Ottawa Fury FC

Ottawa Fury
Full name Ottawa Fury Football Club
Founded June 20, 2011 (2011-06-20)
Stadium TD Place Stadium
Capacity 24,000
Owner Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group
President John Pugh
Coach Nikola Popovic
League United Soccer League
2018 10th, Eastern Conference
Playoffs: DNQ
Website Club website

Ottawa Fury Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competes in the United Soccer League and plays its home games at TD Place Stadium.

History

Formative years

On June 20, 2011, the North American Soccer League announced that Ottawa had been awarded an expansion franchise. The team would join the league in 2014 once developments at Lansdowne Park were completed.[1] In February 2013, the club ran a campaign to select a name and received over 4,000 submissions. Club president John Pugh announced that Ottawa Fury FC was chosen as the name.[2]

On May 23, 2013, the club named Marc Dos Santos as the first head coach.[3] Two days later, the official crest was revealed at an event open to season ticket holders and supporters groups.[4] In the final months leading up to the 2014 season, the club also named Martin Nash as assistant coach, David Bellemare as goalkeeping coach and Philip Dos Santos as technical director.[5][6][7]

North American Soccer League (2014–2016)

With Lansdowne Park not ready for the 2014 spring season, the club agreed a short term deal to play at Keith Harris Stadium.[8] After going unbeaten in five pre-season friendlies, Ottawa Fury lost 2–0 at the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in their first competitive match on April 12, 2014.[9] The club finished the spring season in sixth with three wins from nine games.[10] Ottawa Fury moved into Lansdowne Park ahead of the fall season, and lost 1–0 to the New York Cosmos in their first match at the new stadium on July 20.[11] After failing to record a win in their first six matches of the 2014 fall season, the club finished in eighth place.[10]

Ottawa Fury added Chelsea academy coach Darko Buser to the club's management team for the 2015 season, and after another unbeaten pre-season in 2015, ended the 2015 spring season in ninth place.[12][13] The club saw great improvement for the 2015 fall season, and were crowned champions with 45 points from 20 games and sitting six points clear of Minnesota United.[13] Ottawa Fury beat Minnesota United in extra time with a 2–1 victory in the Soccer Bowl semi-final, but lost 3–2 to the New York Cosmos in the final a week later.[14][15]

In November 2015, Marc Dos Santos stepped down as head coach to join Sporting Kansas City as assistant coach having announced his intentions to the club two months earlier.[16] On November 20, the club named Paul Dalglish as his replacement.[17] The following month, Philip Dos Santos left his position as technical director and was replaced by Buser.[18] A third consecutive unbeaten pre-season campaign followed, but the club could only manage a ninth place finish in the 2016 spring season with nine points from a possible 30.[19] Ottawa Fury finished the 2016 fall season bottom of the table amidst rumours the club would leave the North American Soccer League.[19][20]

United Soccer League (2017–present)

On October 25, 2016, the club announced that they would join the United Soccer League for the 2017 season.[21] At the time of the announcement, it had been reported that the Fury were losing up to $2 million per year while operating in the North American Soccer League.[22]

In December 2016, the Montreal Impact announced an affiliation agreement with Ottawa Fury after disbanding their reserve side FC Montreal.[23] The club remained eligible for the Canadian Championship.[24]

On August 14, 2017, Dalglish left his role at Ottawa Fury.[25] Club president John Pugh announced that Dalglish had informed him of his intention to leave the club for personal reasons, and two days later the club and Dalglish decided to mutually part ways.[26] Former player and current assistant coach Julian de Guzman took over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.[27] The Fury ended their first United Soccer League campaign in 10th place, missing out on the Conference Playoffs by six points.[28]

On December 21, 2017, the club announced that Nikola Popovic would take over as their new head coach.[29] De Guzman remained with the club as general manager.[30]

On September 5, 2018, Mark Goudie, president and CEO of Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, officially dispelled rumours about the club joining the Canadian Premier League (CPL) for their charter season in 2019, citing the stability of the USL as their reason. Goudie, however, stated that the club does support the upstart league's mission in expanding Canadian soccer, and did not rule out the Fury joining the CPL in the future.[31]

