thanks for posting this. that blog also has an interview with the guy that directed the 30for30 doc on Bestie (http://goodseatsstillavailable.com/...best-with-documentary-filmmaker-daniel-gordon) SYNOPSIS: Award-winning British documentarian Daniel Gordon (Hillsborough; 9.79*; The Game of Their Lives) joins Tim Hanlon from London to discuss his new ESPN Films 30 for 30 feature George Best: All By Himself – and the enigmatic soccer star whose life story it depicts. Gordon reveals: Why he was attracted to the story of George Best, despite others’ previous attempts to tell it; How Best’s early-career interviews with the British media while at Manchester United became a hauntingly predictive narrative device for the film; Why the vibrantly ascendant mid-1970s North American Soccer League became an attractive alternative to Best’s post-ManU European wanderings; How the meteoric rise and subsequent fall of the NASL itself became a metaphor for Best’s life and career – including the irony of his Budweiser-sponsored NASL “Goal of the Year” in 1981; AND The complex legacy Best left behind, despite his later-life admonitions to “remember the football.” ...and if you were a fan of the NASL back in the day, this might be cool (haven't listened yet myself); there's an episode with Kyle Rote Jr.: http://goodseatsstillavailable.com/blog/2017/7/13/episode-19-american-soccer-superstar-kyle-rote-jr SYNOPSIS: National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee and three-time ABC-TV “Superstars” champion Kyle Rote, Jr. joins Tim Hanlon from his home in Memphis for an in-depth and wide-ranging conversation about his trailblazing journey as America’s first true native-born professional soccer star. Along the way, Rote, Jr. reveals: How a fortuitous heart-to-heart with his famous football star-father helped convince him to choose soccer over football for his pro career; How a standout Rookie of the Year season with the 1973 Dallas Tornado helped thrust him into the North American Soccer League’s national marketing spotlight; The remarkable impact of winning a made-for-TV athletic competition against the biggest stars of the “traditional” sports world; The unique relationship he developed with the New York Cosmos’ international legend Pelé, and the public relations narrative the NASL built around them; How lucrative marketing endorsements made up for embarrassingly low-paying player contracts; The serendipitous story of how he helped rescue an MISL team from the “hell” of Hartford; AND The unmistakable higher power that continually guided him through the ups and downs of professional athletics – both on the field and off.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/...s/story-godfrey-ingram-cardiff-citys-14145627 Great article on former NASL Quakes great Godfrey Ingram. I love the line about the Earthquakes "financial muscle". Talk about a different era.
Great article. Thanks for posting! This reinforces my belief of how advanced the old NASL was. You had the stars but you also had a lot of younger no name guys who were making more playing in North America than they were in Europe and who were awesome players! The NASL was a great league and I’m betting given today’s rules, training regimens and franchise financial stability , it would have been among the greatest leagues in the world. Just to name a few, players like Hugo Sanchez, Rudi Krol , Peter Beardsley , Bruce Grobbelaar, Roberto Cabañas and Julio Cesar Romero went on to have great careers abroad for club and country after leaving the NASL. This says quite a lot.
Gotta love those Golas soccer shoes. Super high tongue, day glo green accents waaaaay before the Seahawks. I wore those things until I had holes under both big toes. The pride of Fred's Soccer Shop!!
One of the sheer joys of my young life was attending Del Mar High School. In those days, the Quakes regularly housed their players in the apartments around the high school. I was able to meet Derek Craig, and regularly trained with both Chris Turner and Sean Keohane (both great guys and great keepers), and, over at the old bermuda grass San Jose City College soccer field, taught then, rising Olympic Star, Bruce Jenner to kick a ball just prior to his appearance at Spartan to do the honorary kick. Man, I miss those days. Just had to pick up a phone and tell your friends you were heading over to SJCC or West Valley and next thing you know you almost had a full side showing up. What I wouldn't give to send a text now and get to have just one more of those carefree times that meant nothing yet at the same time meant everything in the world. Wow, youth really is wasted on the young...
USA GK Mike Ivanow, Poland 3-26-1975 Jimmy Johnstone the ex Celtic Legend playing in Spartan Stadium in San Jose.....