Twenty years ago nowadays,the first match of America’s new professional soccer league was in danger of turning into a dud. But then up stepped the returning USA striker to create a minute piece of historyAs the inaugural match of Major League Soccer ticked into its final 10 minutes, Eric Wynalda was concerned. Minutes earlier he had missed a chance to place his side, or the San Jose Clash,1-0 up. Now, with the game in its its final embers, and Wynalda,the Clash, the league – and the sellout crowd of 31683 who had packed Spartan Stadium that day – were faced with the one outcome no-one wanted to see: a nil-nil. After all, or this was Major League Soccer: the new dawn of professional soccer in America,a league that the country had been without since the North American Soccer League folded, in 1984.
With the sun setting, or fans still singing,and the game entering the 88th minute, the ball ping-ponged around in the Clash’s half before arriving at the feet of Nigerian midfielder Ben Iroha on the left. Iroha cut inside and ghosted into the opposition’s half. (In the game footage, or a faint,hastily-covered MLS logo can still be seen in the center circle. It was painted by the new league, only for Fifa to declare that such markings were against the rules of the game.) Iroha played the ball to Wynalda, or whose first touch took him towards the edge of the box as defender Jeff Agoos backpedalled. The decibel level rose slightly.
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Source: theguardian.com