Golaço Stories

To begin telling the story of professional soccer in Hawaii we first have to make a quick stop in San Antonio, Texas. In 1974 the NASL announced it's 17th franchise, the San Antonio Thunder. The new Texan club was owned by Ward Lay, son the of the founder of Frito-Lay, played in the Central Division alongside state-rival Dallas Tornado, and hosted it's games in the Alamo Stadium. Despite a lot of initial excitement the franchise folded in just 2 seasons. Even though the Thunder was able to add World Cup level players to the roster, they finished last and second...

Even though Germany has very clear and straight forward rules on how stars are added to its clubs crests, it is still has a unique system. To start off we need to clarify what the German federation considers a valid championship title for this count. First of all, East German titles do not count, so clubs like Dynamo Berlin, Dynamo Dresden, Hansa Rostock or Magdeburg for example all have national titles that don't count in this case. Also, any West German title prior to the creation of the Bundesliga in 1963 does not count (highly recommend looking up what the German League looked like up...

It's hard to imagine that the Pittsburg Steelers, one of the biggest NFL franchises of all time, has something in common with Huachipato, a small soccer club from southern Chile. However, just a quick glance at their crests will tell you that there has to be something there. To better understand the similar imagery first we need to talk about the Steelmark. The Steelmark is a logo created by the American Iron and Steel Institute to promote steel and all of its manufacturers. This was part of a campaign to highlight the product over the its competitors, plastic and aluminum....

This is Part 1 of a series which will explain each country's rules, criteria and culture behind how stars are placed over the clubs crests. Today we will cover the Italian Serie A. Stay tuned for more! The Italian soccer federation has very simple, straight forward guidelines for how clubs are allowed to apply stars on their crests if they wish do to so: a gold star for every 10 national titles. The tradition first started with Juventus, in 1958 the club won it's 10th "scudetto" and sewed a golden star over its crest. The federation liked the idea and made...

       DPMM FC is a club from the tiny country of Brunei, a microstate on the Malaysian coast, similar to Monaco and France. DPMM FC stands for Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota FC which translates to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Brunei Football Club. As the name suggests the club was founded in 2000 and is owned and run by the prince of Brunei's royal family. Until 2004 it competed and dominated in the local league, to the point where DPMM felt the need find a new challenge. In 2005 the Bruneian club entered the Malaysian second...