Slaviša Žungul

Infobox Football biography
playername= Slaviša Žungul
fullname = Slaviša Žungul
nickname = "Lord Of All Indoors"


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1954|7|28
cityofbirth = Split, SR Croatia
countryofbirth = Yugoslavia
height =
currentclub = Retired
clubnumber =
position = Forward
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1971-1977
1977-1983
1983-1984
1983-1984
1984-1986
1986-1988
1988-1990
clubs = Hajduk Split
New York Arrows "(indoor)"
Golden Bay Earthqaukes "(NASL)"
Golden Bay Earthqaukes
San Diego Sockers "(indoor)"
Tacoma Stars "(indoor)"
San Diego Sockers "(indoor)"
caps(goals) = ? (250)
051 0(39)
094 (123)
103 0(89)
nationalyears = 1972-1975
nationalteam = Yugoslavia
nationalcaps(goals) = 014 (0)
manageryears =
managerclubs =
pcupdate = 31 May 2006
ntupdate = 22 June 2006

Slaviša Žungul, known in the United States as Steve Zungul (born July 28, 1954 in Yugoslavia) was a Yugoslavian-American football (soccer) striker. Žungul began his career with Hajduk Split in his native Yugoslavia before moving to the United States where he became a dominant indoor soccer striker. His indoor career began with the New York Arrows of Major Indoor Soccer League and ended with the San Diego Sockers. His amazing scoring ability led to his nickname as "Lord of all Indoors". He also spent two seasons playing outdoor soccer with the Golden Bay Earthquakes of the North American Soccer League. In 1984, he was the 1984 NASL MVP. He also earned fourteen caps with the Yugoslavia national football team between 1972 and 1975.

Hajduk Split

When he was sixteen, Žungul began his career in his hometown of Split, playing for Hajduk Split starting in 1972 and continuing until 1978. He led the team in scoring every season and finished his career with Split with 176 goals. During his six years with the team, he led them to two First Division championships, in 1974 and 1975. He earned 14 caps for Yugoslavia and played in Euro 76. But he never played in the World Cup because he did not serve in the Yugoslav army.

New York Arrows

Yugoslavia had a law that its players could not play for a foreign outdoor team for five years after appearing for the national team. As a result, when Žungul expressed an interest in moving out of Yugoslavia, Hajduk Split loaned him to the New York Arrows of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). When he refused to return to Split Hajduk, the Yugoslavia Football Federation gained a ruling from FIFA forbidding any outdoor team from signing him. This became significant when the Arrows later traded Žungul to the outdoor Golden Bay Earthquakes. ^{[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00E1DD1539F930A25754C0A965948260]}

Žungul led the MISL in scoring in 1980, after finishing second in 1979. In the 1980-1981 season, Žungul achieved an amazing feat when he scored 108 goals in 40 games. In comparison, the second leading scorer, Vic Davidson of the Phoenix Inferno scored only 50 goals. Žungul picked up another 103 goals the next season, but saw a drop off in 1982-1983. He began that season with the Arrows but the team was in decline. In January 1983, the Arrows traded Steve Zungul to the Golden Bay Earthquakes of the North American Soccer League (NASL), who were playing the 1982-1983 MISL season as a guest team, for Gary Etherington and Gordon Hill. While billed as a move to "Americanize" the Arrows, it was largely a cost saving device. While Zungul still led the league in scoring, he bagged only 75 goals.

Golden Bay Earthquakes

However, when the Earthquakes returned to the NASL for the 1983 outdoor season, Žungul went with them which created a conflict with Hajduk Split and the Yugoslavian Football Federations. ^{[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E7DD1138F93BA25752C0A965948260]} The Earthquakes refused to keep Zungul from playing outdoors and he went on to become a first team NASL All Star in both 1983 and 1984. In 1984 he capped his outdoor career by being named the NASL MVP. That year, Zungul registered 20 goals and 10 assists in 24 games, but could not keep the Earthquakes out of the bottom of the Western Conference. Meanwhile, without Zungul's scoring touch the Arrows collapsed and folded at the end of the 1983-1984 season.

an Diego Sockers and Tacoma Stars

When the NASL itself collapsed at the end of the 1984 season, Zungul moved to the San Diego Sockers (MISL). He led the league again in scoring in 1985 and 1986, this time playing for the San Diego Sockers. On February 5, 1986, the Sockers sold Zungul to the Tacoma Stars where he played from 1986 to 1988. ^{[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE0DB1E31F936A35751C0A960948260]} In 1988, he returned to the Sockers where he ended his career in 1990. It was not until 1987that his run as top scorer finally came to a close, as another indoor luminary, the Dallas Sidekicks' Tatu, took Zungul's place at the top of the scoring charts. Zungul was also named the league's MVP from 1979-1982, and then again in 1985 and 1986. At one time, he was the all-time goal scoring leader in indoor soccer with 715 goals. That currently ranks fourth behind Hector Marinaro, Zoran Karic, and Tatu.

External links

* [http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/soccer/20020530--faces_of_soccer.html San Diego newspaper profile]
* [http://www.reprezentacija.co.yu/cgi-bin/index.pl?str=igraci&strana=Zungul-Slavisa Profile]