National Soccer League
Season1972
Champions
League cupToronto Croatia
Top goalscorerSaban Romanovic (23)[1]
Best goalkeeperŽeljko Bilecki[1]
← 1971
1973 →

The 1972 National Soccer League season was the forty-ninth season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in late April and concluded in October with the Canadian Open Cup final. Toronto Croatia successfully defended its regular-season title for the third consecutive season with an undefeated regular season streak.[2][3] Toronto would also defeat the Serbian White Eagles for the NSL Cup.[4] The Croatians would secure a treble by winning the Open Canada Cup against Vancouver Columbus.[5] In the playoffs, Toronto Italia defeated the Serbian White Eagles for the NSL Championship.[6]

Overview

The ownership of the National Soccer League (NSL) was in discussions with the British Columbia Premier League to form a western division, but the project failed to materialize.[7] The membership in the NSL increased to 15 clubs with the return of Toronto Italia, and the acceptance of the Hamilton Italo-Canadians which competed in the Inter-City Soccer League.[8][9] The return of Toronto Italia further intensified the rivalry between the NSL and the Toronto Metros of the North American Soccer League as the Italian diaspora played a decisive factor in the potential increase in match attendance.[10] Another point of contention between the Metros and the NSL was a dispute stemming from a potential player raid on the NSL's youth division.[11] The Hamilton club was granted an NSL franchise and had credentials in the Inter-City Soccer League.[4] After a change in ownership the Kitchener-based club was renamed Maple Leafs.[12]

The league became once more centered in Southern Ontario as it lost its presence in Northern Ontario with the departure of Sudbury City.[13][14] The NSL began to experience an increase in match attendance since its initial decrease and stagnation in the mid-1960s.[15][16]

Teams

Team City Stadium Manager
Hamilton Apollos Hamilton, Ontario Ivor Wynne Stadium[9] Otto Negovetic[17]
Hamilton Croatia Hamilton, Ontario Ivor Wynne Stadium[18] Joe Dundovic[9]
Hamilton Italo-Canadians Hamilton, Ontario Ivor Wynne Stadium[9] Fiorigi Pagliuso[19]
London German Canadians London, Ontario Cove Road Stadium[20]
Ottawa Tigers Ottawa, Ontario St. Joseph's High School[21] Manuel Ramalho[21]
Serbian White Eagles Toronto, Ontario Stanley Park Stadium[22] Dragan Popović[23]
Kitchener Maple Leafs Kitchener, Ontario Centennial Stadium[24] Nobert Englisch[25]
St. Catharines Heidelberg St. Catharines, Ontario Club Heidelberg Field[26] Eddie Brown[27]
Toronto Croatia Toronto, Ontario Stanley Park Stadium[22] Vladimir Šimunić[28]
Toronto First Portuguese Toronto, Ontario CNE Stadium[29]

Stanley Park Stadium[22]

 Luis Vilas[30]
Toronto Hellas Toronto, Ontario Stanley Park Stadium[22]
Toronto Hungaria Toronto, Ontario Stanley Park Stadium[22]
Toronto Italia Toronto, Ontario CNE Stadium[29]

Stanley Park Stadium[22]

 Luis Dabo[31]
Toronto Olympia Toronto, Ontario Stanley Park Stadium[22]
Toronto Ukrainians Toronto, Ontario Stanley Park Stadium[22]

Coaching changes

Team Outgoing coach Manner of
departure		 Date of
vacancy		 Position in table Incoming coach Date of
appointment
Toronto Croatia Alan Harvey[32] End of caretaker spell May 1, 1972 Gordan Irović[32] May 4, 1972
Hamilton Apollos Andy Pollack[9] Resigned May 17, 1972 Otto Negovetic[17] May 17, 1972
Toronto Croatia Gordan Irović Replaced May, 1972 1st in May Vladimir Šimunić[28] May 29, 1972
Kitchener Maple Leafs Hans Koebli[24] Replaced July 15, 1972 Nobert Englisch[25] July 15, 1972

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Croatia (C) 28 21 7 0 83 10 +73 49 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Serbian White Eagles 28 20 3 5 69 20 +49 43
3 Toronto Italia (O) 28 17 8 3 76 14 +62 42
4 Hamilton Croatia 28 17 8 3 75 30 +45 42
5 Toronto First Portuguese 28 16 6 6 72 32 +40 38
6 Toronto Ukrainians 28 13 6 9 56 42 +14 32
7 Hamilton Italo-Canadians 28 13 6 9 45 52 −7 32
8 St. Catharines Heidelberg 28 11 8 9 36 30 +6 30
9 London German Canadians 28 12 5 11 49 45 +4 29
10 Hamilton Apollos 28 10 3 15 39 46 −7 23
11 Toronto Hungaria 28 7 6 15 45 53 −8 20
12 Ottawa Tigers 28 7 4 17 36 56 −20 18
13 Toronto Olympia 28 3 3 22 30 98 −68 9
14 Kitchener Maple Leafs 28 4 1 23 26 102 −76 9
15 Toronto Hellas 28 2 2 24 25 122 −97 6
Updated to match(es) played on October 30, 1972. Source: http://canadiansoccerleague.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/NSL_1921_1992.pdf
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners

