NASL showed clear signs of going down under heavy pressure in 1981. No surprise – so far, money were poured down like crazy, but there were no returns. Players were still coming in flocks, but there was noticeable difference: they were somewhat of lesser status than those arriving a year or two earlier. In the same time big names were returning to Europe. Bernd Hoelzenbein (West Germany) and Elias Figueroa (Chile) signed with Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Ivan Buljan (Yugoslavia) joined New York Cosmos, but Franz Beckenbauer left to play for Hamburger SV. Ruud Krol departed quickly to play in Italy for Napoli, and Johan Cruijff was on his way to Europe too – he had just 5 appearances in his last North American season. It was not just players – fr the first time NASL was significantly reduced. Houston Hurricane, Rochester Lancers, and Washington Diplomats folded. Four clubs changed locations – and names. Philadelphia Fury moved to Montreal, becoming Montreal Manic.
Memphis Rogues moved to Calgary, becoming Calgary Boomers.
New England Tea Men – to Jacksonville, becoming Jacksonville Tea Men.
And lastly Detroit Express moved to Washington, DC. Thus, there was once again Washington Diplomats, but it was not the same club – perhaps one of the reasons Cruijff left.
There were no other changes – NASL continued on its disastrous path: the same bizarre rules and championship formula, no focus on youth teams and development of domestic players. By 1981 NASL was seen as a joke by the rest of the world – some crazy circus. The league was doomed. But the championship went on as ever, producing fantastic results: New York Cosmos came first in the Eastern Division with 200 points! They still appeared to be head and shoulders above the rest. Since the first phase of the championship had almost no meaning, the real championship practically started in the ¼ finals – direct elimination left no chances for mistakes and leisurely attitude.
Cosmos reached the final without any troubles – they were particularly superior in the semi-finals against Fort Lauderdale Strikers: two wins 4-3 and 4-1. The other finalist had to fight all the way, going into decisive match at every stage and in the semi-finals – to a shoot-out. Chicago Sting was, to a point, unlikely finalist.
The final of the championship – the Soccer Bowl – was played on September 26 in Toronto, Canada, attracting less than 37 000 viewers. Chicago Sting vs New York Cosmos. Before the match started, Cosmos was the favourite. But regular time ended scoreless and the NASL-style penalty shoot-out followed – the shoot-out started 35 yards from the goal and allowed the player 5 seconds to attempt a shot. The player could make as many moves as he wanted in a breakaway situation within the time frame. The rule explains why only a few goals were scored: only Bogicevic scored for Cosmos. Chicago Sting scored twice. The biggest NASL club lost the shoot-out and the final was recorded as 0-1 loss – another peculiarity of NASL regulations: the winner of a shoot-out was ‘given’ an additional goal, for there were no ties in this championship. Thus, the 1981 final shows 1-0 after 2-1 shoot-out victory. Cosmos lost and the new NASL champion was Chicago Sting.
This New York Cosmos squad was not as star-studded as the one of the previous few years, but still was stronger – on paper – than the rest of the league. But no 5th title… Interrestingly, Neeskens was not among those selected for the shoot-out.
Chicago Sting celebrated its first NASL title – a happy occasion, especially considering who they played against.
For a NASL team, Sting was terribly anonymous. When Cosmos had Chinaglia, Neeskens, Bogicevic, Buljan, Romero, Rijsbergen, van der Elst, Chicago Sting fielded barely known players. Of course, almost the whole team was made of foreigners, but the best known among them were minor players in their previous career: the English goalkeeper Phil Parkes, the Yugoslav defender Ivan Miljkovic, and two Germans, Arno Steffenhagen and Karl-Heinz Granitza, were the only recognizable players. But there is paper and there is reality: some players took more seriously their game in NASL than others, some were simply younger and fitter, some adapted better to the format and eventually the chemistry in lesser team would be better than in a squad made of a big names. Chicago Sting had no big names, but more determined team and they won. And Karl-Heinz Granitza, whose best achievement in West Germany was playing for Hertha (West Berlin) really blossomed in North America – he arrived in 1978, quickly established himself as a league star and played successfully until 1990. He was similar to his compatriot Hubert Birkenmeier, the goalkeeper of New York Cosmos – barely known at home, but one of the best players in NASL. It was great victory of the underdog.