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Pat Onstad Retires


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Best bet from that era to still be active in North America would be Rick Titus but think he stuck with Toronto Italia of the NSL right through the CSL years although he did play for the 86ers later on so there arguably is an indirect connection. Radzinski may well be the last now.

No, Rad played in the CSL's successor league, the offspring of the two remaining CSL clubs (Rockets and Fury) and the old NSL, the Canadian National Soccer League where he played with the North York Rockets. He never did lace up the boots in the CSL. In the CSL's last year, Rad was scoring goals by the bushel for St. Catharines Roma Wolves in the final year of the NSL IIRC.

Titus never played in the league either. He was stuck in the NSL. Rocco probably wanted money to get any players released from his very good Italia squad. The only movement I can recall was when he "traded" Sante Cesario for his cousin Sandro who was with the Rockets. Odd days.

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Recollections are getting hazy given it is almost 20 years ago but think I still have an old Rockets programme that indicates he was on the Rockets roster prior to the CNSL season when it was still the CSL. Wkipedia lists him as 1990-93 where the Rockets are concerned although that's not 100% reliable obviously:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomasz_Radzinski

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Recollections are getting hazy given it is almost 20 years ago but think I still have an old Rockets programme that indicates he was on the Rockets roster prior to the CNSL season when it was still the CSL. Wkipedia lists him as 1990-93 where the Rockets are concerned although that's not 100% reliable obviously:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomasz_Radzinski

You may very well be right. I was absolutely certain that it was the other way around. I'll have to do some more digging to satisfy my own curiosity and confusion.

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john catliff is still playing in the semi pro vancouver league

If that's VMSL it is officially amateur even if in practice teams are sometimes effectively semi-pro at that sort of level based on under the table payments. Great to hear that another original CSL player is still active at a reasonably high level like that. I'm sure Pat Onstad could have kept going at some level in MLS or the NASL for the next couple of seasons but the rumoured coaching job with DC United was probably too good an opportunity to miss.

http://www.dcunited.com/press-release/2010/12/pat-onstad-joins-dc-united-coaching-staff

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It's official. If the ageless wonder, Pat Onstad is putting away the boots then I AM getting old. (Ha! And so are the rest of you bastards).

Sticks in my mind how he pulled double duty for us at the Gold Cup a few tourneys back. Jetting across North America playing for club & country at the spry ol' age of what, 40? Crazy talk but he did it. Hell, just try and stop him. What a absolutely wonderful nutter.

Hats off to Uncle Pat and best wishes in that next stage of his football career. If playing keep for 25 years hasn't turned all his hair gray coaching sure as **** will.

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Can remember him playing for the Blizzard says all that needs to be said about his longevity within the game. Hopefully a great playing career will be followed by an even better coaching one.

I have an old Winnipeg Fury program that shows Onstad played for both the Blizzard and the Fury (lol - I think he was just traded back to the Fury - September 1992).

Congratulations to Pat on a very successful career. I saw his match against the Winnipeg Fury in 1987, and eventually as winning keeper for the Winnipeg Fury in 1992, the last year for the Canadian Soccer League. He was the back-up to Forrest during the 2000 Gold Cup, but his true sign of dedication was the 2007 Gold Cup when he was called up on short notice and performed heroically into the semi-final (despite most V's expectations at the time). Good luck with DC!

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A must read article about Onstad with some nice quotes about his time in Scotland, his MLS and MNT career:

http://www.fan590.com/news/sports/more.jsp?content=s5469399

Must read is an understatement. That is simply the best article related to Canadian soccer that I have read. Ever.

Bravo Neil - you got roasted by me and others for not digging deep enough during WCQ, and then you kind of disappeared for a while, but you are clearly back in the forefront of Canadian soccer journalists.

Best of luck, Pat. If we see another like you I will be surprised.

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Great keeper, great dedication to the national team... but unfortunately I will only ever be able to remember him for that moment

Mistakes happen. I'll choose to remember Onstad as someone who was probably never once the absolute first choice keeper for Canada, but never let that effect him. He answered the call ALWAYS. Even when it was inconvenient. A real class act.

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Mistakes happen. I'll choose to remember Onstad as someone who was probably never once the absolute first choice keeper for Canada, but never let that effect him. He answered the call ALWAYS. Even when it was inconvenient. A real class act.

True that. I'll remember him for coming in at the last minute at GC 07 and standing on his head for us, even after getting knocked out cold in that Haiti game.

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Considering his longevity at his position he is deserving of kudos. The last few years I always found myself cheering for him just because he could still play at that level at his age. Call it old geezer envy.

MLS Cups, MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Awards, keeper for the Earthquakes when they went undefeated at home (the first time any team did that in MLS history) and of course 56 games over a 20 year period for the CMNT. Hell of a record there. Cheers to Patrick Stewart Onstad, may he "engage" the next stage in his career as successfully as his years as a keeper.

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