Playoffs

Finals

October 5, 1972 Toronto Italia 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(3–2 p)		 Serbian White Eagles Toronto, Ontario
[[6] Report] Stadium: Stanley Park Stadium
Attendance: 4237
Referee: Bill Divorski

Canadian Open Cup

The Canadian Open Cup was a tournament organized by the National Soccer League in 1971 where the NSL champion would face the Challenge Trophy winners to determine the best team throughout the country.[33] Toronto Croatia was the NSL representative for the second consecutive year while their opponents were the British Columbia Premier League champions Vancouver Columbus.[34] New Westminster Blues was the 1972 Challenge Trophy winner but declined the invitation which allowed Vancouver Columbus to compete for the title.[35][36]

October 15, 1972 Toronto Croatia 1–0 Vancouver Columbus Toronto, Ontario
Pilas 61' [[5] Report] Stadium: Stanley Park Stadium
Attendance: 2300

References

  1. 1 2 "National Soccer League 1926 to 1992" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-06-28. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  2. ↑ "CSL Past Champions" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  3. ↑ Kernaghan, Jim (September 15, 1972). "Croatia's record is remarkable". Toronto Star. p. 20.
  4. 1 2 Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. pp. 117, 119.
  5. 1 2 "Croatia defeats Vancouver side in controversial Canadian final". The Globe and Mail. October 16, 1972. p. S10.
  6. 1 2 Waring, Ed (October 6, 1972). "Penalty kick hands Italia soccer crown". The Globe and Mail. p. 41.
  7. ↑ "Summer Circuit with Six Teams". Times Colonist. December 21, 1971. p. 14.
  8. ↑ "Expansion in east and west for National Soccer League". The Globe and Mail. December 8, 1971. p. 44.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Lovegrove, Don (28 April 1972). "Apollos open city soccer season". Hamilton Spectator. p. 18.
  10. ↑ Kernaghan, Jim (April 27, 1972). "Soccer battle developing here". Toronto Star. p. 30.
  11. ↑ Kernaghan, Jim (November 24, 1972). "Canada soccer team threatened". Toronto Star. p. 22.
  12. ↑ "Soccer Leafs start tonight". Waterloo Region Record. 11 January 1972. p. 12.
  13. ↑ Pascal, Randy (June 20, 2020). "The Sudbury Cyclones and their semi-pro soccer stint". Sudbury Star. p. B1.
  14. ↑ Gatecliff, Jack (30 March 1972). "Through the Sports Gate". St. Catharines Standard. p. 31.
  15. ↑ Kernaghan, Jim (August 5, 1972). "Soccer game is booming". Toronto Star. p. 50.
  16. ↑ Waring, Ed (July 30, 1970). "Brazilian rookie now NSL's Pele". The Globe and Mail. p. 35.
  17. 1 2 Lovegrove, Don (17 May 1972). "Soccer dream shattered". Hamilton Spectator. p. 22.
  18. ↑ "CNE field doesn't impress: Italia holds Italian Military team to tie". The Globe and Mail. July 24, 1972. p. S7.
  19. ↑ "2018 Wall of Fame Induction". torontoazzurri.com. p. 17. Archived from the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  20. ↑ "London Ontario Competitive Soccer History". www.gcfclondon.com. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  21. 1 2 "Ottawa Tigers set for soccer opener". Ottawa Journal. May 6, 1972. p. 19.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Under-23 all-stars under-staffed in 6-1 loss to Italia: Soccer exhibition raises funds, gives young talent experience". The Globe and Mail. July 17, 1972. p. S3.
  23. ↑ Kernaghan, Jim (May 25, 1972). "Coach really has soccer bug". Toronto Star. p. 23.
  24. 1 2 "Kitchener's NSL Entry - Soccer Leafs not ethnic club". Waterloo Region Record. 12 April 1972. p. 18.
  25. 1 2 "Englisch will coach soccer Maple Leafs". Waterloo Region Record. 15 July 1972. p. 18.
  26. ↑ "Nationals Sell Henry to Hamilton Croatia". St. Catharines Standard. 29 April 1972. p. 35.
  27. ↑ Gatecliff, Jack (30 March 1972). "Through the Sports Gate". St. Catharines Standard. p. 31.
  28. 1 2 Kernaghan, Jim (May 29, 1972). "Leaderless Croatia club manages to tie Italia". Toronto Star. p. 18.
  29. 1 2 "Soccer loop to probe CNE Stadium brawl". The Globe and Mail. August 1, 1972. p. 30.
  30. ↑ Kernaghan, Jim (April 27, 1972). "Soccer battle developing here". Toronto Star. p. 30.
  31. ↑ "NSL fines fighters". The Globe and Mail. August 8, 1972. p. 35.
  32. 1 2 Waring, Ed (May 1, 1972). "Blaskovic broke ice then leg in '72 soccer season opener". The Globe and Mail. p. S4.
  33. ↑ Jose, Colin (1998). Canadian Encyclopedia of Soccer - Keeping Score. Vaughan, Ontario: Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 121. ISBN 0-9683800-0-X.
  34. ↑ "Croatia gets alternative foe". Toronto Star. October 7, 1972. p. 130.
  35. ↑ Kernaghan, Jim (October 3, 1972). "National League champs to play New Westminster". Toronto Star. p. 24.
  36. ↑ Kernaghan, Jim (October 5, 1972). "New Westminster win protested by San Fili". Toronto Star. p. 21.
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