The 1996 Canadian National Soccer League season was the seventy-fourth season for the Canadian National Soccer League. The season began on May 31, 1996, and concluded on October 27, 1996, with Toronto Italia defeating

St. Catharines Wolves St. Catharines Roma Wolves (also known as St. Catharines Wolves or simply Roma Wolves), are a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1967. The team currently plays in the semi-professional League1 Ontario in both the men's and women's divisions. The ...

in a two-game series for the CNSL Championship. St. Catharines managed to secure their fourth league cup title after finishing first in the tournament standings.

Overview

The membership in the league increased to seven teams with three new entries. The league expanded to the Oakville territory with the addition of the Oakville Canadian Westerns, and the acceptance of

Toronto Supra SC Toronto was a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1994. The team was a member of the Canadian Soccer League, and played its final home games at Lamport Stadium in the city of Toronto, Ontario. The club found success early on since its incep ...

from the Canadian International Soccer League (Puma League). While the

North York Talons The North York Astros were a Canadian soccer team that was founded in 1990. The team initially played in the National Soccer League. The team played their home games at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York, a district of the city of Toronto, C ...

represented the

Caribbean Community The Caribbean Community (CARICOM or CC) is an intergovernmental organization that is a political and economic union of 15 member states (14 nation-states and one dependency) throughout the Caribbean. They have primary objectives to promote econom ...

in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...

. The

Hamilton White Eagles Hamilton White Eagles was a soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario. The club was formed in 1995 and competed in the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). After a single season in the CNSL, the White Eagles departed and became a member of the Ca ...

departed to join the Canadian International Soccer League, and the

Toronto Jets The Toronto Jets was a S.S. Pauline Soccer Club team that played in the Minor Division (MD) of the Canadian National Soccer League, formerly the National Soccer League (N.S.L.) between 1977–1979, and perhaps as early as 1976. The 1976 and 1979 tea ...

merged with Toronto Italia. Toronto Italia under new ownership transferred their home venue to Rainbow Creek Stadium in Woodbridge, Vaughan. Italia also managed to recruit

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...

for the CNSL All-Star match. In the league's executive branch

Peter Li Preti Peter Li Preti (born 1951 or 1952) was a city councillor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who represented one of the two York West wards from 1985 to 2006. Background Li Preti received a B.A. and M.A. at the University of Toronto and went on to comple ...

served as president, and

Michael Di Biase Michael Di Biase (born 1947) is a Canadian politician who formerly part of the regional council of the city of Vaughan, Ontario as the deputy mayor and mayor. He was first elected to the city's council in 1986. Following the death of Mayor Lorna ...

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

Teams

Final standings

Playoffs

Semifinals

Finals

''Toronto won 11–0 on aggregate.''

Cup

The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all seven teams took part. All the matches were separate from the regular season. Teams played each other once home and away in the Cup competition, and the first-place team would win the Cup competition. One match involving Toronto Italia and London City failed to materialize, but was of no consequence as

accumulated enough points to secure the title.

Standings

Matches

All-Star game

The all-star team assembled by the league was limited in its selection of players due to St. Catharines, and Oakville protesting the allowance of their players. As St. Catharines earlier on participated in a European tour, and their players required the necessary rest. Toronto Italia were selected as the opposition, and managed to attract

to play alongside his brother

Lalo Maradona Lalo may refer to: Places *Dale Lalo, Ethiopian district * Lalo Asabi, Ethiopian district *Lalo Bandai Pakistani district *Lalo, Benin, a town in Benin * Lalo Kile, Ethiopian district * Lalo, Tokelau, an island in the South Pacific * Lalo railway s ...

. The match was commemorated as the 75th anniversary of the league, and advertised as one of Diego Maradona's final matches. The reported payoff to Maradona was $40,000 with

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

receiving a share due to ownership of player rights. An additional $15,000 was charged if reporters wished to conduct an interview, and the league insured Maradona for five million dollars.

Individual awards

The annual Canadian National Soccer League awards ceremony was held at the Hollywood Princess Banquet Hall in Vaughan, Ontario with an attendance of 400 people. The majority of the awards were received by Toronto Italia with eight recipients. After leading Toronto to an undefeated streak, the

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

head coach

Peter Pinizzotto Peter Pinizzotto is an Italian born Canadian soccer coach who serves as the head coach for Woodbridge Strikers in League1 Ontario. Pinizzotto is known for managing the Toronto Lynx, and is the longest-serving manager in the history of Toronto Ly ...

was given the honor of Coach of the Year. Michele Gioia was named both the MVP, a Golden Boot winner consequently the following season he was signed by the Montreal Impact in the

USISL A-League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. For the second consecutive season Joe Ciaravino received the Goalkeeper of the Year, and also later was given a contract with the Toronto Lynx. The administrative branch of Toronto Italia was recognized with honors with Joe Mallozzi winning the Manager of the Year, and Pasquale Fioccola being awarded the President of the Year. Toronto Supra came in second with two awards with Gus Kouzmanis being named the Rookie of the Year. The Best Public Relations Director award was given to Sergio Giancola, who notably later was instrumental in acquiring a Major Arena Soccer League franchise in the GTA as the

Mississauga MetroStars Mississauga MetroStars (briefly known as MetroStars Canada in 2019) were a professional indoor soccer team which played its home games at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The team joined the Major Arena Soccer Leag ...

. The remainder of the awards went to North York Talons as the Most Improved, and London City as the Most Disciplined team. The Referee of the Year went to match official Manuel Orellana.

References

External links

RSSSF - 1996 CNSL pagethecnsl.com - 1996 season
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian National Soccer League 1996 Season 1996 domestic association football leagues 1996 in Canadian soccer

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...