European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 16, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Outspoken Shep Messing most famous american autograph in  by Fred hot Henberg associated press in in hand a waiter with an accent As thick As pasta came Over to Shep missing s table at a fancy italian restaurant in Newyork. Imagine that a foreign soccer fan. Asking an american soccer player for More hum directions to the nearest Chinaglia or Becken  a smile As wide As a soccer goal Messing obliged the Man giving him the most famous Ameri can autograph in soccer. The irony of the situation was not lost on nes Ting a rebel with a cause who is american soc cer1 Symbol of growth and conscience for the � my. Messing new York born goalkeeper for the Oak land stomp cars of the North american soccer league has been slaying dragons since he began playing organized soccer in the 1960s. In those Days the dragons were the narrow minded coaches who thought soccer ability and Crew cuts were somehow  they Are the folks who speak Oxford English arid run the show for the Nail a league Mes sing feels in t reaching mainstream America fast enough. Phil Woosnam. The Welsh commissioner of the Nail is one of Messing s main  fined Messing in 1973 because the Young goalie put his name on the Back of his uniform. The next year names on uniforms became Standard procedure in the  Messing said in a recent interview. I like Phil and i think he and Pele have done More for soccer in this country than anyone else said the curly haired goalie who Drew attention to himself and the league in 1974 when he posed for a nude Centrefold for Viva Maya sine. But he got to be More progressive about inject wednesday August 16, 1978 daily Magazine ing americans into the game whenever a learn needs a new coach he pro Vides a list of five English coaches. Americans do the clinics and make the appearances but they Don t gel to play very  28-year-old Messing always Speaks his mind and always seems to land on his feet not just be cause he s a soccer player a Breed which knows about feet but because he s a very Good soccer player. He also can Tell a very Good Story which he do soften in his entertaining and irreverent Book the education of an american soccer player i Dodd. Mead &co.l. In his collaboration with feature writer David Hir Shey. Messing pulls no punches in charting the growth of Messing and american soccer although at limes you get the feeling that Messing should be rid ing on a White horse and wearing a suit of shining Armor. Crowing up in a suburban new York Middle class neighbourhood. Messing discovered soccer primarily because his High school football team was so bad it did t score a Point in his Junior year. His Talent de termination and opposition to mindless rules then followed him to Harvard the Munich olympics through and Tumble German american league and eventually the nas1. His Nail career began with the Cosmos in 1973, . Before Pelchen playing soccer in the . Was a part time Job. He was traded to Boston in 1975 where he played with the magnificent but battered Kus Bio and got paid by the owner out of the night s hot dog conces Sions to make sure they got that much the players would Block the owner s Holls Hoyor will their cars so he could l skip town do me a favor.  owner John Sterge told Messing before one game i got the hot dog conces Sion for tonight s game. Buy a couple for your pro game  the team in dire financial Straits. Messing was sold to new York rejoining the Cosmos in 1976. By then Pelc had arrived and soccer in America was gaining stature. I would t Trade my Early experiences in the league for All the Money in the world Shep said. I enjoyed being a  he also enjoyed being in the spotlight which was where the travelling circus known As the Cosmo was for All of its 1977 championship season. In the Book. Messing provides illuminating glimpses into the personalities of the top Cosmos including for eign stars Pelc. Giorgio Chinaglia. Franz Beckon Bauer and coach Eddie Firmani. Messing says he sat on the Bench for the Cosmos game against Rochester last season and heard fir Mani cursing at  and pole. He claims that Firmani humiliated Pele probably the bes player of All time by not allowing him to take free kicks positioning him. Instead for rebounds. It was like having Kareem Abdul Jabbar bring ing up the basketball and shooting from the out Side Messing said. You can t write it off As just a matter of appreciating different styles. I never Sawa Guy so Hurt. What Pele went through with Firmani was unbelievable but Pele Rose above   s differences with Firmani helped him land in Oakland where he signed a $50,000bonus and a $50,000 contract but negotiated out the Nail s Standard two year option clause. He will become a free agent following this season and makes no secret of his desire to return to Boston to play soccer. Missing s ability and Charisma allowed him tomake big Bucks and in Oakland he is known As the american Star instead of just the goalie among the Cosmos International stars. But he feels salaries for most of the rest of the players Are a  blames the influx of third and fourth division players from the English leagues for deflating wages in the Nail. The salaries Here were base Don English  he said. The league could get thousands of players from England playing for pea nuts and it  Messing loves soccer and that s obvious in the Book and in All his railings against the soc cer establishment. The Best time playing soccer for me is going inthe backyard with my Brothers or just kicking the Ball around in Central  the stars and stripes Page 13