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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.
Carlos Alberto "Capita" Torres, also known as "O Capitão do Tri", was a Brazilian football player and manager who played as an attacking right-sided full-back or wing-back. A technically gifted defender with good ball skills and defensive capabilities, he is widely regarded as one of the best defenders of all time. He also stood out for his leadership, and was an excellent penalty taker. Nicknamed O Capitão, he captained the Brazil national team to victory in the 1970 World Cup, scoring the fourth goal in the final, considered one of the greatest goals in the history of the tournament.
The New York Cosmos were an American professional soccer club based in New York City and its suburbs. The team played home games in three stadiums around New York, including Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, before moving in 1977 to Giants Stadium in nearby East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the club remained for the rest of its history.
Richard Dean Davis is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League era and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
The New York Generals were an American professional soccer team based in New York City that competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1968.
The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly to the nation's soccer history.
Shep Norman Messing is a retired American soccer goalkeeper and current broadcaster who works as a studio analyst for the MLS Season Pass team. In 2021 he took the position of chairman of the Major Arena Soccer League.
Alex "Allie" Sherman was an American football player and coach who played 51 games in six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback and defensive back, and afterward served as head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and of the New York Giants of the NFL. He later worked as a cable television and sports marketing executive and media personality.
Michael Windischmann is an American retired soccer defender who played in both the Major Indoor Soccer League and the American Soccer League. He earned fifty caps with the U.S. national team and was the captain of the U.S. team at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Robert "Bobby" Smith is a retired U.S. soccer defender who spent nine years in the North American Soccer League and one in the League of Ireland and the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned eighteen caps with the United States men's national soccer team and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Rocco Benito Commisso is an Italian-born American billionaire businessman, and the founder, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mediacom, the fifth largest cable television company in the US. As of 2011, the company is privately owned by Commisso. He previously worked for companies including Cablevision, the Royal Bank of Canada, and Chase Manhattan Bank. Since 2017, Commisso has been the owner and chairman of the New York Cosmos, and since June 2019, the owner of the Italian football club ACF Fiorentina.
Gordon Bradley was an English-American soccer midfielder born and raised on Wearside who played several seasons with lower-division English clubs before moving to play in Canada at the age of 30. During the Canadian off-season, he played and coached in the U.S.-based German American Soccer League. In 1971, he became a player and head coach for the New York Cosmos. In addition to coaching the Cosmos, he has coached the U.S. national team and at the collegiate and high school levels. Bradley also earned one cap with the U.S. national team in 1973. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Werner "Scotty" Nilsen is a former soccer player who played as a forward. He is one of the highest scoring players in United States soccer history, scoring 131 goals in 239 games with the Boston Soccer Club. He won five consecutive National Challenge Cups during his career, and four doubles. Born in Norway, he earned two caps with the United States national team in 1934. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Lloyd Monsen is a retired American soccer forward and baseball pitcher. Monsen spent eleven seasons in the American Soccer League as well as several years in the lower division German American Soccer League and National Soccer League of New York. He earned three caps with the U.S. national team between 1952 and 1957 and was a member of the U.S. Olympic soccer teams at both the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Keith Eddy was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Barrow, Watford and Sheffield United in England, as well as the New York Cosmos in the United States. He went on to manage the Toronto Blizzard in the NASL from 1979 to 1981, and in retirement founded the Tulsa Soccer Club.
Werner Fricker was a German-American soccer halfback who later became president of the United States Soccer Federation. He is a member of both the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the USASA Hall of Fame.
Charlie Mitchell is a Scottish American former soccer defender and coach. He played ten seasons in the North American Soccer League from 1970 to 1979.
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.
Remie Jacques Olmberg is a retired Surinamese footballer who played as a defender for SV Robinhood in the Hoofdklasse, and the Suriname national team. He was the team captain for SV Robinhood for a decade during one of the club's most successful periods, having won three national titles and finishing as runners-up in the CONCACAF Champions Cup on three occasions as well. He also won the Surinamese Footballer of the Year award twice.
