Willy Giummarra

Willy Giummarra (born August 26, 1971) is a Canadian former soccer player who played as a forward and midfielder. Most recently, he was the head coach of Canadian Soccer League side Toronto Falcons.

Willy Giummarra
Giummarra in 2022
Personal information
Full name William Giummarra
Date of birth (1971-08-26) 26 August 1971[1]
Place of birth Scarborough, Ontario, Canada[2]
Position(s) Midfielder / Striker
Youth career
1994–1995 UAB Blazers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1997 Philadelphia KiXX (indoor) 16 (10)
1996–1997 St. Louis Ambush (indoor) 11 (2)
1996–1997 Toronto Shooting Stars (indoor) 10 (12)
1996 Montreal Impact 6 (1)
1997–1998 Montreal Impact (indoor) 10 (4)
1997–1998 Harrisburg Heat (indoor) 44 (28)
1997–1998 Darlington F.C. 3 (0)
1998 Toronto Lynx 5 (0)
1998–1999 Florida ThunderCats (indoor) 12 (11)
1999–2000 York Region Shooters
2000–2001 Toronto ThunderHawks (indoor) 31 (15)
2001 Toronto Olympians
2002–2003 Vaughan Sun Devils
2004 Toronto Croatia
2004 Brampton Hitmen
Managerial career
2022 Toronto Falcons
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

College career

Giummarra began playing at the college level in 1994 with the UAB Blazers where in his debut season was named the newcomer of the year and first-team selection.[3] In his sophomore season, he assisted the team in securing the Conference USA title and for the second consecutive season was named to the first-team selection.[4] Throughout his tenure with UAB, he finished as the top goal scorer in both seasons.[5][2] In 1996, he was named to the Umbro Select team which featured all-stars from across all colleges.[2]

Montreal Impact

He began his transition to the professional level by being drafted in the 1996 USL A-League draft by the Montreal Impact.[2][6] He would ultimately secure a permanent deal with the club and appear in 6 matches in his debut season.[7][8]

Indoor career

In the winter of 1996, he played at the indoor level in the National Professional Soccer League by signing with the expansion franchise Toronto Shooting Stars.[9] He would make his debut for the club on October 18, 1996, against St. Louis Ambush.[9] He would further contribute by recording several goals against Buffalo Blizzard which marked the club's first victory on October 27, 1996.[10] His time in Toronto was short-lived as the organization experienced several financial issues resulting in Giummarra not showing up for a match against Edmonton Drillers.[11] He was ultimately traded to Philadelphia KiXX when a change occurred in the coaching staff.[12][13]

For the remainder of the 1996-97 season, he was traded to St. Louis Ambush in exchange for a second-round draft choice.[14] He helped St. Louis clinch a postseason berth by winning their division and reaching the conference finals.[15] In total, he appeared in 11 matches and recorded 2 goals.[16] After the conclusion of the season, he was released from his contract.[17]

Following his brief stint abroad in England, he returned to his former club Montreal Impact where he played with the club's indoor team for the initial portion of the 1997-98 indoor season.[18] His second stint with Montreal was rather short as he was waived by the team on January 16, 1998.[19] His release stemmed from the team being re-organization by head coach Johan Arnio.[17]

For the remainder of the indoor season, he signed with Harrisburg Heat as a free agent.[20] He assisted in securing a postseason berth for the club.[21] He signed a multi-year deal with Harrisburg on October 13, 1998.[22] Though he extended his contract with Harrisburg he was still traded to league rivals Florida ThunderCats in exchange for Marcello Fontana, Leonel Pernia, and for cash consideration on February 26, 1999.[23]

He played his final indoor season with expansion side Toronto ThunderHawks for the 2000-01 indoor season.[24][25] Throughout the season, he appeared in 31 matches and recorded 15 goals for Toronto.[16]

England

Once the indoor season concluded in late 1997 he played abroad in the English third division with Darlington F.C.[26] He would make his debut for the club on September 2, 1997, against Scarborough F.C.[27] In total, he would appear in three matches for Darlington.[27]

Toronto Lynx

He returned to the A-League in 1998 to sign with his hometown club the Toronto Lynx.[28] He made his debut on June 7, 1998, against Long Island Rough Riders.[29] In his single season with Toronto, he appeared in 5 matches.[28]

CPSL

In 1999, he played in the Southern Ontario-based Canadian Professional Soccer League with York Region Shooters.[30] In his debut season with the Vaughan-based club, he was selected to the CPSL All-Star roster against the National Training Centre squad.[30] He re-signed with York Region for the 2000 season where he was awarded the league's MVP award.[31][32] After two seasons with York Region, he was traded to Toronto Olympians for the 2001 season.[33][34] During his tenure with the Olympians, he was selected twice to the all-star team which faced the Morocco U-23 and Portuguese side C.S. Marítimo.[35][36]

In 2002, he signed with league rivals Vaughan Sun Devils.[37] He re-signed with Vaughan for the 2003 season where the club reached the CPSL Championship final.[38][39] Following his two-year tenure with Vaughan, he moved on to play with Toronto Croatia in 2004.[40] His stint with Croatia was short-lived as he played the remainder of the season with the Brampton Hitmen.[41]

