Helmut Dudek
Helmut Dudek (14 December 1957 – 22 May 1994) was a Polish-German football defender who won the 1978–79 UEFA Cup with Borussia Mönchengladbach. He also played eight seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 14 December 1957 | ||
Place of birth | Bytom, Poland | ||
Date of death | 22 May 1994 36) | (aged||
Place of death | Leverkusen, Germany | ||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
Playing position(s) | Defender | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1978–1980 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 6 | (0) |
1980–1984 | Memphis Americans (indoor) | 171 | (142) |
1984–1985 | Las Vegas Americans (indoor) | 47 | (25) |
1985–1986 | Pittsburgh Spirit (indoor) | 45 | (18) |
1986–1987 | Minnesota Strikers (indoor) | 35 | (11) |
1987–1988 | Baltimore Blast (indoor) | 33 | (8) |
Total | 337 | (204) | |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
In 1978, Dudek, native of Poland who later became a West German citizen, signed with Borussia Mönchengladbach and was a member of the team as it won the 1978–79 UEFA Cup. He played a total of six games for Borussia before moving to the United States in 1980.[1] That summer, he signed with the Memphis Americans of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He would play four seasons with the Americans in Memphis and another after the team moved west to Las Vegas, Nevada where they became the Las Vegas Americans. In 1982, he was a First Team All Star.[2] The Americans folded at the end of the 1984–85 season and the Pittsburgh Spirit hired Don Popovic, the American head coach. Popovic brought Dudek, and several other players, to the Spirit as free agents.[3] Dudek spent he 1985–86 season in Pittsburgh. The team folded at the end of the season and Dudek signed with the Minnesota Strikers on 18 September 1986.[4] After one season, the Strikers sent Dudek to the Baltimore Blast for future considerations.[5] He spent one season in Baltimore, then left the league to return to Germany. He died on 22 May 1994 of cancer.[6]
Honors
- MISL All-Star Team: 1982
References
- "Helmut Dudek" (in German). fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- "he Year in American Soccer – 1982". homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on 28 November 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- "Did MISL commissioner learn a lesson?". Evening Tribune. San Diego, CA. 1 October 1985.
- "STRIKERS SIGN ALL-STAR". The Miami Herald. Florida. 19 September 1986.
- Appleman, Marc (6 November 1987). "In League's 10th Season, a First: Teams That Finished Are Back". latimes.com. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
- "No shortage of nicknames in New Orleans". The Commercial Appeal. 26 May 1994.