Arnie Mausser

Infobox Football biography
playername= Arnie Mausser
fullname = Arnold Mausser
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1954|2|28
cityofbirth = Brooklyn, New York
countryofbirth = United States
height = height|ft=6|in=5
currentclub = Retired
clubnumber =
position = Goalkeeper
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979-80
1980
1981-82
1983
1984
1985
1988-1989
1990
1990-1992
clubs = Rhode Island Oceaneers
Hartford Bicentennials
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Vancouver Whitecaps
Colorado Caribous
Fort Lauderdale Strikers
New England Tea Men
Jacksonville Tea Men
Team America
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Kansas City Comets ("indoor")
Buffalo Stallions ("indoor")
Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Albany Capitals
Fort Lauderdale Strikers
caps(goals) =
22 (0)
24 (0)
26 (0)
28 (0)
36 (0)
02 (0)
50 (0)
12 (0)
23 (0)
nationalyears = 1975-1985
nationalteam = United States
nationalcaps(goals) = 35 (0)
pcupdate = 7 december 2006
ntupdate = 7 december 2006

Arnold "Arnie" Mausser (born February 28, 1954 in Brooklyn, New York) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who played with 8 different NASL teams from 1975-1984. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Mausser may be considered one of the finest goalkeepers the United States has ever produced. He is known as the trailblazer for future US goalkeepers such as Kasey Keller, Tim Howard, and Brad Friedel. He was a big man (standing 6' 5") who threw with his right hand, but kicked with his left foot.

Early life

Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, with two younger brothers,he played numerous sports, his favorite being basketball. However, in the eighth grade, he began playing goalkeeper because of his size. As he got older, he trained with numerous local teams, eventually catching the eye of the coach of the Rhode Island Oceaneers of the American Soccer League (ASL). He signed with the team in 1974 and played a single season before moving to the NASL.

Club career

In 1975, Mausser joined the Hartford Bicentennials of the North American Soccer League (NASL). He remained with the team for only a single season before moving to the Tampa Bay Rowdies for the 1976 season. His excellent play with the Rowdies (6 shutouts and 28 goals scored against him in 24 games) led to his selection as a first team NASL All Star. Despite his success with the Rowdies, the Tampa Bay coach Eddie Firmani preferred English goalkeeper Paul Hammond who had spent the 1975 season with the Rowdies. As a result, Firmani traded Mausser in 1977 to the Vancouver Whitecaps after the Rowdies signed Hammond.

Although this move was not the result of Mausser's actions, a pattern had been set which continued throughout his career and earned Mausser a reputation as a mercenary playing for whoever offered the best pay. From Vancouver, he moved to Colorado Caribous, again after only a single season. After only one season in Colorado, he moved to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Then was traded from the Fort Lauderdale Strikers to the New England Teamen during the 1980 season. At the end of the season, the Teamen moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where Mausser spent the next two seasons as part of the Jacksonville Tea Men.

In 1983, he joined Team America, the short lived USSF attempt to form the United States men's national soccer team into a quasi-professional team. In 1984, he played the NASL's last outdoor season back with the Rowdies. When the NASL folded, he briefly played with the Kansas City Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He would also play a season with the Buffalo Stallions of the MISL.

He moved to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, now of the American Soccer League in 1988, but then to the Albany Capitals of the American Professional Soccer League for the 1990 season. He ended his career back with the Strikers for another two seasons before retiring in 1992.

National team

Mausser's strong play earned him the starting goalkeeper position for the national team with which he earned 35 caps between 1975 and 1985. He generally played well for the national team, earning 10 shutouts. However, he had a hand in one of the worst fiascos in U.S. national soccer team history. In 1985, the U.S. was a tie away from going to the 1986 FIFA World Cup. They had one game left, a home match with Costa Rica in Torrance, California. The U.S. had beaten Costa Rica 3-0 at the 1984 Summer Olympics and had tied them 1-1 in Costa Rica five days before the match in Torrance. However, the U.S. team played disjointed and in the 35th minute, Mausser weakly punched away a cross he could have caught. The ball flopped to the feet of Evaristo Coronado who easily scored the goal which eliminated the U.S. from the World Cup contention and sent Costa Rica to the finals instead. Mausser played one more game for the national team, a 5-0 thrashing by England on June 16.

Mausser was inducted in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2003.

Trivia

*Arnie Mausser had the natural quirk of throwing right-handed, but kicking left-footed.
*Mausser earned 35 shutouts during his ten years with the NASL.