Nicolas De Santis (born November 11, 1967) is a former professional soccer player.

Club career

After beginning his pro career in 1987 with the

Montreal Supra Montreal Supra was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Montreal, Quebec that played in the Canadian Soccer League from 1988 to 1992. History Montreal Supra joined the Canadian Soccer League as an expansion franchise for the league's se ...

of the Canadian Soccer League, he signed for the Montreal Impact in 1993 where he helped the Impact win the league championship in 1994. He earned titles in 1995, 1996 and 1997. He retired as a player following the 2003 season, was second in Impact history for games played (219), as well as fourth for goals scored (21). He also had short spells in the US and Italy. De Santis had a stint in the National Professional Soccer League with the short lived expansion franchise the

Toronto ThunderHawks Toronto ThunderHawks were an indoor soccer team based in Mississauga, Ontario that competed in the defunct NPSL. The team began play in the 2000–2001 season, with home games at the Hershey Centre. The team was owned by businessman Neil Ja ...

during the 2000-2001 winter indoor season. He helped the ThunderHawks reach the postseason by finishing second in the National Conference, and reached the Conference finals where they were defeated by the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, m ...

International career

De Santis represented Canada at the 1987 Pan American Games and

1987 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Chile from 10 to 25 October 1987. The 1987 championship was the 6th contested and won for the first time by Yugoslavia. Remarkably, in the course of the tournament the Yugoslavs defeated each of ...

. He made his senior debut for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in a March 1988 friendly match against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, in which he immediately scored his first (and only) goal. He went on to earn 11 caps. His final international was an October 1997 FIFA World Cup qualification match against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He also participated in the inaugural 1989 Futsal World Cup in the Netherlands.FIFA
Tournaments: FIFA Futsal World Cup, Netherlands 1989
/ref>

International goals

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.''

Managerial career

After his retirement he succeeded Bob Lilley as the new head coach of the Montreal Impact. In his first season as head coach he won the Montreals second League Championship beating

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

2–0. In his second season as coach he led the team to a record of 18-3-7 and to its fourth regular-season championship, he established a new league record by going undefeated in 15 consecutive games (10-0-5). Montreal also went undefeated for nine straight games on the road (6-0-3), a new club record. He also established a new club record for fewest losses in a season. Though the Impact lost in the playoffs, He was named Coach of the Year in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

. In 2006 his third season as head coach he helped the Impact win their fifth regular-season championship, but the Impact were knocked out in the semi-final of the playoffs against the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Mar ...

in a 2–0 defeat. He also guided the team to its best start to the season at home, with a 10-game undefeated streak, as well collect 10 shutouts at home which tied a club record. And allow only four goals at home, a new club record that erases the old mark of six set in 1994 and was tied in 1996 and 2004. After a poor record to start the 2008 season, De Santis stepped down as head coach of the Impact and was replaced by

John Limniatis Ioannis "John" Limniatis ( Greek: Ιωάννης "Τζον" Λημνιάτης; born 24 June 1967) is a retired professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. He captained and later became the head coach of the Montreal Impact. Born in ...

on June 13, 2008.

Honours

* APSL Championship: 1 :: 1994 *

Championship: 1 :: 1994 *

Regular Season Championship: 3 :: 1995, 1996, 1997 *

Voyageurs Cup The Voyageurs Cup (french: Coupe des Voyageurs) is the domestic trophy for professional soccer in Canada, awarded to the best men's and women's clubs in the country. The Cup was conceived and commissioned by fans of the Canada men's national ...

: 2 :: 2002, 2003

Career statistics

Last Update: June 22, 2009

Managerial statistics

References

External links

Nick DeSantis at Montreal Impact
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:De Santis, Nick 1967 births Living people Soccer players from Montreal Canadian people of Italian descent Association football midfielders Canadian soccer players Footballers at the 1987 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Canada Canada men's youth international soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian expatriate soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Montreal Supra players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Kansas City Attack (NPSL) players Chicago Power (NPSL) players Edmonton Drillers (1996–2000) players Raleigh (Capital) Express players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players American Professional Soccer League players A-League (1995–2004) players Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate soccer players in the United States Canadian soccer coaches Montreal Impact (1992–2011) coaches USL First Division coaches North American Soccer League coaches Toronto ThunderHawks players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players A.S.D. Termoli Calcio 1920 players CF Montréal non-playing staff