Full name José Soutinho Testas Playing position Years Team | Place of birth Arrentela, Portugal 1959–1962 Benfica Position Forward | |
Date of birth (1942-11-29) 29 November 1942 (age 74) | ||
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.
Playing career
Testas began playing soccer at the youth level with S.L. Benfica, but signed his first professional contract with Vitória S.C. in the Primeira Liga. 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, AD Fafe and finished off his career in Portugal with Leixões S.C. in the Segunda Divisão. The following year he went abroad to the United States to sign with the Buffalo Stallions of the Major Indoor Soccer League. In 1980, Testas went north of the border to Canada to sign with First Portuguese of the Canadian National Soccer League, and assisted the club in finishing second in the regular season standings.
In 2003, he was appointed the head coach of the Toronto Supra of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. 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. On October 5, 2003, at the CPSL Awards Banquet he was awarded the CPSL Coach of the Year. 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. 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. He vastly improved the team's performance by finishing in the top five with the best offensive and defensive records. 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, The match didn't go in their favor as the club suffered a 7-0 defeat, and thus elimination from the playoffs.