Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Leading Toros’ charge

Carlos Bordinhao ended his shift at 10 a.m. Sunday as an executive host at the Mirage, zipped home for a nap, awoke to play with his young daughter, Isabella, and kissed his wife, Jamie, goodbye. Then the Eldorado High alum drove to the Orleans Arena, where he displayed savvy and the slickest moves of anyone during the debut of the indoor National Alliance Soccer League. He paced the Las Vegas Toros' 9-4 victory over the New York Arrows with clever passing and dribbling. He fed Victor "Boomer" Arbelaez to give the Toros the lead for good, at 2-1, then scored from close range. It was easy to spot the one player who hails from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Afterward, Bordinhao, the Toros' 32-year-old captain, could not contain his glee. "It's just beautiful to get back out there," he said. "I feel good. Some of these kids asked me, 'My God, you only slept two hours?' They got 10 hours of sleep, and they're 20. "I said, 'You know what? It'! s in the heart.' It's a passion, bottom line. I told them that before the game." Bordinhao (bore-DEEN-yo) can impart a few words of wisdom and experience to younger Toros because he has won a championship. In 1994, he helped the Las Vegas Dustdevils win a Continental Indoor Soccer League title in their first season. "We had eight rookies, and I was one of them," he said. "Nobody expected us to win. The odds on us were like 100-1 in the sports books, but we played as a team. It didn't matter who scored the goals. "That's another thing I want to pass on to these kids. It's not just a game." Bordinhao left Brazil, following older brothers Cesar and Celso, for Las Vegas as an exchange student when he was 15. He surprised himself when he excelled at academics, and he even received a scholarship offer from the University of San Francisco. Instead, he turned pro. He was a Dustdevil in the team's second and final season, then he played for ! indoor squads in Buffalo, N.Y., and Sacramento. A knee injur! y forced him to hang up his professional boots. He started working at the Mirage in 1998. Then the Toros rang. After Sunday's game, Toros owner Frederick Apcar walked by Bordinhao, as he talked with a reporter, and called the skilled playmaker "Yoda." The two briefly exchanged marketing and promotional ideas. He has pondered coaching opportunities in Major League Soccer, but Bordinhao's job and family in Las Vegas are his priorities. "It's just awesome to get back out there," Bordinhao said. "It's a great opportunity for these kids, and I want to give something back." Honeymoon over The NASL and the Orleans Arena filed for divorce during a Wednesday morning conference call, so there will not be a Sunday doubleheader at the facility. Both sides called it an amicable split. Margate Entertainment Co. Inc., owns the NASL. The TVS television network, its subsidiary, televises and distributes the games. TVS executive producer Tom Ficara plans to restart the f! inal six weeks of the exhibition season March 25 at a to-be-determined venue. Among other changes, Ian Fulton, a former Dustdevils assistant who coached the New York Arrows on Sunday, will coach the Quicksilvers. The Las Vegas Quicksilvers competed in the North American Soccer League in 1977. "I was pleasantly surprised, to be honest with you," Fulton said of Sunday's matches. "It was great for the fans, and it will only get better. The sport is perfect for the city, absolutely wonderful." Fulton, 57, once played for a Miami Toros side that defeated the New York Cosmos and Pele of the former outdoor North American Soccer League. "I've played with more clubs than Arnold Palmer," Fulton said. Attention! Sean Worley, coach of Division-III Richland Community College in Dallas, sat with rapt attention about 10 years ago in a UC-San Diego classroom listening to former U.S. national coach Lothar Osiander. A native of Germany, Osiander is serious and uncomprom! ising. His lecture was part of a U.S. Soccer Federation licens! e course . "Very intense," Worley said Thursday from Dallas. "Everyone was in awe of him, and I'm sitting there with my pen and paper, ready to take down some serious notes. He oozed knowledge. I thought, 'I'll get THE secret.' "He came out and said, 'The No. 1 most important thing in coaching is ... the team with the best players wins.' He wanted to get a laugh, and he did." Something clicked. Richland made it to the D-III juco finals last season but lost, missing a chance to win a fourth consecutive national championship. Worley has been named D-III juco coach of the year three times. Corner kicks:

Rob Miech can be reached at 259-4087 or at [email protected].

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