Team America (soccer)
Team America was a professional version of the United States men's national soccer team which played as a franchise in the North American Soccer League (NASL) during the 1983 season. The team was based in Washington, D.C., played its home games at RFK Stadium, and was intended by the NASL and the United States Soccer Federation to build fan support for the league and create a cohesive and internationally competitive national team. However, the team finished in last place and drew only 13,000 fans per game. A "Team America" also played an unofficial exhibition match against England in 1976, to commemorate the bicentennial of American Independence. The players were drawn from North American Soccer League clubs and included Pelé and Bobby Moore. The match was played in Philadelphia and England won, 3–1. History Origins The origins of Team America came with the ascension of Howard J. Samuels to the positions of president and CEO of NASL on June 25, 1982. At the time, the lea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Team America Logo
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to information, resources, knowledge and skills and who seek to combine their efforts to achieve a common goal". A group does not necessarily constitute a team. Teams normally have members with complementary skills and generate synergy through a coordinated effort which allows each member to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. Naresh Jain (2009) claims: Team members need to learn how to help one another, help other team members realize their true potential, and create an environment that allows everyone to go beyond their limitations. While academic research on teams and teamwork has grown consistently and has shown a sharp increase over the past recent 40 years, the societal diffusion of teams and teamwork actually foll ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Howard J
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probably in some cases a confusion with the Old Norse cognate ''Haward'' (''Hávarðr''), which means "high guard" and as a surname also with the unrelated Hayward. In some rare cases it is from the Old English ''eowu hierde'' "ewe herd". In Anglo-Norman the French digram ''-ou-'' was often rendered as ''-ow-'' such as ''tour'' → ''tower'', ''flour'' (western variant form of ''fleur'') → ''flower'', etc. (with svarabakhti). A diminutive is "Howie" and its shortened form is "Ward" (most common in the 19th century). Between 1900 and 1960, Howard ranked in the U.S. Top 200; between 1960 and 1990, it ranked in the U.S. Top 400; between 1990 and 2004, it ranked in the U.S. Top 600. People with the given name Howard or its variants include: Given ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Perry Van Der Beck
Perry Van der Beck (born November 5, 1959 in Florissant, Missouri) is an American former soccer midfielder, former coach and technical director, and the former Vice President of Competition and Operations for the United Soccer League. Van der Beck began his playing career with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the original North American Soccer League and ended it with the St. Louis Ambush of the indoor National Professional Soccer League. He also earned twenty-three caps, scoring two goals, with the U.S. national team between 1979 and 1985. He played for various indoor and outdoor teams until 1998, when he retired from the pitch and became an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Mutiny. After coaching for several other clubs and youth soccer organizations, Van der Beck was hired as the technical director and youth director for the new Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2008. He was later promoted to be the club's executive vice president and director of player development. In January 2014 he ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arnie Mausser
Arnold "Arnie" Mausser (born February 28, 1954) is an American former soccer goalkeeper who played with eight different NASL teams from 1975 to 1984. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Mausser may be considered one of the finest goalkeepers the United States has ever produced. He is known as the trailblazer for future US goalkeepers such as Kasey Keller, Tim Howard, and Brad Friedel. He was a big man (standing 6' 5") who threw with his right hand, but kicked with his left foot. Early life Growing up in Queens, New York, with two younger brothers, Mausser played numerous sports, his favorite being basketball. However, in the eighth grade, he began playing goalkeeper because of his size. Most of his early experience he got playing for ''Blau-Weiss Gottschee'' in Ridgewood, Queens. He graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School. As Mausser got older, he trained with numerous local teams, eventually catching the eye of the coach of the Rhode Island Oceaneer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jeff Durgan
Jeffrey "Jeff" Durgan (born August 29, 1961, in Tacoma, Washington) is a retired U.S. soccer defender who played professionally for the New York Cosmos and seven times for the U.S. national team. NASL Durgan was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington, where he attended Stadium High School. After graduating, Durgan turned professional with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL), debuting in April 1980. In his first year in the league he started 28 of the Cosmos' 32 regular games. Showing what sportswriter George Vecsey called "a controlled aggressiveness characteristic of a player far beyond his years", he was named the league's Rookie of the Year, beating Tacoma youth teammate Mark Peterson of the Seattle Sounders. In 1982, he was selected as a second team NASL All Star. Durgan won the Soccer Bowl, the NASL championship, with the Cosmos in 1980 and 1982, but they lost in 1981 to the Chicago Sting after a penalty shootout. In 1983, the U.S. Socce ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hernan "Chico" Borja
Hernan "Chico" Borja (August 24, 1959 – January 25, 2021) was an Ecuadorian-born American soccer player and coach. He spent time in the several U.S.-based leagues including the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and the American Soccer League. He also earned eleven caps with the U.S. national team. He was a resident of Belleville, New Jersey. Youth Borja was born in Quito, Ecuador on August 24, 1959. His family immigrated to the United States where he attended New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), where Borja played on the men's soccer team. At that time, NJIT played in the NCAA Division III. In 1980, his senior year, Borja was selected as a Division I First Team All American, the first NJIT men's soccer player to be named an All American. He finished his career with multiple entries in the NCAA record books for both single game and season scoring. In 1989, New Jersey Institute of Technology inducted Borja, a 1981 graduate, into its Hall of Fa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alan Green (soccer)
