The 1999 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the second season under the Canadian Professional Soccer League name. The season began on May 28, 1999, and concluded on October 2, 1999, with Toronto Olympians defeating Toronto Croatia 2-0 to claim their first CPSL Championship. The Olympians made history by becoming the first club in the league's history to achieve a treble. For the second straight season, they went undefeated for the entire season. The league also introduced their first All-Star match where the CPSL All-Stars faced the CSA Development team.
Changes from 1998 season All founding members of the CPSL returned with the exception of Mississauga Eagles P.S.C. The newest addition to the league were expansion franchise the Oshawa Flames. Other changes were Glen Shields changing their name to Glen Shields Sun Devils, and the York Region Shooters moving to Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Teams
Team City Stadium Manager Glen Shields Sun Devils Vaughan, Ontario (Thornhill) Dufferin District Field Dave Benning London City London, Ontario (Westmount) Cove Road Stadium Tony Laferrara North York Astros Toronto, Ontario (North York) Esther Shiner Stadium Rafael Carbajal Oshawa Flames Oshawa, Ontario (Vanier) Oshawa Civic Stadium Jens Kraemer St. Catharines Wolves St. Catharines, Ontario (Vansickle) Club Roma Stadium Lucio Ianiero Toronto Croatia Toronto, Ontario (Etobicoke) Centennial Park Stadium Bruno Pilaš Toronto Olympians Toronto, Ontario (Scarborough) Birchmount Stadium David Gee York Region Shooters Richmond Hill, Ontario Richmond Green Sam Foti
Final standings
Playoffs
Bracket The top four teams qualified for a one-game semifinal that led to the championship game played on October 2 at Oshawa Civic Stadium in Oshawa, Ontario.
Semifinals
CPSL Championship
GK 1 Brian Bowes RB 5Tony MarshallCB 6 Peyvand Mossavat CB 4 Ian CardeyLB 8 Bayete Smith RM 9 Elvis Thomas CM 20Danny Ziannis (c)CM 17 Chris Handsor LM 7 Daryl Holmes ST 11 Gus Kouzmanis ST 23 Eddy Berdusco Substitutes:GK 22 Tom Bianchi MF 12 Louie Ouroutzaglou DF 16Ron Belfon DF 14Arte Alkatov MF 15 Louie Katsavrias MF 13Danny Sanna FW 10John Matas Manager: David Gee
GK 1 George AzcurraRB 2 Daniel PilasCB 3 Josip DraganicCB 4 Domagoj SainLB 4 Ivica Sola RM 6 Ivica Jelic CM 20Robert Fran CM 9Ante Musa LM 10Tom Granic (c) CF 8 Czeslaw Zajac CF 11 Denny Draganic Substitutes:DF 13Nikola Marketic MF 14Robert Mandekic MF 15Paul Grguric MF 19Peter Curic Manager: Bruno Pilas
Assistant referees: Steve Cahoon Nick Rose Fourth official: John Lopes
All-Star game The league's inaugural all-star match was played on September 26, 1999 at Centennial Park Stadium in Toronto, Ontario. The CPSL All-Star team was selected from the six remaining clubs that didn't compete in the CPSL League Cup final, which excluded players from the Toronto Olympians and Toronto Croatia. The Canada Development team featured players from the CSA National Training Centre which consisted of senior national team players with a mix of young prospects with USL A-League experience.
GK 29 Adam Morandini RB 5Dave McDonaldCB 15 Mike Marshall LB 25Gerald Gallacher RM 8Mike Kim CM 10 Jurek Gebczynski (c) CM 13 Lucio IanieroCM 7 Phil Ionadi LM 4 Mike Glasgow ST 11 Willy Giummarra ST 17 Marco Antonucci Substitutes:GK 1 Rafael Carbajal DF 12 JP Rickwood FW 18Dave Kohek FW 16Alex Nardi FW 9 Adrian Sciarra DF 6 Anthony Whitney Manager: Tony La Ferrara Dave Benning
GK 1Steve CoxRB 2 Carl Fletcher CB 3 Victor OppongCB 5 Marco RedaLB 6 Nevio Pizzolitto RM 4 Adrian Serioux CM 8 Miles O'Connor CM 11Toll Dasterridis LM 12Jordan Gillespie CF 9 Semir Mesanovic CF 10 Dwayne De Rosario Substitutes:GK 22Alim Hassin MF 17 Matt Smith MF 14 Jamie Dodds MF 7 Adrian Llewellyn FW 16 Atiba Hutchinson Manager: Paul James
Assistant referees: Steve Cahoon O.J. Panic Fourth official: Stephanie Denhamm
1999 scoring leaders Full article: CSL Golden Boot Position Player's name Nationality Club Goals 1 Eddy Berdusco Canada Toronto Olympians 25 2 Elvis Thomas Canada Toronto Olympians 21 3 Gus Kouzmanis Canada Toronto Olympians 16 4 Mike Glasgow Canada Glen Shields 10 5 Phil Ionadi Canada Glen Shields 10 6 Andy Madeiros Canada Toronto Croatia 10 7 John Matas Canada Toronto Olympians 10 8 Semir Mesanovic Canada London City Soccer Club 10
CPSL Executive Committee The 1999 CPSL Executive Committee. PositionNameNationalityChairman: Bill Spiers English Director of Operations: Chris Bellamy CanadianDirector of Finance: Peter Li Preti CanadianDirector of Officials: Tony Camacho Portuguese
Awards Weekly awards WeekCPSL Player of the WeekReference Player Club Week 1Semir MesanovicLondon City Week 2John MatasToronto Olympians Week 3Eddy BerduscoToronto Olympians Week 4Gus KouzmanisToronto Olympians Week 5Mike GlasgowGlen Shields Sun Devils Week 6Leo MarasovicToronto Croatia Week 7Mich D'AngeloYork Region Shooters
Individual awards
The CPSL held their second annual awards ceremony on November 21, 1999 at the Hollywood Princess in Concord, Ontario. The Toronto Olympians went home with the majority of the awards with 4 wins. David Gee along with Tony LaFerrara of London City won the Coach of the Year award. Gee became the first manager to win the award consecutively twice. Canadian internationals Elvis Thomas and Eddy Berdusco received the MVP and Golden Boot award. Toronto's final award was the Fair Play award for being the most disciplined team throughout the season. London City produced their fourth straight Rookie of the Year with Semir Mesanovic. While Toronto Croatia received their first CPSL club award with George Azcurra being named the Goalkeeper of the Year. Silviu Petrescu who later went on to officiate matches at the international level and Major League Soccer was recognized with the Referee of the Year award. Award Player (Club) CPSL Most Valuable Player Elvis Thomas (Toronto Olympians) CPSL Golden Boot Eddy Berdusco (Toronto Olympians) CPSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award George Azcurra (Toronto Croatia) CPSL Rookie of the Year Award Semir Mesanovic (London City) CPSL Coach of the Year Award David Gee (Toronto Olympians) Tony LaFerrara (London City) CPSL Referee of the Year Award Silviu Petrescu CPSL Fair Play Award Toronto Olympians
References
External links Rocket Robin's Home Page of the 1999 CPSL Season