Los Angeles Aztecs
The Los Angeles Aztecs were a soccer 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.
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| Full name | Los Angeles Aztecs | ||
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| Founded | December 11, 1973 | ||
| Dissolved | 1981 | ||
| Stadium | Weingart Stadium, East Los Angeles College (1974) Murdock Stadium, El Camino Junior College (1975–76) LA Memorial Coliseum (1977, 1981) Rose Bowl (1978–80) Indoor:[1] The Forum (1979–80) LA Sports Arena (1980–81) |
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| Capacity | 20,355 (East LA) 12,127 (El Camino) 92,594 (Coliseum) 92,542 (Rose Bowl) |
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| League | NASL | ||
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Contents
HistoryEdit
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, a fading 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-yearEdit
| Year | Division | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Open Cup | Avg. Attend. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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 |
OwnershipEdit
- Dr. Jack Gregory – Founder / co-owner
- Elton John – co-owner
- Alan Rothenberg – owner (1977–80)
- Televisa Corp – owners (1980–1981)
HonorsEdit
| NASL Championships
NASL Regular Season Premierships Division Champions League MVP
Rookie of the Year
League Scoring Champion
League Goal Scoring Champion
League Assists Leader
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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[2]
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External linksEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ^ "The Press-Courier – Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ Joomla! Administrator. "Hall of Famers". Indoorsoccerhall.com. Retrieved 16 December 2014.