U.S. SOCCER HISTORY
The U.S. Soccer Federation was established in 1913. That same year the organization joined the world governing body FIFA. The first official national championship tournament was played in 1914. Predecessor to the U.S. Open Cup, it is the oldest cup competition in United States soccer and is among the oldest in the world. The annual U.S. Open Cup is a single-elimination tournament open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the United States.

In 1930, the USA was one of 13 nations to compete in the first FIFA World Cup™ competition held in Montevideo, Uruguay. Argentina beat the U.S. in the semi-final and the United States team, who was favored to win, finished third overall. The U.S. once again competed in the FIFA World Cup™1934 and then in 1950 at the in Brazil. In 1950, the American team beat England 1-0, and was known for having one of the biggest upsets in soccer that year. After a 40-yaer absence, the U.S. returned to FIFA World Cup™ competition in 1990.  Since then, the U.S. has qualified for each tournament.

In 1994, the United States proudly hosted the FIFA World Cup™ in the cities of Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Boston, Washington D.C., San Francisco, East Rutherford and Detroit. That sparked increased interest in the sport and built on the legacy of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which in the late 1970s brought international stars like Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer to the United States.

Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 as part of the United States' bid to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup™. The first season took place in 1996 beginning with 10 teams. Seasons run from late March or early April to November, with teams playing 30 regular season games each. Eight teams compete in the postseason MLS Cup Playoffs culminating in the championship game, MLS Cup. (Wikipedia.com)

Women’s Soccer in the U.S.
The women's national team is a very successful international player. It won the first Women's World Cup  in 1991. At the 1996 Olympic Games in  Atlanta, women's soccer became an Olympic sport, and the Americans won the  first Olympic gold medal. The United States hosted the Women's World Cup in 1999, and the championship performance of the national women's team was enthusiastically followed in the United States. The championship game generated a higher rating than the finals of professional hockey and basketball. American soccer players became the nation's heroines, appearing in Nike commercials and on the covers of Sports Illustrated and Newsweek. Never before in American history had soccer been given so much attention.

Over forty percent of soccer players in the U.S. are women. Soccer is the most popular women's sport in college. An estimated 18,188 women played soccer in the three college divisions in 2001, compared with 17,788 in track and field. In some cases, women soccer stars are more well-known than men. Soccer star Mia Hamm was listed recently as one of the "Most Fascinating Women in Politics" in a political magazine poll.

http://usa.usembassy.de/sports-soccer.htm

IMPORTANT DATES

The first football club in the United States was the Oneida Football Club of Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1862. It is often said that this was the first club to play football outside Britain.

1876-1880
Thousands of British immigrants arrived in the metropolitan areas of the East, Midwest and Pacific Coast. Communities with textile mills, shipyards, quarries or mines also had soccer teams among its immigrant population, a pattern occurring all over the world during the time of the Industrial Revolution.

1884
The American Football Association was organized in Newark, NJ, uniting the numerous metropolitan area enclaves of the East to maintain uniformity in the interpretation of rules and provide an orderly and stable growth of soccer in America.

1913
FIFA became a member of the International Board, increasing their influence on the interpretation of rules. The United States Football Association (USFA) was granted provisional membership by FIFA on August 15.

1932
At the 10th Olympiad in Los Angeles, soccer was eliminated due to a controversy between FIFA and the IOC over the definition of amateur and the reluctance of most of the strong soccer countries to travel to California because of the expense involved.

1950
Joe Gaetjens' goal lifts the USA over England 1-0 at the World Cup in Brazil. It was called the biggest upset ever in international soccer. The first college bowl game was played in St. Louis January 1. Penn State tied the University of San Francisco 2-2. The National Soccer Hall of Fame is organized by the Philadelphia Old-Timers Association. There were 15 inaugural inductees.

1982
The United States made a formal bid to host the 1986 FIFA World Cup™. The MISL season opened with 14 teams, including three teams participating for a season from the NASL (San Jose, Chicago and San Diego). The National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum opened in the Wilber Mansion, Oneonta, NY.

1991
The United States Men's National Team won its first-ever regional championship July 7 when it captured the CONCACAF Gold Cup defeating Honduras 4-3 on penalty kicks. The U.S. Women's National Team captured the first-ever FIFA Women's World Championship in China with a 2-1 win over Norway November 30. This is the only time an American team had ever won a world title. The women qualified for the world championship by defeating its five CONCACAF opponents by a combined score of 49-0. The United States Under-23 team won the gold medal at the Pan Am Games in Cuba. The National Soccer Hall of Fame dedicated the Wright National Soccer Campus.

1994
The United States served as host national association for the 1994 FIFA World Cup™ staging the greatest event in FIFA history. More than 3.5 million fans flocked to stadiums - still a World Cup record - and soccer fever in the United States was at all-time high.

The U.S. team advance beyond the first round for the first time in 64 years, falling to eventual champion Brazil 1-0 in a July 4th round of 16 showdowns at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, CA. On June 4th, 91,123 fans jammed the Rose Bowl to watch the U.S. defeat Mexico 1-0, in its final tune-up prior to the World Cup. Match proceeds netted $1million in the U.S. Soccer contributions to UNICEF/Children's Defense Fund.

