Paul Coffee is a retired American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

who played professionally in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

and Major Indoor Soccer League. Coffee played soccer at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

. In 1979, he signed as an amateur with the Chicago Sting of the

in order to maintain his Olympic eligibility. In 1980, he was selected for the U.S. Olympic soccer team, which had qualified for the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. He did not compete when President Carter declared that the U.S. would boycott the Olympics, held in Moscow, after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Coffee turned professional with the Sting and remained with them until 1981, playing three outdoor and one NASL indoor seasons. In 1980, he signed with the Philadelphia Fever of the Major Indoor Soccer League before returning to the Sting, now playing in the MISL for the 1982–1983 season. He finished his career with the

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

during the 1983–1984 NASL indoor season.

References

External links

NASL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffee, Paul 1956 births Living people American soccer players Chicago Sting (MISL) players Chicago Sting (NASL) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Philadelphia Fever (MISL) players San Jose State Spartans men's soccer players Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players Association football goalkeepers