Joseph Andre Maca (September 28, 1920 – July 13, 1982) was an 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 ...

player who earned three

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s as

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

and played in the United States' 1–0 defeat of England in the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Maca played for the Belgian Second Division team Royal Cercle Sportif La Forestoise (51) in Brussels. During the war, he served for 12 months in the

Belgian Army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...

where he played on the Army team. He also earned a medal for his role in the resistance. In 1942 Forest was promoted to the

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

and played there five years. Maca played 153 total games and scored 3 goals for CS La Forestoise.Belgiumsoccerhistory (Peter Mariën)
/ref> After the war, he moved to the United States and joined

Brooklyn Hispano The Brooklyn Hispano was an American soccer club based in Brooklyn, New York that was an inaugural member of the reformed American Soccer League. The club was named the Brooklyn Giants for the 1942/43 season only. The Hispano club competed in th ...

of the American Soccer League. He was selected to the ASL All-Star Team in 1949 and 1950. His three caps for the U.S. team were all during the 1950 World Cup, where he scored one goal against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

on a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

. Although he was not a U.S. citizen, he had declared his intention to gain citizenship and under the rules of the United States Soccer Football Association at the time, he was eligible to play. He eventually did become a U.S. citizen in 1957. After the World Cup, he moved to Belgium and played for Royal White Star Athletic Club (47) in 1950–51 before returning to the U.S. There he play just 9 games in the first round. His son,

Alain Maca Alain F. Maca is a retired Belgian-American soccer defender and former President of the JFK International Air Terminal (Terminal 4). Maca was the first person drafted by the North American Soccer League and spent four seasons in the league. ...

, also represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Maca was inducted to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1976 along with his 1950 U.S. teammates.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maca, Joe 1920 births 1982 deaths American soccer players Belgian footballers Belgian emigrants to the United States Footballers from Brussels People from Massapequa, New York United States men's international soccer players National Soccer Hall of Fame members 1950 FIFA World Cup players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Brooklyn Hispano players Belgian Army personnel Belgian military personnel of World War II Belgian resistance members Association football fullbacks