George "Teddy" Pakos (born August 14, 1952 in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...

) is a former Canadian international soccer player. His goals were crucial in Canada qualifying for the

FIFA World Cup finals FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

Club career

Pakos won Rookie of the Year honours in the final Pacific Coast League season, helping Victoria West United finish second overall in the 1972-73 league standings. He later played for Victoria's London Boxing Club (which later became the VAA) and won Canada Soccer's

The Challenge Trophy The Challenge Trophy (french: Trophée Challenge) is a national amateur soccer cup in Canada contested by the champions of individual provincial soccer competitions. It is one of the oldest soccer competitions in Canada, being held since 1913. ...

in 1975. He began work at the same time as a water-meter technician for the city of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, a job he continued for over 25 years. The third son of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

immigrants, George's father Zenon played professionally in Poland before being displaced by the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. Pakos did play briefly professionally in the

Western Soccer Alliance Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

in 1985 with the Victoria Riptides and in the Canadian Soccer League with the Victoria Vistas in 1989.

International career

Spotted by coach

Bob Bearpark Robert Bearpark (March 15, 1943 – November 18, 1996) was a Canadian soccer head coach. Born in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, Bearpark played soccer as a youth for Bristol City and Bath. He moved to Canada when he was 32 and enrolled as a gradua ...

while playing for the Vancouver Island Selects amateur team, Pakos made his debut with the Olympic team at age 30. He also played for Bearpark in two Olympic qualifying matches in 1983 against Bermuda, scoring once in each game. He was however left off the team that reached the quarterfinals of the Olympics. The midfielder Pakos scored 5 times in 23 'A' internationals, all of which he earned from age 31 on. In

1986 FIFA World Cup qualification The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

as a 33-year-old who had been cut from the team after the first round of qualifying, Pakos was recalled and scored the lone goal in a vital away win at Honduras. He also scored the first goal in a 2–1 home victory against Honduras that clinched Canada's berth in their only finals appearance. Pakos came on for the last 21 minutes of Canada's third match in the finals versus the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in his final full international appearance.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.''

Post-retirement

Pakos was head coach of V.A.A.'s Division 2 men's team of the

Vancouver Island Soccer League Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

in 2005–06. In 2001, Pakos was inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame.

Honours and achievements

Victoria London Boxing Club * Canadian Amateur Championship (Challenge Trophy) winner (1975) Individual * Pacific Coast League Rookie of the Year, 1972–73 *Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame, 2001 *BC Soccer Award of Merit, 2004 *VISL Team of the Half Century, 2015

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pakos, George 1952 births Living people 1986 FIFA World Cup players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian soccer players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Association football forwards Canadian people of Polish descent Soccer players from Victoria, British Columbia Western Soccer Alliance players Victoria Riptides players Victoria Vistas players CONCACAF Championship-winning players