Fort Lauderdale Strikers

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers> was an American soccer team, which was the direct descendant of the Washington Darts, Miami Toros, Miami Gatos, all of which played in Fort Lauderdale in Florida. Founded in 1977, the team played their matches in Lockhart Stadium and Hollywood Sportatorium in Florida.

This team was the member of the North American Soccer League since 1977 till 1983. They even played 2 NASL indoor seasons in 1979-1980 and in 1980-1981. Owned by Joe Robbie, who also owned the team of Miami Dolphins, the team included legendary players like Gordon Banks who was the top keeper in the league despite being blind in one eye. George Best also signed with this team through the 1978 season after failing with the Los Angeles Aztecs team. He played for the rest of the season and the next season too.

By 1979, the team signed Teófilo Cubillas, a Peruvian legendary player who was with the team till their departure in 1983 for Minnesota. In 1979, the team signed Gerd Muller, a German center forward player. With his inclusion, the team reached the Soccer Bowl, the NASL’s match in 1980, losing to the New York Cosmos by 3-0.