Montreal Supra was a
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
professional
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
club based in
Montreal, Quebec
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
that played in the
Canadian Soccer League
The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...
from 1988 to 1992.
History
Montreal Supra joined the
Canadian Soccer League
The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...
as an expansion franchise for the league's second season in 1988. They were Montreal's first professional soccer team, since the
NASL's
Montreal Manic
The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that played in the North American Soccer League.
History
"Le Manic" as they were called by the locals, were Montreal's first professi ...
and
CPSL's
FC Inter-Montréal
FC Inter-Montréal was a Canadian professional soccer team in Montreal, Quebec that competed in the original Canadian Professional Soccer League in 1983.
History
On December 7, 1982, the Canadian Professional Soccer League announced their init ...
folded in 1983. It was created by an investment by
O'Keefe Brewery, one of Canada's three largest breweries, as the main sponsor. The club was to be a community property as a non-profit corporation controlled by a board of directors made up of 12 voters: six founding companies (including O'Keefe) plus six representatives of small investors.
Supra had a difficult inaugural season, finishing last in the East Division with a record of 8-8-12 and failing to make the playoffs.
The team also struggled in their second season winning only 3 of their 26 matches, once again failing to make the playoffs.
The team struggled financially, with the players agreeing to play without pay in 1989, later being paid with
Ultramar
Ultramar is an Eastern Canada, Eastern Canadian gas and home fuel retailer, with its head office located in Montreal, Quebec. Ultramar operates gas stations and home fuel delivery in Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.
History
British oil co ...
gas coupons. In 1990, they greatly improved to a record of 13–11–2, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time, but lost in the first round to
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
.
Prior to the 1991 season, former
Montreal Manic
The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that played in the North American Soccer League.
History
"Le Manic" as they were called by the locals, were Montreal's first professi ...
coach
Eddie Firmani
Edwin Ronald Firmani (; born 7 August 1933) is a former professional football player and manager. A former forward, he spent most of his playing career in Italy and England. He managed 13 different clubs over 29 years, mostly in the United State ...
was hired as the named coach and general manager of the team. In 1991, they finished 5th out of 8 teams, qualifying for the playoffs for the second year in a row, where they were once again defeated by
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
in the first round.
[ In their final season, they finished in 4th place out of 8 teams, qualifying for the playoffs for the third consecutive year, where they were once again eliminated in the first round, this time by the ]Vancouver 86ers
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Met ...
. In 1992, the club also competed in the Professional Cup
The Professional Cup was an international soccer tournament that took place in 1992 and involved eight, professional clubs from three different leagues in North America; the American Professional Soccer League, the Canadian Soccer League, and the ...
, one of two invited CSL teams along with Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, where they were eliminated in the first round by APSL club Tampa Bay Rowdies
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional 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 Championship in the second tie ...
, losing 7–1 on aggregate (5-1 and 2–0).
The team underwent severe financial difficulty in the early 1990s, ultimately with a Florida-based Spanish businessman named Frank Aliaga, who had ties to Canada, purchased the club in 1990 to keep the club in operation, as the previous season the players had not received a salary. In addition, over the club's three seasons owned by Aliaga, the club went through six coaches.
After the 1991 season, the team's main sponsors - Ultramar, Molson O'Keefe and Saputo - indicated that they were no longer interested in sponsoring the team. Aliaga hired Pino Asaro, who had been the manager of the Cosmos de LaSalle in the semi-professional Ligue nationale de soccer du Québec at the end of the 1980s, as general manager to help save the franchise. He managed to convince the sponsors to remain with the club and also attracted Bell Long Distance as a new sponsor. At the same time, the league was not doing well financially either, with the league commissioner, Dale Barnes, leaving and Supra owner Frank Aliaga being named the new league president.
After the 1992 season the league was set to fold, and Aliaga approached Asaro to inquire into the possibility of the club joining the US-based 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. ...
. Montreal had been approved by the APSL, however, Aliaga was not able to meet the financial requirements to enter a club in the league, as Supra's budget was only one-third of the APSL's minimum requirement. APSL commissioner Bill Sage inquired to Asaro if there was any interest from another party about operating a Montreal APSL team and Asaro immediately called Joey Saputo, who was able to arrange a meeting with Lino Saputo
Emanuele "Lino" Saputo, (; born June 10, 1937) is an Italian-Canadian billionaire businessman. He is the founder of the Canadian cheese manufacturer Saputo Inc. According to ''Forbes'', he has an estimated net worth of US$4.7 billion as ...
, owner of Saputo Inc., one of Supra's four main sponsors about taking over the team.
The Saputos purchased the club from Aliaga, and wanted the club to be the successor to Supra, maintaining much of the team's organizational staff and players for the new team. Supra was dissolved and a new club called the Montreal Impact formed as a new APSL club. Many of Montreal Supra's best players would join the expansion Impact
Impact may refer to:
* Impact (mechanics), a large force or mechanical shock over a short period of time
* Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US
Science and technology
* Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event
* Imp ...
, winning the league championship in 1994, during the team's second season.
Seasons
Notable players
Head coaches
* Andy Onorato (1988–1989)
* Pierre Mindru (1989–1990 and 1991–1992)
* Roy Wiggemansen (1990–1991)
* Eddie Firmani
Edwin Ronald Firmani (; born 7 August 1933) is a former professional football player and manager. A former forward, he spent most of his playing career in Italy and England. He managed 13 different clubs over 29 years, mostly in the United State ...
(1991)
* Paolo Ferrante (1991)
* Bobby Vosmaer (1992)
* Pino Asaro (1992)
See also
*Montreal Manic
The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that played in the North American Soccer League.
History
"Le Manic" as they were called by the locals, were Montreal's first professi ...
*Montreal Olympique
The Montreal Olympique were a Canadian Association football, soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1971 North American Soccer League season, 1971 to 1973 North Americ ...
*Montreal Impact (1992–2011)
The Montreal Impact () was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1993, the team played in various leagues in the second tier of the United States soccer league system, beginning with the American Profession ...
*CF Montréal
Club de Foot Montréal () is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Montreal. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Mo ...
References
{{Defunct Quebec Sports
Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) teams
Defunct soccer clubs in Canada
Supra
1988 establishments in Quebec
1992 disestablishments in Quebec
Association football clubs established in 1988
Association football clubs disestablished in 1992
1988 in Montreal