Ricardo Alonso (born 21 March 1957) is a former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who began as a forward before moving to defender later in his career. Alonso spent six seasons 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 ...

, four in Major Indoor Soccer League, at least three in the

American Indoor Soccer Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, one in the American Soccer League and two in the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...

Outdoor

NASL

Alonso was born in Argentina. He signed with the

Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks was a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (1968–84), No ...

of the

in 1979 and spent three seasons with the team. He then moved to the

Jacksonville Tea Men The Jacksonville Tea Men was a soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Overall, the Tea Men played a total of four years in Jacksonville, first in the major league-level North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1980–1982, ...

for the 1982 season. That year, he scored twenty-one goals in thirty games, earning first team All Star recognition. In 1983, he signed with the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from ...

when the Tea Men left the NASL. He played one full season with the Sting, earning 1983 second team All Star recognition, but was traded, along with Charlie Fajkus, to the

Golden Bay Earthquakes Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

in exchange for Hayden Knight and

Manny Rojas Manuel Antonio "Manny" Rojas Zúñiga (born 13 June 1954) is a retired football (soccer), football midfielder from Chile, who represented his Chile national football team, native country at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. His professional caree ...

on 10 July 1984. Alonso finished the 1984 season with the Earthquakes, but the NASL folded at the end of the season and the Earthquakes moved to the semi-professional

Western Soccer Alliance The Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer ...

ASL and APSL

Following the collapse of the NASL following the 1984 season, Alonso spent several seasons playing indoor soccer. He returned to the outdoor game in 1989 with the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

of the American Soccer League. That year he led the league in scoring with ten goals and seven assists. He was also named a first team All Star. In 1990, the ASL merged with the

Western Soccer League The Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer ...

to form the

. Alonso remained with the Strikers, now in the APSL. In 1991, he then moved to the

Miami Freedom The Miami Sharks were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League (1988–89), American Soccer League in 1988. The team was renamed the Miami Freedom and joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when ...

for the 1991 season before retiring.

Indoor soccer

NASL

Alonso played the 1983–84 NASL indoor season with the Chicago Sting.

MISL

The year before that, the

entered the 1982–83 Major Indoor Soccer League season. With the collapse of the NASL in 1984, Alonso became a dedicated indoor player. He signed with 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 ...

for the 1984–85 season. When he was released by the Strikers, he returned to the Sting, which was now competing in MISL. On 24 October 1985, he signed a one-year contract with the Sting after a month-long trial. On 29 April 1986, he signed another one-year contract with the

of MISL. That year, he moved to defender.

AISA

The Sting released Alonso after a disappointing 1986–87 season and he signed with the Jacksonville Generals of the

for the 1987–88 season. He then moved to the

Memphis Storm The Memphis Storm was an American soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee which existed from 1986 to 1994. They underwent several names changes including the Rogues, the Survivors, the United Express and finally the Jackals. They played in the A ...

for the 1988–89 season, however, he was traded to the Fort Wayne Flames during the season. Alonso then spent the 1989–90 season with the

Memphis Rogues The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978 in sports, 1978, 1979 in sports, 1979, and 1980 in sports, 1980 seasons and p ...

References

External links

NASL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alonso, Ricardo 1957 births Living people National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1988–89) players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United States Argentine men's footballers Chicago Sting (MISL) players Chicago Sting (NASL) players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football defenders Men's association football forwards Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Fort Wayne Flames players San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players Tulsa Tornados players Jacksonville Generals players Jacksonville Tea Men players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Memphis Rogues players Memphis Storm players Miami Freedom players Minnesota Kicks players Minnesota Strikers (MISL) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players United Soccer League (1984–85) players Western Soccer Alliance players 20th-century Argentine sportsmen