 | |||
| Full name | Montreal Olympique | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1971 | ||
| Dissolved | 1973 | ||
| Stadium | Autostade | ||
| Capacity | 33,172 | ||
| League | North American Soccer League | ||
TheMontreal Olympique were a Canadiansoccer team that competed in theNorth American Soccer League (NASL) from1971 to1973. The team was based inMontreal and played its 1971 and 1973 home matches atAutostade and at theUniversite de Montreal Stadium for the1972 season. FutureLiverpool andScotland national team starGraeme Souness appeared in ten games for the club on loan fromTottenham Hotspur F.C. in 1972 and futureNational Hockey League playerJim Corsi also played for the Olympique. During the team's three years of competition it failed to qualify for the post season and never had a winning record.
TheMontreal Olympique were founded on 5 January 1971 with the announcement byMontreal Alouettes ownerSam Berger andNorth American Soccer League (NASL) chairmanLamar Hunt ofMontreal as the ninth, and second Canadian, team for the upcoming1971 season.[1] In late February 1971 the team hired Italian coach Renato Tofani, who coachedTaranto F.C. in Italy'ssecond division the previous season, withMike Campo named as his assistant.[2] After starting the season with three consecutive losses without scoring a single goal, Tofani resigned as head coach and was replaced on an interim basis by Campo.[3] A month later, with the team having only won a single game, the Olympiques namedSebastiano Buzzin head coach.[4] The Olympiques' 8 August 1971 game against theRochester Lancers was ended after 65 minutes of play when around 200 Montreal fans stormed the field of play at theAutostade after the Lancer'sFrancisco Escos scored his team's fourth goal of the match. The fans were angry Escos was not ruledoffsides and attempted to attack the referee and linesman. Fans who remained in the stands reportedly threw chairs, one of which hit referee Peter Johnson, knocking him unconscious and requiring stitches.[5][6] Throughout the season, the team hosted a total of five friendlies against international opponentsHeart of Midlothian F.C. from Scotland,[7] Italian clubL.R. Vicenza,[8]Shimshon Tel Aviv F.C. from Israel, Greek teamApollon Smyrnis F.C.,[9] andBangu Atlético Clube from Brazil.[10] The team lost four of the matches, only winning the game against Shimshon FC.[11] The Olympiques finished the1971 NASL season with a league worst record of four wins, five draws and fifteen losses and averaging only 2,440 attendance, also a league worst.[12]
In February 1972, the Olympiques hired formerWycombe Wanderers F.C. andSouth Korea coachGraham Adams to manage the team.[13] The team considered playing its home matches at Verdun Stadium andJarry Park Stadium before settling onUniversite de Montreal Stadium for its home matches.[14][15] On 9 April 1972, Welsh international and formerLeeds andJuventus center forwardJohn Charles signed to play with the Olympiques.[16] On 6 May 1972, it was announced thatGraeme Souness andMike Dillon had been loaned to the team by theTottenham Hotspur F.C.[17] Both players would make ten appearances for Montreal with Dillon scoring seven goals.[18][19] Italian defenderLuigi Mascalaito was also brought over on loan fromVerona.[20][21] All three were released during the season by the team at the players' request.[22] As well as playing a series of exhibition matches against Canadian semi-pro and lower division teams, during the summer of 1972, the Olympique hostedAberdeen F.C. from Scotland, Portuguese clubCUF Barreiro,[23] andWerder Bremen from West Germany.[24] The team's match against Aberdeen was halted in the sixty-fifth minute after fans threw objects and invaded the pitch, attempting to attack the Scottish team's players afterJoe Harper scored a penalty, giving the Dons a 1-0 lead.[21][25] The Olympiques ended the1972 NASL season in third place of the Northern Division with a record of four wins, five draws and five losses and averaging 2,308 fans a game.[12] Prior to the final game of the season against theDallas Tornado, owner Berger announced that the team had reduced its losses by 75% over the previous season.[26] In February, it was reported the team had lost a combined $400,000 over the 1971 and 1972 seasons.[27] Shortly after the season, Jim Koerner, formally of theSt. Louis Stars, was hired as Business and General Manager.[28][29]
For the1973 NASL season, the Olympiques moved back toAutostade for its home matches.[15] On 4 May 1983, a week before the opening weekend, Montreal faced theAtlanta Apollos in a pilot contest erroneously reported as the debut of indoor soccer in the United States, losing 8-6.[30] This an exhibition match was actually two years after the first officially sanctioned indoor variant by the North American Soccer League, the1971 NASL Professional Hoc-Soc Tournament.[31] Montreal hosted three international teams during the summer of 1973, losing the first 3-1 toFinn Harps F.C. withTerry Harkin, who would spend the rest of the summer on loan with theToronto Metros, scoring all three goals for the Irish team.[32][33] It was the Harps only win against a professional team during their North American tour.[34] In July, the team drew 1-1 against Mexican teamC.D. Veracruz[35] and lost four goals to none toFC Torpedo Moscow in a friendly held after the conclusion of the NASL season,[36] a match which would turn out to be the team's last game.[37] Montreal finished the 1973 season with a record of five wins, four draws and ten losses.[12] In last September 1973, it was reported that the contracts of both GM Koerner and coach Adams had not been renewed and team owner Sam Berger announced that if the team did not find a suitable stadium for soccer, the club would not continue.[29] The team folded shortly thereafter.[38]
| Year | League | W | L | T | Pts | Reg. Season | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | NASL | 4 | 15 | 5 | 65 | 4th, Northern Division | did not qualify |
| 1972 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 57 | 3rd, Northern Division | ||
| 1973 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 64 | 2nd, Northern Division |
Kieron Baker (1971) Keith Pointer (1971-1972)Clive Charles (1971-1972)
Raúl Decaria (1971-1972)Ken Wallace (1971)
Renzo Selmo (1971-1972)Franco Gallina (1971)
Sam Nusum (1972-1973)Dennis Walker (1972-1973)Luigi Mascalaito (1972-1973)
Graeme Souness (1972)Mike Dillon (1972)
Chris Horrocks (1972-1973)Renato Tofani (1971)
Mike Campo (1971)Sebastiano Buzzin (1971)Graham Adams (1972–73)
