A couple heroes, two coaches and an incredible talent make my list.
During this very isolated, sometimes lonely period of COVID-19-pandemic-forced-quarantine (which I don’t have), I read a number of entries on sites I do keep up with regarding my soccer colleagues sharing their four biggest soccer influences in their lives as a project to pass the time. It prompted me to work on my own.
My list begins with the incomparable Pele. Widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, the Brazilian dominated the sport in his prime and inspired me to want to kick a soccer ball. There is not a movie/documentary or book about his life I haven’t watched or read.
I was a kid when I saw him dazzling crowds as a member of the New York Cosmos in games televised as part of ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.” Watching Pele perform his magic on “the pitch” with a ball at his feet would inspire anyone.
I can follow that with my next soccer inspiration, which was my dad, Larry McNeece. I don’t think he would take offense to me saying he knew nothing about soccer, but out of desire to spend time together he signed up to coach the first team I ever played for – “The Panthers.” It was the only season he ever coached me, but my lifelong love of the sport started with that season.
Diego Maradona, of Argentina, is another considered among the greatest to ever play the sport. He thrilled me with his play in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico City. I was glued to the TV as a kid at my grandparents’ home in Raymond that summer as he put together one remarkable performance after another.
Maradona captained Argentina past West Germany in the final and won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. More legendary however was when he scored both goals in a 2–1 quarterfinal victory over England. The first goal is known in the soccer world as the “Hand of God,” while the second followed a near 70 yard dribble through five English defenders. It would ultimately be voted the “Goal of the Century” on FIFA.com.
My fourth inspiration would have to be Bill Barefoot, who coached me throughout most of my youth in Clinton. His passion for the sport and encouragement of my play pushed me as much as anything. Many of my greatest successes and fondest memories in the sport came under his tutelage.
While the list was supposed to be capped at four, I couldn’t help but throw in a fifth in Virgil Van Dijk of my beloved Liverpool. He is widely considered the best center back in the world today. His leadership and control in the defensive backfield is among the biggest reasons Liverpool has dominated the English Premier League and world soccer, to some degree, over the past 12 months.
I’ve watched replays of Liverpool games many late nights recently and marveled at Van Dijk’s skills. This pandemic has caused me to miss out on my teams playing in Oxford this spring and served as a reminder how important the sport has been to me so much of my life.