Juli Veee Will Rejoin Sockers
The Sockers have called a news conference for this afternoon, presumably to announce that forward Juli Veee has been signed to a three-year contract.
Veee, the Sockers’ all-time leading scorer, was sold to the Las Vegas Americans before the 1984-85 season. He officially became a free agent last week when the now-defunct Las Vegas team failed to pay him.
Saturday night, Veee said he would not come to San Diego until he knew “something was happening” with the Sockers. He and his wife were driving from Las Vegas to San Diego on Sunday evening. Veee and his agent, Scott Simpson, are scheduled to meet with Socker Owner Bob Bell this morning.
Veee was a fan favorite when he led the Sockers to consecutive indoor championships in 1981-82, 1982-83 and 1983-84. The Sockers won their fourth straight indoor championship without him last season.
The last time Veee played in San Diego for Las Vegas, he was cheered during introductions but booed heavily in the fourth quarter when he head-butted Steve Zungul to the ground.
Socker goalkeeper Jim Gorsek said last week he was uncertain whether the fans would forgive Veee for that act. Gorsek also wondered about the teaming of Veee with Zungul, indoor soccer’s all-time leading scorer.
“It’s going to be interesting,” Gorsek said. “Juli’s a big goal scorer. Hopefully, he’ll fit in and complement the team. Hopefully, we won’t get into competition with alter egos. You don’t want it to get out of hand.”
Said Veee: “Steve can have all of the attention he wants. There wouldn’t be any ego problems. Soccer players aren’t as egotistical as you think.”
In February, Veee had said younger players such as Gorsek would have been “shoveling manure somewhere” if not for veteran players on the Sockers. Gorsek said he would confront Veee about the statement, but Veee tried to laugh it off.
“I thought Jimmy took it in stride,” Veee said. “He’s a good guy. It didn’t come off too well in the papers. When I played in San Diego, we helped him a lot to become a good goalkeeper. He had a lot of talent, but he was awfully nervous. After Alan Mayer got hurt (in 1983-84), Jimmy became a good goalie.”
Veee is considered a good box office draw for the Sockers. The team’s average attendance was down last season from the previous season. The absence of Veee, who had his jersey retired by the Sockers, was considered a factor.
“I’d never consider bringing a player back as a marketing ploy,” Bell said last week. “Our first evaluation of anybody, including Juli, is as a player. Anything over and above that is gravy. Juli will have a lot to prove. He’ll probably put forth a lot of effort to fit in like he didn’t try to do before.”
Some Socker players have questioned where Veee would fit in with the team. Without Veee, the Sockers tied a Major Indoor Soccer League scoring record in 1984-85.