Today I was searching some info and ran across some really nostalgic soccer memories and decide to post a few videos and invite anyone else to share too.
Here is the early years of pro soccer in the states, the former NASL which looking back now had some pretty great international players many of you should know but may have forgotten about, check out some of the fields too, pretty funny some on baseball pitches with the first base line in front of the goal, as a keeper that would suck.
I remember playing on half sand, half crab grass fields with make shift goals and sand lot fields that were official. We even had a big protest with the city one night and the media came out and everything because they had pristine fields for football, and for baseball but grass lump fields (which is even worse for a game that requires a ball to roll on it) for soccer and no budget allocated to fix it. The Ft. Lauderdale Strikers were also there as many of them were there playing a pick up game with us after their practice sessions and then they called others to come out when it became a media event but the budget was devoted to those other sports. We got commitment from the city that night to make changes and finally they did, soccer had little respect in the day and I'm proud to say I was a part of bringing it to where it is today along with a lot of other devoted players and fans..
But Georgio Chinaligia and the NY Cosmos were everyone's nemesis, the Man U of the NASL or any other top team of their division many years but they played some entertaining soccer though I was really unable to appreciate it then being usually on the losing end. In fact that goal was at Lockhart Stadium in South Florida against my team the Strikers, clad in German livery but mostly British players, had our share of Germans though too, like Gerd Mueller who was our center forward, fireplug of a man.
I think that game we had Gordon Banks in goal I see Ken Fogarty at midfield so Ray Hudson must have been playing then too but it's a quick clip, it looks very early in the team history, poor video quality.
At about 4:45 in Georgio scores one of the best goals you'll ever see and the one he scored for the record breaker was pretty impressive too as he chips it over the defenders head and half volleys for a cracking goal, it is magic.. I didn't watch the whole thing yet, I wanted to get this thread up but no doubt there are plenty of magic goals, he just always seemed to be able to find the ball and the net and put them together to piss off the opposition. Wonder where he is now??