1976 San Jose Earthquakes season

Last updated
San Jose Earthquakes
1976 season
Coach Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Momcilo Gavric
Stadium Spartan Stadium
NASL Division: 1st
Conference: 2nd
Overall: 6th
NASL Playoffs Conference Finals
National Challenge Cup Did not enter
Top goalscorer Ilija Mitic (14) [1]
Average home league attendance19,826 [2]
←  1975
1977  →

The 1976 San Jose Earthquakes season was their third in the North American Soccer League, and they finished in first place in the Southern Division of the Pacific Conference. In the playoffs, they defeated the Dallas Tornado in the Conference Semifinals, 2-0 at Spartan Stadium. The Minnesota Kicks beat the Earthquakes, 3-1 in the Conference Championship played at Metropolitan Stadium in Minnesota. [3]

North American Soccer League (1968–84) defunct association football league (1968–1984)

The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It was the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the United States. The league final was called the Soccer Bowl from 1975 to 1983 and the Soccer Bowl Series in its final year, 1984. The league was headed by Commissioner Phil Woosnam from 1969 to 1983.

Dallas Tornado association football team in the United States

The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the USA in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons.

Minnesota Kicks former professional soccer team

The Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League. The Minnesota Kicks were established in 1976 and quickly became one of the league's more popular teams, with an average attendance of 23,120 fans per game in 1976. The Kicks won their division four years in a row from 1976–79. The Kicks drew over 23,000 fans in each season from 1976–79, with attendance peaking at 32,775 in 1977.

Contents

Squad

The 1976 squad [1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

As the governing body of association football, FIFA is responsible for maintaining and implementing the rules that determine whether an association football player is eligible to represent a particular country in officially recognised international competitions and friendly matches. In the 20th century, FIFA allowed a player to represent any national team, as long as the player held citizenship of that country. In 2004, in reaction to the growing trend towards naturalisation of foreign players in some countries, FIFA implemented a significant new ruling that requires a player to demonstrate a "clear connection" to any country they wish to represent. FIFA has used its authority to overturn results of competitive international matches that feature ineligible players.

No.PositionPlayer
1 Flag of the United States.svg GK Mike Ivanow
1 Flag of the United States.svg GK Terry Weekes
2 Flag of the United States.svg DF Buzz Demling
3 Flag of England.svg DF Laurie Calloway
4 Flag of the United States.svg DF Mark Demling
5 Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg DF Momcilo Gavric
6 Flag of the United States.svg FW Mani Hernandez
7 Flag of Portugal.svg MF Antonio Simoes
8 Flag of Scotland.svg MF Johnny Moore
10 Flag of England.svg FW Paul Child
11 Flag of the United States.svg FW Mark Liveric
No.PositionPlayer
13 Flag of Scotland.svg MF Davie Kemp
14 Flag of England.svg DF John Rowlands
15 Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg MF Ilija Mitic
17 Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg FW George Sorgic
18 Flag of Hungary.svg MF Tibor Molnar
19 Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg FW Tony Douglas
20 Flag of the United States.svg MF Jim Zylker
21 Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg DF Miro Pavlovic
22 Flag of the United States.svg MF Juli Veee
24 Flag of Scotland.svg GK Mike Hewitt

Competitions

NASL

Match results

Season

DateOpponentVenueResultScorers
April 17, 1976 Los Angeles Aztecs H2–1 Child, Liveric
April 24, 1976 Minnesota Kicks H4–2 Liveric, Sorgic, Mitic (2)
May 1, 1976 San Diego Jaws H0–1
May 2, 1976 Dallas Tornado A1–3Sorgic
May 8, 1976 St. Louis Stars A3–0 Child, Liveric, Mitic
May 9, 1976 Minnesota Kicks A1–4 Mitic
May 16, 1976 Vancouver Whitecaps H2–0Sorgic (2)
June 4, 1976 Seattle Sounders A2–1 Mitic, Child
June 6, 1976 San Antonio Thunder H0–3
June 11, 1976 Washington Diplomats A1–2 Mitic
June 13, 1976 Toronto Metros-Croatia A0–0*
June 20, 1976 Seattle Sounders H2–1 Child, Mitic
June 25, 1976 Portland Timbers A0–1
June 27, 1976 Dallas Tornado H4–0 Child (2), Liveric (2)
July 3, 1976 Portland Timbers H3–0 B. Demling, Child (2)
July 7, 1976 Vancouver Whitecaps A1–0 Liveric
July 11, 1976 St. Louis Stars H6–1 Child (2), Mitic (2), Liveric (2)
July 17, 1976 Boston Minutemen H6–1 Child (2), Moore (2), Liveric (2)
July 23, 1976 San Diego Jaws A2–3 Moore, Mitic
July 25, 1976 Los Angeles Aztecs A1–0 Mitic
July 31, 1976 Miami Toros H3–0 Mitic (2), Child
August 7, 1976 New York Cosmos H2–1 Moore, Rowlands
August 11, 1976 Chicago Sting A1–1* Mitic
August 13, 1976 San Antonio Thunder A0–2

Playoffs

DateOpponentVenueResultScorers
August 20, 1976 Dallas Tornado              H2–0           Mitic (2)          
August 25, 1976 Minnesota Kicks A1–3 Mitic

* = Shootout
Source: [4]

Standings

Pacific Conference

Southern DivisionWLGFGAPT
San Jose Earthquakes 14104730123
Dallas Tornado 13114445117
Los Angeles Aztecs 12124344108
San Antonio Thunder 12123832107
San Diego Jaws 915294782

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References

  1. 1 2 "San Jose Earthquakes Rosters". NASL Jerseys. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  2. ↑ "North American Soccer League Attendance". NASLJerseys.com. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  3. ↑ "The Year in American Soccer 1976". American Soccer History Archives. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  4. ↑ "San Jose Earthquakes Game Results" . Retrieved March 27, 2014.
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