Stefan Szefer

Last updated

Stefan Szefer
Personal information
Full name Stefan Rudolf Szefer [1]
Date of birth (1942-05-08) May 8, 1942 (age 81)
Place of birth Pabianice, Poland
Height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1959–1962 Pabianice
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1963–1965 Śląsk Wrocław ? (?)
1966–1968 ŁKS Łódź ? (?)
1968 Chicago Mustangs ? (?)
1969–1971 MVV Maastricht 49 (2)
1971–1973 Chicago Wisla
1973–1975 Ukrainian Lions
1975 Chicago Sting 22 (3)
1976 Chicago Cats
1977–1979 Chicago Sting 40 (3)
1980–1981 Chicago Sting (indoor) 8 (1)
International career
1966–1967 Poland 3 (0)
1973 United States 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stefan Rudolf Szefer (born May 8, 1942), also known as Steve Shafer or Shaffer, [2] is a former soccer player who played as a defender. He earned six caps during his career, three with Poland and three with the United States. [3]

Contents

Club career

Most sources for Szefer’s early career are in Polish. In 1964, he was with Śląsk Wrocław. [4] He then played for ŁKS Łódź from 1966 to 1968. In 1968, Szefer moved to the Chicago Mustangs of the North American Soccer League. The Mustangs folded at the end of the season. He then moved to Dutch club MVV Maastricht for two seasons, scoring two goals as a left back. [5] In 1971, Szefer moved back to Chicago where he played for two amateur teams, Chicago Wisla (1971–1973) and the Ukrainian Lions (1973–1975). In 1975, he signed with the expansion Chicago Sting of the NASL. In May 1976, Szefer joined the Chicago Cats of the American Soccer League, [6] but returned to the Sting for the 1977 season. Szefer played outdoor for the Sting until 1979. He returned briefly in 1980 to play for them during the 1980–1981 NASL indoor season.

International career

Poland

Szefer played three games for the Poland from 1966 to 1967. He also played for Poland in the 1968 European Championship. [7]

United States

In 1973, Szefer played for the U.S. under the name Steve Shafer. The first game was a 2–0 win over Canada on August 5. Five days later, he played in a 4–0 loss to Poland. On August 12, he played his last game with the U.S., a 1–0 win over Poland. He was replaced by Jerry Panek in the 60th minute. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American Soccer League (1968–1984)</span> Defunct major soccer league in the United States and Canada

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. The NASL laid the foundations for soccer in the United States that helped lead to the country hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the set-up of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eredivisie</span> Dutch professional football league

The Eredivisie is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. As of the 2023–24 season, it is ranked the 5th-best league in Europe by UEFA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Sting</span> Former American professional soccer team based in Chicago

The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1984 to 1988. They were North American Soccer League champions in 1981 and 1984, one of only two NASL teams to win the championship twice.

The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding in 1968 through 1974, the championship game was known as the NASL Championship Final, and in 1984 the single game was replaced by a best-of-three series known as the Soccer Bowl Series.

Gordon Alec Hill is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Millwall, Manchester United, Derby County and Queens Park Rangers, and was capped six times for the England national team.

Tony Chursky is a former Canadian national soccer team and NASL goalkeeper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horst Blankenburg</span> German footballer

Horst Blankenburg is a German former professional footballer, who played as a sweeper. He is best known for the early 1970s period, during which he played for Ajax and won the European Cup three times, the European Super Cup twice, the Intercontinental Cup once (1972) and the Dutch championship and the KNVB Cup twice. In 1976, he won the German Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1977 with Hamburger SV. He was never selected for the West Germany national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Spurs</span> American soccer club

Chicago Spurs were an American soccer team that was a charter member of the non-FIFA sanctioned National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967. The team was based in Chicago, Illinois and played their home games at the Soldier Field. When the NPSL merged with the rival United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League, the team moved and became the Kansas City Spurs, leaving the Chicago market to the Chicago Mustangs

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willy Roy</span> American soccer player

Willy Roy is a retired American soccer forward and coach. He played for several teams in the National Professional Soccer League and the North American Soccer League in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the United States national team from 1965 to 1973. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Rudy Getzinger is a retired soccer player who played as a midfielder. He was raised in Austria before coming to the US. He spent most of his career with Chicago-based teams, earned eight caps with the United States and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Gene Geimer is a former U.S. soccer forward who spent seven seasons in the North American Soccer League and at least one season in Major Indoor Soccer League. Before entering the professional ranks, Geimer won a National Amateur Cup with St. Louis Kutis in 1971. He also earned six caps, scoring two goals, with the United States in 1972 and 1973.

Alexander Skotarek is a retired German American soccer defender. He played in both Europe and the North American Soccer League during the 1970s and early 1980s. He also earned ten caps with the U.S. national team in 1975 and 1976.Parents are from Poland.

Larry Hausmann is an American former soccer player who spent nine seasons in the North American Soccer League. He also earned eight caps with the U.S. national team between 1968 and 1972.

Doug Wark is a former Scottish-American soccer forward who spent five seasons in the North American Soccer League and three in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He earned one cap with the U.S. national team in 1975.

Teodor Jerzy Panek known in Poland as Jerzy Panek and in the United States as Jerry Panek is a retired Polish-American football who played as a midfielder who earned three caps with the U.S. national team in 1973. He currently coaches youth soccer in Wisconsin.

Richard Green is a former soccer player who played as a defender who played professionally in Peru and the United States, including the North American Soccer League. Born in Peru, he earned one cap for the United States national team in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janusz Kowalik</span> Polish footballer

Janusz "John" Kowalik is a Polish former association football striker who scored prolifically in both the European leagues and the North American Soccer League. He was the 1968 NASL MVP.

The Ukrainian Lions was a soccer club that was operated by the Ukrainian American Sports Club. The club was based in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1949 by Ukrainians that had settled in the Chicago area after the Second World War. They competed professionally in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and the National Soccer League (Chicago). All their home games were played at Hansen Stadium. There were 6 players from the Ukrainian Lions that played on the US National Team Willy Roy, Nick Krat, Orest Banach, Stefan Szefer, Fred Kovacs and Mike Noha.

North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. Beginning in 1975, the league final was called the Soccer Bowl.

Chicago Lions SC was an American Soccer Club based in Chicago Illinois. The club was operated by the. The club competed professionally in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and the National Soccer League (Chicago). They were also known as the Ukrainian Lions. All their home games were played at Hansen Stadium in Chicago Illinois. The club was founded in 1949 by Ukrainian immigrants who settled in the Chicago area after WW 2. There were 6 Lions players that played on the US Men's National Team Nick Krat, Orest Banach, Willy Roy, Mike Noha and Stefan Szefer and Fred Kovacs. In 1975 the Chicago Sting signed Chicago Lions players Willy Roy, Ian Stone, Stefan Szefer, Mike Winter, Richard Green and Eugene Andruss for there inaugural season in the North American Soccer League. Other players that went on to play in the North American Soccer League and the American Soccer League were Nick Owcharuk with the San Diego Sockers, Leo Kulinczenko with the Los Angeles Skyhawks, Bill Mishalow with the Memphis Rogues.

References

  1. "Stefan Szefer". EU-Football.info. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  2. Soccer Hall of Fame National Team Registry
  3. "Players Appearing for Two or More Countries". RSSSF . Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  4. Stefan Szefer
  5. Topscorers Eredivisie, PTT-Telecompetitie, KPN Telecompetitie, KPN Eredivisie, Holland Casino Eredivisie 1956–2003
  6. May 4, 1976 Transactions
  7. European Championship 1968 (Details)
  8. USA – Details of International Matches 1970–1979