Former U.S. national team goalkeeper and Major League Soccer 2000 Player of the Year Tony Meola is coming home to New Jersey. The MISL's New Jersey Ironmen, one of three clubs added in expansion for the 2007-08 season, signed the 38-year old Meola for his first stint in professional indoor soccer. "I look forward to not only playing soccer again, but I am also excited about moving back to New Jersey full-time," Meola said at his press announcement. "This is where I am supposed to be. I feel better than I have in three or four years; I've been working hard to stay in shape, and my goal is to be the best goalkeeper in the league." Meola, who was the starting goalkeeper for the US national team in the 1990 and 1994 FIFA World Cups, is set to join the Ironmen when the club opens up preseason camp on September 16. He has not played professionally since being released by the MLS's Red Bulls last season, and was searching for a situation that would not only allow him to continue playing, but also be involved in an operations role in the front office. The Ironmen presented an opportunity that's tailor-made for him and his family. "We (he and his family) had been at home praying for something to come up, when I spent some time with Jeff (Ironmen investor Jeff Vanderbeek) at his beach house," Meola said. "That's when it sort of slapped me right in the face. I made it clear that if I was just coming back to play soccer, then I wouldn't do it," he said. "I knew coaching wasn't really an option for me, but being involved in team operations is." Landing Meola gives the Ironmen, who make their home debut December 1 in the Prudential Center, instant credibility, according to Coach Omid Namazi. "The name itself gives us a lot of credibility," he said. "Tony is a great goalkeeper that performed well for is country on the national team, and now he has returned to play back in his home state."
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