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

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, 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 ba ...

. 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 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 from 1978 through 1980 and ten Fury players as well as manager Eddie Firmani moved to Montreal for 1981. After defeating the Los Angeles Aztecs in the first round of the 1981 NASL playoffs, the Manic faced the Chicago Sting. 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 spo ...

) 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 Profe ...

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 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 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 (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, as ...

(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 ...

, 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 (GAA: 4.36, GA: 24) Indoor Tournament Defensive MVP * 1983 Mehdi Cerbah All-Star First Team Selections * 1981 Gordon Hill All-Star Second Team Selections * 1983 Frantz Mathieu Indoor All-Stars * 1981–82 Gordon Hill (Atlantic Conference) Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame * 2001 Gerry Gray * 2002 Dale Mitchell * 2008 John McGrane * 2014 Carmine Marcantonio U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame * 2003 Alan Willey * 2007 Bobby Smith Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame * 2012 Victor Nogueira * 2013 Brian Quinn * 2014 Dale Mitchell

Players

* Mostafa Ebadi (1981–1983) * Nick Albanis (1981) * Mehdi Cerbah (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, t ...

(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 mean ...

(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-American soccer forward who spent four seasons in the North American Soccer League, two in the American Soccer League and one in the United Soccer League. He also earned o ...

(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 rou ...

(1983) *

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(1983) * Dwight Lodeweges (1983) * Andy Lynch (1981–82) * Carmine Marcantonio (1981–83) * Frantz Mathieu (1983) * John McGrane (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 earn ...

(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 th ...

(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 sev ...

(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 E ...

(1981–1983) *

Robert Vosmaer Robert Vosmaer (born 17 July 1951) is a former Dutch footballer who played as a forward and represented the Netherlands national football team. Early life Vosmaer was born in 1951 in Indonesia, as his father was in the Royal Netherlands Navy, a ...

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

Head coaches

* Eddie Firmani 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 Soccer clubs in Quebec 1981 establishments in Quebec 1983 disestablishments in Quebec