1979 Men's Soccer - Outstanding Team

A life spent coaching soccer has taken Cherif Zein all over the world a few times.

But it is at Glendale College that the former head men’s soccer coach considers his greatest success, guiding the Vaqueros to the 1979 state championship. He won the title again in 1983 and that team was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005 But Zein considers the 1979 team his closest group and his greatest triumph.

To prove his point at a recent meeting, Zein pulled up the contact info of almost every player on that team, living locally or not, and even spoke to a few of them about reuniting and attending the Hall of Fame together. Zein stressed the word, together, and mentioned it a few times in describing that team. How else could they rebound from falling in the semifinals of the 1978 state tourney and come within a few seconds of losing in 1979 unless they were all on the same page.

Victor Trujillo, an All-American on the 1979 team and a 2015 Hall of Fame inductee said he has very fond memories of that team. “That soccer team coached by Cherif Zein was a phenomenal group of athletes that could have beaten many NCAA Division I teams that year,’’ said Trujillo. “We were an extremely close group, brought together by a great coach and achieved great things that I am extremely proud of to this day.

’’That championship result, a2-1 win over Santa Rosa for the state championship in a game decided by penalty kicks, almost didn’t happen as the Vaqs trailed Skyline 1-0 with 18 seconds left in the game. Zein shook his head and smiled and said he was exhilarated at the end result but embarrassed at the same time. “With the clock ticking the seconds off, I was packing up my gear and I never do that. I never give up on my team or the game until the horn sounds. ’’Zein said. “But a miracle happened for us to tie the game, to give us a chance to keep playing and we wound up winning on penalty kicks.”

Winning a state championship and finishing the season 14-1-4might seem to have been the highlight of the season, thanks to Lucien Niang’s steal of the ball behind the goal keeper with 18 seconds left to play against Skyline in the semifinals. Zein said the goalkeeper made the critical mistake of putting the ball on the ground instead of kicking it in the air allowing Lucien to make his season-saving play.

Zein also cited the development of the multicultural atmosphere that he and his players created on campus as a memory that stays with him to this day. Activities like the Pele and International Cup energized the whole campus and students from many different countries cheered on the teams and created a bond for GCC students and his players that exists to this day.