Episode Summary
Hosts
Graham Dunn, Jamie Rooney
Phil Craig
Guest(s)
Release Date
13 February 2025
Duration
85 min
In this episode of By Far The Greatest Team, Graham Dunn and Jamie Rooney are joined by regular guest Phil Craig to relive one of football’s wildest true stories — the Dallas Tornado’s 1967–68 world tour.
The Tornado were the creation of Lamar Hunt, the visionary American sports pioneer behind the birth of the North American Soccer League (NASL). Lacking players, fans, or even a footballing identity, Hunt entrusted eccentric Serbian-Hungarian coach Bob Kap with an impossible task: build a team from scratch and teach America about soccer — by taking them on a seven-month global expedition.
Kap recruited a band of young Europeans, many barely out of their teens, and sent them on a footballing odyssey across 29 countries and five continents. They played matches in war-torn Vietnam, crossed borders into India and Pakistan by bus, battled monsoon floods, endured chaotic crowds in Indonesia and Singapore, and braved deserts, jungles, and seas just to play football.
By the time the Tornado returned home, they’d lost more games than they’d won — but they had become brothers, survivors, and pioneers of the American game. Their journey reshaped Dallas’ reputation after the Kennedy assassination, introduced soccer to thousands of new fans worldwide, and helped spark a movement that would eventually bring Pelé to the NASL.
It’s not just a football story — it’s a tale of idealism, insanity, and adventure on a global scale.
Takeaways
Lamar Hunt’s role in founding the Dallas Tornado and the NASL
Bob Kap’s leadership and eccentric coaching methods
The seven-month, 29-country world tour of 1967–68
Matches played in Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Singapore, and beyond
How the tour helped define early American soccer culture and legacy
Dallas Tornado 1967–1968: The Team That Toured the World
Before they played a single league game in the United States, the Dallas Tornado spent seven months travelling the globe.
Formed by Lamar Hunt — the man who helped create the NASL — the Tornado began life without players, fans, or an identity. Hunt turned to Bob Kap, a coach equal parts visionary and maverick, who decided the best way to build a team was to throw it into the deep end — literally.
Kap recruited a squad of young Europeans and took them on a 29-country pre-season tour in 1967–68. They played in Vietnam amid active conflict, crossed India and Pakistan by bus, survived tropical storms in Singapore and Indonesia, and endured a brutal schedule of 40-plus matches in under seven months.
What began as a publicity stunt became a test of endurance and unity. Players slept on airport floors, faced political unrest, and lost most of their matches — but they forged a shared resilience that became the foundation of the Dallas Tornado and, ultimately, American professional soccer itself.
When they returned home, the Tornado’s story had captured imaginations worldwide. They had introduced soccer to new audiences, redefined Dallas’ global image, and helped lay the groundwork for the sport’s slow but unstoppable rise in the U.S.
The Dallas Tornado may never have been champions, but for one surreal, globe-spanning year, they were the most travelled, talked-about, and unforgettable football team on Earth.
Main Topics
Iconic Moments
Lamar Hunt’s vision and the birth of the NASL
Bob Kap’s eccentric leadership and global experiment
The 29-country, seven-month world tour of 1967–68
Football diplomacy during the Vietnam War
How the Tornado’s adventure helped shape American soccer
Matches played in Vietnam during active war
Crossing into India and Pakistan by rickety bus
Chaos in Singapore and Indonesia amid political unrest
Arrival in Australia after 50 games in 20 weeks
Returning home to launch the NASL season in 1968
Notable Manager
Bob Kap, Lamar Hunt
Notable Players
Ken Cooper Sr., Ilija Mitic, Adolph “Ad” Schlebusch, Woytek Sobolewski, Jim Benedek, Willie Evans, Jan Steadman, Werner Roth, Mel Machin, Włodzimierz Lubański (guest appearances in friendlies), A revolving door of European journeymen and young hopefuls
Style of Play
4-2-4, Improvised, Adventurous, Physical, Adaptive, Resilient
The Dallas Tornado’s style was as unpredictable as their journey. Under Bob Kap, the team mixed European technical training with improvisation born of chaos. With players drawn from England, Austria, Yugoslavia, and beyond, Kap blended football schools and philosophies into a patchwork experiment — part showmanship, part survival.
Operating loosely within a 4-2-4 or 4-3-3, the Tornado focused on adaptability. Games were played on dustbowls, swamps, and makeshift pitches, often before hostile or curious crowds. Training was secondary to logistics — travel, diplomacy, and self-preservation took precedence.
Kap, a former journalist and self-proclaimed inventor of the penalty shootout, used eccentric motivational methods — forcing players to train in extreme heat or mimic opponents’ local habits. The football itself was instinctive, built on raw effort and camaraderie rather than precision.
When they finally joined the NASL, the Tornado became more structured, with Ken Cooper Sr. bringing order to the chaos. But their identity always carried the DNA of that tour — fearless, restless, and driven by adventure.
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