Stadium

TD Place Stadium in 2014

In order to join the North American Soccer League, Ottawa Fury planned to compete at Lansdowne Park for the 2014 season.[1] After delays in the stadium developments, the club reached an agreement with Carleton University to play five games at Keith Harris Stadium on the university campus until construction was completed.[8] In July 2014, the Fury moved into their new stadium in time for the 2014 fall season.[11] The stadium is also known as TD Place Stadium due to sponsorship reasons.[32] The club share the stadium with the Ottawa Redblacks, a Canadian Football League team, and the two teams played their opening games on the same weekend.[33]

The stadium was one of six chosen to host matches for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, and hosted a total of nine matches from the group stages to the quarter finals.[34]

Crest and colours

Jonathan Barden in Ottawa Fury colours in 2017

On May 25, 2013, the club's official crest was revealed at an event open to season ticket holders and supporters groups.[4] The crest was a traditional soccer shield design that included the club's name and a flame used as a symbol of the club. The official club colours are red, black and white.[35]

In late 2013, over 1,500 supporters took part in a campaign to help pick one of three designs to become the club's first kits.[36] They were unveiled ahead of the inaugural North American Soccer League season in March 2014.[37] Both the primary and secondary kit featured the traditional colours of Ottawa sport.[38]

Club culture

Supporters

The Bytown Boys Supporters Club was formed in April 2011 in response to news of an expansion Canadian Soccer League franchise being awarded to Ottawa.[39] Originally known as the Capital City Supporters Group, the club showed support for Capital City until they announced they would no longer compete in the league in March 2012.[39] The following month, it was announced that the group had reached an agreement with the Ottawa Fury, a Premier Development League club who would become a North American Soccer League expansion team in the near future. In 2013, the Bytown Boys also showed support for the Ottawa Fury Women in the USL W-League.[40] The group continued to support Ottawa Fury as they joined the North American Soccer League in 2014, and the United Soccer League three years later.[41]

In August 2013, the Stony Monday Riot was formed in preparation for the club's inaugural season in the North American Soccer League.[42] The group try to bring together supporters of all backgrounds to experience full participation in every match.[43] As well as Ottawa Fury, the Stony Monday Riot show support for soccer at all levels in the National Capital Region.[43]

Mascot

Sparky, Ottawa Fury's mascot, is based on the flame symbol introduced in the club's original crest design.[37] Big Joe, the mascot of the Ottawa Redblacks, and Riley, the mascot of the Ottawa 67's, have also made appearances at the club with all three teams part of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group.[44]

Rivalries

During their time in the North American Soccer League, Ottawa Fury's main rivalry was with FC Edmonton, the only other Canadian team competing in the league when they joined in 2014. The meetings between the two sides were named "The Battle of Canada" and occurred in both the league and the Canadian Championship.[45] The two teams met every year in the preliminary round over two legs, with the first ever meeting ending in a goalless draw on April 23, 2014.[46] A week later, the Fury suffered a 3–1 defeat to FC Edmonton with Vini Dantas scoring Ottawa's only goal.[47] On May 31, Ottawa Fury beat FC Edmonton 1–0 in the first league meeting between the two sides with Tom Heinemann scoring a last minute goal.[48]

    Players and staff

    Current roster

    As of August 31, 2018[49]

    Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth.

    No. Position Player Nation
    1 Goalkeeper Callum Irving  Canada
    2 Midfielder Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé  Canada
    3 Defender Eddie Edward  Canada
    4 Defender Nana Attakora  Canada
    5 Midfielder Chris Mannella  Canada
    6 Midfielder Sergio Manesio  Angola
    7 Defender Onua Obasi  England
    8 Forward Steevan Dos Santos  Cape Verde
    9 Forward Carl Haworth (captain)  Canada
    11 Forward Daniel Haber  Canada
    12 Goalkeeper David Monsalve  Canada
    14 Forward Gabriel Wiethaeuper-Balbinotti  Canada
    15 Midfielder Maxim Tissot  Canada
    16 Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau (on loan from Montreal Impact)  Canada
    17 Forward Azake Luboyera  Uganda
    20 Defender David Edgar  Canada
    22 Midfielder Jamar Dixon (vice-captain)  Canada
    23 Defender Daniel Kinumbe  Canada
    24 Forward Jimmy-Shammar Sanon  Haiti
    26 Defender Thomas Meilleur-Giguère (on loan from Montreal Impact)  Canada
    30 Forward Adonijah Reid (on loan from FC Dallas)  Canada
    31 Defender Clément Bayiha  Canada
    80 Midfielder Cristian Portilla  Spain
    88 Midfielder Kévin Oliveira  Cape Verde
    99 Forward Tony Taylor  Panama

