Full name Ferdo Grgurev 1978 New York Cosmos Name Fred Grgurev | Years Team Role Soccer player 1976-1977 New York Apollo | |
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Date of birth (1951-09-14) September 14, 1951 (age 64) | ||
Place of birth Zadar, FPR Yugoslavia | ||
Ferdo "Fred" Grgurev (born September 14, 1951 in Zadar, Croatia in what was then Yugoslavia) is a retired Yugoslavian-American soccer forward who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned 14 caps, scoring one goal, for the United States men's national soccer team. He is now the owner of the famed New York City steakhouse, Delmonico's.
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Professional
in 1976 and 1977, Grgurev played for the New York Apollo in the American Soccer League. In 1978, he joined the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. In the fall of 1978, he began his indoor career with the Philadelphia Fever of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He led the league in scoring and was a First Team All Star. He was back in the NASL in 1979, this time with the Rochester Lancers. He went on to play for the Fever again during the 1979-1980 indoor season and the Lancers during the 1980 outdoor season. In the fall of 1980, Grgurev joined the New York Arrows, winning the 1981 MISL title with them. He moved to the New Jersey Rockets during the offseason, but on October 2, 1982 rejoined the Arrows on a two year contract. He began the 1983-1984 season in New York before being sold to the Memphis Americans in February 1984. At the end of the season, the Americans moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to become the Las Vegas Americans. Grgurev continued playing for the Americans in their new home during the 1984-1985 season. When the Americans folded in the summer of 1985, Grgurev became a free agent and signed with the Pittsburgh Spirit in September 1985. The Spirit folded at the end of the season and Grgurev did not play again until he signed with the New York Express on January 2, 1987. However, the Express also folded soon after and Grgurev retired. Grgurev was the original MISL's ninth all-time point scorer with 544. He was the league's seventh all-time goal scorer with 331. As a member of the Fever, Grgurev was Scoring Champion as well as Pass Master (ie. assists leader) in the league's inaugural season, 1978-79. It would be however his only scoring title as all-time leaguer scoring Steve Zungul won six of the next seven seasons'.
National team
Grgurev earned fourteen caps with the United States men's national soccer team between 1973 and 1976. He scored against Canada in a friendly played in Windsor on May 8, 1973, which the Americans won 2-0.