José Soutinho Testas (born November 11, 1942) is a former Portuguese footballer and manager, who played the majority of his career in Portugal, and retired in the Canadian National Soccer League. He also coached the Toronto Supra in the Canadian Professional Soccer League.

José Testas
Testas in 2006
Personal information
Full name José Soutinho Testas
Date of birth (1942-11-29) 29 November 1942 (age 81)
Place of birth Arrentela, Portugal
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1959–1962 Benfica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1962–1963 Vitória de Guimarães 4 (0)
1963–1968 Barreirense 43 (2)
1968–1972 Farense 43 (6)
1972–1975 Gil Vicente
1973–1974AD Fafe (loan)
1975–1976 Toronto Italia
1977–1978 Montreal Castors
1977 Ottawa Tigers
1977–1978 Leixões 15 (5)
1979–1980 Buffalo Stallions (indoor)
1980 Toronto First Portuguese
1983 Toronto First Portuguese
Managerial career
1980 Toronto First Portuguese
1993 Ponte Barca
2003–2004 Toronto Supra
2005–2006 Toronto Supra
2008 Portugal FC
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career edit

Testas began playing football at the youth level with S.L. Benfica, but signed his first professional contract with Vitória S.C. in the Primeira Liga.[1][2] In 1963, he signed with F.C. Barreirense in the Segunda Divisão Portuguesa, where he won the league in 1968, and the Taça Ribeiro dos Reis. In 1968, he signed with S.C. Farense and had stints with Gil Vicente, and AD Fafe.[3] In 1975, he played abroad in the National Soccer League with Toronto Italia, where he won the First Division title.[4] The following season he assisted in defending Toronto's division title after defeating Hamilton Croatia.[5]

In 1977, he signed with Montreal Castors, and secured the First Division title twice in 1977, and 1978.[6] In late 1977, Testas along with six Montreal players were traded to the Ottawa Tigers in order to assist in their playoff match against Toronto Croatia to gain promotion to the NSL First Division.[7] The transaction provided Montreal the bargaining rights to Mick Jones.[8] He returned to Europe for the remainder of the 1977 season to sign with Leixões S.C. In 1979, he returned to North America to sign with the Buffalo Stallions of the Major Indoor Soccer League.[9]

In 1980, he concluded his career in the National Soccer League with Toronto First Portuguese, and assisted the club in finishing second in the regular season standings.[10] He returned to former club First Portuguese for the 1983 season.[11]

Managerial career edit

In 1980, he transitioned into a player-coach for Toronto First Portuguese in the National Soccer League.[10] In 1993, he managed Portuguese side AD De Ponte de Barca.[10]

In 2003, he was appointed the head coach of the Toronto Supra in the Canadian Professional Soccer League.[12] He would have a successful season achieving a 16-game undefeated streak, and maintaining their record until the final two games of the season. He led Toronto to a second-place finish in the Eastern Conference and posted the second best offensive record within the league. In the postseason Supra faced Vaughan Sun Devils, but were defeated in overtime in a 4–3 loss.[13] On October 5, 2003, at the CPSL Awards Banquet he was awarded the CPSL Coach of the Year.[14]

He returned to manage Toronto for the 2004 season, and won the organization's first piece of silverware by clinching the Eastern Conference title. In the playoffs Toronto faced the Vaughan Shooters, but were eliminated by a score of 4–1.[15] For 2005, he was brought back halfway through the season, but failed to improve the team's performance, and failed to qualify for the postseason.

In 2008, he returned to the organization, and greatly improved the team's performance by finishing in the top five with the best offensive and defensive records.[16][17] The team secured a postseason berth by finishing fourth in the International Division and finishing fifth in the overall standings. In the quarterfinals Portugal faced Toronto Croatia and advanced to the next round with a 2–1 victory with goals. In the semifinals their opponents were National Division champions Trois-Rivières Attak, but were eliminated from a 7–0 defeat.[18]

Honors edit

Player edit

Toronto Italia

Montreal Castors

Manager edit

Toronto Supra

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ "ForaDeJogo.net - Testas (José Soutinho Testas)". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
  2. ^ ""Quem não sente o falecimento não é desportista", diz José Testas". SAPO Desporto (in Portuguese). January 6, 2014. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  3. ^ "Сотинью Тештас Жозе, 29.11.1943, футболист". footballfacts.ru. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  4. ^ Waring, Ed (June 8, 1976). "Italia beats White Eagles 1-0 on Roe's goal". The Globe and Mail. p. 37.
  5. ^ "Italia retains NSL title with win over Hamilton". The Globe and Mail. September 30, 1976. p. 58.
  6. ^ "Castors clinch championship". The Globe and Mail. October 5, 1978. p. 33.
  7. ^ "Tigers complete six-man soccer trade". Ottawa Journal. October 8, 1977. p. 23.
  8. ^ "Ottawa sport - Soccer". Ottawa Citizen. October 8, 1977. p. 17.
  9. ^ "Major Indoor Soccer League Players-". www.nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
  10. ^ a b c MOURATO, SERGIO (February 18, 2017). "Após cumprir missão da vida, 'Baixinho' quer morrer em paz sem dores – 416 NEWS TORONTO". 416news.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
  11. ^ "Notas Del Futbol Latino". El Popular. July 27, 1983. p. 11.
  12. ^ "CPSL - Canadian Professional Soccer League". 2003-10-20. Archived from the original on October 20, 2003. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  13. ^ "Sun Devils Overcome Supra in Quarter-Final Clash". October 1, 2003. Archived from the original on November 25, 2003. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  14. ^ "2003 CPSL season" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. October 5, 2003.
  15. ^ "Shooters defeat Supra 4-1, It's Croatia 2, Thunder 0". October 10, 2004. Archived from the original on October 17, 2004. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  16. ^ "PARKDALE: Portugal soccer team kicks up action at Lamport". Toronto.com. Etobicoke Guardian. 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  17. ^ "Canadian Soccer League Powered by Goalline Sports Administration Software". 2008-05-18. Archived from the original on May 18, 2008. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  18. ^ "It's a Trois-Rivieres Attak vs. Serbian White Eagles final following an Attak 7-0 second semi-final rout of Portugal FC Saturday. CSL Championship goes October 26 at Esther Shiner Stadium". October 16, 2008. Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved 2020-08-02.