    Current staff

    As of January 23, 2018[50]
    Executive staff
    President John Pugh
    General manager Julian de Guzman
    Assistant general manager Carrie McKay
    Coaching staff
    Head coach Nikola Popovic
    Assistant coach Victor Oppong
    Goalkeeping coach Youssef Dahha
    Head physician Lindsay Bradley
    Head athletic therapist Francois Martel
    Equipment manager Cortlin Tonn

    Head coaches

    As of September 30, 2018
    Coach From To Record1
    GWDLWin %
    Canada Marc Dos Santos May 23, 2013 November 20, 2015 63 23 18 22 036.51
    Scotland Paul Dalglish November 20, 2015 August 15, 2017 60 19 16 25 031.67
    Canada Julian de Guzman (interim) August 15, 2017 December 21, 2017 12 1 8 3 008.33
    Serbia Nikola Popovic December 21, 2017 present 37 15 6 16 040.54

    Broadcasting

    During the club's inaugural season in the North American Soccer League, all home matches were televised on Rogers TV Ottawa. Home and away matches are broadcast on the radio in English on TSN 1200, and select home matches are broadcast in French on 94,5 Unique FM.[51]

    All matches were broadcast on Rogers TV for the 2017 season, and the USL Match Centre provided coverage for all league matches. Radio broadcasts included every game in English, and all home games in French.[52] The following season, it was announced that every home game would be streamed online on Fury TV and all league matches would remain available on the USL Match Centre. All home matches were broadcast on radio in both English and French.[53]

    Honours

    North American Soccer League

    • Fair Play Award

    Record

    Year-by-year

    As of October 14, 2018
    Year League GP W D L GF GA Pts Pos Playoffs Canadian Championship League
    Attendance    		 Top Scorer Ref
    Name Gls
    2014 NASL 27 7 6 14 34 38 27 8th Did not qualify Preliminary Round 4,492 Brazil Oliver 7 [54][55]
    2015 30 15 11 4 42 23 56 2nd Runners-up Preliminary Round 5,164 United States Tom Heinemann 8 [56][57]
    2016 32 7 10 15 32 40 31 10th Did not qualify Semi-finals 5,482 Canada Carl Haworth 7 [58][59]
    2017 USL 32 8 14 10 42 41 38 10th Semi-finals 5,365 Cape Verde Steevan Dos Santos 10 [60]
    2018 34 13 6 15 31 43 45 10th Semi-finals 4,752 Two Tied 5 [61]

    Note: Only league goals counted for top scorer

    Top goalscorers

    As of September 30, 2018[62]
    # Pos. Name Nation Career League PO CC Total
    1 Forward Tom Heinemann  United States 2014–15 14 4 0 18
    Forward Carl Haworth  Canada 2014– 16 0 2 18
    3 Forward Steevan Dos Santos  Cape Verde 2017– 15 – 2 17
    4 Forward Oliver  Brazil 2014–15 9 0 1 10
    5 Midfielder Siniša Ubiparipović  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014–15 9 0 0 9
    Midfielder Ryan Williams  England 2016–17 7 – 2 9
    7 Forward Sito Seoane  United States 2017–18 6 – 2 8
    8 Forward Paulo Jr.  Brazil 2015–16 5 0 1 6
    Forward Tony Taylor  Panama 2018– 5 – 1 6
    10 Forward Andrew Wiedeman  United States 2015 4 0 1 5

    Bolded players are currently on the Ottawa Fury FC roster.