The Women's National Team won the Chiquita Cup, a four-team international tournament in which the United States hosted Germany, China and Norway. The U.S., went on to successfully defend its CONCACAF championship, qualifying for the 1995 FIFA Women's World Championship by outscoring the opposition 36-1 en route to winning all four qualification matches.

http://national.soccerhall.org/history/us_soccer_history.htm

INFLUENTIAL PLAYERS

“Pele” in USA
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pelé is the most incandescent player in the history of the sport. He made his debut on the world stage at 17, leading Brazil to the first of its five World Cups in 1958. For the next 15 years, the best and most experienced defenders on earth could do nothing to stop him, short of homicide. He scored more than 1,000 goals, many of them masterpieces worthy of the Louvre. But Pelé's fame transcended soccer the way Muhammad Ali's fame transcended boxing, touching people in every corner of the globe — when he visited war-torn Nigeria in 1967, the country agreed to a 48-hour cease-fire — and causing Brazil to designate him a "non-exportable national treasure."

Yet here he was, the King in New York, along with his court of fellow legends. Beckenbauer. Chinaglia. Carlos Alberto. The Cosmos came from 14 different nations to play the beautiful game in front of beautiful people for even more beautiful dollars.

His appearance in the NASL gave the American League instant credibility and made millions of Americans aware of the sport; he dubbed the "beautiful game." He said he came out of retirement, not for the money, but to "make soccer truly popular in the United States."

Though well past his prime at this point, Pelé is credited with significantly increasing public awareness and interest in soccer in the United States. (Previously, a video clip of Pelé scoring with a bicycle kick for the Brazilian National Team was part of the opening video montage of the popular sports TV series ABC's Wide World of Sports and was probably many Americans' initial viewing of the sport.) He led the Cosmos to the 1977 NASL championship, in his third and final season with the club.

On 1 October 1977, Pelé closed out his legendary career in an exhibition match between the Cosmos and Santos. Santos arrived in New York and New Jersey after previously defeating the Seattle Sounders 2–0. The match was played in front of a capacity crowd at Giants Stadium and was televised in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports as well as throughout the world. Pelé's father and wife both attended the match. Pelé gave a brief pre-match speech during which he asked the crowd to say the word "love" with him three times. He played the first half for the Cosmos and the second half for Santos. Reynaldo scored the first goal for Santos, kicking the ball into the net after it had deflected off the crossbar. Pelé then scored his final goal on a direct free kick, driving the ball past the diving Santos goalkeeper. At halftime, the Cosmos retired Pelé's number 10. Pelé presented his Cosmos shirt to his father, who was escorted to the field by Cosmos captain Werner Roth. During the second half, Cosmos striker Ramon Mifflin, who had replaced Pelé when he switched sides at halftime, scored on a deflected cross, and the Cosmos won the match 2–1. After the match, Pelé was embraced by the Cosmos players, including longtime rival Giorgio Chinaglia, and then ran around the field while holding an American flag in his left hand and a Brazilian flag in his right hand. Pelé was soon lifted by several Cosmos players and carried around the field.

Teofilo “NENE” Cubillas
Teófilo Cubillas Arizaga (born 8 March 1949) is a Peruvian former footballer. He is considered Peru's most renowned player, and one of the best South-American footballers of all-time.

Nicknamed El Nene, he was part of the Peru national team that won the 1975 Copa América. He helped Peru reach seventh place at the 1970 FIFA World Cup™ , eighth place at the 1978 World Cup and was elected the South American Footballer of the Year in 1972.

Cubillas was a midfielder of excellent technical ability, powerful shot and great dribbling, he was also known as a free kick specialist. He was a prolific goal scorer (with 515 goals in his whole career), his 10 World Cup goals place him in seventh place in the ranking of the World Cup all-time scorers, and are the most by any midfielder in the World Cup. He is the all-time leading scorer for his country, with 45 goals in 117 matches. He was voted the 48th best footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS.  Pele named Cubillas as one of the 125 greatest living footballers in his 2004 FIFA 100 list. In February 2008, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Brazilian World Cup victory, he was selected in the All-Star First Team of South America of the past 50 years.

In 1979, Cubillas followed the leads of many of the great players of the time like Pele, Johan Cruyff, George Best, and Franz Beckenbauer by joining the NASL — the United States' rapidly rising soccer league. Nene signed for George Best's Fort Lauderdale Strikers, where he spent five seasons, scoring 65 goals in 141 games and notably scoring three goals in seven minutes against the Los Angeles Aztecs in 1981. At this point, Cubillas' best days were behind him, he joined the Fort Lauderdale Sun of the U.S. second division United Soccer League (USL).

He made a return from retirement to play for Alianza Lima after its entire team died in an aircraft crash in the ocean near Ventanilla, Callao, Peru, on 8 December 1987, the worst tragedy in the history of Peruvian football. Cubillas scored three goals in 13 matches. But the comeback was really only to give hope to the fans and respect to the fallen players of the team he loved.

Cubillas ended his playing days with the Miami Sharks in the 1988-89 season, scoring seven goals in 16 appearances. He eventually settled in Coral Springs, Florida, where he lives to this day teaching football to the children at his academy with his sons (both former professional players).