On March 23, NSU alumnus Aly Hassan signed a contract with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers soccer team for the 2012 season.
The club is a member of the North American Soccer League (NASL) and lost in the finals last season to the Minnesota Stars FC.
Hassan played for NSU from 2007-2010. He scored 36 goals and received All-SSC honors as a freshman and senior. Hassan has played for clubs in Hungary, Romania, and Colombia since his graduation in January 2011.
NSU soccer head coach, Giuseppe DePalo, said he was glad and relieved for Hassan when he heard the news. He said it’s been a long journey for Hassan since his graduation, but commended him for never giving up.
“I think all those things were an experience for him,” said DePalo. “He learned what he was good at and what he was not good at. He learned to be humble. He learned to keep persevering and fighting. He learned how good it is to live in the U.S., and he became a better soccer player. That experience [was] kind of the final piece of the puzzle that helped shape him into what he is today.”
DePalo recruited Hassan from Western High School when he was 18. He felt Hassan always had the talent and skill, but he developed physically and mentally at NSU. He said the one thing that made Hassan great was his persistence.
“As a forward, he’s determined to score,” said DePalo. “Like all forwards, he’s gone through some good spells where he was absolutely on fire scoring everything, and he went through some other spells where he couldn’t hit the side of a barn, but he never lost confidence in himself.”
After traveling the world and playing for many clubs, Hassan will be representing his hometown team. DePalo felt this would benefit Hassan greatly.
“I think it’s a massive advantage. He’s going to have our support. I’m going to try to go to as many games as I can. He’s going to have his family’s support,” he said.
DePalo said Hassan has all of the tools to be successful at this level, but his success will be determined by the amount of goals he scores. The Strikers began their regular season on April 7 and will continue playing through September. Fans can show their support for Hassan by attending home games at Lockhart Stadium. Here is a link for the schedule: http://www.strikers.com/Schedule.htm
