Team America (soccer)
Encyclopedia
Team America was a professional version of the United States men's national soccer team
which played as a franchise in the defunct North American Soccer League
(NASL) during the 1983 season. The team was based in Washington, D.C.
, played its home games at RFK Stadium, and was intended by the NASL and the United States Soccer Federation
to build fan support for the league and create a cohesive and internationally competitive national team. It did not accomplish these objectives.
(USSF) to build a more successful national team program. In order to fulfill the twin objectives of nurturing new U.S. talent to reach a greater fan base while feeding that talent into the national team, Samuels and the USSF decided to enter the national team into NASL as a franchise. At the time, U.S. players found it difficult to compete for roster spots against the foreigners who stocked most of the league’s teams. In theory, Team America would only feature U.S. players who would train with each other, fostering a sense of team cohesion which would pay dividends when the U.S. played international games. The name Team America was a reference to both the U.S. national team as well as the 1976 Team America, a team which combined U.S. national team players with the addition of several NASL international stars, which played in the 1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament.
(ASL) and Major Indoor Soccer League
(MISL) to tryouts for the 20 available roster spots. However, several top U.S. players, including Rick Davis
, Jimmy McAllister
, Winston DuBose
, David Brcic
, and Juli Veee
, refused to leave their teams to play for Team America. This forced the NASL and USSF to turn to recently naturalized players and in the case of Alan Green
a player who had not yet gained his citizenship. Several top U.S. players joined the team, including Chico Borja and Jeff Durgan
joined Team America as did Arnie Mausser
and Perry Van der Beck
.
and Steve Moyers
for choosing to remain with the Cosmos rather than signing with Team America. Mark Peterson
, the North American Soccer League's player of the year in 1982, began the season with the Seattle Sounders
, but joined Team America during the 1983 season after receiving severe criticism from other U.S. players.
After the failure of Team America, Washington, D.C. was without a professional soccer club until the birth of Major League Soccer
in 1996
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
which played as a franchise in the defunct North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
(NASL) during the 1983 season. The team was based in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, played its home games at RFK Stadium, and was intended by the NASL and the United States Soccer Federation
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation is the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois. It is a member of FIFA and is responsible for governing amateur and professional soccer, including the men's, women's, youth, futsal...
to build fan support for the league and create a cohesive and internationally competitive national team. It did not accomplish these objectives.
Origins
The origins of Team America came with the ascension of Howard Samuels to the positions of president and CEO of NASL on June 25, 1982. At the time, the league was on the verge of collapsing. The league had 21 teams at the end of the 1981 season, but began the 1982 season with only 14. Attendance was dropping and the league had lost its television contract. To reverse these trends, Samuels proposed turning the league’s focus away from international stars to domestic players in order to create a larger fan base. Samuels’ concept dovetailed with a desire on the part of the United States Soccer FederationUnited States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation is the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois. It is a member of FIFA and is responsible for governing amateur and professional soccer, including the men's, women's, youth, futsal...
(USSF) to build a more successful national team program. In order to fulfill the twin objectives of nurturing new U.S. talent to reach a greater fan base while feeding that talent into the national team, Samuels and the USSF decided to enter the national team into NASL as a franchise. At the time, U.S. players found it difficult to compete for roster spots against the foreigners who stocked most of the league’s teams. In theory, Team America would only feature U.S. players who would train with each other, fostering a sense of team cohesion which would pay dividends when the U.S. played international games. The name Team America was a reference to both the U.S. national team as well as the 1976 Team America, a team which combined U.S. national team players with the addition of several NASL international stars, which played in the 1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament.
Creating the team
Samuels brought in Robert Lifton as the team owner, and in coordination with Lifton and USSF secured RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. as the team’s home field. In January 1983, the NASL and USSF invited 39 players from the NASL, American Soccer LeagueAmerican Soccer League
The American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States. The first American Soccer League was established in 1921 by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For...
(ASL) and Major Indoor Soccer League
Major Soccer League
The Major Indoor Soccer League, known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League, was an indoor soccer league in the USA from 1978 to 1992. After the folding of the North American Soccer League in 1984, the MISL was the Division I soccer league for the United States...
