The Pursuit of Victory: FTL Strikers

[photo by Rosa Cavalcanti]

by Joe Curtis, writing from Miami, FL

The Florida Derby has returned, 26 years after the end of the original North American Soccer League. The teams have played before, in the ASL and USL (Strikers were Miami FC), but will meet for the first time in the new NASL. Both the Strikers and Rowdies are in the bottom half of the standings six games into the 2011 NASL season. Both clubs are 1-3-2, with the Strikers coming off a frustrating 4-2 loss at the hands of the Carolina Railhawks last Wednesday, and the Rowdies coming off a 1-1 tie with FC Edmonton.

In the old NASL the Tampa Bay Rowdies, led by Rodney Marsh, played in three Soccer Bowls (1975, 1978, 1979), and won one Championship in 1975 when they beat the Portland Timbers 2-0. Their run to the Championship in back-to-back years in 78' and 79' were stopped short by the New York Cosmos and Vancouver Whitecaps, respectively.

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers, on the other hand, only reached one Soccer Bowl: the 1980 Soccer Bowl against the New York Cosmos, which they lost 3-0. Like the this year's Miami Heat team, the Strikers had their own "Big Three" in 1980: Gerd Müller, Teófilo Cubillas, and Ray Hudson. It is also worth mentioning that from 1978 to 1979 the Strikers also had the services of a member of the "United Trinity", George Best.

The Florida Derby has had its moments. A great example is when the Strikers defeated the Rowdies 3-2 in a North American Soccer League playoff match on August 20, 1978. The Rowdies would come back to win the second game of the series and the mini-game tiebreaker to earn a trip to Soccer Bowl '78 against the Cosmos. However, the 3-2 victory (see the video below) shows the passion of the players and supporters in the rivalry.

This saturday the rivalry re-emerges. The Strikers have started their "Defend The Fort" campaign in an attempt to get 10,000 fans to Lockhart in time for the 7:30 kickoff. It may be something that could be accompished. Just in case, the Strikers are also selling tickets to the August 3rd matchup between Spanish juggernaut Barcelona and Mexican club Chivas, who will play at Sun Life Stadium in Miami in the World Football Challenge. Fans who purchase tickets will also receive tickets to the Strikers next home game against a future MLS club, the Montreal Impact, on May 28th.

“We know it’s a big game for our fans but it’s an even bigger game for us on the field coming off a loss yesterday,” said Head Coach Daryl Shore. “We feel this is a game we have to win and we'll give every effort to take three points from this game.”

Teófilo "Nene" Cubillas, George Best and Maurice Whittle

by Joe Curtis, writing from Ft. Lauderdale, FL

The big story in the American soccer world these days is the re-emergence of the New York Cosmos. The Cosmos were arguably the greatest soccer club America has ever seen. Pelé, Giorgio Chinaglia, Carlos Alberto, and Franz Beckenbauer were some of the stars that made up the Cosmic line-up. Lets be honest, the Cosmos were a dream team and the city of New York had Cosmo fever in the late 70s. The team drew an American record crowd for a soccer game of 77,691 during a play-off game in 1977. The team they played that day has something in common with the Cosmos; besides the fact that they played against each other in the 1980 NASL Soccer Bowl, that team is also re-emerging. That team was/is the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

The Cosmos may have had Pelé, but from 1978 to 1979 the Strikers had Manchester United legend George Best; yes I said George Best. Pelé named George Best as one of the 125 best living footballers in his 2004 FIFA 100 List. The Strikers had two more players included in Pelé's FIFA 100 list: Teófilo "Nene" Cubillas and Gerd Müller. Cubillas was the second highest goal scorer in the 1978 World Cup, leading Peru to the second round. Teófilo brought South American flair to South Florida, and helped revolutionize the Strikers attack. Gerd Müller held the all-time goal-scoring record in the FIFA World Cup with a 14-goal total. This record stood for 32 years until Ronaldo broke it in the 2006 World Cup. Müller scored 365 goals in 427 games for Bayern Munich, which just happens to be more than Teófilo Cubillas scored in his whole career.

