Deyna Wants Another Chance : Socker Veteran Says He Can Still Play Despite Odds Against Him
Socker midfielder Kaz Deyna is facing an inevitable moment of truth. However, he may not be able to control his own destiny.
Deyna, a world-class player, still wants to play and believes he still has some magic left. But the Sockers are loaded at the midfield position and would rather groom a younger player than keep an aging veteran who doesn’t fit into their plans.
And this is not your average aging veteran. Deyna led Poland’s soccer team to the gold medal in the 1972 Olympics. He was an integral part of the Sockers’ first four championship teams, and a member of last year’s team that made it five in a row. He was known as The Magic One.
But he’ll be 39 on Oct. 23.
Despite having one year left on a two-year guaranteed contract at $45,000 per year, plus a $500 bonus for every game he plays, Deyna’s career as a Socker appears close to being over.
“It’s a real dilemma,” said Bob Bell, the Sockers’ chairman of the board. “As of now, my best judgment is that he won’t be with the team this year.”
This isn’t a shock to Deyna, who was aware of what the Sockers were doing to him last season.
Deyna was relegated to the bench for much of the regular season and only appeared in two playoff games in the first two rounds.
With the championship series against Minnesota on the line and the Sockers facing elimination, they were hit by a rash of injuries.
Sensing that putting Deyna in the lineup might be a psychological boost to the Socker veterans, Newman took Deyna to Minnesota. Not only that. He started him.
“If we lose that game,” Deyna said, “that’s it. He puts me in the lineup and we won the game. Then, a few days later, all the injured players who couldn’t walk are ready to play. They are fit.
“He (Newman) doesn’t even let me dress. It is a disaster. No heart. That hurts you very bad.”
Bell feels for Deyna, but he also wants to field what he believes is the best possible lineup.
“In order for Kazee to be effective, Ron (Newman) feels he has to play every day,” Bell said. “Ron believes if he could play every day, he’d contribute. The problem is he’s a midfielder. We probably have the four best midfielders in the league in Branko (Segota), Hugo (Perez), Brian (Quinn) and Jean (Willrich).”
And Newman wants to look at young players such as midfielder Raffaele Ruotolo or Rob Ryerson, the Sockers’ top draft pick from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
“We don’t have a spot for Kazee,” Newman said. “I need those young players. It is better for me to have a young player who is eager to play just a few minutes a game. If Kazee gets back to form, maybe we’ll get another year from him. But Kazee should make way for a younger player.”
Not only isn’t Deyna needed, but he is apparently no longer wanted by the Sockers.
“Bob (Bell) made several attempts to buy out the contract,” said Scott Simpson, Deyna’s agent. “But the offers haven’t been considerable enough.”
The Sockers have tried to trade Deyna, but the newly implemented $1.25-million salary cap per Major Indoor Soccer League team has made it difficult for a club to pick up a 38-year-old player making more than $45,000 a season.
Unlike many major leagues, $45,000 is big money in the MISL. Veterans can be signed for the minimum salary of $24,000 and rookies for $2,000 a month.
Simpson contends Deyna’s salary is one of the primary reasons “there haven’t been any bites from any teams in the MISL.”
“I was hoping he would catch on with someone else and we’d give him a lump sum of money,” Bell said.
Said Deyna: “I have a contract. I want to still play with the San Diego Sockers.”
Deyna is not even the oldest player in the league. That distinction belongs to 40-year-old midfielder Jorgen Kristensen, recently signed by the Kansas City Comets.
As Deyna often points out, it was just two years ago that he scored 30 goals and had 21 assists in the regular season.
Last year, Deyna suffered through his most frustrating season.
Deyna believes he wasn’t given enough playing time to stay sharp. Once benched, he became rusty. In 26 games, he scored just three goals and had seven assists. He stopped going on the road, started attending home games in a suit and tie and relinquished his role as captain midway through the season.
“I believe Kazee had the opportunity to play in the early part of the season,” Newman said. “He wasn’t playing up to the standard of a year before.”
The feud was on. Deyna was angry and felt neglected. Newman was caught in a bind between not wanting to embarrass a legend and playing what he felt was his best lineup.
“I still like to play,” Deyna said. “I still like to practice. If I feel good, maybe I’ll play another two or three years after this year.”
The question is where.
