Big-Time Soccer: The Remarkable Rise & Fall of the NASL

The story

Nearly 40 years since its demise, the North American Soccer League continues to linger in the memories and imaginations of soccer fans across the United States — and beyond. The colorful, oftentimes controversial league attracted some of the game’s greatest players: Pele, Best, Cruyff, Muller, Beckenbauer, to name a few. Crowds of 70,000-plus flocked to games as the NASL brought star power to a country where soccer had been virtually invisible just a few years earlier.

Cast & crew

Brandi ChastainSelf

Clive Toye

Clive ToyeSelf

PeléSelf (archive footage)

George BestSelf (archive footage)

Johan CruijffSelf (archive footage)

Giorgio Chinaglia

Giorgio ChinagliaSelf (archive footage)

Franz BeckenbauerSelf (archive footage)