Zungul Is Going Quietly : Sockers: Hobbled ‘Lord of All Indoors’ has been given little to do in the final season of his storied career.

Steve Zungul, man of a thousand goals but very few words, is facing a challenge that, for once, he won’t be able to control with his feet.

Ten years ago, life for the veteran Sockers forward was pretty much one big Saturday night. He hung out with Al Pacino in New York City, opened a disco in his native Yugoslavia, rode limos, frequented the theater and once attended an Olivia Newton-John concert in lieu of playing in a New York Arrows game.

These luxuries were available to him because of the magic he could create with his feet. It was during this time that Giorgio Chinaglia, a legendary outdoor player, referred to him as one of the top forwards in the world.

Zungul was paid well, and what a thing his goals were to watch. Black-and-white photographs on the wall or in old media guides don’t begin to do them justice. They were better suited to a Norman Rockwell painting.

But things have changed.

At 35, Zungul is playing the final season of an indoor career that began in 1978, but the artfulness of it all seems to have disappeared. He hasn’t suited up for eight games. He has scored only two goals. His arthritic hips have eroded his mobility to the point that Socker President Ron Cady says: “I’ve seen X-rays of his hips, and how he still plays is a marvel beyond my wildest dreams.”

Because the team has healed from early season injuries, Socker Coach Ron Newman says he doesn’t have a place for Zungul in the first two starting positions. Zungul and Newman had a meeting on the Dallas trip in December. Newman said Zungul told him he would prefer not to suit up if he wasn’t among the top two. Zungul wasn’t willing to be used as a utility player. Newman obliged.

So now it appears Zungul is closer than ever to departing from the familiar world of the kicking industry.

What’s next?

Anybody’s guess is probably as good as Zungul’s, and that could explain why he won’t discuss about his thoughts, plans or feelings.

There may be another reason.

“He never really had to talk about himself,” said Branko Segota, a teammate and close friend. “He was always the point leader, and he was a leader. So he didn’t really have to say anything because he was always at the top.”

Way at the top. He has collected 764 goals in the Major Indoor Soccer League alone. Add to that 63 goals from the North American Soccer League and another 250 when he played with the Hajduk Split, a professional team in Yugoslavia, and that gives him well over 1,000. Forget all the nifty goals he must have scored in street games as a kid.

For his achievements, he has been dubbed “The Lord of All Indoors.” And largely because of his storied reputation, the Sockers decided, after much deliberation between Newman and Cady, that it would be worth their while and their $25,000 (the MISL minimum salary) to bring Zungul out of retirement last season when no other team wanted him. It proved to be smart. He scored 42 points in 37 regular-season games, 17 in 14 playoff games and played a significant role in the Sockers’ seventh championship.

This season, the cast has changed. Gone are midfielders Paul Dougherty and Chris Chueden and defender Alan Willey, all of whom made the Sockers more defense-oriented last season. Newcomers Damir Haramina, Wes Wade and Jim Gabarra are all forwards, and they’re forwards of the future. That leaves Zungul out.

So there has been talk of a rift between Newman and Zungul, who have never been the best of buddies anyway. Newman has tried to figure out where to place Zungul. Because of their rocky relationship, Zungul was not and probably will not be considered for assistant coaching positions.

“I think it’s been pretty well stated that Steve and Ron don’t go out to dinner every night,” Cady said. “But I think they have mutual respect for each other.”

Either way, Newman insists he has nothing against Zungul.

“It’s not a personal vendetta,” he says. “I’ve never had a personal vendetta. I’m just purely trying to pick the best team for the job. I don’t care where they are, who they are, what they’ve done.

“Steve is a player who still has to work to get a spot. When everybody’s fit, and all the forwards are fit, he’s still got to fight for that position like anybody else.”

But we are talking about a legend.

“That’s not my problem,” Newman says. “I can’t play players on the strength of their clippings book.”

Segota still thinks Zungul has a clip or two left in him.