Amateur level

In 2008, he won the Masters Eastern National Club Championship with Markham Lightning men's over-35 soccer team.[42] He helped Markham successfully defend their title the following season.[43]

Managerial career

In 2022, he was named the head coach for the Toronto Falcons in the Canadian Soccer League.[44]

References
  1. "Willie Giummarra". 11v11.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  2. "Giummarra named to Umbro team". Birmingham Post-Herald. 20 January 1996. pp. D5.
  3. Stephens, Tim (10 November 1994). "Count on parity in GMC soccer". Birmingham Post-Herald. p. 33.
  4. "UAB's Getman coach of the year". Birmingham Post-Herald. 9 November 1995. pp. E2.
  5. "Update - Briefly". Birmingham Post-Herald. 12 December 1995. pp. D2.
  6. "No Canada Not-so-Golden Barr, pals miss cut for PGA Tour play". Montreal Gazette. 5 December 1995. pp. C4.
  7. "Willy Giummarra soccer Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  8. "Impact players strut stuff". Montreal Gazette. 30 March 1996. p. 21.
  9. "Soccer Stars lose in debut". Toronto Star. 19 October 1996. pp. C7.
  10. Da Costa, Norman (29 October 1996). "Stars soar to first victory in fast-paced home debut". Toronto Star. pp. D12.
  11. Ireland, Joanne (17 December 1996). "Getting a kick out of playing with the Drillers". Edmonton Journal. pp. D3.
  12. "Cleaning House". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 28 December 1996. p. 24.
  13. Allaway, Roger (4 January 1997). "Homecoming night for a winner in town". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 29.
  14. "Ambush Pick Up Philadelphia Forward". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 27 February 1997. p. 28.
  15. Schildroth, Keith (23 April 1997). "With Doran Out, Bush Face Battle". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. pp. 2D.
  16. "Willy Giummarra | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  17. "Free Willy". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 31 January 1998. p. 22.
  18. "Soccer - NPSL". Montreal Gazette. 2 November 1997. pp. B5.
  19. "Deals Soccer - National Professional Soccer League". Nanaimo Daily News. 16 January 1998. pp. B4.
  20. Tull, Bill (25 January 1998). "Giummarra right at home in Harrisburg". The Sentinel. pp. C4.
  21. Dewees, Jeff (10 April 1998). "Heat kick blow-out aside". York Daily Record. pp. C3.
  22. "Heat agrees to terms with Giummarra". The Sentinel. 13 October 1998. pp. C4.
  23. "Heat makes trade with Florida". The Sentinel. 26 February 1999. pp. C4.
  24. Davidson, Neil. "Thunderhawks set flight on Friday". CBC Sports. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
  25. "Soccer: Indoor soccer back in T.O". Brantford Expositor. 20 October 2000. pp. B4.
  26. "Strikers off target in bore draw". Nottingham Evening Post. 29 September 1997. p. 49.
  27. "Willie Giumarra | Football Stats | No Club | 1996-1998 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
  28. "William Giummarra | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  29. Glover, Robin. "Toronto Lynx vs Long Island Rough Riders". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
  30. "CPSL Announces Its All-Star Team". cpsl.org. 22 September 1999. Archived from the original on 29 March 2002. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  31. Rumleski, Kathy (2 October 2000). "Croatia bags Primus Cup by upsetting Olympians". London Free Press.
  32. "Wolves' Ianiero named CPSL coach of the year". St. Catharines Standard. 3 October 2000. pp. C1.
  33. "CPSL - Player Movement". 2001-07-08. Archived from the original on July 8, 2001. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  34. Wallace, Jim (20 June 2001). "Wolves hang on to earn draw with Supra: Young Roma squad learning as it goes". St. Catharines Standard. pp. C1.
  35. "CPSL Selects vs. Morocco". cpsl.org. 6 July 2001. Archived from the original on 24 December 2001. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  36. "CPSL All Stars announced". cpsl.org. 21 July 2001. Archived from the original on 24 December 2001. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  37. Glover, Robin. "August 9, 2002 CPSL Vaughan Sun Devils vs St Catharines Roma Wolves (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
  38. "2003 Vaughan roster". cpsl.ca. Archived from the original on 22 August 2003. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  39. "CPSL 1998 to 2005" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  40. Waddell, Dave (7 June 2004). "Windsor wins debut: Midfield dominance pays off for Border Stars". Windsor Star. pp. C4.
  41. "CPSL - Canadian Professional Soccer League". 2004-08-31. Archived from the original on August 31, 2004. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
  42. Hayakawa, Mike (23 October 2008). "Lightning strikes national title". Markham Economist and Sun.
  43. Hayakawa, Mike (14 October 2009). "Men repeat as Eastern Canadian champs". Markham Economist and Sun.
  44. Adamson, Stan (May 24, 2022). "High Expectations for Toronto Falcons". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
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