Cherif Soccer
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Cherif Zein’s
living room in Pasadena looks like a photo shrine to the many soccer
teams he has coached and played on, but he has a special place in his
heart for the 1983 men’s soccer team from Glendale College
that won the state championship in a 4-1 victory over Skyline College
on December 3.
He
speaks fondly about the trials of tribulations of molding a young
group of players into a championship team as if it were yesterday,
instead of 21 years ago. Winning the state championship is the goal of
every college team when practice starts in August, but by the time the
season ends in November, few schools can realize their dreams. In fact
for Zein, the dream became a reality twice in five years, as he also
coached the 1979 Glendale College team to the state title.
“To
put a state championship at the community college level in perspective,
you have to realize that you’re almost putting a new team
together year after year because of players moving on to play at
four-year schools or working or whatever,’’ Zein
said. “Also recruiting players who have just high school or
recreation league experience is not enough. You need top level club
players to be able to compete and we had several of those in 1983. You
also need some luck and we had some of that as
well.’’ 
The 1983 Vaqueros seemed to have everything working in their favor as they rolled to an 18-3-1 record in route to the state championship. The foundation for their success started in 1982 when Glendale finished the season ranked No. 3 in California in the final JC poll with a 16-2-3 record. Another key was holding on to several standouts from that team, including all-Metro Conference selection Ken Dapello, who set a school record with 19 goals as a freshman in 1982.
“I was almost set to attend Cal State Northridge in 1983 but Cherif said if we stuck together at Glendale, we could put it all together and win state,’’ said Dapello, who scored 21 goals and was named All-American that season. “Staying together and accomplishing what we did was just an awesome experience, and having a coach like Cherif helped us put it all together.’’
Dapello said that the 1-0 victory over the defending state champions from El Camino College that clinched the Metro Conference title was a key to the Vaqueros title run. That state championship was earned without Dapello, as the diminutive sophomore earned a red card in the semifinals when he took a shot on goal after the referee blew the whistle and he was forced to sit out the championship game.
On campus a few days after Glendale won the title, Glendale Mayor Ginger Bremberg helped the Vaqueros celebrate their victory in a ceremony on campus. She declared the championship a victory for the men’s soccer team and for the City of Glendale. It was a season that the 1983 team will never forget.
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