Gino DiFlorio is a Canadian former professional soccer player who had an extensive indoor career in North America during the 1990s. Since 2001, he has been the director of coaching at the youth soccer club in Eastern Pennsylvania called HMMS.

Player

Youth

Moved into Canada with his immediate family after the first few years of his life. Growing up and playing recreational soccer, he could not put the soccer ball away, he was hooked. Sometime in his teen years, Gino was recognized by a coach of one of the Canadian Provincial Teams. He was later put on the roster. Not long after that, he was training with the Canadian Youth Team, in which he started every game, but did not make the final roster. He stopped for a year and threw out all of his gear, and moved back to Italy. About a year later, he came back to Canada and was put back on the provincial teams, as the coaches recognized that they could not let talent like that go un-noticed. After coming out of highschool, Jay Fox put him on the road to his professional career.

Professional

DiFlorio began his career in 1983 with

Toronto Italia The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

where he assisted in securing the NSL Cup by defeating Toronto Panhellenic. In the winter of 1984 he played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League, joining the Cleveland Force in 1984 or 1985, a club he remained with until 1987. He then played in 1987-8 for the

Dayton Dynamo The Dayton Dynamo was a professional indoor soccer team from Dayton, Ohio. The team played in the American Indoor Soccer Association (AISA). Founded by former University of Dayton and Central State University coach Jerry Butcher, the Dynamo jo ...

of the

American Indoor Soccer Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and in 1988-9 for the Dallas Sidekicks of MISL. He later played for the

Toronto Blizzard Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...

. DiFlorio played 1990-1 for the

Canton Invaders The Canton Invaders was an indoor soccer club based in Canton, Ohio that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. After the 1995–96 season, the team relocated and became the Columbus Invaders. History The Canton Invaders were a p ...

of the National Professional Soccer League and finished the season the league's leading scorer. He then played 1991-2 for the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 in ...

of the MISL. He returned to the Invaders for the 1992–3 season and finished the season the league's 3rd leading scorer for the second time. With the Invaders again for 1993–4, he finished the league's 5th leading scorer. DiFlorio then played a summer season of outdoor soccer, 1994, for the

Toronto Rockets The Toronto Rocket (TR) train is the fifth and latest series of rolling stock used in the Toronto subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the trains were built by Bombardier Transpo ...

in the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

. He then from 1994 to 1997 played for NPSL side

Buffalo Blizzard The Buffalo Blizzard was a soccer club that existed from 1992 to 2001 in Buffalo, New York. History The team was originally owned by the Knox brothers who owned the Buffalo Sabres at the time, and additionally by the Riches who owned the minor l ...

, for the

Cincinnati Silverbacks The Cincinnati Silverbacks was an indoor soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. History They performed under the leadership of All-Star goalkeeper Carlos Pena. Other star players include ...

from 1997 to 1998 and then from 1998 to 2002, the Harrisburg Heat. (The Heat played until 2001 in the NPSL and then belonged to the Major Indoor Soccer League.) DiFlorio began the 2002–2003 season with the Heat, but finished his career with the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with t ...

, for whom he played the end of the season.Baltimore Blast All Time Roster
He was the (AISA-)NPSL's 3rd all-time leading scorer with 1,452 points and second all-time goal scorer with 559.

International

DiFlorio had one cap for the Canadian national soccer team, which came in 1988 on 15 July in a friendly against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

played in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Canada lost 1–2.

Coach

The Harrisburg Heat of the

Professional Arena Soccer League A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

, where DiFlorio is the assistant coach, retired his number in a halftime ceremony during the 15 December 2012, game. DiFlorio also trains and coaches players fo
HMMS Soccer Club
and serves as director of coaching for the club.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diflorio, Gino 1964 births Living people American Professional Soccer League players Baltimore Blast (2001–2008 MISL) players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Buffalo Blizzard players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian National Soccer League players Canadian men's soccer players Canton Invaders (NPSL) players Cincinnati Riverhawks players Cincinnati Silverbacks players Cleveland Crunch (original MISL) players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Connecticut Wolves players Dallas Sidekicks (original MISL) players Dayton Dynamo (NPSL) players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football midfielders Harrisburg Heat (MISL) players Harrisburg Heat (NPSL) players Italian emigrants to Canada Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Naturalized citizens of Canada Footballers from Naples Major Arena Soccer League coaches Toronto Italia players