The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec, Canada, that played in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. The Montreal Manic were brought back in 2020 by Canadian businessman Gary Gaul as an academy with boys and girls from U5 – U23.

History

"Le Manic" as they were called by the locals, were Montreal's first professional soccer team since the NASL's

Montreal Olympique The Montreal Olympique were a Canadian soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1971 to 1973. The team was based in Montreal and played its 1971 and 1973 home matches at Autostade and at the Universite de Montre ...

folded in 1973. The team was named after a river in northeast Quebec, the Manicouagan, the site of a massive hydroelectric project. The Montreal Manic competed from 1981 to 1983, with their home field being the Montreal

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

. Previous to Montreal, the team played as the

Philadelphia Fury The Philadelphia Fury was an American soccer team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that last competed in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The club formerly competed in the American Soccer League and is currently owned by ...

from 1978 through 1980 and ten Fury players as well as manager

Eddie Firmani Edwin Ronald "Eddie" Firmani (; born 7 August 1933) is a former professional football player and manager. A former forward, he spent most of his career in Italy and England. Born in South Africa, he represented the Italy national team internat ...

moved to Montreal for 1981. After defeating the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tour ...

in the first round of the 1981 NASL playoffs, the Manic faced the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...

. An Olympic Stadium crowd of 58,542 (the largest-ever to see an NASL playoff game outside the Cosmos'

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted sp ...

) saw the Manic defeat the Sting in the opening match before the series shifted to Chicago where the Manic lost twice and were eliminated. In 1982 the Manic performed better in the regular season than in 1981, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

and Firmani was fired. In 1983 the interest in the team and the average attendance fell sharply. The Manic's opening home match in 1983 versus the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

was witnessed by just 6,460 fans. However, in their final season, the Manic produced one of the great shocks in NASL history by eliminating the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...

in the quarterfinals of the 1983 playoffs, winning the first match away 4–2 and winning the second match at home in a shootout. The Manic then lost to the

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

in the next round. In the 1983 season, the Manic hosted

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

(a 4–3 extra time loss) and

FC Nantes Football Club de Nantes (; Gallo: ''Naunnt''), commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (), is a French professional football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 April 1943, during World War II, a ...

(a 2–1 shootout victory for Montreal) at the Olympic Stadium. In his book, ''Soccer in a Football World'', North American soccer historian Dave Wangerin partially attributes the downfall of the Manic organization to the Molson ownership's declaration to attempt to build a Team Canada roster for the 1984 season. The new direction of the team meant many of the team's players who originated from foreign countries would be let go, to emphasize an all Canadian roster instead. Given that Canada had a relatively poor track record at producing world class soccer talent, Montreal fans were likely put off by the prospect that the quality of the team's play would instantly diminish for the 1984 season. More importantly, the team was allegedly in financial trouble despite the fact that the Manic had some of the highest attendances in the NASL. Reports indicated that during the first two seasons, the Manic lacked profitability as they had lost $7 million. Manic president Roger Samson blamed the losses on bad stadium deals, high rents, having the concession profits going directly to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

, a lack of a television deal, and that an average attendance of over 20,000 was insufficient to keep the franchise solvent.

Year-by-year

Honours

NASL Championships * none NASL Indoor Championships * 1983 ''(runner-up)'' Division titles * 1981–82 Eastern Division, Atlantic Conference ''(indoor)'' Indoor Leading Goal Scorer * 1983 Dale Mitchell 12 goals Indoor Leading Goalkeeper * 1983

Mehdi Cerbah Mehdi Cerbah (3 April 1953 – 29 October 2021) was an Algerian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career Cerbah spent most of his career playing for Algerian sides USM Alger, JS Kabylie and RC Kouba. He played one season of indoor footbal ...

(GAA: 4.36, GA: 24) Indoor Tournament Defensive MVP * 1983

All-Star First Team Selections * 1981 Gordon Hill All-Star Second Team Selections * 1983

Frantz Mathieu Frantz Mathieu (born 23 December 1952) is a Haitian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He spent most of his career in the United States, notably with Chicago Sting. At international level, he made 15 appearances for the Ha ...

Indoor All-Stars * 1981–82 Gordon Hill (Atlantic Conference) Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame * 2001 Gerry Gray * 2002 Dale Mitchell * 2008

John McGrane John McGrane (born October 12, 1952) is a Scottish-Canadian former soccer player who played as a defender. Starting his career at Hamilton City, he went on to spend nine years playing in the North American Soccer League for the Los Angeles Az ...

