Category: Sidewinder Insider

Long before there was a fully functioning United States Men’s National Soccer Team – and long before the USMNT fell into dysfunction – there was a professional franchise known as Team America.

Blink and you might’ve missed them, but for those of us who followed the original North American Soccer League during its spectacular rise and equally spectacular fall, this one-and-done club is a unique part of its history.

Formed on January 20, 1983, and disbanded on September 13 of that same year, Team America was an idea much better in theory than in practice.

“The establishment of Team America will serve as a tremendous vehicle to enhance our chances of qualifying for the World Cup, soccer’s greatest spectacle,” United States Soccer Federation President Gene Edwards told United Press International during the launch announcement in New York. “It’s an exciting new endeavor – no country has ever placed its national team in a professional league – and will serve as an important step towards making the United States a viable force in international competition.”

The USMNT hadn’t been relevant since 1950 – the last year it qualified for the World Cup. Thirty-three years later the plan was to test the mettle of an American team against foes in a circuit whose stars were primarily from soccer hotbeds around the world.

The 20-player roster would be formed by taking the top United States players (including naturalized citizens) from the NASL, American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. To make sure Team America had the best athletes available in an effort to earn a berth in the 1986 World Cup, each NASL team had to nominate 40 players for consideration, with the expansion team allowed to sign away any who wanted to join.

“Team America is a landmark development as the United States prepares for international competition,” NASL President Howard Samuels told UPI. “A total commitment is being made by the United States soccer community, which believes that the U.S. can and will become a force in world soccer.”

I was hopeful that Team America would not only give domestic soccer a boost, but provide a loft to the NASL as well.

After its late 1970s heyday when huge crowds showed up to see players like Pele, George Best and Johan Cruyff, the league was struggling in the early 1980s.

Boasting 24 franchises in 1978, it was down to 12 in 1983 and fan interest was waning. Perhaps Team America would inspire new soccer supporters who were looking for a team to call their own (even though its home games were played in Washington D.C.) and reinvigorate the fan base for the rest of the league.

Nope.

The club averaged just over 13,000 fans for its matches at cavernous RFK Stadium. Plus, the team itself was punchless; some of the better American players such as Rick Davis of the New York Cosmos opted not to join.

“In the final analysis, it came down to a decision to where I could contribute to the development of the game more,” Davis told the Los Angeles Times. “The Cosmos have their own version of Team America. They have a very successful Americanization program that I’ve been an important part of. For many reasons, the best place for me at the moment is with the Cosmos.”

Due in part to the lack of top-tier U.S.-born players, Coach Alkis Panagoulias chose a team that had an abundance of naturalized citizens. He even added those who were in the process of applying for citizenship.

This would’ve been a non-story for any other NASL squad, but it strayed significantly from Team America’s “homegrown” mission.

Aside from finishing with a league-worst record of 10-20, Panagoulias’ charges netted just 33 goals the entire season and were shut out in 11 matches – making them unsuccessful and boring.

Less than eight months after it began, the experiment was over.

“The plan is to put Team America together next year as the U.S. team-in-training for the 1986 World Cup,” Samuels told the Chicago Tribune. “We’ll reassemble right after the indoor season.”

Spoiler alert: they did, but not as a member of the NASL. The franchise model was abandoned.

Team America owner Bob Lifton said he lost $1 million during the season and didn’t have many kind things to say about the experience.

“We were without the offensive strength we needed and that weakness showed up egregiously,” Lifton told the Tribune. “The team was certainly not a role model to the kids in this country.”

The USMNT would go on to reinvent itself and qualify for seven consecutive World Cups beginning in 1990 – including a quarterfinal run in 2002.

The squad missed the cut in 2018, however, and recent performances have done little to inspire confidence among supporters.

But while it’s interesting to look back at the tribulations of Team America, they really don’t have anything to do with the turbulent times the USMNT is going through now.

Then again, you know what they say about those who forget the past…

Editor’s note: This column originally appeared on October 1, 2019. It’s being republished as a tribute to Pelé, who passed away today.

We all have those “Where were you when?” moments, whether it’s remembering a major news event or a milestone in sports.

Sometimes, the two are the same, and one of those times was October 1, 1977.

On most Saturdays during the fall I’d be glued to the TV watching college football or listening to it on the radio, like many sports fans in Birmingham, Alabama. On this particular one Auburn was taking on Ole Miss in a televised contest at 1 p.m. while Georgia at. Alabama ruled the AM airwaves later in the day.

But Edson Arantes do Nascimento (I’ll just simplify things and call him by his nickname, Pelé) was also playing his last competitive soccer match on a special episode of ABC’s Wide World of Sports that afternoon. For me, that trumped everything else.

In a friendly between Pelé’s current team – the New York Cosmos, and the club team from Brazil where he got his start, Santos – the “Black Pearl” played a half for each side. A crowd numbering 75,646 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, got to see Pelé score a goal for New York in the Cosmos’ 2-1 victory.

