Just as they gather to celebrate a century of soccer in Sudbury, memories emerge for the next.

This Saturday (August 17th) at the Caruso Club, many of the greatest athletes ever to grace the landmark that is Queen’s Athletic Field, soccer talent who filled the stands with thousands when the stands still stood will assemble with Italian scoring sensation Sebastian Giovinco to raise a glass to a sport that was first contested in the Nickel City in the late 1890’s.

Just one week earlier, 13 adult men’s teams formed the field of the two-divisional Sudbury Star Cup, the event which rose from the ashes of the former Caruso Club Tournament, seeking to establish roots as a must-see Sudbury summer sports endeavour in early August.

For as much as we don’t see youth squads from Sault Ste Marie going toe to toe with GSSC (Greater Sudbury Soccer Club) Impact representatives nearly as much as the early 2000’s, Soo Tazzi served notice that the beautiful game remains alive and well in the Lock City.

Part of the eight-team open division, Tazzi edged Sudbury Afro-Heritage 2-1 in the final at the James Jerome Sports Complex last Sunday.

While the champions successfully embodied the pride of Sault Ste Marie soccer, their local opponents continued to grow a club that was established not all that long ago and reflects in many ways the same philosophies upon which local dynasties that abounded during the Golden Era of soccer in Sudbury were originally built.

“I have personally played for the Portuguese club, I’ve played for the S.C. Italia club, I’ve played for the Croatian club – but I don’t have any of those backgrounds,” noted Afro-Heritage founder and manager Francois Nzotungwanimana. “Afro-Heritage was founded to bring together people of African heritage and Caribbean and so on and so on – but it’s open to every single person out there who wants to join our team and build a sense of community.”

“One of the reasons why it was set-up was to bring people who are relatively new to the community and integrate them in the community with the rest of the population. Having players who don’t have African heritage (on our team) is nothing new, but it’s also nothing new to soccer in Sudbury.”

Capturing the "A" pool of teams that also included the Sudbury Cyclones reserves (U21), Timmins FC and Brampton Dashmesh FC, the Afro-Heritage squad were comprised of roughly three quarters of their team that competes currently in the Sudbury Regional Soccer League.

Supplementing that talent pool were a quartet of GSSC call-ups from the U17 and U18 teams, an initiative that would certainly speak to countless local soccer seniors who gleefully recall their initial introduction to men’s soccer of the sixties or seventies when they were still in their late teens.

“That 75% of the team that play together was a good foundation to start,” said Nzotungwanimana. “I am trying to build a future for our team.”

Ayoub Aasri would finish as the tournament top scorer in the Open Men’s Division.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the draw, the SC Italia Over 35 gents salvaged some local bragging rights as well, posting a record of 3-0-1 as the five-team bracket contested a straight round robin format, with the top of the table team securing the banner.

After playing to a scoreless draw with Queen’s Park from Toronto on Saturday, the Sudbury reps needed just a win in their final game to vault into first, doing so with a 2-1 triumph over Brampton Dashmesh FC as Mat Litalien scored twice for the winners.

“The core of the team has basically been the same for the past decade or so,” noted Chris Anselmo, sharing the team organizational duties with Cody Cacciotti for a group that brings together elements of players with ties to both SC Italia and the Italia Flyers over the years.

“The results speak to the consistency and dedication of the core – and then adding some new players and a little bit of youth our side, guys that are 35, 36, 37 versus the handful of us in our late forties and fifties,” Anselmo added.

“It was a nice combination; they gave us a little boost.”

Marry that with a thorough understanding of exactly how to approach the game as Father Time takes his toll on the roster and one has the makings of an outfit that earned a win earlier this summer at the Copa Giovanni in Sault Ste Marie and looks to improve on their 2023 third place finish when they return to Niagara Falls in the middle of September.

“We play a smart game,” stressed Anselmo, who highlighted the noteworthy contributions of Joel Cropp (tournament leading scorer), Scott Nesbitt (tournament MVP), Johnny Georgievski (SC Italia keeper – one goal against in four games) and Mike Asunmaa (“our maestro of the midfield – everything goes through him”).

“We’re well rounded. We build up from the back, through the middle and then attack as a unit. Sure, we have excellent defense, but once the midfield gets the ball, there’s nice movement. At forward, we’re blessed with guys that can finish regularly and consistently.”

Beyond that, the championship roster embraces the chemistry that is likely even more important as they made the move to 35+ play. “We’re a pretty tight group; we like to do things outside of the game together as well. With the new guys that we bring in, not only do we look at positional needs. but also the personalities.”

“That’s a key.”

The remaining cast of characters with SC Italia are: Tony Nuziale, P.J. Rocca, Andrew Porringa, Neil Petrin, Brad Smith, Dave DeNoble, Dave Szczepaniak, Joe Musinga, Adam Bignucolo, Bobby McKinty, Alessandro Folino and Vincenzo Dagostino.