On the afternoon of July 4, 1988, Werner Fricker emerged from a FIFA Executive Committee meeting in Zurich and addressed the U.S. Soccer Federation delegation. He said, “There were 10 votes for us, seven for Morocco and two for Brazil.” The course of American soccer history would be forever changed thanks to that awarding of the 1994 World Cup to the United States. Fricker, who served as U.S. Soccer Federation president from 1984 to 1990, is remembered as the man most responsible. Fricker died on Wednesday, May 30, after a year-long battle with cancer. “Without his leadership and personal commitment the U.S. would never have earned the right to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup,” said current U.S. Soccer president Bob Contiguglia. Fricker was born in on Jan. 24, 1936, Karlsdorf, Yugoslavia. He moved with his family to Austria at the end of World War II and immigrated to the USA in 1952. As a player, he captained the Philadelphia German-Hungarians from 1958 and 1969, winning the 1965 U.S. Amateur Cup. He was a member of the U.S. team in qualifying for the 1964 Olympics. In 1984, with the backing of NASL commissioner Phil Woosnam, the then-USSF vice president Fricker was elected president. U.S. ambitions to host the World Cup dated back to 1969 when the Federation formed a committee to host the 1978 World Cup, which had been assigned to Argentina. In 1978, USSF President Gene Edwards sent FIFA an application to host the 1990 tournament, which went to Italy. In October of 1982, when designated 1986 host Colombia pulled out, the USSF applied, but FIFA opted for Mexico. Finally, in 1988, under Fricker’s guidance and boosted by the USA’s successful hosting of the 1984 Olympic soccer tournament, the nation got its World Cup — the 1994 tournament from which would spring the reemergence of professional outdoor soccer in the form of MLS. Fricker’s tenure as president, however, ended in 1990, when he was defeated by Alan Rothenberg, a candidate who was vigorously and controversially supported by FIFA. Fricker, who had a successful construction and real-estate firm based in Horsham, Pa., was inducted in the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 1992. “The U.S. Soccer family is deeply saddened to have lost one of our own with the passing of Werner Fricker,ö Contiguglia said. ôWerner was a true U.S. soccer pioneer and will be remembered by everyone involved in the sport as we continue to reap the benefits of his leadership across more than 40 years of involvement at the game’s highest levels.” FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS Relatives and friends may call as follows: Date: Monday, June 4, 2001 Time: 10 a.m. ET Place: St. Catherine of Sienna RC Church 321 Witmer Road Horsham, PA 19044 Funeral Mass: 1 p.m. ET Remembrances in his name may be made to … THE WERNER FRICKER MEMORIAL FUND … for the children’s soccer and cultural activities at the German Hungarian Club and sent to: Michael Wagner United German Hungarian Club 4666 Bristol Road Oakford, PA 19053