The Soccer Hall of Fame unveils 2011 honour list

Nick Dasovic, Lyndon Hooper, Victor Kodelja and Jimmy Nichol headline the list of 2011 inductees to The Soccer Hall of Fame. The four players will be inducted this year along with builders Bill Hoyle and Bert Goldberger and Pioneer Award winner Len Peto. Also to be honoured is the Team of Distinction 1979 Vancouver Whitecaps and the Organization of Distinction Toronto Ulster United.



Dasovic spent 13 years with the national team, making 63 appearances including two matches at the FIFA Confederations Cup Japan/Korea 2001. He participated in three cycles of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and three editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. At the club level, he played in Canada (North York Rockets, Impact Montréal, Vancouver 86ers/Whitecaps), Croatia (Dinamo Zagreb), France (St-Brieux), Sweden (FC Trelleborgs) and Scotland (St. Johnstone).



Hooper spent 12 seasons with the national team, making 67 appearances for his country. He participated in three cycles of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and two editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. He played professional soccer in Canada (Ottawa Intrepid, Montréal Supra/Impact, Toronto Blizard, Toronto Lynx), USA (Cincinnati Silverbacks, Hampton Roads Mariners) and England (Birmingham City). He also played university soccer for Wilfrid Laurier and amateur soccer for Scarborough GS United, winning the Challenge Trophy in 2005.



Kodelja spent four seasons with the national team in the 1970s, making nine appearances with the national “A” team and one appearance with the Olympic team. He represented Canada in the 1976-77 cycle of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers when only one team qualified out of CONCACAF. At the club level, he won the 1969 Challenge Trophy with Vancouver Columbus and helped his NASL team Toronto Blizzard reach the 1983 Soccer Bowl. He also played in North America for the Vancouver Whitecaps, San Antonio Thunder/Team Hawaii, San Jose Earthquakes, Calgary Boomers and Chicago.



Nicholl was a international player for Northern Ireland that was born in Hamilton, ON. From the Builders category, Hoyle was former president of the Ontario Soccer Association while Goldberger was the first Technical Director of the Alberta Soccer Association. Peto was given the Pioneer Award. He served as president of the Canadian Soccer Association (then known as the Dominion of Canada Football Association) from 1935 to 1938.



The Team of Distinction is the 1979 Vancouver Whitecaps. That team won the 1979 Soccer Bowl in the old North American Soccer League, winning 2:1 over the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the final at Giants Stadium in New York. That team was coached by Tony Waiters and featured the talents of Alan Ball, Bob Bolitho, Bob Lenarduzzi, Buzz Parsons and Carl Valentine. The team also featured John Craven, Peter Daniel, Bruce Grobbelaar, Kevin Hector, Willie Johnston, Roger Kenyon, Danny Lenarduzzi, Ray Lewington, Paul Nelson, Steve Nesin, Phil Parkes, Derek Possee, Jon Sammels and Carl Shearer.



The Organization of Distinction is Toronto Ulster United. That club won the Connaught Cup (1925) and Challenge Trophy (1946, 1951) as national champions of Canada. The club also won the Ontario Cup in 1927, 1929 and 1937.



The 2011 Soccer Hall of Fame Inductee Banquet will be hosted at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex in Toronto on 28 May. Soccer fans can visit The Soccer Hall of Fame & Museum at 7601 Martin Grove Road in Vaughan, ON. For more information, please visit www.theSoccerHallofFame.ca.