Jose Carlos Metidieri (born December 18, 1942, in

Votorantim Votorantim () is a city located at the southwest of São Paulo State in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Sorocaba. The population is 123,599 (2020 est.). The city is located about away from the capital of the state. It has of r ...

(SP), Brazil) is a retired

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian-born American soccer forward. He played professionally in Canada with Toronto Italia. In an exhibition game between Torino of Italy and a German side at Varsity Stadium, Metidieri in the beginning of the second half, donned a Torino uniform and substituted a Torino player to the surprise of all fans. In the United States, playing for the Rochester Lancers, he was the leading scorer of 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 ...

in 1970 and 1971 and named the league's Most Valuable Player - the only player in the league's history to accomplish both awards in consecutive seasons. He also earned two

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with the United States national soccer team in 1973.

Club career

Metidieri began playing soccer at age 16 at the local club Clube Atlético Votorantim. Thereafter, he was contracted by

SE Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

of Säo Paulo from where he moved to Italy, to play for SSC Napoli. His young age and limits on the number of foreigners playing on Italian teams caused him to soon leave this club to join

Como Calcio Como 1907, commonly referred to as Como, is an Italian football club based in Como, Lombardy, Italy. The club currently plays in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football, following promotion from the 2020–21 Serie C season. The club was fo ...

. While there, a broken arm was a major setback to his development. Known as ''Topolino'' ("Little Mouse" in Italian; also the name of '' Mickey Mouse'' in Italy) due to his 5'4" stature and explosive speed on the field, moved on to Canada and joined

Toronto Italia The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

of the

Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League The Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada. The league operated for six seasons from 1961 to 1966 across four cities in two Canadian provinces and one American state. In the 1960s, the Eastern Canada Professional ...

in 1963. There he was the 1965 and 1966 league leading scorer and the 1966 Most Valuable Player. In 1967, he moved to the

Boston Rovers Boston Shamrock Rovers (also known as Boston Rovers) were an American soccer team that competed in the United Soccer Association (USA) league in 1967. The team was based in Lynn, Massachusetts and played their home games at the Manning Bowl. T ...

in the

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American S ...

before joining the Los Angeles Wolves, alongside cousin Gilson, for the

's first season. During his tenure with Boston he was permitted to play in the National Soccer League (NSL) with Toronto Inter-Roma. After one season in Los Angeles, Metidieri moved to the Rochester Lancers. He achieved his 'double double' with the Lancers, a team he played with for four summers. In 1971, he was the MVP and league leading scorer. Rochester fans affectionately remember his game-winning goal in the longest professional soccer match ever played lasting 176 minutes in duration at Holleder Stadium against the visiting Dallas Tornado in 1971. He scored 35 points in 23 games in 1970 and 46 points, including 19 goals, in 24 games in 1971. In 1971 as a member of the Lancers, Metidieri also took part in the league's first ever indoor tournament, scoring one goal and earning two penalty minutes. Metidieri finished his NASL career in 1974 playing for the

Boston Minutemen The Boston Minutemen were an American professional soccer team based out of Boston that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1974 to 1976. Their home fields included Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Schaefer Stadium ...

. He made a brief and final return to the professional spotlight for the Major Indoor Soccer League's

Buffalo Stallions The Buffalo Stallions were a soccer team based out of Buffalo, New York, that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1979 to 1984. Their home arena was Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. It was the last professional club for which the Portugues ...

from 1979 to 1980. In 1978, he returned to the NSL to play with the

Buffalo Blazers Buffalo Blazers was a soccer team in Buffalo, New York. They competed in the National Soccer League in 1976–1978 and 1980. They were one of only four American teams ( Detroit Besa, Detroit Canadians, and Detroit Vardar) to have competed in th ...

International career

Metidieri played in two 'A' internationals for the United States national soccer team in 1973. His first game was a 4–0 loss to

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on March 17. His second was a 4–0 loss to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

on March 20. He also played an unofficial match, a 6–0 loss to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, on March 29. He is the nephew of the former president of

Esporte Clube São Bento Esporte Clube São Bento, commonly referred to as São Bento, is a Brazilian professional association football club based in Sorocaba, São Paulo. They currently compete in the Série D, the fourth tier of the Brazilian football league system, ...

and the Football Association of the state of São Paulo, Alfredo Metidieri. After his retirement from soccer he lived in Rochester, New York where he owned a pizza restaurant. He later moved to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

.Remembering the Lancers
/ref> He has four children. He now resides in Gilbert, Arizona with his wife and youngest daughter.

Honors

NASL Championship (1) * 1970 NASL Most Valuable Player (2) * 1970, 1971 NASL Scoring Champion (2) * 1970 ''(14 goals, 7 assists, 35 points)'' • 1971 ''(19 goals, 8 assists, 46 points)'' NASL Goal Scoring Champion (1) * 1971 ''(19 goals)'' NASL All-Star First Team selection (2) * 1970, 1971

References

External links

*
NASL/MISL stats
* Eduardo Gouvea:

', Gazeta de Votorantim, 6 July 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Metidieri, Carlos 1942 births Living people American soccer players Brazilian emigrants to the United States Brazilian people of Italian descent Association football forwards Boston Minutemen players Boston Rovers players Buffalo Stallions players Los Angeles Wolves players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Rochester Lancers (1967–1980) players Toronto Italia players Toronto Roma players United States men's international soccer players United Soccer Association players Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League players Canadian National Soccer League players Brazilian sportspeople