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| Full name | Los Angeles Aztecs | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1974-1981 | ||
| Ground | Weingart Stadium, East Los Angeles College (1974) Murdock Stadium, El Camino Junior College(1975-76) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum(1977, 1981) Rose Bowl (1978-80) (Capacity: 20,355 (East LA) 12,127 (El Camino) 92,594 (Coliseum) 92,542 (Rose Bowl)) |
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| Chairman | defunct | ||
| Manager | defunct | ||
| League | NASL | ||
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Los Angeles Aztecs was a soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League from 1974-81. The team was based in Los Angeles, California and part-owned (for a time) by Elton John.
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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 N.A.S.L. teams. They won the 1974 NASL Championship over the Miami Toros. In 1976, a fading George Best signed with the team and played from 1976 to 1978. In 1979 attendance peaked (with an average attendance of around 14,000) as 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.
Ownership
Dr. Jack Gregory - Founder / Co-Owner
Elton John - Co-Owner- Alan Rothenberg - Owner (1977-80)
Staff
- Dick White - General Manager
Honors
Champions
- 1974
Rookie of the Year
- 1979 Larry Hulcer
League MVP
- 1979 Johan Cruyff
Notable players
- Alan Kelley (1976)[1]
Ane Mihailovich (1977)- Bob Rigby
Bobby McAlinden (1976-78)- Charlie Cooke (1976-78)
- Chris Dangerfield (1979-81)
- Colin Boulton (1979) [2]
- Colin Clarke (1978) [3]
- Dave Smith (1976)
- Dragan Simic (1980-1981)
Edgar Sorlino (1978)[4]
Franciszek Smuda
George Best- Graham Horn
- Hugo Perez
- Richard Deeb
Javier Aguirre- Jimmy Kelly (1978)
Johan Cruyff
György Kottán (1979)- Larry Hulcer
Luis Fernando- Phil Beal (1977)
- Poli Garcia
Ruvein Klein (1976)- Rich D'Sa (1980)
Steve David
Teófilo Cubillas
Terry Mancini (1977)- Thomas Rongen
Year-by-year
| Year | Division | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Open Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 1 | NASL | 1st, Western | Champions | Did not enter |
| 1975 | 1 | NASL | 3rd, Pacific | Quarterfinals | Did not enter |
| 1976 | 1 | NASL | 3rd, Pacific Southern | 1st Round | Did not enter |
| 1977 | 1 | NASL | 3rd, Pacific Southern | Semifinals | Did not enter |
| 1978 | 1 | NASL | 4th, National Western | Did not qualify | Did not enter |
| 1979 | 1 | NASL | 2nd, National Western | Conference Semifinals | Did not enter |
| 1979/80 | N/A | NASL Indoor | 5th, Western | Did not qualify | N/A |
| 1980 | 1 | NASL | 2nd, National Western | Conference Championships | Did not enter |
| 1980/81 | N/A | NASL Indoor | 1st, Western | 1st Round | N/A |
| 1981 | 1 | NASL | 2nd, Western | 1st Round | Did not enter |
Average Attendance
- 1974: 5,098
- 1975: 8,307
- 1976: 8,051
- 1977: 9,638
- 1978: 9,301
- 1979: 14,334
- 1980: 12,057
- 1981: 5,814
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