Hector Marinaro - In His Own Words (Part 1)

By Ryan Waldheger

BRUNSWICK, OHIO - He is, without question, one of the greatest to have ever played the indoor game. He’s professional indoor soccer’s all-time leading scorer, a 14-time All-Star, a nine-time scoring champion, a six-time League Most Valuable Player, and one of the most respected individuals to have ever played the game.

Hector Marinaro announced his retirement from the professional indoor soccer on Tuesday. In a press conference held in his current hometown of Brunswick, Ohio, Marinaro spoke for approximately an hour, thanking former coaches, teammates, team executives, family members, and friends, and graciously identifying every individual and circumstance that helped him become a “legend” in his sport, as well as a true sports icon in Cleveland.

We’ve broken the speech into several parts, and today we’re posting the first segment. So here it is … Hector Marinaro in his own words.

Hector Marinaro’s Retirement Press Conference (Part 1)

After 21 years of professional soccer I am announcing my retirement from a sport that I truly love. No matter what has transpired in the last few months, nothing can diminish that I had the time of my life. I enjoyed every last minute of it.

In 1983, at the age of 18, I came to Cleveland to try out with the original Force with absolutely no idea of what I wanted to do with my life. I ended up making the team as a defender in 1983, and I fell in love with a sport and a city that have been absolutely tremendous to me.

My rookie year with the Force we averaged over 13,000 people at the Coliseum. I did not play much that year, so I was more of fan than an actual player. But the atmosphere at the Coliseum made me realize that this is what I wanted to do. I think I enjoyed my rookie year a little too much because after me year they cut me.

In 1986 I went on and signed with the Minnesota Strikers where my career was transformed. After numerous injuries to my team, head coach Alan Merrick saw something in me and asked me to play forward. Obviously I can’t thank Alan enough for making me a forward. My second year in Minnesota I was fortunate enough to lead the MISL in scoring, and that is when I fell in love with scoring goals.

In the summer of 1989, after a year in L.A., I became a free agent. That summer the Cleveland Crunch was born. I told my agent at the time, that he had to do everything he could to get me back to Cleveland. I wanted to come to Cleveland because it was the closest place to my home in Toronto and I had such good memories of my rookie year here in Cleveland. But little did I realize that I was actually really coming home to Cleveland.

I really need to thank George Hoffman, Al Miller, and Kai Haaskivi for bringing me to Cleveland. That was the best thing that ever happened to me. I remember the first time I met George Hoffman. I had just signed with the Crunch, I was the free agent pickup of the team. I flew in to sign my contract and Kai Haaskivi picked me up at the airport. We went straight to George’s house and I met George Hoffman. I met with him for about an hour and all we talked about were our families. He took an interest in me as a person, not an athlete. We didn’t talk about soccer probably because he didn’t have a clue about soccer. But I knew it was the beginning of something special.

Throughout my career I played for some great owners – the late Bart Wolstein with the Cleveland Force, the late Joe Robbey, who owned the Miami Dolphins, he was my owner in Minnesota. I played for Dr. Jerry Buss in L.A., who owns the Lakers. From a player’s standpoint, Mr. George Hoffman was far and away the best owner I ever played for. Playing for George was by far the best years of my life. And George, I thank you for bringing me to Cleveland. I value our friendship and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

For 10-straight years, George Hofman and Al Miller put together teams that contended every single year for championships. Al Miller was a genius at fine-tuning the team, year in and year out. As you can see with what has happened over the last few years, George and Al did not get enough recognition for what they accomplished. George and Al, thank you for the best 10 years of my life and thank you even more for our ongoing friendships. You guys will be with me forever and a I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I have to thank my many coaches throughout the years, my many coaches who had to put up with my bad practice efforts. I have already thanked Mr. Alan Merrick for making me a forward, but I need to thank him for giving me the opportunity to flourish as a player, and the opportunity to play and establish myself as a professional.

I thank Timo Liekowski, who found me playing up in Canada at the age of 18, and invited me down to tryout with the Cleveland Force. At the age of 18 he saw me in something that I hadn’t seen myself, and I thank him for bringing me to Cleveland.

I would like to thank Keith Tozer, who was my coach in Los Angeles, for giving me the freedom to blossom as a player. Keith was a young coach and I was a young player. And I think we’ve both turned out pretty good.

Once again to Kai Haaskivi, thanks for bringing me to Cleveland. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. Thanks for picking me to be on your team.

To Trevor Dawkins, who took over for Kai Haaskivi. Thank you for leading us to the Championship Series, getting Kai Haaskivi back to play, and most of all, thank you for your friendship. In 1983 when I signed with the Cleveland Force, Trevor was my first defensive partner, and later became one of my best friends that I’ve made in soccer. Trevor took me from just a goal scorer to an all-around player. He saw it in me and he brought it out of me. And I thank him. I still talk to him at least once a month, and he is truly one of the best friends I have made in this sport.

Gary Hindley. Gary will be in my heart forever because he took 20 guys in 1994, and led us to the first championship in Cleveland history since (the) 1964 Browns. The highlight of my career is my first championship, and this championship ring means everything to me. It was the highlight of my career, and I had the privilege and pleasure of scoring the double-overtime goal to give us the championship on April 27, 1994.

To Bruce Miller, thanks for leading us to two more championships in ’96 and ’99, but most of all thank you for being one of my dearest friends. I look forward to many more years of being your neighbor, and friend.

To George Fernandez and Andy Schmetzer, who’ve coached the Crunch and the Force. I’m sorry that you guys didn’t get the proper opportunity to coach this team. I know that both of you would have been great coaches and I truly value our friendship. I’m glad you guys are here with me today.

When you play over 21 years like I did, and you accomplish all of the things that I got to accomplish, you can’t do it without the help of great teammates. I was privileged and lucky to play with a lot of the best. I would like to introduce every one of my teammates that are here in attendance and recognize them for all they did to help me throughout my career.

First of all to Omid Namazi, and this year’s Cleveland Force team. I’d like to wish you guys the best of luck this year. I will miss playing with you guys, but I will be watching, and I will be your biggest fan. So make us proud, and make this city proud.

The next segment of Hector Marinaro’s retirement speech will appear on www.misl.net in the coming days.