Mike Connell (soccer)

Mike Connell (born 1 November 1956 in Mayfair, Johannesburg, South Africa) is a former professional footballer. He played in his native South Africa as well as in the North American Soccer League.

Youth

Connell grew up playing street soccer in Mayfair and attending Rangers F.C. games at Bloch Park. Playing in black and white striped shirts of the Rangers Club, similar to the kits worn by West Bromwich Albion or Newcastle United in the UK, was a must for any kid from the neighborhood and Connell was no different. Connell spent most Sundays from 9am to 5pm watching and playing soccer at Bloch Park. When he was nine, he was recruited into a U-11 team which practiced in the park. As luck had it his first game would be against the rivals of Rangers. Highlands Park was a team from the northern suburbs and had an exceptionally gifted squad of players. The game would be played as a first curtain raiser before a Rangers professional game and it would be played at the Rand Stadium- a thirty thousand seater stadium-large for Johannesburg in those segregated days of apartheid. Although they were beaten 9-2 that day Mike scored both goals and so began his journey to becoming a professional soccer player. He was particularly gifted in creating openings in opposing defences and marshalled the midfield with aplomb. Mike played in teams with some exceptionally gifted players including Gregory Daubern, Keith and Ivor Viljoen, Robert Venter, Philip Jooste, Angelo Nicolaides, Edward Khoury, Douglas Walls, Kevin Hunter, Edward Khoury, George and John Peters, Reggie Joseph and others who were coached by George Parfitt with the great Alex Forbes (Ex Arsenal midfield player and Scotland international), who was Rangers coach often looking on for talented players. Syd Chaitowitz, the Chairman of Rangers Football Club was especially enamoured with Mike Connell, Kevin Hunter, Bobby Viljoen, Desmond Bakos, Angelo Nicolaides and Reggie Randall who had special gifts on the playing field and sent some abroad. Some went on to play for other clubs inter alia Bakos who went to Highlands Park and later Hellenic in CapeTown, Nicolaides went to Lusitano and then Jewish Guild and later Wits, which were all Johannesburg clubs and Viljoen went to the warm coastal area of Natal to Durban United. Many of these players went on to represent South Africa at the youth level and some went on scholarships and coaching clinics abroad to clubs in the United Kingdom for short stints of about 4 weeks or more with the youth sides, such as Arsenal(Angelo Nicolaides and Paul Zoghby) and Ipswich Town (Colin Viljoen-although he went professional in England) amongst others, where they excelled, but few despite being great players in their own right, reached the heights of Mike Connell who was always a gentleman and a wizard to say the least, and who was loved by all his teammates-especially for his humility.

National team

Through the early 1970s, Connell was selected to the all star teams and in 1971 and 1972 was selected to the South African Schoolboy team. At the time South Africa was suspended from FIFA and no international games could be played.

Professional

Alex Forbes, the manager of the professional team brought Mike into the first team squad. His full professional debut was made in 1972 at the age of 16 against Durban City. In 1973 Mike was invited to go on trial with Arsenal in England. He spent 6 months on trial but was not signed.^{[citation needed]} He returned to Rangers. In 1974 Eddie Firmani, the new coach of the Tampa Bay Rowdies in Tampa USA, was scouting for players in South Africa. Rangers was playing Arcadia Shepherds who featured Steve Wegerle. After Mike was substituted his father confronted Alex Forbes on the field. An act Eddie Firmani realised gave him opportunity to get Mike. In 1975 at the age of 18 Mike arrived in Tampa, Florida USA.^[2] He played every season for the Rowdies until the NASL collapsed in 1984. His years with the team included one championship, in 1975, and two runner-ups, in 1978 and 1979. In NASL indoor he won one championship in 1979-80 and one runner-up in 1981-82. Connell was also part of the 1983 Indoor Grand Prix winning side, though he did not play in the final due to injury. He was a 1979 and 1980 First Team All Star and a 1982 Honorable Mention All Star. He ranks third in career NASL games played with 252. Connell holds the NASL all-time record for consecutive regular season starts with 179. The streak ended in on the last day of the 1984 season, with his somewhat controversial benching by then coach and former teammate Rodney Marsh, in what was to be the Rowdies final NASL game.^[3] He spent one season, 1988, in the ASL with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–94) before fully retiring as a player.^[4]

Coach

In the mid-1980s, Connell became the head coach of the Clearwater Central Catholic High School boys' team.

He has a wife, Kim, and a daughter, Ashton, and a son, Michael. They currently reside in Lutz, Florida.

At halftime of a match versus the New York Cosmos on August 10, 2013 the new Tampa Bay Rowdies honored Connell by retiring his #6 jersey.^[5]

References

External links

• Tampa Bay Legends: Mike Connell
• NASL Stats