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ONEONTA, NY (May 9, 2006) – Hall of Famer Patrick
‘Ace’ Ntsoelengoe passed away Monday, May 8, the
Kick Off Magazine of South Africa reported to the
Hall of Fame today. “ ‘Ace’ was the star of a very
special Induction Ceremony in 2003,” Hall of Fame
President/CEO Will Lunn said. “His soft spoken
speech and his humble demeanor were at such odds
with his skill and exuberance on field. He was one
of the top players in the North American Soccer
League, if not the world, and the soccer community
has lost a great man.”
Ntsoelengoe starred for the Minnesota Kicks during
their best years in the 70s and the Toronto Blizzard
in the final years of the NASL. He lead these teams
to numerous conference championships and appearances
in the NASL Soccer Bowl in 1976 for the Kicks and in
1983 and 1984 for the Toronto Blizzard. Fellow Kick
Alan Willey, inducted into the Hall of Fame with Ace
in 2003, stated in his acceptance speech that “…I
would not be honored today were it not for the play
of ‘Ace.’ He provided me with so many opportunities
to score. I always had the simple job, because he
was so brilliant.”
In an 11-year NASL career ‘Ace’ scored 87 goals and
had had 82 assists. But that only tells a part of
the story. He consistently tormented defenders with
his quickness, deft touch, and blazing acceleration.
His intensity on the field was second to none and it
belied the soft-spoken man one met off the field.
“If Ace had been
playing in recent years,” former Toronto Blizzard
President Clive Toye stated, “he would have been as
famous as any of the current European stars. He had
skill, vision, superb passing ability, scoring
ability, confidence to do the unthinkable; a truly
great player. We went on one pre-season tour to
Italy and in games against Juventus, Inter and
Genoa, he was the best player on the field. I can
still see the goal he scored direct from a corner in
the play offs against San Jose....a fantastic
swerving kick; Ace just smiled a bit and ran back to
the centre circle. Off the field, he was a very
quiet, gentle man. The only time I ever heard him
complain was when the apartheid government in South
Africa declared his part of the country a separate
nation called Bophutatswana (he was a Tswana) and
took away his South African passport. As no other
nation recognized Bophutsatswana, we had to go
through contortions to get him documents allowing
him to return to Canada to play for and travel with
the Blizzard.”
Service arrangements are not known at this time.
The
National Soccer Hall of Fame located in Oneonta,
N.Y., celebrates the history, honors the heroes
and
preserves the legacy of soccer in the United States.
For more information, log on to soccerhall.org.
Director of Museum and Archives, Jack Huckel writes
about Ace Ntsoelengue's impact on his soccer life.
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