June 11, 1995 – Birth of Sam’s Army, Foxborough, Mass.
Post by frankdellapa@gmail.com
From my Boston Globe report: “The United States performed confidently, with a sense of purpose, and as if the players expected to win against Nigeria before a crowd of 22,578 that included small bands of flag-waving supporter groups from both countries.
Jay Jay Okocha’s eighth-minute goal opened the scoring, then John Harkes equalized with a 10th-minute long-distance blast. Taiwo Wasiu, making his international debut, broke the deadlock with a 19th-minute goal. The U.S. rallied on goals by Marcelo Balboa (45’) and Cobi Jones (87’).
This was Nigeria’s fourth appearance (1W-3L-0T) at Foxboro Stadium. The Super Eagles had set up headquarters in Mansfield, Mass., and Wheaton College during the 1994 World Cup, but experienced mixed results – they lost, 2-1, to Argentina on June 26, 1994 (Diego Maradona’s last international match), then took the group-clinching 2-0 win over Greece and were eliminated in a 2-1 extra time loss to Italy.
The Nigeria supporters group helped set an example for prospective organized U.S. support. Before this game, fans of the U.S. national team were left to mostly expressing their involvement in isolated incidents. After the final whistle, U.S. players showed their appreciation by going to the corner of Foxboro Stadium where supporters had gathered, the beginning of a tradition that has expanded to include many thousands of members of Sam’s Army and other groups in regular attendance at matches.
This also helped establish a home for the U.S., which compiled a 7W-0L-3T record at Foxboro Stadium from 1991-2002.
June 11, 1995 – U.S. 3:2 Nigeria, U.S. Cup at Foxboro Stadium (Att.: 22,578)
U.S.-Nigeria 3-2
USA: Friedel, Bliss (Lalas 46’), Burns, Dooley, Sorber, Balboa, Caligiuri, Klopas, Harkes, Wegerle (Jones 46’), Stewart (Kirovski 71’)
Nigeria: Rufai, Iroha, Abdullahi, Nwanu, Okpara, Okocha, Zaki (Ndukwe 55’), Babalade (Okafor 66’), Fuludu (Enegwea 55’), Siasia, Wasiu
Referee: Jerome (Canada). Okocha 8′, Harkes 10’, Wasiu 19′, Balboa 45’, Jones 87’. Attendance: 22,578
TODAY IN NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY