All-Star Instead of All Through : Sockers’ Nogueira Rebounds From Injury in a Big Way

Victor Nogueira was standing in front of the goal during a recent Sockers practice. He appeared to be posing for a statue.

His legs spread, knees bent at nearly a right angle, he covered most of the lower area of the goal. His long arms stretched across most of the upper half, his right arm sticking straight out and his left raised above his head as if he were waving.

Kevin Crow, Ralph Black, Paul Dougherty and Rene Ortiz took turns shooting the ball at this man, in this pose. It was as if they wanted to destroy it. One shot after another deflected off Nogueira. One by Black hit Nogueira’s right leg. One by Crow glanced off his left shoulder. Nogueira’s left hand stopped a shot by Dougherty.

All the while, Nogueira barely moved. If it looked effortless, it was supposed to.

Presenting The Secret of My Success, by Victor Nogueira, the Major Indoor Soccer League’s hottest goalkeeper:

“A lot of goalies start out in a coiled position and then go after the ball. I decided it might be better to start where you want to end up. I have a big frame (6 feet, 180 pounds) and long arms. If I can cut off the angle correctly, the shooter won’t have much area to shoot at.”

So far this season, Nogueira has deflected shots better than any goalkeeper in the league. He also deflects praise.

If you point out to Nogueira that his 2.71 goals-against average is more than a goal better than anyone in the MISL, he’ll quickly point out that his defense deserves most of the credit.

“They are the ones who have allowed me to have this kind of a season,” he said.

Actually, it goes deeper than that. It’s not just surprising that Nogueira is having such a good season. It has also raised a few eyebrows that he’s having any kind of season at all.

Eleven months ago, while playing for the Cleveland Force, Nogueira tripped on the carpet in the San Diego Sports Arena during a game against the Sockers and ruptured an Achilles tendon.

When it happened, Nogueira said it was as if somebody had stuck a knife into his ankle. He thought somebody had surely stepped on him, causing the injury.

“But when I looked behind me, nobody was there,” Nogueira said.

Soon, the trainer was there. Nogueira told him his ankle was hurting. A few days later, doctors told Nogueira he might not recover.

Sockers’ Coach Ron Newman heard the same thing.

“But when we lost Jim Gorsek (who signed with the Los Angeles Lazers during the off-season), we needed a backup goalkeeper,” Newman said. “I had heard from some people that Victor may be able to play, so I suggested we take a chance on him.”

The Sockers were careful--they put in a clause to void his contract if Nogueira reinjured himself during the first two months of the season--but they took the chance.

And they have been rewarded. Nogueira is 6-7, but four of his losses were in overtime. In his 13 starts, he has allowed more than four goals in a game once. On Feb. 22 in Dallas, Nogueira will be appearing in his first MISL All-Star Game.

“Turns out we got one heck of a backup,” Newman said.

And now, the way things are working out, it looks like the Sockers have gotten one heck of a starter. Toth has bunions and is expected to be out for the next two or three weeks.

“It’s been an unbelievable season so far,” Nogueira said. “I never expected anything other than to be a backup to Zollie. I thought it would be perfect for me. I could play every once in a while and work my ankle back into shape.”

The season started with Nogueira really backing up. He didn’t play, in fact, until the sixth game, a 4-3 overtime loss in Tacoma. After two more appearances on the road--both losses--Newman finally played Nogueira at home, and he responded with a 4-1 victory over Tacoma.

He has been winning ever since. He played in seven of the Sockers’ nine games in January and went 5-2.

“It makes me feel good to know we’ve got another guy we can go to,” said Toth, who says he hasn’t given away his starting job yet. “I used to rotate with Jimmy (Gorsek), and now when I’m healthy again, I can rotate with Victor.”

Toth remembers when Victor Nogueira was just a youngster in the MISL. In those days, Nogueira was anything but a statue.

“He would run all over the place,” Toth said. “One time, when I was with New York, and he was with Chicago, he came running down the field dribbling the ball. Then he got to my red line, and he took a shot on me. I couldn’t believe it! Some rookie goalkeeper, off all things, was taking a shot at Zollie the goalie.”

It was 1982, and the MISL was different. Defenders weren’t so quick to retreat and goalkeepers could dribble the ball upfield. But not many could do it as well as Nogueira.

He learned to play center-forward in youth leagues in his native South Africa. He liked to dribble, and to score.

But when Nogueira entered his teens, he found himself playing in leagues with his brother, who was three years older. Since all of the players were older, Nogueira was made goalkeeper.

It was then that he realized it also was fun to stop shots.

“Basically, looking back, it was just fun to play,” Nogueira said. “I remember one day I played in a high school game and two other games. I played goalkeeper and center forward. That was fun. Just playing.”

He played well enough to earn himself a trip out of South Africa to England, where he played outdoors for a Division II team. Then in 1979, at the age of 20, he was sent from England to Atlanta, where he joined the Atlanta Chiefs indoor team.

After bouncing from team to team and indoors to outdoors for a few years, he finally settled in Chicago with the Sting in 1982. Nogueira played well, but the Sting didn’t.

“That’s why I can say that our defenders in San Diego have really been the key,” Nogueira said. “I played well in Chicago, but we gave up a lot of goals because we concentrated on offense. I hate to see people saying a guy is playing poorly because he’s giving up a lot of goals. It really matters who is playing in front of you.”

Often, things were so bad in Chicago that Nogueira took matters into his own hands.

“We had times where we couldn’t clear the ball, so I’d take it myself to try and take some of the pressure off our defense,” he said.

One time, against Los Angeles, he took it and kept it. All the way downfield. The Lazer defenders parted to cover Nogueira’s teammates so Nogueira had an open shot on goal. He scored.

Last October, the Sockers also took a shot. The way Nogueira is playing, they seem to have scored, too.