(MISL) to tryouts for the 20 available roster spots. However, several top U.S. players, including Rick Davis
Rick Davis
Richard Dean Davis is a retired American soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s...
, Jimmy McAllister
Jimmy McAlister (soccer)
Jimmy McAlister is a retired U.S. soccer defender. He was the 1977 NASL Rookie of the Year and earned six caps with the U.S. national team.-Professional:...
, Winston DuBose
Winston DuBose
Winston DuBose is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who spent eight seasons in the North American Soccer League, four in the American Professional Soccer League and one in the American Indoor Soccer Association...
, David Brcic
David Brcic
David Joseph Brcic is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He also competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics and earned four caps with the United States men's national soccer team.-Youth career:In 1976, Brcic...
, and Juli Veee
Juli Veee
Juli Veee is a retired Hungarian American soccer forward. Known as the "Double-deuce, triple-E, the one-and-only Juli Veee", Veee experienced his greatest success as an indoor player with the San Diego Sockers. He also earned four caps, scoring two goals, with the U.S...
, refused to leave their teams to play for Team America. This forced the NASL and USSF to turn to recently naturalized players and in the case of Alan Green
Alan Green (soccer)
Alan Green is a retired English-American Association football forward. He began his career with Coventry City before moving to the United States in 1979. He played a total of seven seasons in the North American Soccer League and earned one cap with the U.S. national team.-Professional:Green, a...
a player who had not yet gained his citizenship. Several top U.S. players joined the team, including Chico Borja and Jeff Durgan
Jeff Durgan
Jeffrey "Jeff" Durgan is a retired U.S. soccer defender who played professionally for the New York Cosmos and seven times for the U.S. national team.-NASL:...
joined Team America as did Arnie Mausser
Arnie Mausser
Arnold "Arnie" Mausser is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who played with 8 different NASL teams from 1975-1984. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame....
and Perry Van der Beck
Perry Van der Beck
Perry Van der Beck is a retired U.S. soccer midfielder and manager and a current soccer executive....
.
Season
Wearing a red, white and blue uniform with a horizontally striped jersey, the team began well, going 8-5, but lost 15 of its last 17 games, finishing at the bottom of the standings with a 10-20 record. (Lack of scoring punch was the biggest problem: they scored just 33 goals on the season, barely one per game and easily the worst in the league.) None of the players were named to the league's All Star team. As the team stumbled through the regular season, Samuels and Lifton became desperate. On July 27, 1983, they announced that they had approached the owners of the other NASL, as well as MISL, teams about loaning U.S. players to Team America on a game by game basis when the players' regular teams had an idle game day. However, MISL refused the NASL/USSF request for player loans, citing the NASL policy forbidding teams in that league from loaning its players to MISL. Lack of success on the field led to tensions among U.S. national team players. Some, such as Jeff Durgan, publicly criticized Rick DavisRick Davis
Richard Dean Davis is a retired American soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s...
and Steve Moyers
Steve Moyers
Steve Moyers is a retired soccer forward from the United States, who was a member of the American squad that competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California...
for choosing to remain with the Cosmos rather than signing with Team America. Mark Peterson
Mark Peterson
Mark Peterson was an American soccer forward who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and Western Soccer Alliance. He also earned six caps, scoring one goal, with the United States men's national soccer team.-Youth:Peterson was born and raised in...
, the North American Soccer League's player of the year in 1982, began the season with the Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders (NASL)
The Seattle Sounders were a U.S. professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1974, the team belonged to the North American Soccer League where it played both indoor and outdoor soccer. The team folded after the 1983 NASL outdoor season.-Stadium:The Sounders played at Memorial...
, but joined Team America during the 1983 season after receiving severe criticism from other U.S. players.
Demise
The team averaged only 12,000 fans per home game, leading to severe financial losses. Additionally, USSF failed to finalize several potential marketing deals. At the end of the season, Robert Lifton pulled the plug on the franchise. Following the demise of the team, Lifton, Samuels and USSF engaged public rancour and wrangling regarding who was most responsible for this fiasco.After the failure of Team America, Washington, D.C. was without a professional soccer club until the birth of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
in 1996
Roster
Year-by-year
| Year | League | W | L | T | Pts | Reg. Season | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | NASL | 10 | 20 | — | 79 | 4th, Southern Division | Did not qualify |