New York Centaurs

New York Centaurs/Fever

Full name	New York Centaurs (1995) New York Fever (1994-96)
Nickname(s)	Centaurs, Fever
Founded	1994
Dissolved	1996
Ground	Downing Stadium Randall's Island, New York (Capacity: 22,000)
Owner(s)	Roger Gorevic Bob Butler
General Manager	Len Roitman
League	USL A-League
Home colours Away colours

The New York Centaurs were an A-League professional soccer club, based in New York City. The team played only one season in 1995. The New York Fever of the USISL Pro League, debuted in 1994, playing two seasons in the league before merging with the Centaurs organization in 1996. The unified New York Fever team competed in one season in the A-League in 1996 before folding.

The Fever originally played out of Barrett Stadium on the campus of Westchester Community College in Valhalla, New York.

The Centaurs played their games at Downing Stadium on Randall's Island, the former home of the New York Cosmos.

History

The saga of the New York Centaurs/Fever began in 1994 when English businessman Bob Butler launched the first pro soccer club in the New York City area since the NASL New York Cosmos of the 1970s and 1980s. Butler founded the New York Fever as a USISL Pro League team in 1994 with the objective of building a robust franchise and soccer training center for the large and untapped population and youth of New York City. The team's coach was George Vizvary.^[1]

The New York Centaurs, owned by Roger Gorevic, debuted in 1995 at Downing Stadium to considerably small fanfare.^[2] The Centaurs started their season under coach Len Roitman, who would step down amid poor results to focus on his role as general manager, making way for former Cosmos star midfeilder, Yugoslavian Vladislav Bogicevic.^[3] The team would absorb the lower tiered New York Fever for the 1996 season and compete under the Fever name.

Players

Notable former players

• Khalil Azmi
• Dan Calichman
• Carlton Fairweather
• Carlos Llamosa
• Bo Oshoniyi
• Juan Carlos Osorio

Ownership & Staff

• Len Roitman - General Manager (1995-96)
• Howard Rubenstein - Director of Field Operations

Head coaches

• Len Roitman (1995)
• Vladislav Bogićević (1995-96)

A-League New York Centaurs/Fever Year-by-year

Year	Division	League	Reg. Season	Playoffs	Open Cup
1995	2	A-League	6th	Did not qualify	Quarterfinals
1996	2	A-League	6th	Did not qualify	Did not qualify

Ownership & Staff

• Roger Gorevic
• Bob Butler

Head coaches

• George Vizvary

USISL New York Fever Year-by-year

Year	Division	League	Reg. Season	Playoffs	Open Cup
1994	N/A	USISL	6th, Northeast	Did not qualify	Did not enter
1995	N/A	USISL Pro League	1st, Capital	Sizzling Nine	Did not qualify

See Also

• New York Cosmos
• Rochester Rhinos
• New York Red Bulls

References

1. ^ "Professional Soccer Comes to the County". The New York Times. 1994-05-08. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/08/nyregion/professional-soccer-comes-to-the-county.html?pagewanted=1. Retrieved 2010-12-21. 
2. ^ "Maradonna Wannabes". New York Magazine. 1995-05-22. http://books.google.ca/books?id=SOMCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=new+york+centaurs+soccer&source=bl&ots=3FQzJjOE2I&sig=wMYHTQD3CgdyIB1iuBQw51jnt28&hl=en&ei=EN4QTeOQJaGpnAeV5vzUDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=new%20york%20centaurs%20soccer&f=false. Retrieved 2010-12-21. 
3. ^ "Bogicevic to Coach Centaurs". New York Times. 1995-07-12. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/12/sports/sports-people-soccer-bogicevic-to-coach-centaurs.html. Retrieved 2010-12-21.