Los Angeles Aztecs

The Los Angeles Aztecs were a soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League from 1974 to 1981. The team was based in Los Angeles, California, and part-owned (for a time) by Elton John.

Los Angeles Aztecs
Full nameLos Angeles Aztecs
FoundedDecember 11, 1973 (1973-12-11)
DissolvedDecember 9, 1981 (1981-12-09)
GroundWeingart Stadium (1974)
Murdock Stadium (1975–76)
LA Memorial Coliseum (1977, 1981)
Rose Bowl (1978–80)
Indoor:[1]
The Forum (1979–80)
LA Sports Arena (1980–81)
Capacity20,355 (Weingart)
12,127 (Murdock)
92,594 (Coliseum)
92,542 (Rose Bowl)
Indoor:
17,500 (Forum)
14,369 (Sports Arena)
LeagueNASL

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 NASL teams . They won the 1974 NASL Championship over the Miami Toros. In 1976, George Best signed alongside Ron Davies and played from 1976 to 1978. In 1979 attendance peaked (with an average attendance of around 14,000) as manager 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. In 1981, their final season, the Aztecs were managed by former Brazil manager Cláudio Coutinho, who died after the season ended as a result of a scuba diving accident in Brazil.

Year-by-year
Year Division League Reg. Season Playoffs Open Cup Avg. Attend.
1974 1 NASL 1st, Western Champions Did not enter 5,098
1975 N/A NASL Indoor 3rd, Region 4 Did not qualify N/A N/A
1975 1 NASL 3rd, Western Quarterfinals Did not enter 8,307
1976 1 NASL 3rd, Pacific Southern 1st Round Did not enter 8,051
1977 1 NASL 3rd, Pacific Southern Semifinals Did not enter 9,638
1978 1 NASL 4th, National Western Did not qualify Did not enter 9,301
1979 1 NASL 2nd, National Western Conference Semifinals Did not enter 14,334
1979–80 N/A NASL Indoor 5th, Western Did not qualify N/A 3,152
1980 1 NASL 2nd, National Western Conference Championships Did not enter 12,057
1980–81 N/A NASL Indoor 1st, Western 1st Round N/A 3,439
1981 1 NASL 2nd, Western 1st Round Did not enter 5,814

Notable Players

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

J

K

L

M

P

Q

R

S

T

V

W

Y

Ownership

Honors

References
  1. "The Press-Courier – Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  2. Henderson, Jim (April 21, 1981). "For Keith Bailey, The Long Wait Is Finally Over". The Tampa Tribune. p. 5-C. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  3. Joomla! Administrator. "Hall of Famers". Indoorsoccerhall.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
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