“Soccer is not only here to stay, but will be, perhaps, the biggest big league of all.”
– Howard Cosell, 1977
On a muggy Sunday in May 1977, more than 45,000 people flocked to Tampa Stadium to witness Franz Beckenbauer’s North American Soccer League debut with Pele’s New York Cosmos. The German World Cup hero scored, but his new team fell to the rival Tampa Bay Rowdies 4-2 before a national television audience.
For soccer fans of that era – and there were many in a handful of NASL cities – that game offered hope soccer was on its way to becoming mainstream in the United States. How quaint that seems now as Major League Soccer breathlessly awaits the debut of David Beckham, the English midfielder and pop icon being imported to do for American soccer what Beckenbauer, Pele and a lengthy list of international stars failed to do 30 years ago.
A month after Beckenbauer’s debut, a Cosmos-Rowdies rematch in Giants Stadium drew 62,319. Two months later the Cosmos sold out a playoff game (77,691) against Fort Lauderdale.
Seven years later the NASL was dead.
Today the MLS averages 15,089 fans per game. Six of the league’s 13 teams play in team-owned, soccer-specific stadiums such as Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (capacity 18,000) in Commerce City, where the MLS All-Star Game will be played Thursday.
NASL sets groundwork
The MLS has a business model specifically designed to avoid the NASL’s mistakes. It also is the direct beneficiary of the youth soccer explosion the NASL ignited when Beckenbauer was “Der Kaiser” and Beckham was a toddler.
“We all felt like we were pioneers, and we were on a magical carpet ride,” said Shep Messing, a former Cosmos goalkeeper, now an MLS television analyst. “The after-effects were great. It laid the seeds for the sport in this country today.”
The NASL failed in part because teams tried to keep up with the big-spending Cosmos. World Cup stars and solid first-division players from the European leagues poured into the NASL, driving payrolls beyond the point of prudence.
“The NASL became this big starburst where there had been nothing before,” said Ray Hudson, an NASL star for Fort Lauderdale. “It was this supernova of world-class superstars that turned people – kids, families – on to the game.”
The MLS, by contrast, has much wealthier ownership and operates under a “single-entity” model, meaning owners share financial stakes in the league. Players are signed to league contracts and payrolls are funded by the league.
The NASL had some strong owners – Warner Communications owned the Cosmos – but too many weak ones.
“We spent a lot of time thinking about this,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said. “Had the NASL had a good economic model, they’d still be here today, and they’d be more successful than they were when they left. They had a handful of good markets and a handful of good years.”
Keeping costs down
This year the MLS changed its rules, allowing teams a “designated player” whose salary can fall outside the budget provided by the league, with the team paying the difference. In the case of Beckham’s $6.5 million salary this year, the league chips in $400,000, with the Los Angeles Galaxy paying the rest.
“If we wanted to bring stars in, another league would say, ‘OK, let’s blow up our salary cap and sign, like the NASL did, the best players in the world,”‘ Garber said. “If we did that, it might work for a year or two, but we’d spend ourselves out of business. We collectively, through our strategic approach, made a decision of only allowing teams to sign one. It gives us a more prudent approach to go about managing spending.”
Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas said Beckham has paid for himself with increased ticket sales.
“I don’t think it’s a slippery slope,” Lalas said. “The day we started this league we constantly talked about, ‘Let’s not make the same mistakes twice, let’s learn our lessons from the NASL.’ And I think to a good extent, we’ve done that.”
Producing “stardust”
If Hollywood turns out for Beckham, it will recall the glory days of the Cosmos when movie stars were regulars at Giants Stadium and Mick Jagger hung out in the locker room like a groupie. They came to see Pele of Brazil, the game’s best player, and Giorgio Chinaglia, a lethal goal scorer from Italy. Beckenbauer led Bayern Munich to three European Cup titles and captained Germany’s World Cup champions in 1974.
“He’ll tell you today (the NASL) was the greatest time of his life,” Messing said. “For a Franz Beckenbauer to say that, that’s pretty staggering to me. For the rest of us guys, we think we’re the luckiest guys in the world. We worked hard, we fought, we played, we were pretty good, but we just caught lightning in a bottle.”
Bayern Munich’s Gerd Mueller – then the leading goal scorer in World Cup history – turned up in Fort Lauderdale. Dutch superstar Johan Cruyff played for Los Angeles and Washington. Manchester United’s troubled George Best played in Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale and San Jose.
“It was like a floodgate opened,” said Hudson, who came from Newcastle United. “All of those players would put Beckham in the shade – but not with celebrity status.”
Beckham will be here this week as Garber’s guest but will not play. He is due to make his debut with the Galaxy at home next Saturday.
