This has been writtne about in the message board numerous times- but let's delve into it once again- the NASL and MLS can not be compared. The NASL was a great league that showcased world class soccer- players like Pele, Beckenbauer, Banks, Mueller, Best all showed their skill on the field- but what did it do for American soccer? Nothing? The MLS on the other hand gave us questionable soccer in 1996 but as the American player developed the league has gained a tremendous amount of respect worldwide- it's impossible to judge the two they both played soccer but they after that they are worlds apart
Pretty close, but organizationally, they didn't even start as the San Jose Clash. They started as the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks. You can read more about it here. -G
The NASL was always knocked for not developing American players, but Seattle was certainly an exception. I remember players like Mark Peterson, Jeff Stock and the Schmetzers (sp.) all of whom would do well in MLS. The same was true with regards to the old Vancouver Whitecaps who developed loads of Canadian players and certainly helped Canada reach its only World Cup appearance in 1986. I also saw tons of SF Bay Blackhawks games at places like Newark and Fremont as well as at Spartan and well remember the 1991 championship year. Actually, at times the Blackhawks played some quite entertaining soccer.
The original NASL Earthquakes also had naming issues. The league objected to the Bay Area team having "San Jose" attached to it. I don't believe they minded the team playing in San Jose, but the they wanted the team to have a San Francisco moniker. Milan Mandaric and Dick Berg held out, and the "San Jose" Earthquakes were born. Of course, the Quakes went on to establish league attendence records during their first year. I am 100% positive that would not have happened if the team had been named the San Francisco Earthquakes, while playing at Spartan Stadium in San Jose. If you live in San Jose, you understand, without any further explanation.
The NASL did tons for American soccer. All the players like Meola, Lalas, Ramos, Reyna, etc. grew up watching the NASL. You would not have the MLS or the quality of American soccer if it were not for the NASL.
I stand corrected. I was limiting my self to the NASL years. You make an excellent point. I do have a question- does anyone remember a player by the name of Ricardo Alonso [Minnesota, New England / Jacksonville, Golden Bay] where he came from, who played for before signing with the NASL his career after the NASL folded- as a child my parents had dinner with him and he became my favorite player-funny how sharing a burger with a guy can make him your favorite player in a league that boasted players like Pele, Beckenbauer, Best, Banks and Cruyff.
I'm too young to remember much of the NASL but I was wondering if someone could clarify a couple things for me about the league: 1. Did they use a different offside rule than FIFA? I seem to recall a story on ESPN that aired during the 94 World Cup that stated they had some sort of "35 yard line" offside rule instead of the traditional "behind the last defender" rule. And if this was the case, could forwards cherry-pick behind the defense without getting flagged? Sounds crazy. 2. When I look at old rosters and NASL-related material, it seems like there were an awful lot of Yugoslavian and Eastern European players. Was there something that allowed them to come to the States even though they were still part of the Soviet bloc at the time? Until the late 1980s, the only Czechs and Russians you saw in the NHL were defectors. Did all these guys defect? 3. Was there any other league, before or since, that used the shoot-out instead of PKs? I know MLS did for a couple years but that is the only one I can think of.
You are correct, the NASL had a 35 yard line. It was designed for more scoring to attract American fans who they felt would not go if games resulted in 0-0 ties. Yes, there were a lot of Yugoslavian players in the NASL. The San Jose Earthquakes owner was Yugoslavian and he had a lot of players come over to play, all had green cards and were legal to be here. There were a few from Hungary who played in the NASL who actually defected to be here. In fact, the Earthquakes had a player from Iran back in the late '70's named Parviz who came over and played during a highly confrontational time. As far as I know, the NASL was the first ever league, much to the disliking of FIFA who had a shootout to end games. In fact, the person trying to score would start from the 35 yard line!
No World Cup 94 = No MLS When your country was awarded the world cup there was a stipulation by FIFA that they would have to start a league. Thus... enter Major League Soccer in 1993. I knew this eventhough I didn't follow the league.
The US was supposed to have a first division pro league in place before the '94 World Cup. The league did not get started on time, but FIFA allowed the World Cup to go on (it would have been a disaster to move it). The league was established in 1993, but played it's first game in San Jose in 1996.
