Shirts Off to Tatu; He’s MISL MVP

Tatu, the Dallas Sidekicks’ prolific scorer, known for hurling his shirt into the stands after every goal, Friday was named the Major Indoor Soccer League’s Most Valuable Player for the 1986-87 season.

Tatu, a native of Brazil who was the MISL’s leading scorer during the regular season, lost his shirt 73 times.

Tatu became the fifth player to win the MVP award in the league’s nine-year history. He scored 111 points on 73 goals and 38 assists during the regular season to win the scoring championship.

Tacoma’s Steve Zungul has been named MVP six times, including the past two years, and once as co-MVP with Stan Terlecki of Pittsburgh.

Other MVP winners have included Baltimore’s Stan Stamenkovic (1983-84) and Alan Mayer, who earned the 1982-83 award while playing for the Sockers.

Tatu was named on all 22 ballots, receiving 19 first-place votes and three second-place selections for a total of 104 points out of a possible 110 in the media balloting.

Other contenders included Jan Goossens of Kansas City, 26 points; Zungul, 17 points; Kevin Crow of the Sockers and Bruce Savage of Baltimore with four points apiece; and Batata of Chicago and Chico Borja of Wichita with three points each.