It’s been many years since Brantford Galaxy or Hamilton City SC were celebrated and in the limelight in the Canadian Soccer League standings or experienced a championship victory following the playoffs.
But that may change anytime now as the two clubs kickoff the upcoming new season once again as a combined BGHC 1 following the merging of player and technical resources which on paper and probably on the field as well are impressive enough to pose a legitimate challenge for the league title, perhaps the CSL Championship and the Enio Perruzza Memorial Award.
The two teams, while in every respect except on the playing field are independent clubs and business entities, are putting the fans on notice they have a combined pool of more than 30 very good players for 2022, together with great coaching, all of which is expected to bring long overdue results to the two southern Ontario communities located just west of Toronto.
Coaches Matija Popovic of Hamilton City SC and Milan Prpa of Brantford Galaxy will have the two rosters to choose from as they prepare for a season that will run from the end of May through to the end of October.
The merging of these two teams in a reduced compact CSL during another year with a single stadium venue continues to be necessary while COVID 19 is still a threat. Player movement internationally is still not back to normal in the scaled down semi-professional CSL But unlike many similar leagues around the world, the CSL has not missed a beat and is regaining its strength while on its way getting back to normal.
Hamilton City and Brantford Galaxy will continue to import players from Europe to join with the local squad of mostly permanent residents of Canada. The selection process is not an easy one, but Popovic and Milan Prpa are experienced career coaches, both from a part of Europe known for its strong presence in the world game.
“Respect is important both with your opposition and your own players, including how to accept not only winning, but losing as well,” said the highly regarded Popovic, a certified coach in Europe with academy experience who retains an impressive detailed knowledge of his player’s skills and how individual players can contribute in a match.
‘Safe goalkeeper Stefan Avramovic’, the ‘quick defender Dinilo Simic’, ‘the very good creative attacking midfielder Sasa Vidovic’, ‘scorer Petar Djordjvic’, ‘reliable midfielder Uros Vidovic’ are just a few of the many players described as part of Popovic’s knowledge and vocabulary when discussing players.
BGHC 1 will open its season against new entry Toronto Falcons on Sunday, May 29 when all six teams will be in action.
Sunday May 29 – Centennial Stadium – Toronto
2 PM – Scarborough vs York Region Shooters
4 PM – Toronto Falcons vs BGHC 1
6 PM – Serbian White Eagles vs Continentals FC
Brantford Galaxy Roster
Sasa Vidovic
Uros Vidovic
Miljan Milović
Petar Djordjevic
Aleksandar Bozovic
Aleksa Markovic
Milan Beader
Danilo Simic
Stefan Kozar
Vlade Bubnjevic
Aleksandar Kalabic
Janko Milosevic
Aleksa Rajić
Dušan Sasic
Nemanja Stijisavljevic
Miroslav Lovic
Milan Milosavljević
Head Coach: Milan Prpa
Owner: Bosko Borjan
Hamilton City Roster
Aleksandar Nikolic
Stefan Avramovic
Aleksandar Lasic
Miloš Vuruna
Djordje Vukobrat
Vukasin Kovacevic
Arsen Platiš
Dragan Antanasijevic
Nebojsa Ćetković
Tomislav Pinjuh
Luke Rankin
Joe Willingham
Luka Jankovic
Sandro Rajković
Ilija Bajčetić
Sava Arsic
Head Coach: Matija Popovic
Owner: Sasa Vukovic