National Soccer Hall of Fame welcomes new inductees
The National Soccer Hall of Fame welcomed four additions just before the Brazil – USA friendly in New Meadowlands Stadium on Tuesday night. Thomas Duley and Preki Radosavljevic bagged slots under the Player Category. Bruce Arena was selected for the Builder category and Kyle Rote Jr. was chosen as Veteran. TV commentator Paul Gardner was chosen as the recipient of the Colin Jose Media Award for his fruitful print and television career that covered soccer comprehensively.
U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati was generous with praise for all the four new inductees: “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.”
Preki Radosavljevic, now a coach for Toronto FC, is the sole player to have been awarded MLS MVP and the Scoring Honors Champion twice (1997 and 2003). His goal helped his team win the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup Semifinal against Brazil.
Thomas Duley joined the U.S. Team in 1992. By 1993, he had already played in 17 matches and had also scored 4 goals for the U.S. He was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in the same year. The German-born player served as captain for the U.S. Team during the FIFA World Cup 1998 in France.
L.A. Galaxy coach Bruce Arena has greatly contributed to the progress of U.S. soccer in the world soccer arena, more than any other coach. He won five national titles in his 18-year career in Charlottesville and the U.S. team was at its finest under his tutelage when they reached quarterfinals in World Cup 2002.
Kyle Rote is known as the only American-born player to lead NASL in scoring but his popularity grew when he joined the made-for-television ABC Wide World of Sports Superstars competition, where he won in three out of the four years he was there.
Paul Gardner’s coverage in soccer events is comprehensive: eight FIFA World Cups, 10 FIFA Under-17 World Cups, FIFA Under-20 World Cups, Olympics, European Championships and Copa America tournaments. He also has regular columns in sports magazines and newspapers, books and an instructional series.
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