Abraham Francois
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abraham Francois | ||
| Date of birth | June 7, 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Montreal, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998 | Huntsville Fire (indoor) | 25 | (4) |
| 2000 | Montreal Impact | 23 | (1) |
| 2001 | Club Sol de América | ||
| 2001 | Tien Giang F.C. | ||
| 2002 | Ottawa Wizards | 12 | (0) |
| 2003–2005 | Montreal Impact | 17 | (2) |
| 2005 | Toronto Lynx | 18 | (1) |
| 2006–2008 | Laval Dynamites | 11 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Detroit Ignition (indoor) | 2 | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Abraham Francois (born June 7, 1977 in Montreal, Canada) is a Canadian soccer player who played domestically with Canadian clubs and played overseas and including indoor soccer.
Career
Francois began his professional career with his native hometown club the the Montreal Impact of the USL A-League in 2001. After his stint with the Impact he found brief employment overseas with Club Sol de América in the Liga Paraguaya, after to went to Asia to sign with Tien Giang FC in the V-League. In 2002 he returned home to sign with league giants the Ottawa Wizards of the Canadian Professional Soccer League.
During his tenure with Ottawa he had a tremendous season recording a 17 game undefeated streak, which marked a milestone in CPSL history by becoming the second club to achieve a treble the first being the Toronto Olympians. The Wizards clinched the Eastern Conference and finished first in the overall standings. They repeated their success in the Open Canada Cup tournament by defending their title once more in a 1-0 victory over Toronto Croatia.[1] In the post season he appeared in all the playoff matches and reached the finals where the club faced the North York Astros, the Wizards ended up winning the playoff title in a 2-0 victory.[2]
Francois returned Montreal in 2003 helping the Impact finish second in the league behind the Milwaukee Wave United with a 16–6–6 record. In the playoffs the Impact fell to the Rochester Raging Rhinos in the first round of the playoffs by an aggregate score of 2–1. He manged to win a piece of silverware with the club the Voyageurs Cup. In 2004 he tore his ligament in his right knee in a preseason match against McGill University forcing him to miss the entire season. The team finished 17–6–5 record for 56 points in 28 games, and the team started with a record 12-game undefeated streak, which led to a USL A-League Championship against the Seattle Sounders in a 2–0 victory claiming their first Championship since 1994.
In 2005 he returned to the Impact, but was deemed surplus to Nick De Santis resulting him to get traded on May 19, 2005 with fellow team mate Sita-Taty Matondo to arch-rivals the Toronto Lynx in exchange for Ali Gerba.[3] He made his debut with the club on May 28, 2005 against the Puerto Rico Islanders in a 4-4 draw.[4] With the Lynx the team finished with a league worst 3 wins, 17 losses, and 8 ties and was the worst performance in league history and finished 12th place in the league. In 2006, Francois signed with the Laval Dynamites of the Canadian Soccer League, helping the franchise finish third in the National Division thus qualifying for the postseason; where the club faced Toronto Croatia, but lost to a score of 1-0.[5]
On October 26, 2007 he signed for the Detroit Ignition of the MISL.[6] Francois term with Detroit came with some success finishing first in the regular season and reaching the semi-finals in the playoffs.
International career
Francois played futsal by the QCSL World Cup 2010.[7]
Honors
Ottawa Wizards
- Rogers Cup (1): 2002
- Open Canada Cup (1): 2002
- Canadian Professional Soccer League Eastern Conference Champions (1): 2002
Montreal Impact
- Voyageurs Cup (2): 2003, 2004
References
- ↑ Glover, Robin (September 29, 2002). "Result of Sunday September 29th, 2002 CPSL game between Ottawa Wizards and Toronto Croatia played at Cove Road in London at 3:15pm. This was the Final of the CPSL Canada Cup.". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
- ↑ Glover, Robin (October 20, 2002). "Result of the Sunday October 20th, 2002 CPSL game between North York Astros and Ottawa Wizards played at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York. This was the Finals of the Rogers Playoff Cup.". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
- ↑ Lynx Acquire Two From Impact
- ↑ Glover, Robin (May 28, 2005). "Result of the Saturday May 28th, 2005 USL game between Toronto Lynx and Puerto Rico Islanders played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke at 7:30pm.". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
- ↑ Glover, Robin (October 1, 2006). "Result of the October 1, 2006 CSL game between Toronto Croatia and Laval Dynamites played at Victoria Park in Brampton at 1:30pm. This was a one-game Quarterfinal Match for the CSL playoff trophy.". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
- ↑ IGNITION INKS TWO NEW PLAYERS FOR UPCOMING SEASON
- ↑ QCSL World Cup Players