News

With everything going on in the North American Soccer League this offseason, the folks at atlantasilverbacks.com thought it would be nice to summarize some of the highlights, biggest news stories, and team announcements. If you want to get brought up to speed on all things NASL, you’ve come to the right place.

We’ll start it off right here in Atlanta where there hasn’t been any shortage of action this offseason. The team is currently nearing the conclusion of a two-month-long logo contest, which was narrowed down to four finalists back on December 12. Prior to the logo contest, the organization carried out their “Decision 2012” campaign, which allowed fans and others in the community to vote on the team’s name for the future. The name remained Silverbacks, but the club was able to create an important buzz both locally and nationally with the campaign.

The Silverbacks weren’t the only club opening up their name to the fans this offseason. Ottawa and Virginia may not be joining the NASL until 2014, but that didn’t stop each club from launching their own “Name Your Team” campaigns. Ottawa has reportedly received over 4,000 name entries so far, while Virginia recently announced the three finalists for their name.

On top of Ottawa and Virginia, who are already officially joining the NASL, the league continues to look at additional expansion markets. One person who will be most instrumental in those endeavors will be new commissioner Bill Peterson, who assumed the league post on November 27.

The most major change the league will be undergoing in 2013 is its competition format. The NASL will switch to a split-season format, with the winner of the spring season meeting the winner of the fall season in the 2013 Soccer Bowl in November.

A pair of NASL teams, the New York Cosmos and the Puerto Rico Islanders, will be absent from the spring season, citing different reasons. Both are expected to compete in the fall season, which will mark the much-anticipated return to the field for the Cosmos, one of America’s most iconic soccer brands.

With the Islanders sitting out the spring season, you may see several of their players heading to other NASL clubs. The Tampa Bay Rowdies have already snapped up one, which was announced on Monday. 

Speaking of player movement, there have been plenty of NASL players on the move this offseason. Silverbacks defender Chris Klute and Rowdies goalkeeper Jeff Attinella headline the group of NASL players making the jump to MLS. Klute will spend 2013 with the Colorado Rapids, while Attinella will join Real Salt Lake.

The San Antonio Scorpions have secured the signatures of a few impressive players, with defender Lyle Martin and midfielder Edin Husic joining the club for what will be their first season in the state-of-the-art Toyota Field. Martin, who most recently plied his trade in the Chinese First Division, is a former Chivas USA draftee, while Husic has represented Bosnia at the senior level three times.

Returning to the league after tallying eight goals and two assists in 18 games for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers last season is forward Andy Herron. The Costa Rican was more than serviceable for Daryl Shore’s team last year before being hampered by injuries during the second half of the season.

North of the border, FC Edmonton scored with their head coaching hire. The team introduced former Canadian international Colin Miller as their new boss. The Scottish-born coach played professionally in Canada, Scotland, and England before going into coaching. As recently as this week, Miller can add Interim Head Coach of the Canada Men’s National Team to his resume. He was handed that role on Monday, and will lead The Reds in their upcoming friendlies against Denmark and the U.S. The Canada post isn’t expected to interfere with his role at FC Edmonton.

Another high-profile coach joined the league during the offseason, and he’ll be leading the way in the Big Apple. Former NY/NJ Metrostars standout Giovanni Savarese was appointed as the Cosmos head coach in November. As a player, the former Venezuelan international notched 44 goals in three seasons with the Metrostars. He had previously been serving as the director of the Cosmos Academy and head coach of their U-23 PDL team.

And finally, we’ll leave you with this gem of a goal from Minnesota Stars FC midfielder Kevin Venegas. It was recently named the 2012 NASL Play of the Year.