Abraham François
François in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-06-07) June 7, 1977
Place of birth Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
Jean-Talon Rosemont
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1998 St. Louis Ambush 15 (0)
1997–1998 Detroit Rockers 8 (2)
1998 Huntsville Fire (indoor) 25 (4)
1999–2001 Montreal Impact 23 (1)
2001 → Sol de América Asunción (loan)
2001 Tien Giang F.C.
2002 Ottawa Wizards 12 (0)
2003–2005 Montreal Impact 17 (2)
2005 Toronto Lynx 18 (1)
2006 Laval Dynamites 11 (0)
2007–2008 Detroit Ignition (indoor) 2 (0)
2012 FC L'Assomption 14 (0)
2013–2016 CS Mont-Royal Outremont 67 (3)
Total 185 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 February 2017

Abraham François (born 7 June 1977) is a Canadian retired footballer.[1] He competed in the 1997 Canada Games with Quebec, winning the competition.[2] He was then selected to represent Canada at the Francophonie Games in Madagascar, also winning the competition.[3] His career spanned from 1998 to 2016.[4]

Career

Early career

François joined his first club at the age of 7.[5] After competing at the Canada Games and the Francophine Games in 1997,[6] François was signed by St. Louis Ambush for an indoor football season,[7] also playing in 15 games in the 1997/98 NPSLi season.[8] François also scored 2 goals in 8 games for Detroit Rockers in the 1997/98 NPLSi season.[9]

Montreal Impact

In 1999, François was subsequently recruited by his native hometown club, Montreal Impact of the USL A-League for football and indoor football seasons, beginning his professional career.[10][11]

Sol de América (loan)

Whilst under contract with Montreal Impact, François was loaned to Primera División Paraguaya team Sol de América for six months.[12] With François in the squad at Sol de América was Dante Lopez, 1998 FIFA World Cup player Aristides Rojas and 2010 FIFA World Cup player Enrique Vera.[13]

Tien Giang

After playing in Paraguay, François went to Asia to sign with Tien Giang FC in the V-League.

Ottawa Wizards

In 2002, he returned home to sign with league giants the Ottawa Wizards of the Canadian Professional Soccer League.[14]

During his tenure with Ottawa he had a tremendous season recording a 17-game undefeated streak, which marked a milestone in CPSL history by becoming the second club to achieve a treble the first being the Toronto Olympians. The Wizards clinched the Eastern Conference and finished first in the overall standings. They repeated their success in the Open Canada Cup tournament by defending their title once more in a 1–0 victory over Toronto Croatia.[15] In the post season he appeared in all the playoff matches and reached the finals where the club faced the North York Astros, the Wizards ended up winning the playoff title in a 2–0 victory.[16]

Return to Montreal Impact

François returned Montreal in 2003 helping the Impact finish second in the league behind the Milwaukee Wave United with a 16–6–6 record. In the playoffs the Impact fell to the Rochester Raging Rhinos in the first round of the playoffs by an aggregate score of 2–1. He managed to win a piece of silverware with the club the Voyageurs Cup.

In 2004, François was part of the Montreal Impact team which claimed the championship.[17] He did not fully participate that season due to an injury,[18] tearing his ligament in his right knee in a pre-season match against McGill University. Prior to the 2004 season, François played 45 minutes of a 2–1 pre-season friendly defeat against Italian team Reggina.[19]

The team finished 17–6–5 record for 56 points in 28 games, and the team started with a record 12-game undefeated streak, which led to a USL A-League Championship against the Seattle Sounders in a 2–0 victory claiming their first Championship since 1994.

In 2005, he returned to the Impact, but was deemed surplus to Nick De Santis.

Toronto Lynx

On 19 May 2005, François was traded with teammate Sita-Taty Matondo to arch-rivals the Toronto Lynx in exchange for Ali Gerba.[20] He made his debut with the club on May 28, 2005, against the Puerto Rico Islanders in a 4–4 draw.[21] With the Lynx the team finished with a league worst 3 wins, 17 losses, and 8 ties and was the worst performance in league history and finished 12th place in the league.

Laval Dynamites

In 2006, François signed with the Laval Dynamites of the Canadian Soccer League, helping the franchise finish third in the National Division thus qualifying for the postseason; where the club faced Toronto Croatia, but lost to a score of 1–0.[22]

Detroit Ignition

On October 26, 2007, he signed for the Detroit Ignition of the MISL.[23] François term with Detroit came with some success finishing first in the regular season and reaching the semi-finals in the playoffs.

Following his retirement, François stated that physically he could have continued playing for one more year, but much traveling from the island of Montreal prevented this.[24]

International career

In 1997, François competed in the Canada Games with Quebec, winning the competition, and was then selected to represent Canada at the Francophonie Games in Madagascar, also winning the competition.[25] At the 1997 Francophonie Games, François played alongside Patrice Bernier in the team.[26] His best memory was defeating Cameroon 1–0 in the semi-finals of the competition.[27]

François played futsal by the QCSL World Cup 2010.[28]

Personal life

François's father was a footballer in Haiti.[29]

He was a coach for the Dragons of the Collège Saint-Jean Vianney. [30]

Honours

Ottawa Wizards

Montreal Impact

Mont-Royal Outremont

References

  1. ↑ "Abraham François se retire dans l'uniforme du Griffon!". CS Mont-Royal Outremont. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  2. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "Abraham François :: Abraham François ::".
  5. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  6. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  7. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  8. ↑ "Abraham Francois | SoccerStats.us".
  9. ↑ "Abraham Francois | SoccerStats.us".
  10. ↑ "Abraham Francois | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2017-06-25.
  11. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  12. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  13. ↑ "Club Sol de América :: Estadísticas :: Títulos :: Títulos :: Historia :: Goles :: Próximos Partidos :: Resultados :: Noticias :: Vídeos :: Fotos :: Plantilla :: Ceroacero.es".
  14. ↑ "CPSL - Canadian Professional Soccer League". 2002-12-25. Archived from the original on 2002-12-25. Retrieved 2017-06-25.
  15. ↑ Glover, Robin (September 29, 2002). "Result of Sunday September 29th, 2002 CPSL game between Ottawa Wizards and Toronto Croatia played at Cove Road in London at 3:15pm. This was the Final of the CPSL Canada Cup". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
  16. ↑ Glover, Robin (October 20, 2002). "Result of the Sunday October 20th, 2002 CPSL game between North York Astros and Ottawa Wizards played at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York. This was the Finals of the Rogers Playoff Cup". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
  17. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  18. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  19. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  20. ↑ Nutt, Dave. "My 19, 2005 Lynx trade with Impact, Lady Lynx news (from Lynx media release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  21. ↑ Glover, Robin (May 28, 2005). "Result of the Saturday May 28th, 2005 USL game between Toronto Lynx and Puerto Rico Islanders played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke at 7:30pm". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
  22. ↑ Glover, Robin (October 1, 2006). "Result of the October 1, 2006 CSL game between Toronto Croatia and Laval Dynamites played at Victoria Park in Brampton at 1:30pm. This was a one-game Quarterfinal Match for the CSL playoff trophy". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
  23. ↑ IGNITION INKS TWO NEW PLAYERS FOR UPCOMING SEASON Archived November 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  24. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  25. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  26. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  27. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  28. ↑ QCSL World Cup Players
  29. ↑ "Abraham François : "J'ai tout gagné au Québec"". 20 February 2017.
  30. ↑ CSJV. "Félicitations à nos entraîneurs! | Collège St-Jean Vianney". Collège St-Jean-Vianney (in French). Retrieved 2022-12-21.
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