The shootout was used by all of the US leagues that existed between the NASL and MLS (WSA, APSL, USISL/USL). The USL dropped it at the same time MLS did.
I completely forgot about the shootout in MLS! How could I forget my buddy GK Dave Salzwedel vs. GK Tony Meola at Spartan way back when.
I believe, in it's waning years, the NASL dropped the "shootout" in favor of penalties. The shootout was from 35 yards, and the shooter had 5 seconds to take the shot. MLS used the shootout for a while too. Now, it seems that American announcers have opted to call penalties as "penalty kick shootout". The actual shootout, at 35 yards, had some interesting moments. There were a few odd approaches. In the NASL, when it had the 35 yard offside line (something else they dropped in later years), the shooter could place the ball anywhere along that line to start. There were a number of guys who liked to come from pretty steep angles. In the early MLS years, I recall Hugo Sanchez lifting the ball about 20 yards in the air on his first touch, then trying to volley or half volley his shot. Some liked to beat the keeper, while others liked to go around the keeper. It was fun, but I never liked the winner getting all of the points. I would have preferred the winner (of both penalties and shootouts) getting an extra point.
Check your history; had the NASL not happened, it would have been a moot point. The NASL made it possible for the US to even be at a point to where FIFA would even stipulate that we have a pro league in the works (You had it before, you can have it again). We'd have never been considered unless the NASL had been around. Again, no NASL, no MLS.
I see the new NASL movie isn't playing in too many US cities. There's a good documentary on VHS & DVD called NY Cosmos: The Championship Years (~1975-1978). It shows highlights of the Cosmos playing with Pele at Giants Stadium w/ 77,000 people in it. I highly recommend this video!!! (At least, to tie a person over til the new movie can be seen!)
Talking about NASL, here, I made a nice, printable page of all the NASL champs from 1968-1984. NASL rocked!
MLS should go back to the days of the NASL. NO MORE TIES. Shootouts are better then a Tie. NO more Leg playoff system. Go back to the best of three. Ties in the playoffs COME ON! Goals and Assists together to make points for the scoring leader. MLS is going down the hill since 2000.
Well said Indoor! MLS should also take their hands out of ownership in each club. Let individuals or corporations own 100% of their teams and institute a salary cap for each team. If they did this, they would double the size of the league instantly and attract more foreign players which could result in a more exciting game for the fans. The NASL was a blast. A large reason it was is because of it's international personality. That is what MLS is missing and the attendance figures indicate this strongly!
You do know that MLS has, for the last five years, and in seven of the league's ten full years of existence (this year will make it eight of eleven) had a league average attendance higher than the NASL's best average attendance, don't you...? The idea that the NASL typically drew massive crowds, and that MLS draws so many fewer people, is a myth. Any copying of what the NASL did should be limited to some of the team names and uniforms and maybe the ball. That was a really cool ball. Other than that, history has proved that gimmickry in soccer doesn't work. If the methods of the NASL are followed too closely by MLS, then so will the result, and nobody wants that.
Yup...especially now that MLS just inked it's FIRST PAID TV RIGHTS DEAL IN THE LEAGUE'S HISTORY. Did the NASL ever accomplish such a feat? Nope. This mentality of yours is that same old aged philsophy about how soccer needs to be played in the US, which led to the NASL's downfall and led to an exodus of fans away from MLS under the Logan regime. When you're ready to catch up to the year 2006 with the rest of us, let us know.
Which is exactly why Don Garber is in charge to see that that doesn't happen. Americans aren't stupid about soccer anymore. They know the REAL rules of the game, and they know that the quality of play is superior outside of the U.S. The exhibition league of the 1970s is over, guys. MLS is a REAL league, which plays the REAL rules of the game, and is building a REAL infrastructure. None of which the NASL ever had. The only thing the NASL had over MLS was quality of play amongst a few teams (Cosmos, Whitecaps, Rowdies, etc). Once MLS starts to invest as heavily in the quality of play as they have in the construction of stadiums, we'll see which league is the obviously superior league in every aspect.