Sal DeRosa
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(July 2010) |
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Salvatore DeRosa | ||
| Date of birth | August 10, 1931 | ||
| Place of birth | Pignataro Maggiore,Italy | ||
| Date of death | March 2, 2014(aged 82) | ||
| Place of death | Getzville, New York,U.S. | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| Italian Army team | |||
| 1968–69 | Syracuse Scorpions(ASL) | ||
| 1970–71 | Rochester Lancers(NASL) | ||
| 1972 | Miami Gatos(NASL) | ||
| 1973 | Rochester Lancers(NASL) | ||
| 1979–80 | Buffalo Stallions(MISL) | ||
Salvatore "Sal" DeRosa(August 10, 1931 – March 2, 2014) was anaturalizedAmerican soccer coach best known for winning the1970North American Soccer LeagueChampionship withRochester Lancers.[1]
DeRosa competed professionally inNaples,Italy until a knee injury ended his playing days. Before settling in the United States in 1967, he had previously coached the Italian Army team and also served as an assistant for Italy's Olympic squad.[2]Once in America, he served as coach, general manager and owner of theSyracuse Scorpionsof theAmerican Soccer League.In 1969, he guided the Scorpions to a tie at the top of the Northern Division and won a one match playoff for the division crown over Rochester, before losing to theWashington Dartsin the ASL finals.[3]
He took over as coach the Lancers (who had since moved to the NASL) midway through the 1970 season, bringing five of the Scorpions’ top players along with him, including midfielderFrank Odoiand goalieClaude Campos.Over the final thirteen games of the season, he guided the Lancers to a mark of 6-4-3 and into theNASL title series,defeating those same Washington Darts (who had also jumped leagues) by a two-match aggregate of 4–3. He also won the 1970 NASL Coach of the Year award.[4]In1971the Lancers won the NASL regular season title under him, but lost in a grueling semi-final series[5]to eventual championDallas.That year the Lancers also were awarded the NASL Governor's Cup, given to the squad with best record against foreign teams. This was in large part due to their 4th-place finish in the1971 CONCACAF Champions' Cup,where they finished 4-1-2 (and +4 on goal dif) in all matches.
DeRosa went on to coach theMiami Gatos(formerly the Washington Darts) in 1972, before returning to Rochester to coach the Lancers for one more season.[6]Several years later, Sal also served as vice-president and general manager of theBuffalo Stallionsof theMajor Indoor Soccer Leagueand as their coach from 1979 to 1980.[7]In 1977, he was named to the Rochester Lancers Team of the Decade.[8]He founded theBuffalo Stormof theUnited Soccer Leaguein 1984 and has served as special consultant and president of the citizens advisory committee for theBuffalo Blizzardof theNPSLin the 1990s. After leaving professional soccer altogether, he helped develop youth soccer clinics in the Buffalo area throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century.[9]
He died at a nursing home on March 2, 2014.[10][11]
References
[edit]- ^"NASL team wasn't flashy, but was a lot of fun".Sports Illustrated. December 5, 2000. Archived fromthe originalon July 18, 2012.RetrievedAugust 1,2010.
- ^https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19711216&id=07slAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R_MFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4257,2148965[dead link]
- ^"Rochester Lancers News | ROCHESTER LANCERS WALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2011".Archived fromthe originalon February 24, 2014.RetrievedApril 22,2014.
- ^"Oops! Sorry, Something Went Wrong | Nasl".
- ^"Back in the Day: The NASL's Longest Game".
- ^"NASL Coaches Registry".SoccerHall.org. Archived fromthe originalon July 11, 2010.RetrievedAugust 1,2010.
- ^"This Day in Buffalo Sports History: A new coach in town - Sports, Ink - The Buffalo News".blogs.buffalonews.com.Archived fromthe originalon January 28, 2012.
- ^Lewis, Michael (August 3, 1977). "Lancers can win title only by optimum output".Democrat and Chronicle.p. 50.
- ^"Rochester Lancers News | ROCHESTER LANCERS WALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2011".Archived fromthe originalon February 24, 2014.RetrievedApril 22,2014.
- ^"Sal DeRosa, Buffalo Stallions' coach, general manager - Obituaries - The Buffalo News".Archived fromthe originalon March 7, 2014.
- ^"FORMER NASL CHAMPIONSHIP COACH SAL DEROSA PASSES AWAY".NASL.com. March 4, 2014.RetrievedMarch 4,2014.