Njego Pesa
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| Njego Pesa | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Njego Pesa | |
| Date of birth | ||
| Place of birth | Yugoslavia | |
| Playing position | Forward | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Retired | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1978-1979 | Ulster Community College | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1979-1981 1982 1982-1984 1984-1986 1986-1987 |
Dallas Tornado Tampa Bay Rowdies Tulsa Roughnecks New York Arrows St. Louis Steamers New York Express |
|
| National team2 | ||
| 1979-1982 | United States | 33 (2) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Njego Pesa is a former Yugoslavian-American soccer forward who played in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He earned seven caps with the U.S. national team.
Contents |
[edit] Youth
Pesa was born in Yugoslavia, but moved to the U.S. as a youth and grew up in Queens, New York. He attended Ulster Community College where he played on the men's soccer team from 1977 to 1978.[1] Ulster won the JUCO national title in 1979 with Pesa leading the attack.
[edit] NASL
In 1979, the Dallas Tornado of the North American Soccer League (NASL) traded Jeff Bourne in exchange for the first pick in the upcoming College Draft. With that pick, they took Pesa, signing him for $18,000. In 1979, he saw time in twelve games, scoring only one goal, but came alive in 1980 when he bagged thirteen goals in twenty-six appearances. In 1981, Pena experienced a scoring drought, scoring only one goal in twenty-six games. The Tornado then traded him to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The Rowdies traded him to the Tulsa Roughnecks half way through the 1982 season after Pesa failed to score in eleven games. Pesa regained his scoring touch with the Roughnecks, getting four goals in thirteen games with Tulsa that season. Then in 1983, his career hit its highest point as Tulsa went to the NASL title game. The Roughnecks won that game, and the NASL title, defeating the Toronto Blizzard 2-0. Pesa scored the first goal and was the game’s MVP.
[edit] MISL
Pesa left both the Roughnecks and the NASL in 1983 to devote himself to indoor soccer. He had already spent at least one season indoors, with the New York Arrows of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). Pesa began the 1983-1984 MISL season with the Arrows, but was traded to the St. Louis Steamers half way through the season. He remained with the Steamers through the 1985-1986 season. [2] In 1986, he moved to the expansion New York Express, but the team folded after the half time break.[3]
[edit] National team
Pesa earned seven caps with the U.S. national team between 1979 and 1982.
He scored one goal with the U.S. Olympic team in a 4-4 tie with Surinam in an April 2, 1980 Olympic qualification game. However, that game is not considered a full international by FIFA.