* 2014

Carmine Marcantonio Carmine Marcantonio (born 21 November 1954 in Castel di Sangro, Italy) is a Canadian retired soccer player who earned two caps for the national team between 1976 and 1980. Club career Marcantonio played in the National Soccer League (NSL) ...

U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame * 2003 Alan Willey * 2007 Bobby Smith Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame * 2012

Victor Nogueira Victor Nogueira (born July 17, 1959 in Mozambique) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. Nogueira spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, but gained his greatest recognition in over twenty seasons in three indoor leagues, the Ma ...

* 2013 Brian Quinn * 2014 Dale Mitchell

Players

* Mostafa Ebadi (1981–1983) * Nick Albanis (1981) *

(1983) *

Elvis Comrie Elvis Comrie (born 7 September 1959) is a former English-American football forward and coach. Comrie played three seasons in the North American Soccer League, one in Major Indoor Soccer League, one in the American Indoor Soccer Association, ...

(1982–1983) *

Michel Corre Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

(1981) *

Brian Decaire Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word mea ...

(1982–1983) * Mimmo Dell'Armi (1982) * Pasquale Di Blasio (1983) *

Pat Fidelia Pat Fidelia (born April 16, 1959 in Port-au-Prince) is a retired Haitian Americans, Haitian-American soccer Striker (association football), forward who spent four seasons in the North American Soccer League (1968-1984), North American Soccer League ...

(1981) *

Ed Gettemeier Ed Gettemeier is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. Youth Gettemeier attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where he played on the men's ...

(1983) * Gerry Gray (1983) * Mike Hewitt (1983) * Gordon Hill (1981–82) *

Greg Ion Gregory Stewart Ion (born March 12, 1963 in Vancouver) is a Canadian retired soccer midfielder. Professional The son of Gordie Ion, Ion graduated from Burnaby North Secondary School. In 1981, the Portland Timbers selected him in the first ro ...

(1983) *

Jean-François Larios Jean-François Larios (born 27 August 1956) is a French former professional football midfielder. He earned seventeen international caps (five goals) for the French national team during the late 1970s and early 1980s. A player of Saint-Étienne, L ...

(1983) *

Dwight Lodeweges Dwight Lodeweges (born 26 October 1957) is a Canadian–born Dutch football coach and former professional player. He is currently one of the assistant managers of the Netherlands national team. In 2020 - after Ronald Koeman left to join FC Ba ...

(1983) * Andy Lynch (1981–82) *

(1981–83) *

(1983) *

(1981–83) * Dale Mitchell (1983) * Fran O'Brien (1981–1982) * Andrew Parkinson (1981–1982) * Brian Quinn (1982–83) *

Bob Rigby Bob Rigby (born July 3, 1951, in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania) is a retired U.S. soccer goalkeeper. Rigby played twelve seasons in the North American Soccer League, three in the Major Indoor Soccer League, one in the Western Soccer Alliance and ear ...

(1981–1982) * Bobby Smith (1981) *

Damir Šutevski Damir Šutevski (28 September 1954 – 29 October 2020) was an association football player from Yugoslavia who played for Canadian and American clubs. Career Šutevski came from Zagreb, at the time in Yugoslavia, and originally played in the N ...

(1981–82) *

Tony Towers Mark Anthony Towers (born 13 April 1952) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Manchester City, Sunderland, Birmingham City, Rochdale and England. Towers made his professional debut five days after his se ...

(1981–1983) *

Thompson Usiyan Thompson Usiyan (27 April 1956 – 31 August 2021) was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward. He holds the NCAA Division I career scoring record and played in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, ...

(1981–1982) *

John Van Oostveen John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(1981–1983) * Robert Vosmaer (1981–82) * Dragan Vujović (1982–1983) * Alan Willey (1981–83)

Head coaches

1981–1982 * Pierre Mindru interim (1982) * Andy Lynch (1983)http://collections.banq.qc.ca:8008/lapresse/src/cahiers/1983/02/17/04/82812_1983021704.pdf

References

External links

History of the Montreal Manic, from loop48.comMontreal Manic FA
{{Authority control Association football clubs established in 1981 Association football clubs disestablished in 1983 Canadian indoor soccer teams Defunct soccer clubs in Canada North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams based in Canada

Man A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

Soccer clubs in Quebec 1981 establishments in Quebec 1983 disestablishments in Quebec

History

Year-by-year

Honours

Players

Head coaches

See also

References

External links