The 1979 Los Angeles Aztecs of the NASL. In the center is captain Johan Cruyff, whose journey to America is told by Leander Schaerlaeckens in issue one of XI.
As he explains here, in issue One of XI David Keyes is writing about the role that AYSO, the American Youth Soccer Organization, played in “Americanizing” soccer. Founded in the 1960s in Los Angeles, AYSO sought to redefine soccer, transforming it from a foreign sport to an American game, and thus grow beyond the ethnic communities where it had long been played.
Founded in Los Angeles during the 1960s, the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) helped redefine the sport across the United States, “Americanizing” the game as David Keyes explores in issue one of XI.
Here, an AYSO practice from 1985 in the Los Angeles area is pictured.
Photographer: Mike Sergieff/Herald-Examiner Collection, LA Public Library
Brazilian Arlindo dos Santos, on tour in Los Angeles with Mexico’s Club America, preparing for a game at the LA Coliseum against AC Milan on June 20, 1965. The next year, he would score the inaugural goal at the Azteca.
The Los Angeles Scots, 1954. The Scots were a strong amateur team from L.A. during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching the U.S. Open Cup final in 1961 (they lost to the Philadelphia Ukrainians). The Scots folded in 1977.
Source: Los Angeles Public Library
