Los Angeles Aztecs
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Full name | Los Angeles Aztecs | ||
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Founded | 11 December 1973 | ||
Dissolved | December 9, 1981 | ||
Stadium | Weingart Stadium (1974) Murdock Stadium (1975–76) LA Memorial Coliseum (1977, 1981) Rose Bowl (1978–80) Indoor:[1] The Forum (1979–80) LA Sports Arena (1980–81) | ||
Capacity | 20,355 (Weingart) 12,127 (Murdock) 92,594 (Coliseum) 92,542 (Rose Bowl) Indoor: 17,500 (Forum) 14,369 (Sports Arena) | ||
League | NASL | ||
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The Los Angeles Aztecs were a football team that competed in the North American Soccer League from 1974 to 1981. The team was based in Los Angeles, California, and part-owned (for a time) by Elton John.
History[]
The Aztecs are remembered for their mixed success and were sometimes compared to the New York Cosmos as the "Cosmos of the West Coast". However, they did not draw nearly as well as the Cosmos, or even the Seattle Sounders, who were consistently the attendance leaders among the Western NASL teams .[citation needed] They won the 1974 NASL Championship over the Miami Toros. In 1976, George Best signed alongside Ron Davies and played from 1976 to 1978. In 1979 attendance peaked (with an average attendance of around 14,000) as manager Rinus Michels signed the Dutch superstar Johan Cruyff who went on to win the NASL Most Valuable Player Award in his one year with the Aztecs. In 1981, their final season, the Aztecs were managed by former Brazil manager Cláudio Coutinho, who died after the season ended as a result of a scuba diving accident in Brazil.
Year-by-year[]
Year | Division | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Open Cup | Avg. Attend. |
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1974 | 1 | NASL | 1st, Western | Champions | Did not enter | 5,098 |
1975 | N/A | NASL Indoor | 3rd, Region 4 | Did not qualify | N/A | N/A |
1975 | 1 | NASL | 3rd, Western | Quarterfinals | Did not enter | 8,307 |
1976 | 1 | NASL | 3rd, Pacific Southern | 1st Round | Did not enter | 8,051 |
1977 | 1 | NASL | 3rd, Pacific Southern | Semifinals | Did not enter | 9,638 |
1978 | 1 | NASL | 4th, National Western | Did not qualify | Did not enter | 9,301 |
1979 | 1 | NASL | 2nd, National Western | Conference Semifinals | Did not enter | 14,334 |
1979–80 | N/A | NASL Indoor | 5th, Western | Did not qualify | N/A | 3,152 |
1980 | 1 | NASL | 2nd, National Western | Conference Championships | Did not enter | 12,057 |
1980–81 | N/A | NASL Indoor | 1st, Western | 1st Round | N/A | 3,439 |
1981 | 1 | NASL | 2nd, Western | 1st Round | Did not enter | 5,814 |
Notable players[]
- Javier Aguirre
- Gary Allison
- Lee Atack
- Desmond Backos
- Phil Beal
- George Best
- Željko Bilecki
- Bob Bolitho
- Colin Boulton
- Colin Clarke
- Martin Cohen
- Charlie Cooke
- Julio César Cortés
- Renato Costa
- Peter Coyne
- Johan Cruyff
- Chris Dangerfield
- Steve David
- Ron Davies
- Antonio de la Torre Villalpando
- Roberto de Oliveira
- Roberto DeOliviera
- George Dewsnip
- Angelo DiBernardo
- Vito Dimitrijević
- Tony Douglas
- Gary Etherington
- Bernie Fagan
- Mike Ferguson
- Santiago Formoso
- Randy Garber
- Poli Garcia
- Steve Gay
- Uruguay Graffigna
- Austin Hayes
- Graham Horn
- Larry Hulcer
- Alan Jones
- Garry Jones
- Jerry Kazarian
- Alan Kelley
- Jimmy Kelly
- Mihalj Keri
- György Kottán
- Bob Lenarduzzi
- Dave Lennard
- Malcolm Linton
- Sammy Llewellyn
- Miguel Lopez
- Luís Fernando Gaúcho
- Terry Mancini
- Jackie Marsh
- John Mason
- Bobby McAlinden
- John McGrane
- Mike McLenaghen
- Doug McMillan
- Alan Merrick
- Ramón Mifflin
- Ane Mihailovich
- Jim Millinder
- Bill Mishalow
- Ramon Moraldo
- Dave Morrison
- Buzz Parsons
- Hugo Pérez
- Héctor Pulido
- Brian Quinn
- Luiz Rangel
- Tom Reynolds
- Bob Rigby
- Andy Rolland
- Rubén Omar Romano
- Thomas Rongen
- Alex Russell
- Miro Rys
- Todd Saldana
- Bill Sautter
- Dave Shelton
- Bobby Sibbald
- Dave Smith
- Tommy Smith
- Franciszek Smuda
- Frantz St. Lot
- Wim Suurbier
- Chris Turner
- Juli Veee
- Leo van Veen
- Sergio Velazquez
- Scott Vorst
- Walter Wagner
- Rudy Ybarra
Ownership[]
- Dr. Jack Gregory – Founder / co-owner
- Elton John – co-owner
- Alan Rothenberg – owner (1977–80)
- Televisa – owners (1980–1981)
Honors[]
NASL Championships
NASL Regular Season Premierships Division Champions League MVP
Rookie of the Year
League Scoring Champion
League Goal Scoring Champion
League Assists Leader
Indoor All-Stars
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All-Star First Team Selections
All-Star Second Team Selections
All-Star Honorable Mentions
U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame
Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame
Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame[3]
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References[]
- ^ "The Press-Courier – Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ Henderson, Jim (April 21, 1981). "For Keith Bailey, The Long Wait Is Finally Over". The Tampa Tribune. p. 5-C. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- ^ Joomla! Administrator. "Hall of Famers". Indoorsoccerhall.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- Los Angeles Aztecs
- Association football clubs established in 1974
- Association football clubs disestablished in 1981
- North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams
- Defunct soccer clubs in California
- Soccer clubs in California
- Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States
- 1973 establishments in California
- 1981 disestablishments in California