Those three were great, but there is one more player left to mention. The legendary Ray Hudson. Hudson began his career with Newcastle United and joined the Strikers in 1977. Hudson, nicknamed "Rocky", has a special place in the hearts of South Florida soccer fans. Out of the "Big Four" Hudson was the only one that followed the team when they relocated to Minnesota in 1984, and then back to Fort Lauderdale in 1988. Rocky wore the Red and Yellow more than any other player in Strikers history. In 2001 he was named the Head Coach of the Miami Fusion, the only MLS team that has ever called South Florida home. The Fusion actually played their home games at Lockhart Stadium, home of the Strikers. It is pretty obvious why Ray is so special. Today Hudson is a commentator for GOL TV, which is based out of - you guessed it - South Florida. Miami to be exact.

Fast forward 29 years from the glory days of the Strikers and you find yourself at the beginning of a new story. This story begins with a team whose colors were not Red and Yellow, but Blue and ugh, Blue. The team is Miami FC and from 2006 - 2009 they called Tropical Park Stadium in Miami-Dade County home. However, The team eventually realized that in South Florida all roads lead to Lockhart Stadium and in 2010 they relocated and began playing all of their home games at the former home of the Strikers. Now we have a team that claims to be from Miami, playing 45 minutes away from Miami. A bit odd. Miami FC was struggling to become accepted in the soccer community. I'll be honest, even I wasn't interested in Miami FC. Then it all changed.

Last August the New York Cosmos announced that the legendary club would be making a push to become the second MLS franchise in New York. Personally, this was very exciting. After the excitement of the World Cup in South Africa to now see that the New York Cosmos were making a comeback helped make the future of soccer in the United States look very bright. The league is getting better, the players are getting better, and now some of the rich history of US soccer would be coming back with the re-birth of the Cosmos. Two months later Traffic Sports, the management company that owns the team, stated that they were going to incorporate the Strikers ethos in 2011. This could not have come at a better time. Now South Florida's team is on their way back, and they would be playing in the "re-emerging" North American Soccer League.

On February 17th, 2011 it was revealed that Miami FC would be renamed the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. It was official, the Strikers were back and unlike the Cosmos the Strikers actually have a team. Some big moves were made in the weeks leading up to the opening game of the season. The first being an exhibition game against the New York Red Bulls of MLS. Around 2,000 showed up for the free exhibition. It will probably be the only time that someone will have the chance to watch Thierry Henry, who played 90 minutes, for free! It was at this game that the Strikers won my heart. I became a "Striker Liker". Not that I wasn't before, but there was no emotional connection that made them MY team. The other moves the Strikers made were the signings of midfielder Eduardo Coudet and defender Cristian Arrieta. Both played for the Philadelphia Union of MLS last season. These two signings, at least for me, showed that Traffic Sports meant business and wanted to make the Strikers a title contender this season. This threw wood in the fire that was the excitement for the new season.

Last night the New Strikers played their "innagural" game against FC Edmonton in front of a record crowd of 6,402. It was exactly 34 years since the Strikers' innagural game in 1977. The atmosphere at the game was amazing. It is pretty safe to say that it impressed everyone.

"The guys have been waiting seven weeks to get this game under our belt. Having the Strikers name back and the legacy we have to live up, adds excitement. At the same time our players are looking to a new mark for the Strikers name, and start a new beginning for the new Fort Lauderdale Strikers,” said Strikers Head Coach Daryl Shore.

The team fed off the energy from the crowd in the first half. Eduardo Coudet had two nice chances on goal, but the Edmonton goalkeeper played the game of his life."Sir Martyn" Lancaster put the Strikers up 1-0 in the 47th when he scored on a set piece by Eduardo Coudet. That was the nicest part of the second half for the Strikers, who played very sloppy for the rest of the game. In the 53rd minute FC Edmonton responded with a Shaun Saiko "goalaso" from outside the box. The second Edmonton goal was the result of a weird series of events. The linesman failed to call a foul, then Toni Stahl tripped leaving Daniel Antoniuk the open lane towards goal. The Strikers started to string passes together towards the end, but were unable to score an equalizer.

The first page in the new chapter of Strikers history may have have not been a victory, but it was definitely a positive one. The Strikers host the Minnesota Stars this Friday, April 15th at 8:30pm. If the turnout is as good as the first game it would be huge for the growth of soccer in South Florida. Hopefully the fan base will continue to grow. Of course, winning games helps and the Strikers have a whole season to make it happen. Vamos Strikers!

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