Inside MLS - Hall of Fame Show 2013




Beyond The Pitch show

Summary: One of the biggest soccer voices in America, JP Dellacamera joins us for a very special episode on the vote for the 2013 US Soccer Hall of Fame where we take a look at a process that has surely become far more complicated in recent years as national team and professional experience for players and coaches is becoming harder to define up against the emergence of the women as well as a new generation of Major League Soccer players are now becoming eligible for induction. We also take a look at the case of Victor Nogueira as an important piece of the puzzle as he was clearly the most accomplished goalkeeper in indoor soccer history, and is deserved certain enshrinement based on his credentials, records and performance, but now that does open the door for a number of indoor stars of years past, with the MISL placed in focus. This is that period of time in US Soccer history where the NASL had folded and Major League Soccer was years from opening for new business, but in the mean time a number of US players had played in these indoor leagues in the years leading up to Italia 90 and USA 94. One could now argue that this should open the door to some other indoor stars of years past like Steve Zungul and Tatu who were giants of the indoor game, and in some cases found substantial outdoor success before playing in the indoor leagues in this very unusual period. We examine the current criteria for the players ballot, consider whether the indoor stars of years past should be placed on the Veterans Ballot and examine some of the more complicated questions facing this Players Ballot as US Soccer has a number of players who will soon reach eligibility in short order, including a number of mens players who featured in the 2002 National Team and a high number of women players with major silverware in their possession, including World Cup titles and Olympic medals. Two of the participants in this conversation have Hall of Fame votes in 2013 and JP Dellacamera has delivered on more than 30 years of soccer broadcast coverage including 11 World Cup tournaments and numerous Olympic events and early in his career covered the indoor soccer leagues, so there is not a more qualified person to answer some of the most complex questions of the day. JP is not only the television play by play voice for the Philadelphia Union on 6 ABC and Comcast Sports Network, but also provides coverage to Fox Soccer Channel, and we also take a quick look at the recent decision to bring an end to the Freddy Adu experiment in Philadelphia. This is a completely packed episode that features the US Soccer Hall of Fame process closely and makes a substantial case to include some of the biggest indoor soccer stars of yesteryear in this process.