The 1980 Washington Diplomats season was the club's ninth season of existence, their ninth season in the North American Soccer League and their ninth season in the then-top tier of American soccer. The Dips played in the NASL's Eastern Division of the National Conference, and finished the season placed second in the division, behind the New York Cosmos.
The Dips qualified for the 1980 NASL Playoffs, but lost in the first round to the Los Angeles Aztecs in extra time of the second leg.
Background
During the 1979 season, the Dips finished second the Eastern Conference of the National Division. They compiled a record of 19 wins and 11 defeats with 68 goals for and 50 scored against. Their record earned the Dips a berth into the 1979 NASL Playoffs, where they lost 2–0 in games to the Los Angeles Aztecs.
Squad
The following players were contracted by the Washington Diplomats for part of the 1980 season.
Squad No. Name Nationality Position(s) Previous club Goalkeepers 0 Dragan Radovich GK St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers 31 Bill Irwin GK Cardiff City Defenders 2 Robert Iarusci DF New York Cosmos 3 Tommy O'Hara DF Queen of the South 8 Jim Steele DF Southampton 11 Nick Mijatović DF Rochester Lancers 16 Barney Boyce DF 18 Kip Germain DF William & Mary Tribe 19 Don Droege DF Rochester Lancers 20 Mike Dillon DF Cheshunt 21 Carmine Posillico DF Mercer Vikings 26 Ane Mihailovich DF Los Angeles Aztecs Midfielders 4 Juan Lozano MF Beerschot 5 Carmine Marcantonio MF Toronto Metros-Croatia 6 Sakib Viteškić MF Maastricht 7 Thomas Rongen MF Los Angeles Aztecs 9 József Horváth MF Rochester Lancers 10 Gary Darrell MF Montreal Olympique 12 Wim Jansen MF Feyenoord 14 Johan Cruyff MF Los Angeles Aztecs 29 Danny Molendyk MF Washington Huskies Forwards 7 Art Welch FW Wichita Wings 13 Tony Crescitelli FW North Adams State Trailblazers 15 Ken Mokgojoa FW Benoni United 17 Sonny Askew FW Essex Knights 22 Steve Byrd FW 23 Mario Benito Luna FW 25 Bobby Stokes FW Portsmouth 28 Alan Green FW Coventry City
Competitions NASL
References