Enzo Di Pede (born January 3, 1957) is a retired Italian-born

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

who played in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

and the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL).

Career

In 1976, he played in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

with

Toronto Italia The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

for three seasons. Di Pede was a member of the MISL Champion New York Arrows as a backup goalkeeper in 1979–1980. Di Pede won MISL Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 1981 as a member of the

Chicago Horizons The Chicago Horizons was a member of the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) for only the 1980–81 season. It was the first of two franchises that represented Chicago in the circuit's history. It was the first professional sports team th ...

and later played for the Kansas City Comets. On October 7, 1986, the

Minnesota Strikers The Minnesota Strikers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1984 season and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1984 through 1988. The team was based in Minneapolis/ St. Paul metrop ...

signed Di Pede, but he spent the season as a backup.

International career

Di Pede played with the

Canada men's national under-23 soccer team The Canada U-23 men's national soccer team (also known as Canada Olympic soccer team) represents Canada in international soccer at this age level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada. U ...

, and made his debut on April 1, 1979 against Bermuda.

Personal life

Born in Italy, he and his family immigrated to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada. Di Pede idolized long-time Italy national team goalkeeper

Dino Zoff Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is the oldest ever ...

as a young soccer player. Di Pede led a series of youth soccer camps in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, U.S. with several fellow MISL players. After retiring, Di Pede, along with teammate Gino Schiraldi, opened a bagel shop and catering company in Kansas City.

References

External links

Career stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Pede, Enzo 1957 births Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian men's soccer players Toronto Italia players Chicago Horizons players Men's association football goalkeepers Italian emigrants to Canada Kansas City Comets (1979–1991) players Canadian National Soccer League players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players New York Arrows players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Rochester Lancers (1967–1980) players Living people People from Sora, Lazio Footballers from the Province of Frosinone Footballers from Lazio 20th-century Canadian sportsmen