Los Angeles Aztecs
 |
|
| Full name | Los Angeles Aztecs |
|---|---|
| Founded | December 11, 1973 |
| Dissolved | 1981 |
| Stadium |
Weingart Stadium, East Los Angeles College (1974) Murdock Stadium, El Camino Junior College (1975–76) LA Memorial Coliseum (1977, 1981) Rose Bowl (1978–80) Indoor: The Forum (1979–80) LA Sports Arena (1980–81) |
| Capacity | 20,355 (East LA) 12,127 (El Camino) 92,594 (Coliseum) 92,542 (Rose Bowl) |
| League | NASL |
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.
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, a fading 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.
NASL Regular Season Premierships
Division Champions
League MVP
Rookie of the Year
League Scoring Champion
League Goal Scoring Champion
League Assists Leader
All-Star First Team Selections
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