I watched because by 1977 I was a hardcore soccer fan, but also because I owed much of that fandom to Pelé.

The first soccer match I ever saw (also on Wide World of Sports) was a December 1970 rebroadcast of that year’s World Cup Final; Pelé scored a goal in Brazil’s 4-1 victory over Italy.

The sport fascinated me, and the way he played it made it even more enthralling.

His was the first soccer poster to ever go up on my wall, and his likeness still bears a prominent spot in my Fan Cave.

I’ve always shied away from butting the words “sports” and “hero” up against each other, bit for Pelé I made (and make) an exception.

Since soccer was hardly a TV staple back in the day, any chance to see it was cause for excitement. But this really was a well-played match, and Pelé’s 1,281^st career goal (which came off a 30-yard free kick that rocketed into the right corner of the goal) was pure class.

When the match ended he took a victory lap – holding an American flag in one hand and a Brazilian flag in the other – and was mobbed by players from both clubs and thousands of fans who had made their way onto the field.

As I’m sure was the case for millions of other soccer faithful, the occasion was a bittersweet one. It was great to see this magnificent athlete go out on top, but it was sad to think he’d never lace up his boots again.

Pelé gave a speech afterward, but since it’s been a minute since I heard it, I had to look it up in the archives of the New York Daily News.

It was brief, but worth repeating:

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am very happy to be here with you in this moment of my life. I want to thank you all, and I want to take this opportunity to ask you in this moment – when the world looks to me – to take more attention to the young ones, to the kids all over the world. We need them too much. And I want to ask you, because I believe love is the most important thing in the world that we can take in life, people, say with me three times, Love! Love! Love!”

In 1999 Pelé was named World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, and that same year was elected Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee.

Certainly there’s plenty of room to argue over who the greatest footballer of all time is – names like Messi, Maradona, Best, Zidane, Cruyff and Ronaldo will no doubt enter the conversation – but Pelé transcended sports.

He made The Beautiful Game even more beautiful.

After being removed from the newspaper business for nearly two years, I’ve finally adjusted to being a fan again.

I answer to no publishers, editors or advertisers, so I can cheer for who I want to while ignoring what (and who) doesn’t interest me. It’s liberating.

But one thing I’ve noticed while transitioning from paid journalist to blogger-for-fun is I tend to root for people more than teams.

While covering Anderson University, for example, I got to know soccer coaches Samar Azem, Ciaran Traquair and John Murphy. I enjoyed my interactions with them – I like them as people and they’re terrific coaches – but you have to keep a certain amount of distance from those you write about in order to maintain objectivity.

That’s no longer an issue.

Azem and Traquair are the coaches of the women’s teams at Campbell University and The Citadel, respectively, while Murphy guides the men’s squad at Georgia Southern.

Those are three schools that were – for the most part – off of my radar during my journalism days. Now, though, I find myself following and cheering for them because I follow and cheer for their coaches.

Which brings me to Mike Noonan, the head men’s soccer coach at Clemson and a man who, last Tuesday, registered his 100th victory as head of the Tigers in a 2-0 win over Furman. Assistant Phil Jones has been there for all of them, so kudos to him as well.

I had the privilege of covering Noonan’s team for a few years, including Clemson’s Final Four run back in 2015 when the squad finished 17-3-4 and reached the national championship game. Like Azem, Traquair and Murphy, he’s someone I came to know – and like.

His coaching demeanor always struck me as “calm intensity,” although there are certain times when intensity is the alpha quality. It’s quite obvious that he expects the very best out of his players from whistle to whistle, and those same players know that’s what they’re getting from him.

As someone who is passionate about soccer, covering Clemson is a blast. Both the men’s and women’s programs are top shelf, and Riggs Field is a picturesque venue.

It might have originally been designed for American football but man, it’s perfect for association football.

So now – since I no longer write about the Tigers as part of a paid gig – I get to sit back and enjoy the show.

And so far in 2019, Noonan’s charges have put on a great one, racing out to an 8-1 record (2-1 in the ACC) and a No. 4 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches poll.

Last season – a rebuilding one – Clemson’s streak of five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances was snapped.

It looks like a new one is about to start.

The calendar hasn’t even flipped to October this year and already Noonan’s charges have eclipsed their victory total from 2018, with conquests of Notre Dame, Duke and South Carolina already in the books.

Following last night’s 3-2 overtime road loss to No. 7 Wake Forest, Noonan stands at 313-175-41 overall with a 100-62-28 mark earned in eight-plus seasons with the Tigers.

Noonan would be the first to tell you that his players get the wins – not him – and he’d be right.

But there are few in the business who do a better job of putting their footballers in a position to succeed, and I was genuinely happy to see him reach the 100-win milestone.

So add Clemson to Campbell, The Citadel and Georgia Southern as soccer programs I cheer for throughout the season because I’m a fan of the people who lead them.

There’s nothing at all wrong with “rooting for laundry,” but sometimes the person on the sideline wearing the school colors makes it really easy to do.