Indoor soccer ownership has been a rogues gallery from the start, but the Phoenix Inferno took things to a new level. In the latest episode of Soccer Rewind, “When Gangsters Owned a Soccer Team,” journalist Bob Nightengale takes us inside his reporting that uncovered the true owners of the Major Indoor Soccer League’s Phoenix Inferno.
It’s a tale of organized crime, a disorganized team, tragedy, and near-triumph as the ragtag expansion team pushed indoor soccer’s first dynasty to the limit in a famous playoff game. We’ll look at that game and the chaos surrounding the Inferno in our latest episode.
THANK YOU to everyone who has watched the first two videos (if you haven’t, you can catch up on Episode 1 here and Episode 2 here) and subscribed to the YouTube channel or liked the Facebook page or Instagram account.
First, check out the video below. The show notes follow.
SHOW NOTES
- Hit Bob Nightengale up on X here and inject some soccer into his feed, which is normally all baseball. (He’ll also do a Cameo for you.)
- Here is Bob’s Arizona Republic story of Feb. 20, 1983 revealing the real owners of the Inferno, who were:
- Manuel Espinosa, who first claimed to have been a captain in Cuban President Fidel Castro‘s army in the 1960s, then said he had infiltrated the army as a Cuban intelligence agent.
- Juan Cid, said to have been one of Miami’s biggest drug dealers1And in Miami, that’s saying a lot..
- Rogelio “Roger” Novo, a South Florida restaurateur once convicted of felony weapons charges. It was in the bar inside his restaurant that another man, Ricardo “Monkey” Morales2Whose son claimed his father had trained accused JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald as a sniper for the CIA., was shot and killed. (Novo himself was later killed, allegedly by Morales’ brother in retaliation for that killing.)
- Emilio Palmar, a Nicaraguan tobacco grower.
- Julio Eiroa, who may or may not have ever actually existed.
- The great Fun While It Lasted (which will apparently now not be going away, just under new management) has this story on the Phoenix Inferno.
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