National Soccer League
Season1989
ChampionsToronto Italia (11th title)
League CupToronto Croatia
← 1988
1990 →

The 1989 National Soccer League season was the sixty-sixth season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season concluded on September 18, 1989, with Toronto Italia defending their seventh consecutive NSL Championship by finishing first in the First Division.[1][2] Toronto Italia also claimed the NSL Canadian Championship by defeating Montreal Ramblers of the Quebec National Soccer League (LNSQ) on September 20, 1989, at the Claude Robilliard Stadium in Montreal, Quebec.[3] The NSL Cup was also successfully defended by Toronto Croatia.[4] Croatia would also defeat LNSQ Cup champions St. Leonard to win the Canada Cup.[5]

Overview

Changes were announced during the offseason regarding the structure of the league with the Youth Division being reformed into the Second Division.[6] The restructuring of the division marked the return of the NSL's Second Division since the 1978 season, but the promotion and relegation system wasn't reactivated between the two divisions. The reforms also permitted the second division clubs to participate in the NSL Cup.[6] The membership in the First Division was decreased to eight teams with London Marconi requesting a leave of absence.[6] Chile Lindo's NSL franchise was revoked for continuous problems regarding fan violence, and the Mississauga Lakers disbanded their team.[6] The league had another presence in the Niagara territory in the Second Division with a team named Niagara City, and a notable returnee was Oshawa Italia that previously played in the 1962 NSL season.[7]

The lone expansion franchise was Toronto Macedonia Stars, which provided a Macedonian presence within the league since the 1977 season.Toronto Italia was involved in a friendly match against noted Portuguese side S.L. Benfica.[8] The match was played on June 7, 1989, with Benfica defeating Toronto by a score of 3-1 at Varsity Stadium.[9]

Teams

Team City Stadium Manager
America United Toronto, Ontario
North York Strikers North York, Ontario Esther Shiner Stadium Rinato Gobbato[7]
Oshawa Italia Oshawa, Ontario
St. Catharines Roma St. Catharines, Ontario Club Roma Stadium
Toronto First Portuguese Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium
Toronto Croatia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium Tonko Vukusic[10]
Toronto Italia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium Ivan Marković[11]
Toronto Macedonia Stars Toronto, Ontario Keith Pandovski[12]
Toronto Panhellenic Toronto, Ontario
Windsor Wheels Windsor, Ontario Windsor Stadium Ian Parratt[13]

Final standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Italia (C) 14 11 2 1 36 11 +25 24 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Toronto Croatia 13 9 0 4 27 13 +14 18
3 Toronto First Portuguese 14 6 4 4 24 16 +8 16
4 Toronto Macedonia Stars 14 6 3 5 25 20 +5 15
5 America United 14 4 5 5 16 20 −4 13
6 Windsor Wheels 14 3 3 8 23 33 −10 9
7 Toronto Panhellenic 13 3 2 8 14 28 −14 8
8 St. Catharines Roma 14 2 3 9 17 37 −20 7
Updated to match(es) played on September 18, 1989. Source: [14]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

References

  1. ↑ "CSL Past Champions – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  2. ↑ "1989 NSL Season" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca.
  3. ↑ "Toronto Italia crowned NSL Canadian champions". Toronto Star. September 20, 1989. p. F9.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "Cup of Cups". Newspapers.com. The Montreal Gazette. September 25, 1989. p. 26. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Waddell, Dave (March 15, 1989). "NSL adds second tier but drops youth league". Newspapers.com. The Windsor Star. p. 23. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  7. 1 2 Laskaris, Sam (September 7, 1989). "North York strikers storm soccer league". Toronto Star. p. N14.
  8. ↑ Da Costa, Norman (May 8, 1989). "Look out, Italia! Benfica squad has lots of sock". Toronto Star. p. D6.
  9. ↑ "Sports In Brief". Ottawa Citizen. June 8, 1989. p. C3.
  10. ↑ Da Costa, Norman (August 8, 1989). "A sports tale to warm your heart An athlete's dream comes true with aid of transplanted ticker". Toronto Star. p. B7.
  11. ↑ Da Costa, Norman (June 5, 1989). "Benfica showdown puts Italia on the map". Toronto Star. p. D8.
  12. ↑ "Six soccer stars sign up to join First Portuguese". Toronto Star. April 13, 1989. p. B8.
  13. ↑ Waddell, Dave (March 31, 1989). "Wheels in need of local talent". Newspapers.com. The Windsor Star. p. 17. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  14. ↑ "18 Sep 1989, 22 - The Windsor Star at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
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