Robert Iarusci

Robert Vincent Iarusci... soccer family (father)... married to wife Anna in December 1979... favourites have included Johan Cruyff, Lazio... his father was a shareholder in Toronto Roma FC... studied physical education at York University...

honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as a player (one of the first 11 former players honoured as part of The Soccer Hall of Fame’s inaugural Class of 2000)... honoured by the Toronto Azzurri SC Wall of Fame...

represented Canada in two cycles of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers... career 31 international appearances across eight years from 1976 to 1983 with Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team, including 27 international "A" appearances... when he left international football in 1983, he ranked eighth all-time with 31 international appearances...

with New York Cosmos, a three-time NASL Championship winner (Soccer Bowl in 1977, 1978 and 1982)... with Toronto Metros-Croatia, an NASL Championship winner (Soccer Bowl ‘76)... with Toronto Italia FC, a National League Ontario winner (1975)...

in 2012 as part of the Canadian Soccer Association’s Centennial Celebration, was honoured on the All-Time Canada XI men’s team...

as noted in a 1976 program, Iarusci was “a rugged defenceman; the opposing attackers have a tough tie in trying to get around him”... said John McMahon in 1978, Iarusci “reads the game well, gives one hundred percent all the time, and is a credit to Canada and to the Italian community in Toronto”... wrote the New York Cosmos in 1981, he was a “solid, dependable defender”... wrote the New York Cosmos in 1983, “smart and steady defender, plays great positional defence with well-timed offensive runs”...

wrote Robert Iarusci in 1980, “that had to be the greatest thing in my life (winning with Toronto in 1976). The league didn’t like us, people didn’t like us, most couldn’t even pronounce the name of the team. But the team acquired Eusebio and we went out and won”...