THE atoms AGAINST THE WORLD
Besides going up against the best the North American Soccer League had to offer night after night, the Philadelphia Atoms also played a number of exhibitions against foreign clubs.
Foreign clubs had often toured the United States to face its top professional teams. In 1926, for example, Sparta Prague toured and played against several teams in the American Soccer League. The Czechoslovakian champions at the time, Prague faced the Brooklyn Wanderers, New York Giants, and Fall River Marksmen, going 1-2-1 on the trip.
With the North American Soccer League's arrival in 1968, this tradition was continued. That year, several famous foreign teams came to the U.S. Pelé's Santos team played eight games, notching a 6-2-0 mark. England's Manchester City did not fare quite as well, going winless in three games.
By the time of the Atoms' arrival in 1973, the big budget international tours had ended. However, the league did feature one tour, and included the results in the NASL standings. Hosting Vera Cruz of Mexico, the Atoms pulled out a 1-0 win before 9,168 at Veterans Stadium. Andy Provan scored the goal.
Also that year, the Atoms played a friendly against Finn Harps of Ireland. Before a crowd of 10,191, the Atoms trounced the Irishmen, 4-0. Andy Provan scored a hat-trick, and Karl Minor grabbed the fourth goal.
In the winter of 1974, the Atoms played an indoor exhibition against the Soviet Red Army team. Falling 6-3 before 11,790 fans at the Spectrum, Philadelphia performed well nonetheless. Atoms "guest" players Jorge Sierra (New York Cosmos) and Paul Child (Atlanta Apollos) scored the home team's goals. (More details about this match can be found in the "Atoms History--1974" section.)
During the 1974 season, Philadelphia found time to play two more international friendlies. The first, against Honduras Universidad, found the Atoms steamrollering the visitors, 7-0, in front of 5,550 interested patrons. Joe Luxbacher scored a hat-trick, and Bobby Ludwig, Andy Provan, Skip Roderick, and Kit Fagan added the other four. The second match, against the Italian National Army, found the Atoms tying the visitors 2-2 on the strength of two Luxbacher goals. A crowd of 9,781 greeted the Italians.
Keep in mind, NASL clubs did not participate in such events as the CONCACAF Champions Cup, or other regional competitions. One looks forward to the day when the new Atoms will face off in these events, continuing the successful legacy of their predecessors.