PHILADELPHIA -- Like so many errant free kicks, professional soccer always missed the mark in Philadelphia.
The Atoms won the North American Soccer League title in their inaugural season in 1973, but folded after four seasons of plunging attendance and win totals. The NASL's Fury arrived two years later, but relocated after three seasons of finding victories and fans tough to come by.
Despite those failures, Major League Soccer is set to bring the sport back to Philadelphia, convinced the time and the struggling city of Chester are right for its 16th team.
The league is expected to award the area an expansion franchise that will start play in the 2010 season at a news conference in Chester on Thursday.
"Having grown up in the soccer community of Philadelphia, I know that there isn't a city more starved for the world's game," said Chris Albright of the New England Revolution and a member of the U.S. national team.
Jon Conway, who grew up in nearby Aston and is now goalkeeper for the New York Red Bulls, agreed.
"The Philadelphia area has a great youth soccer movement that gets a lot of local support," Conway said in a statement from Austria, where the Red Bulls are holding preseason camp. "Now they will have a professional team that they can root for."
Even Philly's soccer old-timers agree that the time for a local pro team has come.
"Philadelphia has a great soccer history and should be in that professional league, there is no doubt about that," said 80-year-old Philly native Walter Bahr, a member of the 1950 U.S. World Cup team who was credited with the assist that beat England.
Philadelphia's ethnic soccer clubs have a long, storied history, but the area has never sustained a pro soccer club for more than a few seasons.
"Timing in life is everything, and I think the timing for Major League Soccer has come," said Nick Sakiewicz, a founding executive of MLS and a member of the new franchise ownership group. "Those leagues back then did a lot to seed the ground for Major League soccer being successful."
Pro soccer's first season in Philly was its best. The Atoms opened with a flurry, going 9-2-8 in their first season and, behind the standout play of local goalkeeper Bob Rigby, won the NASL title in their first year.
The team never had another winning season, finishing 35-41-9. Their attendance dropped from an average of 11,500 in their first year at Veterans Stadium to 5,900 in their final season at Franklin Field.