“I don’t think he’s been given a fair chance to play,” Segota says. “If Steve was in there in key areas of the field sometimes, I think he can make things happen. He’s still got the knack to score, and his passing is still there.”

Even Segota will admit, though, that the rest of the players need to work a little harder when Zungul is on, covering for him on defense. Certainly, Zungul is not in the shape he was several years ago, or even at the end of last season. And he has never had the reputation for tackling physical training with a great deal of zest.

There is always the question of whether or not it was in Zungul’s best interests to return this season. Ron Fowler, the Sockers’ owner, said he and Cady decided that Zungul’s contributions last season should be acknowledged. So they gave him a position on this year’s team. There has been talk that Fowler brought Zungul back to make a big publicity splash by retiring him at the MISL All-Star game Feb. 22. To that, Fowler responds: “There’s absolutely no truth to us trying to make a buck off Steve.

“We wanted to bring him back. We felt, especially during the playoffs, he was a positive influence and a significant contributor.”

Newman’s view is slightly different.

“We can’t guarantee him another championship,” he says, “That was an ideal time for him to say thank you, well done and go out in glory, because he was very much an important part of the history of this league.”

Fowler said he, Zungul and Cady reached an agreement that if Zungul didn’t feel a “burning desire” to play at any time during the season, he would alert them. Since then, Zungul has met several times with Fowler and Cady, expressing a displeasure at his lack of playing time. Fowler and Cady both say they will not interfere with Newman’s decisions.

“We were not going to dictate what his role was going to be,” Fowler said. “That was up to the coach. I think he feels he should be playing, but Ron Newman is the coach of the team, and he is the only one who is going to decide who is going to play and who is not going to play.

“I think Steve would like to have us step in. I’ve offered to have a meeting with the two Rons. Steve, at this stage, has chosen not to have the meeting.”

Monday night, Newman said he called Zungul and asked him to go on the trip to St. Louis, where the Sockers played Wednesday. Zungul told him he didn’t think he was quite fit yet.

“It was very pleasant, actually,” Newman said. “I told him I didn’t have a vendetta against him. I said ‘Let’s don’t become enemies.’ I want Steve to retire without damage to his reputation.”

It may take the remainder the season to fully determine if that is feasible. There are reasons Zungul may still figure into the Sockers’ plans. Coincidence or not, the Sockers are 7-3 in games Zungul has played, 3-9 without him. Fowler said he is well aware of that statistic and has given Newman a specific date by which he wants to see the Sockers winning on a more regular basis. After that, there will be changes. Playing Zungul is one possibility. A trade is another.

Injuries down the stretch might allow Zungul playing time, and it would be hard to argue that he isn’t a bad guy to have around as playoffs draw near.

“He can help,” defender Kevin Crow said. “He’s got the experience. If you’re going to have a 17th or 18th man, who better than Steve? Especially during crunch time. He did it last year. He’s able to lift it for short periods of time.”

He might be able to do it one more time. But then, that will be it. This is definitely Zungul’s last season as a player. He has said so. The Sockers have said so. After that, he will face a new world, one that hasn’t always been kind to former soccer superstars.

As he stood on the sideline during a Socker practice during preseason, Zungul was asked about Kaz Deyna, the former scoring wizard who was killed in an automobile crash this past summer. Friends of Deyna said he hadn’t been the same since retiring. His blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit at the time of the accident.

Zungul spoke of the importance of MISL organizations assisting players in making the segue from soccer to everyday life. This is not an easy transition for someone who is used to the applause, the autograph seekers, the trophies and the slaps on the back. You are suddenly someone who blends rather than someone who stirs.

“Not dressed in jeans, dressed in a jacket,” Zungul said. “An adult. Not an entertainer anymore. You are an ordinary man just like everybody else.”

That can be a little scary.

“It’s a very uncomfortable situation for Steve,” Fowler says. “It’s very uncomfortable for the team. That’s life. No one said life would be fair.”