Yeah, Deutero's correct, at least in my memory: for the most part, they were past their primes... not necessarily over the hill, but no longer stalwarts on their nation's national teams, either. On the other hand, there were a few guys STARTING their careers in the NASL. Any of our reseidenty statisticians and archivists who can help out, your further contributions would be appreciated. EDIT: http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/nasl/naslstar.html where else? How'd I not check this site? These are the international stars whose names start with the letters A-H. Links at the bottom for the rest of the alphabet. It will give you an idea where they came from and where some of them went.
Also a fantastic list on wikipedia including a syopsis of the league's history. Interesting also to see the list of players who played in the NASL who have children playing in the USA and elsewhere. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Soccer_League
Giorgio was the first high profile international star to come to the USA in his prime. The money was excellent and his wife was american. Pele came out of retirement to play here and was an ambassador for the game. But Beckenbauer was still in top form, as was Carlos Alberto. With the Chicago Sting, Granitza came from Hertha Berlin in the prime of his life, and Pato Marjetic was as good as anyone in the world at the time. George Best was past his prime.
Gordon Banks played after he was partially blinded in one eye, you could still see a master work the box. Cruyff went back to Europe and played several more years as did his former Dutch friend, Johann Neeskens. Bobby Clark came after 425 games at Aberdeen went on to coach at Dartmouth and Stanford. Rodney Marsh, the clown prince of soccer, came and stayed til the en.
Look at all of those names...am I hopelessly nostalgic? You're darn right I am. An economic flop, true, but a great time, kind of like watching a three dimentional hall of fame on the soccer field. Lee Stern pumped millions into the Chicago Sting, and if not for him, there would not be an MLS today. The NASL years put the USA on the map. Then we had to recover for a decade or so. The World Cup in 1994, the most successful financially, set the table for the new league. Now the meal is being served on that table, and it is chicken fingers and natchos in quality. Hopefully we will get some better chefs and a better menu and not waste the new venues that have been built for the next generation of soccer fans in the USA.
As a Kicks fan I hated Pato, with his long flowing locks, although I recognized how talented he was. Not to be too nitpicky (or defensive), but the Kicks average attendance was over 30000 a year twice, over 23000 two more years and over 16000 in their lowest two years. The best the Sting ever did was a little less than 13000 in 81. Other than the Cosmos, many other teams drew well. Seattle, Vancouver, Tulsa, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Detroit also averaged over 10000 a year for many years Even Edmonton drew around five figures three of the four years they were around. BTW, it was the Calgary Boomers, and they averaged over 10000 the year they were in Canada.
And the US National team just drew a pathetic 11,000 at Toyota Park for a World Cup Qualifier against Trinidad & Tobago on a beautiful night for soccer. It was embarrassing! I went to support the US, but I kept thinking that something is seriously wrong with this picture and it will be a long time before we see a US team in the Chicago area again.
That sounds about right. The Sting's best year in terms of attendance was worse than the Fire's worst year. Maybe that's why we don't have as much of a nostalgia-fest in Chicago -- the Sting have been honored by the Fire, but not worshipped by the "fans," which is as it should be. Here by the way is the overall NASL attendance averages, year by year. You get some idea of why the league didn't make it. The Cosmos, Kicks, and Rowdies couldn't carry the Caribou, and the Rogues. http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/nasl/naslhist.html#ATTEND