1980 Washington Diplomats season

The 1980 Washington Diplomats season was the club's ninth season of existence, their ninth season in the North American Soccer League and their ninth season in the then-top tier of American soccer. The Dips played in the NASL's Eastern Division of the National Conference, and finished the season placed second in the division, behind the New York Cosmos.

Washington Diplomats
1980 season
General managerSteve Danzansky
Head coachGordon Bradley
StadiumRFK Stadium
NASLOverall: 8th
Division: 4th
Conference: 2nd
NASL PlayoffsFirst round
National Challenge CupDid not enter
Top goalscorerLeague: Green (25)
All: Green (25)

The Dips qualified for the 1980 NASL Playoffs, but lost in the first round to the Los Angeles Aztecs in extra time of the second leg.

Background

During the 1979 season, the Dips finished second the Eastern Conference of the National Division. They compiled a record of 19 wins and 11 defeats with 68 goals for and 50 scored against. Their record earned the Dips a berth into the 1979 NASL Playoffs, where they lost 2–0 in games to the Los Angeles Aztecs.

Squad

The following players were contracted by the Washington Diplomats for part of the 1980 season.[1]

Squad No. Name Nationality Position(s) Previous Club
Goalkeepers
0Dragan RadovichSocialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaGKUnited States St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers
31Bill IrwinNorthern IrelandGKWales Cardiff City
Defenders
2Robert IarusciCanadaDFUnited States New York Cosmos
3Tommy O'HaraScotlandDFScotland Queen of the South
8Jim SteeleScotlandDFEngland Southampton
11Nick MijatovićSocialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaDFUnited States Rochester Lancers
16Barney BoyceUnited StatesDF
18Kip GermainUnited StatesDFUnited States William & Mary Tribe[2]
19Don DroegeUnited StatesDFUnited States Rochester Lancers
20Mike DillonEnglandDFEngland Cheshunt
21Carmine PosillicoUnited StatesDFUnited States Mercer Vikings[3]
26Ane MihailovichSocialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaDFUnited States Los Angeles Aztecs
Midfielders
4Juan LozanoSpainMFBelgium Beerschot
5Carmine MarcantonioItalyMFCanada Toronto Metros-Croatia
6Sakib ViteškićSocialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaMFNetherlands Maastricht
7Thomas RongenNetherlandsMFUnited States Los Angeles Aztecs
9József HorváthHungaryMFUnited States Rochester Lancers
10Gary DarrellBermudaMFCanada Montreal Olympique
12Wim JansenNetherlandsMFNetherlands Feyenoord
14Johan CruyffNetherlandsMFUnited States Los Angeles Aztecs
29Danny MolendykNetherlandsMFUnited States Washington Huskies
Forwards
7Art WelchJamaicaFWUnited States Wichita Wings
13Tony CrescitelliItalyFWUnited States North Adams State Trailblazers
15Ken MokgojoaSouth AfricaFWSouth Africa Benoni United[4][5]
17Sonny AskewUnited StatesFWUnited States Essex Knights
22Steve ByrdUnited StatesFW
23Mario Benito LunaArgentinaFW
25Bobby StokesEnglandFWEngland Portsmouth
28Alan GreenEnglandFWEngland Coventry City

Competitions

NASL
Further information: 1980 North American Soccer League season
August 27 Game 1 Washington Diplomats 1–0 Los Angeles Aztecs Washington, D.C.
8:00 pm EDT[6] Stokes 23' (Cruyff) Stadium: RFK Stadium
Attendance: 20,231
Referee: Gino D'Ippolito (USA)[7]
August 30 Game 2 Los Angeles Aztecs 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)		 Washington Diplomats Los Angeles
7:30 pm PDT[8] Fernando 61' (Merrick) Report Rongen 84' (Droege) Stadium: Rose Bowl
Attendance: 14,163
Referee: Warner Winsemann (Canada)
Penalties
soccer ball with red X Fernando
soccer ball with check mark Van Veen
soccer ball with check mark Keri
soccer ball with check mark Sibbald
soccer ball with check mark Etherington
soccer ball with check mark Aguirre		 soccer ball with check mark O'Hara
soccer ball with red X Iarusci
soccer ball with check mark Cruyff
soccer ball with check mark Droege
soccer ball with check mark Rongen
soccer ball with red X Mokgojoa
August 30 Mini-Game Los Angeles Aztecs 2–0 Washington Diplomats Los Angeles
Simic 10' (McGrane)
Simic 26'		 Stadium: Rose Bowl
Attendance: 14,163

References
  1. "Washington Diplomats 1980 Roster". NASLJerseys.com. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  2. "Men's Soccer Team Awards: Most Valuable Player" (Web). William & Mary Tribe. TribeAthletics.com. August 24, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2017. 1976 - Kip Germain
  3. "MCCC Men's Soccer NJCAA All-Americans". Mercer County Community College. MCCC.edu. May 6, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2017. Carmine Posillico, 1979
  4. "Kenneth "Unbelieveable" Mokgojoa" (Blog). Washington Diplomats NASL. July 9, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  5. Feinstein, John. "Mokgojoa Poses Dip Dilemma". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  6. "NASL Playoffs". Chicago Tribune. August 26, 1980. p. 26. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  7. Feinstein, John (August 28, 1980). "Diplomats Nip Aztecs, 1-0, on Goal By Stokes". The Washington Post. p. C1.
  8. "NASL Playoffs". Chicago Tribune. August 26, 1980. p. 26. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
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