced an early postseason and ultimately collapsed after one season.[14] On the other hand, the NSL strengthen its ties with the North American Soccer League (NASL) as the Toronto Blizzard and Toronto Italia secured a talent exchange deal.[15][16][17]

The membership in the league decreased to eight teams as the Bradford Marshlanders requested a sabbatical, and Toronto Falcons joined the Liga Hispanoamerica de Football Amateur (LHFA).[18][19]

Teams
Team City Stadium Manager
Dinamo Latino Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium Jorge Piotti[20]
Hamilton Steelers B Hamilton, Ontario Brian Timmis Stadium
London City London, Ontario Cove Road Stadium
St. Catharines Roma St. Catharines, Ontario Club Roma Stadium
Toronto Croatia B Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium
Toronto First Portuguese Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium Jorge Testas[21][22]
Toronto Italia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium Omar Sívori[23]
Néstor Rossi[23]
Toronto Panhellenic Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium Germán Sánchez[24]

Final standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Panhellenic (C) 28 17 8 3 51 21 +30 42 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Toronto Italia (O) 28 15 8 5 51 30 +21 38
3 Dinamo Latino 28 14 6 8 36 26 +10 34
4 Toronto First Portuguese 27 12 5 10 40 43 −3 29
5 St. Catharines Roma 28 11 5 12 36 33 +3 27
6 Toronto Croatia B 28 8 5 15 28 40 −12 21
7 London City 28 8 1 19 30 47 −17 17
8 Hamilton Steelers B 27 5 4 18 30 62 −32 14
Updated to match(es) played on September 28, 1983. Source: [25]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners

Playoffs

Finals
September 30, 1983 Dinamo Latino 2–0 Toronto Italia Toronto, Ontario
20:00 [[3] Report] Stadium: Lamport Stadium
October 2, 1983 Toronto Italia 2–0
(4–3 p)		 Dinamo Latino Etobicoke, Ontario
Quiroga
Moniz 		[[3] Report] Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium

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 two-legged match final for the Cup.

Finals
August 28, 1983 Toronto Italia 3–1 Toronto Panhellenic Toronto, Ontario
Risnita 44'
DiFlorio 72', 81'		 [[4] Report] Joe Pellegrino (o.g.) Stadium: Varsity Stadium

References
  1. "Dinamo Latino vs Toronto Italia el Viernes en el Lamport". El Popular. September 28, 1983. p. 11.
  2. "Este Sabado Comienzan los Play-offs de la NSL". El Popular. September 14, 1983. p. 12.
  3. "Positive thinking pays off for Italia". Toronto Star. October 3, 1983. p. B8.
  4. Cosgrove, Michael (August 29, 1983). "Italia takes final over Panhellenic". The Globe and Mail. p. S4.
  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. "1983 NSL Season" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca.
  7. "Dinamo Latino Participara en Torneo de Indoor de la National Soccer League". El Popular. January 5, 1983. p. 14.
  8. Koep, Bob (January 5, 1983). "Soccer league to play indoors at Olympium". Toronto Star. p. D7.
  9. "ROUNDUP: Football". The Globe and Mail. January 5, 1983. p. 30.
  10. A. Campbell, Neil (May 23, 1983). "Nationals win 2-1: Pro soccer loop silences critics with big opener". The Globe and Mail. p. S5.
  11. Konotopetz, Gyle (May 21, 1983). "New kick in town". Newspapers.com. Calgary Herald. p. 43. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  12. King, Philip (May 21, 1983). "New soccer league ori shaky ground as season opens". The Globe and Mail. p. S4.
  13. Huntley, E.J. 73 Days - The Story of the Canadian Professional Soccer League 1983.
  14. Palango, Paul (July 23, 1983). "Soccer marriage fails to unite past, future". The Globe and Mail. p. S4.
  15. Woolsey, Garth (March 1, 1983). "Soccer rivals Italia and Blizzard knot bond of friendship". Toronto Star. p. F5.
  16. Labow, Jeffrey (March 1, 1983). "Blizzard, NSL Italia make deal". The Globe and Mail. p. 48.
  17. "Names and Games". Newspapers.com. Times Colonist. March 1, 1983. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  18. "20 Equipos Participaran en el Proximo Torneo de la Liga Hispanoamericana". El Popular. April 6, 1983. p. 10.
  19. "Notas Del Futbol Latino". El Popular. May 11, 1983. p. 11.
  20. "Dinamo Latino Debuta el 2 de Mayo Frente al Panhellenic". El Popular. April 20, 1983. p. 9.
  21. "1983 Season". The Canadian National Soccer League. 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  22. "Dinamo Latino Gano Con Sensacional Gol De Figueredo". El Popular. July 27, 1983. p. 9.
  23. "Soccer coaches hired". Toronto Star. April 14, 1983. p. F7.
  24. "El Nuevo Dinamo 83, Agrado en su Debut en la NSL". El Popular. May 4, 1983. p. 9.
  25. "El popular, September 28, 1983, page 11 | SFU Digitized Newspapers". newspapers.lib.sfu.ca. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
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