Seven men will be inducted into the Long Island Soccer Football League’s Hall of Fame on Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.
The ceremony and dinner will be held at the Floral Terrace in Floral Park, N.Y.
This year’s class includes Mike Grella, Shep Messing, Alfonso Mondelo, David Rosini, Werner Roth, Hank Steinbrecher and Michael Lewis.
A quick look at the inductees:
Alfonso Mondelo
Mondelo coached the N.Y. Hota/Bavarians for many years, directing the team to several titles. He also went on to guide the Long Island Rough Riders to the 1995 U.S. Interregional Soccer League title and directed the MetroStars and Tampa Bay Mutiny in Major League Soccer and the Puerto Rican national team. Mondelo is currently the director of player programs in Major League Soccer.
David Rosini
Rosini has been the force behind NY Polet’s success over the years as coach of the team. In 2015-16, the team won the First Division and Over-30 titles. NY Polet captured the LISFL’s Second Division title in 2011, the reserve division crown in 2013, Over-30 titlists in 2014 and was runners-up for the 2015 Rietschlin Cup. Indoors, his team also won the 2011 Division 2 Joe Goldberg title in 2011 and the Over-30 crown in 2012.
Hank Steinbrecher
Steinbrecher is best known for his role as executive director of U.S. Soccer during the years of its greatest growth. He grew up in Levittown, N.Y. and played for the Division Avenue High School team there. He eventually went into college coaching, directing Appalachian State and Boston University. He is also a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Mike Grella
Grella made his name with Forest Park in the league before attending Duke University. He eventually travelled to England to pursue a career before returning to the states to play with the Red Bulls. He currently lives in the same town, Glen Cove, where he grew up and is a member of Columbus Crew SC.
Shep Messing
Messing played for the Boston Minutemen and New York Cosmos, backstopped the latter to the 1977 North American Soccer League championship. He eventually joined the New York Arrows and helped the team win four consecutive Major Indoor Soccer League titles from 1979 to 1982. Messing, who played at the 1972 Olympics, is currently a TV color announcer for the Red Bulls.
Werner Roth
Roth is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame after captaining the Cosmos to the 1977 title and the U.S. national team as well. He played for the N.Y. German-Hungarians in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League for years before performing for the Cosmos from its inception in 1972 through 1979. He made 15 international appearances with the U.S. national team.
Michael Lewis
Lewis is the editor of FrontRowSoccer.com and has been a soccer correspondent for Newsday. He was soccer columnist for the New York Daily News for 22 years. He wrote about and directed coverage of the LISFL when he was the editor and publisher of Soccer Week. The co-founder and former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com, Lewis also has covered the beautiful game for The Guardian and The Athletic and has written six books about soccer.
