Jeff Durgan

Infobox Football biography
playername= Jeff Durgan
fullname = Jeffrey D. Durgan
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1961|8|29
cityofbirth = Tacoma, Washington
countryofbirth = United States
height = height|ft=6|in=2
currentclub = Retired
clubnumber =
position = Defender
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1980-1982
1983
1984
1984-1985
1985
clubs = New York Cosmos
Team America
New York Cosmos
New York Cosmos "(MISL)"
F.C. Seattle
caps(goals) = 81 (0)
27 (0)
13 (0)
04 (0)
nationalyears = 1983-1985
nationalteam = United States
nationalcaps(goals) = 07 (1)
pcupdate = 22:33, 3 january 2007 (UTC)
ntupdate = 7 December 2006

Jeffrey ("Jeff") Durgan (born August 29, 1961 in Tacoma, Washington) is a retired U.S. soccer defender who played professionally for the New York Cosmos and seven times for the U.S. national team.

NASL

Durgan was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington where he attended Stadium High School. After graduating from high school, Durgan elected to forego college and turn pro with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL).

In 1980, his first year in the league, he won Rookie of the Year, beating out fellow Tacoma youth team mate Mark Peterson of the Seattle Sounders.

In 1982, he was selected as a second team NASL All Star. ^{[http://home.att.net/~nasl/nasl.htm]}

In 1983, the U.S. Soccer Federation attempted to create a more successful U.S. national team by entering the team into the NASL as a franchise, known as Team America. USSF then invited players from throughout the NASL, Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) and American Soccer League to leave their teams to play for Team America.

Durgan left the Cosmos and signed with Team America. However, the team stumbled to a 10-20 record and the bottom of the league standings. Additionally, Durgan became an outspoken critic of U.S. players who preferred to remain with their original clubs. The targets of his vitriol included Mark Peterson who joined Team America on loan from the Sounders for seven games.

When USSF pulled the national team from the NASL at the end of the 1983 season, Durgan rejoined the Cosmos. However, in May 1984, the Cosmos requested that Durgan take a 20% pay cut. When he refused, the team waived him then resigned him for the lower pay after no other league team expressed an interest in signing him. ^{[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801E6DA1739F933A15755C0A962948260]}

Durgan won the NASL championship with the Cosmos in 1980 and 1982. When the league folded after the 1984 season, the Cosmos moved to MISL but did not make it through the end of the 1984-1985 season before folding.

F.C. Seattle

When the Cosmos collapsed, Durgan moved back to the Seattle area to sign with F.C. Seattle on May 20, 1985. However, Seattle coach Bruce Rioch released Durgan from the team on July 29, 1985 after he was ejected for committing several flagrant in an exhibition match with the Canadian national soccer team. ^{[http://www.soundercentral.com/museum/fc_seattle_1985_recaps.htm]}

National Team

Durgan earned seven caps with the U.S. national team between 1983 and 1985. He scored one goal. He was also Captain of the U.S. Olympic team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He played all three matches for the U.S. which ran to a 1-1-1 record and failed to qualify for the second round.

Durgan and Kasey Keller were the only male soccer players to be named by Sports Illustrated among the top 50 athletes over the past 50 years to come from Washington State. ^{[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/features/si50/states/washington/greatest/]}

Personal life

Jeff currently lives in Michigan with his wife and his three kids C.J, Kieran and Chloe.

External links

* [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10814FC3D5D0C768EDDA00894D9484D81&n=Top%2fNews%2fSports%2fColumns%2fGeorge%20Vecsey 1981 New York Times Profile of Durgan]
* [http://www.ussoccerstats.50megs.com/catalog.html Durgan's NASL stats]