Veteran Stars Splashing Their Skill Across The NASL

Photo credit: Rob Kinnan/Carolina RailHawks

“Leading by example” is one of the tried and true cliches in sports. But that is exactly what four veteran stars have done since they began their North American Soccer League careers. Juan Arango has been with the New York Cosmos since the start of the season, while Omar Bravo (Carolina), Amauri (Fort Lauderdale) and Joe Cole (Tampa Bay) bolstered their squads during the year.

What each has brought is a wealth of experience and a desire to show that their skills and soccer IQ’s have aged like fine wines. Their impact on the field is unmistakable, but it is often what happens out of the public eye – on the training field and in the locker room – that has a lasting impact on their teammates and on results.

Amauri (Fort Lauderdale Strikers): Three games. Three goals. Seven points for the Strikers. Amauri, 36, a veteran striker from Italy, has helped Fort Lauderdale cobble together a three-game unbeaten streak since he joined the club earlier this month after two seasons with Torino of Italy’s Serie A. The Strikers’ 3-1 win over Ottawa Fury FC last week was highlighted by his game-winning goal – a sensational bicycle kick. All three of his goals were buried from inside the penalty area.

Juan Arango (New York Cosmos): The notion that any single player could replace the likes of Spanish star Marco Senna as the Cosmos’ midfield maestro seemed farfetched at the start of the 2016 NASL season. But Juan Arango, 36, the career leader in appearances and goals for  Venezuela’s national team and an accomplished midfielder with Mallorca in Spain’s La Liga and in Germany’s Bundesliga for Borussia Mönchengladbach, has carved his own niche for the defending league champions. Through 19 games (all starts) Arango leads New York with seven goals (three left-footed, two right-footed, and two headed) and four assists, while connecting on 73.1 percent of his passes and completing nearly 40 passes per 90 minutes of play.

Omar Bravo (Carolina RailHawks): Experience, quiet confidence, and a ruthless right foot were what was called for when Carolina was awarded a penalty in second-half injury time in a tie game last weekend against Spring Season Champion Indy Eleven. Was there ever any doubt that Mexican star Omar Bravo would place the ball on the spot? Bravo, 36, buried the penalty, which gave the RailHawks their first win in six games. In his five games with Carolina, Bravo has struck for four goals on only eight shots, while completing 78 percent of his passes.

Joe Cole (Tampa Bay Rowdies): After three World Cups for England and a stellar career in the Premier League, primarily with West Ham and Chelsea, Joe Cole and his family fell in love with the Tampa Bay area and he joined the Rowdies in May. The cagy midfielder has scored five goals in 13 matches (12 starts) and has sprayed passes around the field with an 81.8 percent completion rate. Earlier this month, Cole, 34, was named to the NASL’s Team of the Week for the fourth time this year after notching a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win over intrastate rival Fort Lauderdale. He is the club’s top scorer with five goals (tied for the team lead with Georgi Hristov) and four assists.