“He has to produce the stardust,” Hudson said. “Pele did. Beckenbauer did. Chinaglia did. (Nene) Cubillas did. Rodney Marsh did. They lived up to it, man, they lived up to the hype. All the world is going to be looking at MLS now.”
Marquee players crucial
During the NASL years, quality native players were scarce. Today, Americans are in demand by top European clubs, so much so it can be hard for the MLS to keep the best home.
Back then, American fans didn’t see much of the international game, apart from closed-circuit World Cup games and weekly, condensed English and German games on PBS stations. Now with satellite and the Internet, Americans can follow any international league they like on a weekly basis.
For that reason, many say the MLS needs to import more quality talent to raise its profile. The New York Red Bulls signed Colombian international Juan Pablo Angel as their designated player, but Messing says New York fans are savvy enough to recognize his supporting cast is weak.
“This league is doing well, but it still aspires to being mediocre,” Messing said. “While I believe the single-entity concept was the right thing for the beginning of the league and the first 10 years, if that doesn’t spin off into individual ownership, it will be a league like Arena Football.”
Hudson said there are 1,000 players in the world better than Beckham, and he would like to see a few of them join the MLS.
“They need the marquee, authentic international footballers to go with these wonderfully developing American players that the United States is producing off a conveyor belt now,” he said.
But Garber said the league will continue its slow-growth policy to avoid the fate of the late, great NASL.
“We know soccer will be wildly successful at some point,” Garber said. “We want to be here when it is.”
Following in their footsteps
Long before Major League Soccer signed international celebrity David Beckham to boost the league’s profile, the North American Soccer League (1968-84) brought many high-profile international stars to these shores. The influx began when the New York Cosmos signed Pele in 1975, a month after Beckham was born. The list of great NASL stars reads like a Who’s Who of world soccer in that era. Standouts included:
Pele, New York Cosmos, 1975-77: The humble Brazilian is regarded as the greatest player in history, perhaps the greatest in any sport.
Giorgio Chinaglia, New York Cosmos, 1976-83: One of Italy’s great strikers (Lazio) was a lethal and flamboyant finisher with an ego to match.
Franz Beckenbauer, New York Cosmos, 1977-83: “Der Kaiser,” two-time European footballer of the year, starred for Bayern Munich and captained Germany’s World Cup champion in 1974.
George Best, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, San Jose, 1976-81: He was past his prime and fought alcoholism but still showed glimpses of brilliance.
Gordon Banks, Fort Lauderdale, 1977-78: Goalkeeper for England’s World Cup-winning side in 1966 was one of the greatest keepers in history.
Johan Cruyff, Los Angeles and Washington, 1979-81: Star of Holland’s World Cup runner-up team in 1974, three-time European footballer of the year.
Nene Cubillas, Fort Lauderdale, 1979-83: Three-time World Cup star for Peru.
Eusebio, Boston, Toronto and Las Vegas, 1975-77: Portuguese World Cup star is arguably the second-best of his era behind Pele.
Bobby Moore, San Antonio, Seattle, 1976, 1978: Captain of England’s World Cup-winning squad in 1966.
Gerd Mueller, Fort Lauderdale, 1979-81: “Der Bomber,” one of greatest goal scorers in history for Bayern Munich and Germany.
Rodney Marsh, Tampa Bay, 1976-79: The wise-cracking “Clown Prince of Soccer” from Manchester City became one of the NASL’s most colorful players.
Johan Neeskens, New York Cosmos, 1979-84: Key player in Holland’s World Cup runner-up teams of 1974 and 1978.
MLS All-Star Game
Where: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Who: MLS all-star team vs. Celtic F.C. of Scotland
MLS selection: The first 11 – not necessarily the starting lineup – were selected in voting by fans, coaches, general managers and the media. New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol named five additions – including Rapids midfielder/defender Pablo Mastroeni – and league commissioner Don Garber added two players.
Celebration: The MLS Soccer Jam will take place Wednesday (4-8 p.m.) at Skyline Park in downtown Denver. Live music, food and drink will be part of the scene, along with members of the all-star teams and Rapids players.
Tickets: Limited seating still available, call 1-866-461-6556 or 303-825-GOAL (4625). A limited number of standing room-only tickets will be released at 10 a.m. Monday.
MLS ROSTER
Goalkeepers
Matt Reis (New England),
Kevin Hartman (Kansas City).
Defenders
Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA)
Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City)
Michael Parkhurst (New England)
Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake)
Midfielders
Ricardo Clark (Houston)
Dwayne DeRosario (Houston)
Christian Gomez (D.C. United)
Cobi Jones (Los Angeles)
Shalrie Joseph (New England)
Pablo Mastroeni (Rapids)
Ronnie O’Brien (Toronto FC)
Juan Toja (FC Dallas)
Forwards
Juan Pablo Angel (New York)
Brian Ching (Houston)
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles)
Eddie Johnson (Kansas City)
