Place of birth Budapest, Hungary Name Zoltan Toth Years Team Role Soccer player | 1975–1979 Ujpest FC Height 1.91 m 1984 San Diego Sockers | |
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Date of birth (1955-12-29) 29 December 1955 (age 60) 1980-1984 New York Arrows (indoor) | ||
Zoltán Tóth (born 29 December 1955 in Budapest) is a former soccer goalkeeper and current coach. He played for Újpest FC in Budapest from 1975 to 1979 and once played for the Hungarian national team in 1979.
Contents
Life in Hungary
Tóth was born in Hungary to György Tóth, who played fifteen times with the Hungarian national football team between 1978 and 1979. Tóth's talent was apparent early and he eventually also saw time with the Hungarian national football team himself. On a tour with the team in Cadiz, Spain in 1979, Tóth defected and moved to the U.S.[1] He also played on the Hungarian Olympic team.
Professional
In addition to his national team time, Tóth spent four seasons with Hungarian First Division club Újpest FC. As one of the top Hungarian clubs, Újpest regularly played in the UEFA Cup and European Cup. They twice won the Hungarian national championship during Tóth's time, 1977–78 and 1978-79. In 1979, Tóth signed with the New York Arrows of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) for the 1980-1981 season and got his start when Arrows' goalkeeper Shep Messing was injured. He was the 1982-1983 MISL Goalkeeper of the Year. Won 14 lost 2 in 1980-81 and won 15 lost 2 in 1981-82 season. Best winning percentage of all time. In 1984, he transferred to the San Diego Sockers of the North American Soccer League. He kept 7 clean sheets out of 10 games. The Sockers then moved to the MISL. Toth remained with the Sockers through the 1989-1990 season. He was selected as the MISL Goalkeeper of the Decade for the 1980s. He holds the league record for wins and goals against average. He then played for the St. Louis Storm from 1990 to 1992.
Coaching career
Awards and honors
In March 2013, Tóth was one of six men named to the 2013 class of the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame. The other inductees are Gordon Jago, Preki, Kai Haaskivi, Brian Quinn, and Mike Stankovic.
Personal
His son Christopher is the current goalkeeper for the San Diego Sockers and played for the United States national beach soccer team the 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Tahiti.