Washington Diplomats (1988–1990)

The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer team established in 1987 which played in the American Soccer League in 1988 and 1989 and the American Professional Soccer League in 1990.

## History

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Established in 1987 as an independent team, the Diplomats, owned by Julio Pinon, drew many of their players, and head coach Hugo Berly, from Club España.[1] The newly formed Diplomats won the inaugural and only Ambassador Cup when they tied the Honduras national football team in June.[2] In April 1988, the team entered the newly established American Soccer League.[3] At the time, Ian Bain had been hired as an interim head coach. On May 6, 1988, Berly returned as head coach with the team at 2-3.[4] He quickly revamped the Diplomats roster, bringing in Philip Gyau and Jean Harbor who were instrumental in taking the team to the ASL title that season. The Diplomats began the 1989 American Soccer League season well, but lost team-leading scorer Harbor for a month to suspension after he broke Pedro Magallanes jaw.[5] The Dips finished just out of playoff contention. For the 1990 season, the league merged with the Western Soccer Alliance to form the American Professional Soccer League. The Diplomats finished the 1990 season with the lowest number of points in the APSL Eastern Conference. In October 1990, the league terminated the Diplomats because the team was facing significant financial difficulties at the time.

### Year-by-year

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Year  | Division  | League  | Regular Season  | Playoffs  | U.S. Open Cup

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1988 | N/A | ASL  | 10-10, 2nd, Southern  | Champion  | Did not enter
1989 | N/A | ASL  | 11-9, 3rd, Southern  | Did not qualify | Did not enter
1990 | Southern  | APSL  | 5-15; 5th, ASL Southern  | Did not qualify | Did not enter

## Honors

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* ASL Champions (1): 1989
* Participations in CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 1988

### Coaches

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* Hugo Berly (1987)
* Ian Bain (1988 - interim)
* Hugo Berly (1988)
* John Ellinger (1989)
* Stojan Nikolic (1990)

## References

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1. ^ Club Espana In Semifinals
2. ^ DIPLOMATS GAIN TIE IN FINAL Washington Post - Monday, June 8, 1987
3. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1988
4. ^ BERLY IS NAMED DIPLOMATS COACH Washington Post - Friday, May 6, 1988
5. ^ Strikers Rout Sharks, Reach .500

## External links

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* 1988 roster and results

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American Soccer League (1988–1989)

* 1988
* 1989

Teams|

* Albany Capitals
* Boston Bolts
* Fort Lauderdale Strikers
* Maryland Bays
* Miami Sharks
* New Jersey Eagles
* Orlando Lions
* Tampa Bay Rowdies
* Washington Diplomats
* Washington Stars

* v
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* e

American Professional Soccer League

Seasons|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996

Teams|

* Albany Capitals
* Arizona Condors
* Atlanta Ruckus
* Boston Bolts
* California Emperors
* Colorado Foxes
* Fort Lauderdale Strikers
* Los Angeles Heat
* Los Angeles Salsa
* Maryland Bays
* Miami Freedom
* Montreal Impact
* New Jersey Eagles
* New Mexico Chiles
* New York Centaurs
* New York Fever
* Orlando Lions
* Penn-Jersey Spirit
* Portland Timbers
* Real Santa Barbara
* Rochester Raging Rhinos
* Salt Lake Sting
* San Diego Nomads
* San Francisco Bay Blackhawks
* Seattle Sounders
* Seattle Storm
* Tampa Bay Rowdies
* Toronto Blizzard
* Toronto Rockets
* Vancouver 86ers
* Washington Diplomats
* Washington Stars

International cups|

* Pepsi Cup (1990)
* Professional Cup (1992)

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