The Nuclear Soccer Game

During the height of the Cold War, America and the USSR settled things in the only way they knew how: a high-stakes indoor soccer game. It was... explosive. This week, we look at the time the Soviet Red Army faced off against American indoor soccer players in a battle for the ages. Plus, we meet Pelé’s former art dealer, revisit an inspiring Valentine’s Day soccer tale, and much more.

This week’s stories:

• 🖼️ Meeting Pelé’s Art Dealer

• 💗 Scoring on Valentine’s Day

• 💥 The Nuclear Soccer Game

• 🧐 The Sausage Soccer Club

• 🗳️ Poll + Last Week’s Answers

• ➡️ And More

CLUBELEVEN
Meeting Pelé’s Art Dealer

Wilson Egidio has the greatest collection of soccer art in America. He started amassing pieces all the way back in the ‘80s, and at the height of his collecting journey, he was trading art with none other than the great Pelé in Brazil.

From folk art by The King himself, to paintings by Neymar’s favorite artist, his apartment in New York City houses some of the rarest soccer art pieces, memorabilia, and kits in the world.

Of course, we had to pay him a visit.

OUR HISTORY
Scoring on Valentine’s Day

On February 14, 1982, Baltimore Blast goalkeeper Keith van Eron made history.

He’d spent years playing in the ASL, NASL, and MISL, becoming an exceptional shot-stopper wherever he went. But after multiple seasons of seeing his teammates enjoy the thrill of scoring goals from afar, Keith wanted a taste for himself.

So, on Valentine’s Day of 1982, Keith decided to do the impossible. He defied all preconceived notions of what a goalie should do and got his much-coveted goal. That day, Keith allegedly became the first-ever goalkeeper to score an official goal in American indoor soccer history.

And in a cool twist of fate, Keith’s trailblazing love story with the sport wasn’t done there. In fact, one of the most notable soccer video games of all time, designed for the Commodore 64 console, was named after him in 1988. Crazy.

So yeah… now you have an exceptional topic of conversation/icebreaker for your Valentine’s Day date on Friday (you’re welcome 😆).

COVER STORY
The Nuclear Soccer Game

On this day in 1974, America and the USSR faced off in one of the biggest battles of the Cold War. Both countries had fought in nearly every other arena, and now things had finally come down to soccer.

The NASL was doing fairly well in the early ‘70s, and we were feeling pretty confident about our soccer prowess as a country. After all, the defending NASL champions—the Philadelphia Atoms—were a squad composed of mostly all domestic talent, which was incredibly rare at the time.

Predictably, in typical American fashion, we decided to challenge the USSR to see who was better. That winter of 1974, the NASL invited none other than the Soviet Red Army Soccer Team for a pair of exhibition matches—the most important one being against the Philadelphia Atoms. Forget the arms race, forget the space race… this was the one that really mattered: the soccer race.

Nearly 12,000 fans showed up to watch the game at the Spectrum Arena in Philadelphia. The organizers laid turf over the ice rink and kept the hockey boards up, so the whole setup was pretty unusual. Indoor versions of soccer had existed here as early as the start of the 20th century, but they looked more like futsal rather than the modern indoor soccer we know today.

This new-ish type of sport ended up being an advantage. It had similarities to hockey, and it was fast-paced like basketball. The crowd absolutely loved it, and it helped the Philadelphia Atoms go toe-to-toe with some world-class players on the Soviet side.

Unfortunately, despite keeping things level for most of the match, the Philadelphia Atoms lost steam at the end of the game and conceded a flurry of goals in quick succession. The final score was 6-3 in favor of the Soviets, which is probably why most of us have never heard of this game. Kissinger was probably working overtime to make sure it got buried.

But the whole thing wasn’t a total wash. The game was a wildly entertaining affair, and it caught the attention of businessman Ed Tepper. Tepper witnessed this new version of soccer and saw it as the future of the sport.

A few years later, Tepper would go on to found the Major Indoor Soccer League based on the rules and unconventional setup he saw that fateful 11th of February, 1974.

So, in many ways, the game between the Soviet Red Army and the Atoms helped indoor soccer explode in our country.

EXPANSION
The Sausage Soccer Club

There aren’t many things that can render me speechless. But this new USL club in Portland, Oregon, blew my mind.

It’s an actual soccer club named after sausages, backed by an ownership group that also owns a baseball team named the Portland Pickles. They must love food.

To make things even better, Timbers legends Jorge Villafaña and Diego Valeri will be the head and assistant coach, respectively.

Oh, and their official mascot is called Saucy T. Sausage. American soccer straight to the veins.

CLUBELEVEN
The Supporters Section

Drop the wildest name you’ve ever seen. We’ll highlight your best answers next week!

CLUBELEVEN
Aggregates

Milestone: Renowned American soccer journalist Pablo Maurer is writing his first book, and it will be a standout for sure. The topic is a special one.

Guitar Hero: Love to see some music and soccer crossovers. Gary Clark Jr. modeled the new Austin FC kit last week.

US Open Cup Schedule: Felt like a rabid dog waiting for this one to drop. The matchups are insane.

9 in 90 Challenge: Probably the most unhinged thing you could possibly do during a soccer game, but I respect it.

The Kids Are Alright: The USA U-17s dropped a ridiculous amount of goals on their opponent last night. It’s probably higher than what you’re thinking.

CULTURE
Pochettino to Coach Team Chunkz x IShowSpeed

That’s a headline I never expected to write. But it’s all for a good cause.

Our USMNT head coach will be heading to Qatar to manage Chunkz and IShowSpeed’s team in Match for Hope this week. He is set to square up against former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who is coaching Team KSI x AboFlah.

Match for Hope raised $8.8M for charity last year, and they’ll be looking to top things in this edition. Here’s all the info.

INSPIRATIONAL
Seven-Year-Old Soccer Photographer

The future is bright in the soccer photography world.

Meet Cassandra, a crazy talented seven-year-old photographer, and one of the many artists that make up Vermont Green FC.

Her photos and commentary are just amazing. We promise it’ll make your day.

CLUBELEVEN
Your Takes 🗯️ 

Last week, we asked you: Are you going to watch the Super Bowl? Here are some of your best answers:

• “No. The NFL has become scripted, and they had envisioned the Chiefs being in the Super Bowl from the start.” - P

• “Yes. GO BIRDS!” - Sophie & Larry

• “No. I don’t want to add to their viewership.” - BD

In the poll, “No, not interested at all” came in first with 56% of the vote, while “Yes, I follow the NFL” finished with 44%.

I usually like to tune in for the playoffs, so I watched the beatdown on Sunday. Many people from the CLUBELEVEN family have ties to Philly, so I’m happy that the Eagles won. Congratulations!

The poll was honestly closer than I thought, but it’s cool to see that maybe there’s an overlap between soccer and American football fans.

UP NEXT
Video Storytelling

We’ll be telling many more soccer stories through video this year, so make sure to sub to our channel on YouTube to keep up!

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Have a great Tuesday!

Pablo