Americans were just awakening to soccer in the early 1970s. The player they all knew was Pele, by then already retired from international soccer and in the twilight of hiscareer. The player they all watched and copied was Johan Cruyff, who died on Thursday at the age of 68. Watching Cruyff was not easy. He […]
obituary
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
The day Cruyff came to town
By Dan Woog While the soccer world mourns the death of Johan Cruyff — the electrifying, revolutionary player who brought Holland to global prominence, then as a coach laidthe foundation for Barcelona (and Spain’s) enduring influence — Westporters of a certain age recall the day the lithe forward arrived in town. In 1979, a Dutchman […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Ohio Wesleyan mourns freshman Luke Gabbert's death
Luke Gabbert, who had just completed his freshman season at perennial Division III power Ohio Wesleyan, was found dead Saturday morning in a creek near the school campus in Delaware, Ohio. Ohio Wesleyan president Rock Jones advised the school campus of Gabbert’s death in a statement issued on Saturday. He said foul play didn’t appear […]
Posted inAround The Net in Soccer World Daily, Story
Former Newcastle Keeper Dies Suddenly
Former Newcastle goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek on Tuesday died due to cardiac arrest. The 47-year-old had been in an induced coma in the Czech Republic since collapsing while outjogging on Dec. 20, and a decision was taken to take him off life support. The former Czech Republic international collapsed while out running near his home in Ostrava […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
El Salvador's all-time caps leader Pacheco gunned down
Former New York Red Bulls defender Alfredo Pacheco, El Salvador’s all-time caps leader with 86 international appearances, was gunned down at a gas station in his native Santa Ana. In 2013,Pacheco, 33, had been banned for life in a match-fixing scandal involving 14 members of the national team. Pacheco was shot three times at point-blank […]
Posted inOff The Post, Story
Everton memorial for Kendall is also a tribute to soccer's power
This column is often devoted to discussion of the controversies and scandals that seem to roil the game every day, but today it will instead pay tribute to an iconic figure of a bygone era. At a funeral service in Liverpool on Thursday, the Everton community bade farewell to Howard Kendall, a longtime servant of […]
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Two USC Upstate soccer players killed in crash
Soccer players Mills Sproull and James Campbell were among four USC Upstate students, all athletes, killed in a carcrash early Sunday morning in Boiling Springs, South Carolina. Joshua Lee, who ran cross country at the Division I school, and Sarah Grace Vande Berg, a tennis player, also died. Felicia Ahlborg, another tennis player, was in […]
Posted inAround The Net in Soccer World Daily, Story
France mourns late goalkeeper Dominique Dropsy
Goalkeeper Dominique Dropsy, one of the most popular French players of the 1970s and 1980s, died on Wednesday following a four-year battle with leukemia. Afterstarting his career with Valenciennes, Dropsy spent 11 seasons at Strasbourg, where he won the French league title in 1979, and then moved to Bordeaux in 1984, winning two league titles, […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Obituary: German coaching legend Cramer (1925-2015)
Dettmar Cramer, one of the great names of German coaching, died on Thursday at the age of 90. In the United States, he is best known as the founder of the U.S. Soccer coaching school but he alsobriefly coached the U.S. national team in 1974, leading it in a two-game friendly series with Mexico. He […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
NASL pioneer John Best dies at age 74
[OBITUARY] John Best, one of pioneers of American pro soccer and the first head coach of the original Seattle Sounders,died last weekend at the age of 74. The Seattle Times reported that Best, who underwent three kidney transplants, died from a lunginfection while visiting family in Ireland. Best played for the Philadelphia Spartans of the […]