For Soccer Fans:  The Hall of Fame Lives!

 By Len Oliver, U.S. Soccer National Soccer Hall of Fame 

Closing of the Hall

Since the closing of the National Soccer Hall of Fame Museum in Oneonta, New York in late 2009, soccer fans throughout the country have been perplexed by the Hall’s abrupt demise.  Even with financial support from U.S. Soccer, the U.S. Soccer Foundation, the New York State Legislature, and the town of Oneonta, the Hall faced massive deficits in the maintenance of its extensive soccer collection, soccer tournaments for both adult and youth teams on first-class fields, and the Annual Induction Ceremony.

            Somewhat off the beaten path, the Hall never acquired  the reputation enjoyed by the Baseball Hall of Fame’s “He’s going to Cooperstown,” a town just 17 miles up the road from Oneonta, or “He’s on his way to Canton” for the Football Hall of Fame. 

Len Oliver, second from left, and fellow Hall of Fame inductees.

The 2010 Inductions  

            Still, U.S. Soccer, led by President Sunil Gulati and CEO/Secretary-General Dan Flynn, managed to keep the Induction Ceremony alive by staging it on Tuesday, August 10 in conjunction with the U.S. v. Brazil friendly match at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.   As Gulati indicated in his opening remarks:

            "Every Hall of Fame class is special in its own way and this one highlights a time of unique growth in our U.S. Soccer history….. Clearly Bruce took our national team to new levels of performance and world recognition while also playing a very important role in the development of Major League Soccer. Thomas was a leader on our national team during an important period during the 1990s while Preki was one of the most influential players in MLS history. Kyle is one of our American soccer pioneers and the contribution of his generation should be celebrated.

            As a Hall inductee (Player, 1996), I was invited, along with all other living Hall of Famers, to take part and be recognized in the 2010 Induction Ceremony for the most recent Hall inductees:

•             Bruce Arena, Builder (Coach)
•                  Kyle Rote, Jr., Veteran (NASL, U.S. National Team)
•             Preki Radosavljevic, Player (MILS, MLS, U.S. National Team)
•             Thomas Dooley, Player (MLS, U.S. National Team)
•             Paul Gardner, Journalist, Soccer America, Colin Jose Media Award

            The Induction Ceremony, carried out in the vast Coaches Club at the New Meadowlands Stadium prior to the U.S. v. Brazil match with several hundred well-wishers and media personalities, was tastefully conducted befitting the seriousness of the occasion.

Welcoming the New Inductees

            The new Hall of Fame Inductees and Gardner were enthusiastically introduced by family and friends.   Kenny Arena, Bruce Arena’s son and a player himself, introduced his Dad, occasionally choking up as he recounted his Arena’s soccer exploits as Coach at the University of Virginia with four NCAA Championships, DC United with two MLS Championships, winningest coach in U.S. Men’s National Team history, at New York Red Bulls for two seasons, and currently with the league-leading Los Angeles Galaxy. 

            Hank Steinbrecher, energetic former Secretary-General for U.S. Soccer, described how U.S. Soccer recruited Tom Dooley, son of an American GI and a German mother, who at the time was playing in the German Bundesliga, for the U.S. National Team.  With an expedited passport because of his dual citizenship, Dooley joined the U.S. National Team in 1992.  He returned to Germany for three seasons with Schalke (1994-1997) and then started and played every game for the U.S. in the World Cups in 1994 and 1998, captaining the U.S. team in France 1998.   Dooley revolutionized American soccer’s tactics with his numerous forays from his position in Central Defense.   Dooley joined the MLS’s Columbus Crew in 1997, became a two-time MLS All-Star and a two-time Best XI selection.  He ended his MLS career with the MetroStars in 2000 at age 39.   Dooley regaled the enthusiastic audience with his stories of learning our language and fitting into our American culture.

             The Serb Predag Radosavljevic, better known  as “Preki,” concluded an illustrious 10-year MLS career in 2005 as the League’s all-time points leader and the only player with five seasons of at least 10 goals and 10 assists.   Recruited by the MISL’s Tacoma Stars in 1985 by Bob McNabb, MISL executive, who also introduced Preki to the Induction audience, Preki was named to 16 All-Star teams and was a four-time league MVP.   MLS honored Preki, after his 10^th season, by naming him to the MLS’s All-time Best XI.  He won MLS  MVP and MLS Scoring Champion honors in 1997 and 2003, the latter coming at the age of 40.  Nine of his MLS seasons were spent with Kansas City, winning the MLS Cup in 2000.   He earned 28 caps with the U.S. National Team, with his most dramatic goal coming against Brazil in the U.S.’s 1-0 win in the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-final.