    Most appearances

    As of September 30, 2018[63]
    # Pos. Name Nation Career League PO CC Total
    1 Forward Carl Haworth  Canada 2014– 126 1 10 137
    2 Goalkeeper Romuald Peiser  France 2014–16 73 2 4 79
    3 Defender Eddie Edward  Canada 2016– 70 – 8 78
    4 Midfielder Jamar Dixon  Canada 2016– 69 – 8 77
    5 Defender Onua Obasi  England 2016– 58 – 11 69
    6 Defender Rafael Alves  Brazil 2015–16 61 2 5 68
    7 Midfielder Lance Rozeboom  United States 2016–17 52 – 8 60
    8 Forward Steevan Dos Santos  Cape Verde 2017– 55 – 4 59
    9 Defender Mason Trafford  Canada 2014–15 52 2 3 57
    10 Midfielder Siniša Ubiparipović  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014–15 48 2 3 53

    Bolded players are currently on the Ottawa Fury FC roster.

    Individual awards

    NASL Best XI

    Season Player Position
    2015 France Romuald Peiser Goalkeeper
    Brazil Rafael Alves Defender
    Republic of Ireland Richie Ryan Midfielder

    NASL Player of the Month

    Season Month Player Position
    2015 June France Romuald Peiser Goalkeeper
    September France Romuald Peiser Goalkeeper