Alan Green (born 1 January 1954) is a former professional footballer. Born in England, he began his career with Coventry City before moving to the United States in 1979. He played a total of seven seasons in the North American Soccer League and earned one cap with the U.S. national team. Professional In England Green, a native of Worcester, England, began his professional career with Coventry City. He joined the club as a striker in 1970, but did not make his first team debut until 22 April 1972, which was his only appearance during that season. He peaked with the club during the 1975–76 season when he played 31 games and scored nine goals. After that his appearances and goals slowly began to taper off. In United States In 1977, Coventry loaned Green to the Washington Diplomats (Dips) of the North American Soccer League (NASL), whose season ran during the summer months, or the English off-season. Green played 16 games, scoring nine goals and assisting on five others. At the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Juli Veee
Juli Veee (born Gyula Visnyei; February 22, 1950) is a Hungarian-American retired soccer forward. Announced as "Double-deuce, triple-E, the one and only Juli Veee", Veee experienced his greatest success as an indoor player with the San Diego Sockers. He also earned four caps, scoring two goals, with the U.S. national team. Youth Veee grew up impoverished in Budapest, Hungary. The communist government controlled nearly every aspect of a Hungarian's life and when Veee turned fifteen he was given a choice, pursue a career in table tennis or soccer. He chose soccer. Chafing under the restrictions of his homeland under a totalitarian regime, Veee defected when he was eighteen years old while on a tour of Western Europe with the Hungarian U-21 national team. He began his professional career in France before moving to the United States. NASL In 1975, he moved to the U.S. where he signed with the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League. That season, he played in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Brcic
David Joseph Brcic (born January 21, 1958) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He also competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics and earned four caps with the United States men's national soccer team. Youth career In 1976, Brcic graduated from Bishop DuBourg High School in St. Louis, Missouri where he played on the school's soccer team. He has been inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. After high school, Brcic attended St. Louis University where he played a single season of college soccer. Outdoor soccer In 1977, he left the university to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. Brcic remained a back-up with the Cosmos through the 1979 season. Through that year, he had played only eight games in goal. During the 1978-79 off-season, the Cosmos loaned Brcic to Greenock Morton of the Scottish First Division, then the top league in Scotland. After inj ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Winston DuBose
Winston DuBose is an American former soccer goalkeeper who spent eight seasons in the North American Soccer League, four in the American Professional Soccer League and one in the American Indoor Soccer Association. He also earned fourteen caps with the United States men's national soccer team. Youth and college Born in Orlando, Florida, DuBose attended Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park, Florida. After graduating from high school, he played collegiate soccer at Florida Technological University, now known as the University of Central Florida, from 1973–1976 where he earned All-American honors. He was inducted in the school's athletic Hall of Fame in 2000. United States DuBose began his professional career in 1977 with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League. He helped the Rowdies to an appearance in Soccer Bowl '78, where they fell to the Cosmos. In 1982, the Rowdies traded DuBose to the Tulsa Roughnecks where he won the 1983 NASL championship. At ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jimmy McAlister (soccer)
Jimmy McAlister (born May 4, 1957) is a U.S. soccer defender during the 1970s and 1980s. He was the 1977 NASL Rookie of the Year and earned six caps with the U.S. national team. Player Professional McAlister was born in Seattle where he attended John F. Kennedy High School. When he graduated in 1976, the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League immediately signed him to play left back. McAlister saw time in only two first team games in 1976, spending most of his time in the reserve team. In 1977, he became an integral part of a strong Sounders team which went to the NASL championship only to lose to the Pelé-led New York Cosmos. McAlister's defensive abilities led to Pelé trading his jersey with McAlister at the end of the game. His outstanding season led to McAlister receiving NASL Rookie of the Year. McAlister spent one more season with Seattle before being traded to Toronto Blizzard. Before moving to Toronto, he spent the 1979–1980 Major Indoor S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rick Davis
Richard Dean Davis (born November 24, 1958) is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League era and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Youth Davis was born in Denver, Colorado, and began playing soccer at the age of seven for an AYSO soccer team in Claremont, California. He was an All-American high school player at Damien High School in La Verne, California. In 1977, he played a single season of college soccer at Santa Clara University While at Santa Clara, he was a member of the Broncos team which took the U-19 National Open Championship (McGuire Cup). Professional An American on a team of international superstars with the New York Cosmos, he helped the team to three NASL league titles in 1978, 1980 and 1982. He began playing with the team during the 1978 season and was selected as the 1979 North American Playe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |