Miami Freedom
The Miami Sharks were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988. The team were renamed the Miami Freedom and joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League. The club played in the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.
Team president and General Manager Julio Moreira, a native of Ecuador, resided in Miami since 1954.
1990
In 1990, the Miami Freedom played their first seasons in the new American Professional Soccer League (APSL) in the South Division of the league's East Conference. The other members of the division included the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, which won the division that year, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Orlando Lions and Washington Diplomats.
While the Freedom were one of the best defensive teams in the league, having only 25 goals scored against them, they had difficulty scoring. The team's leading scorer, Lazlo Barna, with 7 goals and 5 assists, finished the season 18th in the league's ranking.
The Miami Freedom finished this season with an 8-12. Despite this record, the team fell just one victory short of reaching post-season play.
Rosters
1988: Windsor del Llano, Jerry DiPiero, Troy Edwards, Joao Carlos Fietoza, Juan Carlos Gomez, Patrick Johnson, Ricardo Johnson, Paul Khoury, Tommy Lehoczky, Dan Pingrey, Guillermo Pizzaro, Pedro Tavares, Jody Weil, Marc Wolff, Mathieu St. Pierre
1989: Maicol Antelo, Mark Barnett, Scott Bauer, Dennis Brose, Mirko Castillo, Mario Chavez, Teofilo Cubillas, Euclides DeGouveia, Dirceu, Jerry DiPiero, Tchaly Eleazard, Juan Carlos Gomez, Wellington Guerra, Brian Japp, Ricardo Johnson, Hughes Joseph, Francisco Lopez, Willington Oritz, Dan Pingrey, Guillermo Pizzaro, Tab Ramos, Luis Reyna, Arnold Siegmund, Pedro Tavares, Huber Vallejos
1990: Laszlo Barna, Mark Barnett, Michael Brown, Paul Carollo, Euclides DeGouveia, Ricardo Dillon, Ian Fairbrother, Elias Feanny, Joao Carlos Fietoza, Joseph Flood, Decio Guimaraes, Timo Hamalainen, Brian Japp, Patrick Johnson, Steve Kinsey, David Kulik, Dorian Mesa, Fernando Ramos, Rick Rivera-Gomez, Arnold Siegmund
1991: Celvin Alonzo, Ricardo Alonso, Alex Bahr, Laszlo Barna, Mark Barnett, Brown, Kenny Borden, Juan Castillo, Chrinos, Hugo DeCasanova, Euclides DeGouveia, Paul Dougherty, John Garvey, Grant Gibbs, Rick Iversen, Brian Japp, Pedro Magallanes, Jimmy McGeough, Dorian Mesa, Dale Mulholland, Benjamin Ortiz, Fernando Ramos, Ken Snow, Juan Valencia, Huber Vallejo, Tony DePhillips, Patrick Johnson[1]
1992: Jose Angulo, Kossivi Asare-Kokou, Mark Barnett, Scott Benedetti, Roger Campagnola, Juan Castillo, Javier Centeno, Zico Doe, Miljice Donev, Chris Edwinson, Kevin Grimes, Darrin Karuzas, John Boa, John Klein, John Maessner, Diego Mandagaran, Luis Medina, Dorian Mesa, Dale Mulholland, Victor Ogunsanya, Boniface Okafor, Rodrique Rocques, Derek Sanderson, Arturo Velazco, Scoop Stanisic, Wilmer Ochoa
Coaches
- Carlos Alberto Torres 1988
- Wim Suurbier 1989
- David Irving (1990–1991)
- Jorge Alzerreca (1991)
- Amancio Suarez (1992)
Year-by-year
| Year | Division | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Open Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | N/A | ASL | 5th, Southern | Did not qualify | Did not enter |
| 1989 | N/A | ASL | 5th, Southern | Did not qualify | Did not enter |
| 1990 | N/A | APSL | 4th, ASL South | Did not qualify | Did not enter |
| 1991 | N/A | APSL | 5th, American | Did not qualify | Did not enter |
| 1992 | N/A | APSL | 5th | Did not qualify | Did not enter |