December 5, 2022
Yugoslavian-Born Forward Considered to Be the Dominant Indoor Player of the 1980s
FRISCO, Texas (Dec. 5, 2022) — The National Soccer Hall of Fame today announced that Slavisa “Steve” Zungul, an indoor soccer legend who defected from Yugoslavia in 1978 when he was a rising star on the Yugoslav national team, will be inducted as a member of its 2023 class at a ceremony May 6 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
He joins DaMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan, Jill Ellis and Lauren Cheney Holiday in the Class of 2023.
Zungul played 11 seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League for the New York Arrows, Golden Bay Earthquakes, San Diego Sockers and Tacoma Stars. He was a first-team all-MISL selection eight times, the league’s MVP six times, the league’s scoring leader six times and a league champion seven times (four with New York and three with San Diego).
Read: Lord of All Indoors: Zungul Had a Gift for Scoring Goals
When Zungul defected to America at the age of 24, his former club, Dynamo Zagreb, had FIFA sanctions placed on him that barred him from playing outdoor soccer in the United States. The Supreme Court overturned those sanctions in 1983, and Zungul played two seasons with the Golden Bay Earthquakes in the North American Soccer League.
He was a first-team NASL all-star selection both years, and in his second year (1984), he was the league’s scoring leader and MVP. His outdoor career was cut short when the league folded after that season.
Complete information about the Hall of Fame’s election and eligibility procedures is available at NationalSoccerHOF.com. The election process is administered by National Soccer Hall of Fame staff under election and eligibility guidelines established by the Hall of Fame Board of Directors.
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