Today I'm going back eight years to 2014 and the visit of the famous New York Cosmos to Clarke Stadium, home of FC Edmonton. The attendance was 4,399.
This particular programme is one of those that I tend to dislike, It came in the form of a giveaway newspaper that doesn't readily fit into my collection and newspapers tend to deteriorate more readily than do the more compact programmes printed on higher quality paper. This issue was also used for two games as shown on the cover: The Cosmos game and also for the visit of Ottawa Fury eleven days later. As I find myself saying quite often these days however, I'd take one of these programmes rather than an online issue or even no programme at all as seems to be increasingly the practice!
The North American Soccer League (or NASL as it tends to be called) is a competition that people in Britain of a certain age will be aware of because, back in the 1970's, the USA became a destination of choice for top professional footballers who were often approaching the end of their career but who were looking for one last pay cheque and perhaps a life experience to boot. Amongst an array of star names, players such as Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, George Best and Eusabio all graced the NASL with their skills. However, by the early 1980's, a combination of an economic recession and astronomical player salaries couldn't be sustained and the league was halted in 1985. Some of the sides moved into the resurgent Indoor Soccer League but the NASL was dead. A new NASL competition was born in 2011 but, in truth, it had no connection whatsoever with the original NASL. The new NASL was, in effect, a second division competition for clubs unable to participate in the MLS (Major League Soccer) but there was absolutely no promotion or relegation between the NASL and MLS as that is not the American model. In 2018, the United States Soccer Federation (equivalent to England's FA) refused to sanction the NASL for another year as the League was failing to meet the sanctioning criteria. Sadly the NASL ended up in a costly legal dispute with the US Soccer Federation and the League ultimately collapsed with member sides moving to other leagues or simply ceasing operations.
The featured game was part of the second NASL's spell in a season that ran from April until November in recognition of clubs from Northern cities (such as Edmonton) who simply wouldn't have been able to attract much support if their season ran during periods of minus temperatures. The new NASL struggled to attract member clubs throughout its life and, in 2014 there were just ten teams in the League. As a result, the season was split into Spring and Fall seasons with nine games in the Spring series and 18 in the Fall series. Champions of the Spring and Fall seasons were joined by the two best teams based on their performance in the combined Spring and Fall seasons in the Play-Offs to decide the overall Champion. To the disappointment of the home fans, there was just a single goal in this opening home match of Edmonton's Spring season and that went to the Cosmos, scored by Sebastien Guenzatti in the 37th minute with a clever little backheel flick.
At the end of the nine game Spring season, FC Edmonton finished in a disappointing ninth place (of 10) whereas the Cosmos came a close second to Minnesota United. In the 18 game Fall season, FC Edmonton did much better and came third compared to the Cosmos sixth position. However Champions San Antonio Scorpions joined Minnesota United in the Play-Offs together with the Cosmos and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The 2014 "Soccer Bowl" was won by the San Antonio Scorpions who beat the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2-1 in the Final which was held in San Antonio but was attended by just 7,847.
CRB Match No. 1982
Comments
Post a Comment