Aztecs vs Thunder 1975 Program

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Los Angeles Aztecs vs New York Cosmos 1975 Program

This Los Angeles Aztecs vs New York Cosmos 1975 Program was from the first time I saw Pele. The Los Angeles Aztecs had recently relocated to my home town of Torrance.

My first Los Angeles Aztecs game was my introduction to the beautiful game. A crowd of 7,445 fans came to see the defending NASL Champion Los Angeles Aztecs at cozy Murdoch Stadium on the campus of El Camino College in Torrance. My home town had our first pro team.

Prior to the game, Thunder coach Alex Perolli was talking trash about the Aztecs in the local papers. Prior to the season, the Aztecs had traded seven players from their title-winning team to the newcomers from San Antonio for one player, Sergio Velazquez , San Antonio had recently drafted him with the second-overall pick in the college draft. This was the biggest trade in the young NASL’s history and it enabled the Thunder to begin their existence with a core of champions: Luis Marotte, Pedro Martinez, Renato Costa, Julio Cesar Cortez, Ricardo de Rienzo, Mario Zanotti and Blas Sanchez made this unlike most expansion teams. Velazquez never panned out for the Aztecs and was traded to the Seattle Sounders. Be sure to see the news clipping in the image gallery for all the bad blood and drama.

Gyula Visnyei (we know him as Juli Veee) was an instant hit. Listed “Julius Visneyi” in the game program, he Americanized his name to Julie Veee—and later to Juli Veee. Despite being 25, it was Veee’s rookie season. For Interesting stories on Veee’s life and career check out the link. Veee, Bobby Sibbald and Uri Banhoffer all scored for the Aztecs in a convincing 3-0 win.

The year prior, Banhoffer had 9 goals and 5 assists in leading the Aztecs to the title. Sibbald had an extensive career in England prior to coming to Los Angeles and stayed in the South Bay area long after his playing days.

Click on photo to see full image gallery