    NASL Golden Glove

    Season Player
    2015 France Romuald Peiser

    NASL Humanitarian of the Year

    Season Player Position
    2015 Canada Drew Beckie Defender

    NASL Coach of the Year

    Season Coach
    2015 Canada Marc Dos Santos

    References

    1. 1 2 "Ottawa to join North American Soccer League". CBC News. June 20, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    2. ↑ "About Fury FC". www.ottawafuryfc.com. Ottawa Fury FC. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    3. ↑ Baines, Tim (May 23, 2013). "Former Montreal Impact coach Marc Dos Santos named first coach of Ottawa Fury FC North American Soccer League squad". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    4. 1 2 Dunlap, Amber (May 25, 2013). "Ottawa Fury FC unveil official logo". Soccer Wire. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    5. ↑ "Ottawa Fury name M. Nash assistant coach". Sportsnet. October 18, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    6. ↑ "NASL newcomers Ottawa Fury FC appoint first goalkeeping coach". Soccer Wire. September 27, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    7. ↑ "Phillip Dos Santos Appointed Technical Director at Fury FC". insoccer. December 13, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    8. 1 2 "Ottawa Fury FC to Play NASL Spring Season Games at Carleton University". Ottawa Start. October 11, 2013. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    9. ↑ "Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2–0 Ottawa Fury". www.nasl.com. North American Soccer League. April 12, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    10. 1 2 "NASL 2014 Standings". www.sportstats.com. Sport Stats. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    11. 1 2 Hofley, Chris (July 21, 2014). "NY Cosmos down Ottawa Fury FC 1-0". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    12. ↑ "Fury FC Add Chelsea Academy Coach to Staff". Ottawa Start. November 6, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    13. 1 2 "NASL 2015 Standings". www.sportstats.com. Sport Stats. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    14. ↑ "Ottawa Fury 2–1 Minnesota United". www.nasl.com. North American Soccer League. November 8, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    15. ↑ "NY Cosmos B 3–2 Ottawa Fury". soccerway.com. Soccerway. November 15, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    16. ↑ "Marc Dos Santos, Ottawa Fury FC coach, leaving at end of season". CBC News. September 15, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    17. ↑ Molinaro, John (November 20, 2015). "Paul Dalglish named new Ottawa Fury coach, GM". Sportsnet. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    18. ↑ Hofley, Chris (December 10, 2015). "Phil Dos Santos leaves Fury, Buser promoted". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    19. 1 2 "NASL 2016 Standings". www.sportstats.com. Sport Stats. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    20. ↑ Holder, Gord (September 22, 2016). "Ottawa Fury players on rumours about team's future: 'Above my pay grade'". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    21. ↑ "USL Announces Addition of Ottawa Fury FC". United Soccer League. October 25, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    22. ↑ Baines, Tim (October 25, 2016). "Ottawa Fury FC confirms it will move to new league". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    23. ↑ "The Montreal Impact associates with Ottawa Fury FC in the USL". Montreal Impact. December 9, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    24. ↑ Carlucci, Mario (December 9, 2016). "Ottawa Fury FC, Montreal Impact strike partnership deal". CBC News. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    25. ↑ Campbell, Don (August 15, 2017). "Paul Dalglish steps down as Ottawa Fury head coach and GM". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    26. ↑ "Paul Dalglish out as Fury coach". CBC News. August 15, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    27. ↑ "Head Coach Paul Dalglish resigns from Ottawa Fury FC; Julian de Guzman named interim Head Coach". Ottawa Fury FC. August 15, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    28. ↑ "USL 2017 Standings". www.sportstats.com. Sport Stats. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    29. ↑ "Julian de Guzman appointed Fury FC General Manager; Nikola Popovic named Head Coach". Ottawa Fury FC. December 21, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    30. ↑ "Ottawa Fury FC name Julian de Guzman GM, Nikola Popovic head coach". National Post. December 21, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    31. ↑ "Fury to stay in USL next season, not switch to Canadian Premier League". Sportsnet. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
    32. ↑ Baines, Tim (January 6, 2014). "Lansdowne to be renamed TD Place". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    33. ↑ "Behind The Scenes At TD Place". Ottawa Redblacks. November 7, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    34. ↑ "Ottawa". FIFA.com. FIFA. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    35. ↑ Creamer, Chris (December 3, 2016). "Ottawa Fury FC Primary Logo". www.sportslogos.net. Chris Creamer's Sports Logos. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    36. ↑ "Ottawa Fury FC Launch Kit Selection Campaign". constantcontact.com. Ottawa Fury FC. August 24, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    37. 1 2 Hofley, Chris (March 30, 2014). "Ottawa Fury unveil team uniform, mascot". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    38. ↑ "Fury FC Unveil Inaugural Game Kits". ottawafuryfc.com. Ottawa Fury FC. March 29, 2014. Archived from the original on September 16, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    39. 1 2 "About Us". www.bytownboys.ca. Bytown Boys Supporters Club. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    40. ↑ Al-Zaidi, Mustefa (December 14, 2014). "A Stroll Down the W-League Memory Lane". www.bytownboys.ca. Bytown Boys Supporters Club. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    41. ↑ "Charter". www.bytownboys.ca. Bytown Boys Supporters Club. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    42. ↑ "Supporters Group". www.ottawafuryfc.com. Ottawa Fury FC. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    43. 1 2 "About". stonymondayriot.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    44. ↑ "Paid Mascot Requests". www.ottawafuryfc.com. Ottawa Fury FC. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    45. ↑ Verde, Carlos (October 18, 2014). "Ottawa Fury FC blanked in All-Canadian derby". Ottawa Fury FC. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    46. ↑ "Ottawa Fury FC 0–0 FC Edmonton". globalsportsmedia.com. North American Soccer League. April 24, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    47. ↑ "FC Edmonton 3–1 Ottawa Fury FC". globalsportsmedia.com. North American Soccer League. May 1, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    48. ↑ "Ottawa Fury 1–0 FC Edmonton". soccerway.com. Soccerway. June 1, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    49. ↑ "Roster". Retrieved May 12, 2017.
    50. ↑ "Coaching Staff". Retrieved January 9, 2018.
    51. ↑ Ivory, Graeme (March 5, 2014). "Fury FC to be carried on French language radio". Ottawa Fury FC. Archived from the original on April 21, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    52. ↑ "Ottawa Fury FC fans to enjoy unprecedented broadcast coverage in 2017". Ottawa Fury FC. March 28, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    53. ↑ "Follow Your Fury in 2018". Ottawa Fury FC. March 12, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    54. ↑ "NASL - 2014 Spring Season Table". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    55. ↑ "NASL - 2014 Fall Season Table". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    56. ↑ "NASL - 2015 Spring Season Table". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    57. ↑ "NASL - 2015 Fall Season Table". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    58. ↑ "NASL - 2016 Spring Season Table". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    59. ↑ "NASL - 2016 Fall Season Table". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    60. ↑ "USL - 2017 Table". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
    61. ↑ "USL - 2018 Table". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
    62. ↑ "Ottawa Fury FC statistics". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
    63. ↑ "Ottawa Fury FC statistics". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
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