AEK: Just to clear something up, the boys you mentioned, Stan and Zungul, played indoors regularly in the old country. During winter break, which lasted sometimes 2 months back in the day, they played in the Kutija Sibica (or matchbox) tournament that was held every year and every weekend during the winter break. Every weekend there was tournaments in either Beograd, Split, Zagreb, Sarajevo or Rijeka to keep the guys fit and ready for spring portion of season. There were walls at some places and no walls at others. I would love to watch the videos we received from my cousins every January. It was unreal what these guys could do...and that translated to the indoor arena here in the States and Canada. And let me just also add that the level of amateur soccer has gone down a considerable amount over the last 20 years. When I started playing with Hrvat and Adria back in the late 80s, I couldn't believe how good the leagues were. Whether it was the Metro, National, CLASA or Hispano, you knew you had to be ready every night you played. It taught me SO much and gave me the drive to play at the highest level. I thank all those guys (Drago, Joe Pavlek, Denzil Antonio, Otto, Richardson brothers, Simic, Dosen, Kukolja) for showing me the ropes. It's because of them I can still lace them up at 38 and have something to offer a team.
Ante, I'm very well aware that Zungul and Stamenkovic played indoors in the old country...but it wasn't the indoor game we have here in the states. That was my point. My other point was that Stamenkovic and Zungul were top flight first division stars when they came over. The pro indoor leagues we have now lack that quality. That's not a knock on the guys playing now...heck, I could never play at their level..... and most of the guy on the soul, mustangs and rampage are friends of mine and/or guys I've reffed. Its just stating a fact. As for the ethnic leagues in chi twon, their heyday was in the 60's and 70's, before the NASL. Before players coming over from the old country had a pro league to ply their trade in. Ask your Dad. The NSL had four divisions. No metro, no clasa, no hispano...all one league with top professional caliber talent played in stadiums like Hanson, Winnemac, Lane Tech etc....BEFORE Adria. I tell people nowadays that only 3-4 teams from NSL and maybe 4-5 from MSL could play major division back in those days.......maybe. The last point I was trying to make in this thread, at least impliedly, is that I get very tired of clueless people coming on these threads and bashing the guys playing now and/or some of the amateur/ethnic leagues they come from. Not too long ago, one of the "experts" on these threads took particular care to bash "some guy named Bato who scored eight goals in a game for Rockford"...wondering how good a guy he's never heard of playing in a relatively obscure league could be...well now he knows, that Bato guy is one of the misl's leading scorers. If he knew anything about the amateur scene in chi town, he would have known. Twenty eight years ago I partook in a training session with a young high school phenom at the odeum. The very next day that same phenom scored three goals in a Chicago Sting practice. The day after that the Sting signed him. His name? Frank Klopas. A product of Chicago's ethnic amateur leagues. And there are many more stories just like that.