             Kenny Cooper, former NASL All-Star with Dallas, introduced Kyle Rote, Jr., who is relatively unknown to our modern generation of soccer players.    Son of a famous NFL football player, Kyle Rote, Sr., Rote played in the old NASA in the 1970s.   Rote led the NASL in scoring with the Dallas Tornado at forward in 1973, his debut year, at a time when few Americans could play at the pro level, let alone play up front and score goals.    Earning five caps for the U.S. National Team, Rote established himself in the public’s mind by winning the made-for-television “Superstars Competition” three years running, 1974, 1976, 1977 against some of America’s top, and better-known athletes.

Ever modest, Rote played down his impressive soccer credentials, acknowledging the speed of the modern game and the game’s development among American youth.

            The final 2010 inductee and winner of the prestigious Colin Jose Media Award, Paul Gardner, was introduced by Mike Woitalla of Soccer America.  Woitalla talked about Gardner’s early years in England, growing up with the game, and emigrating to the U.S. to become one of our country’s great soccer commentators, both print and on television.   An outspoken fan of the Latin style of play, Gardner emphasized in his remarks that America will come to its own style given the multiple influences on our culture.   In his daily soccer columns, both on line and in print for Soccer America, the acerbic Gardner with over 30 years of soccer writing has constantly taken on the English game--the lack of intricate passing, the vicious tackling, and the end-to-end random running.    Well-known for his soccer insider insights, Gardner is a fitting recipient of the 2010 Colin Jose Media Award.

Moving to the Field

            After the two-hour Induction Ceremony, the new Inductees, along with the some 20 prior awardees, all in their highly-visible red jackets, moved to the New Meadowlands Stadium playing field where 77,000 fans awaited the U.S. v. Brazil friendly.   The artificial turf field, employed by the NFL’s New York Giants, was covered for the game with rows of newly-installed natural grass, more appropriate for high-level soccer. 

            The fans, many bedecked in the traditional yellow of the Brazilian national team, gave the Hall of Famers rousing cheers, as each Hall of Famer was introduced to the crowd.   The Hall of Fame lives!

             Sporting a younger version of the team that abruptly departed from the World Cup last summer in South Africa, Brazil’s highly-skilled youngsters proceeded to give the U.S. team, essentially unchanged from the side that went to the Round of 16 in South Africa, a lesson in soccer skills, improvisation, attacking in numbers, and team play.  Brazil scored two sterling first-half goals, coasting to a final 2-0 victory over the embattled, and out-classed Americans, led by supposedly lame-duck Coach Bob Bradley. 

Future of the Hall 

           Photo: Len Oliver, second from left, with fellow Hall of Fame inductees

Where will future National Soccer Hall of Fame Inductions be held, without a permanent home?   Who knows?  But the Hall is alive, inducting a new crop of nationally-known and highly-respected coaches and players in this 2010 Induction Ceremony.   Deserving former players, builders, and veterans will continue to be annually nominated and voted into the Hall, perhaps continuing the trend to hold the Annual Inductions simultaneously with a U.S. National Team game.  

For the sports’ history, and for those who so ably and admirably contributed  to soccer’s long history in the U.S., that is indeed welcome news.  Even the locational uncertainty doesn’t bother us.   The Hall lives and remains an essential component of our increasingly popular game of soccer. We have that promise from U.S. Soccer, and from the enthusiasm greeting this new incarnation of our Soccer Hall of Fame. 

Some Spectator Comments:

 Dear Mr. Oliver,

 I don’t think you remember me but I did a coaching course with you a few years ago (summer of 2006 actually, we watched games together). I was at the USA v. Brazil game and I saw you on the field and I wanted to pass on my congratulations. It was nice to see you among all those heroes of US Soccer.

I was able to take what you taught me and set up a soccer program in Mongolia. I am now in New York City teaching ESL. I have been introducing soccer to the kids at my school and we play every Saturday.

 Thanks for everything you did,

Hey Len,

Taylor, McLean and I loved seeing you at Giants stadium. You probably
could not see us in Row 14, Section 146. But we cheered ourselves hoarse
when your name was called out and you appeared on the jumbo screen.

We are still avid soccer fans - watch a lot of games on TV and go to
them in person when we can. Too bad DC United is faltering so badly. I
am slowly shifting my focus to the Red Bulls.

Congratulations on being in the Hall of Fame.

David Copus

Former DC Stoddert Coach/Board Member

 posted by MCL 8/30/10 updated 9/4/10