Nearly 40 years since its demise, the North American Soccer League continues to linger in the memories and imaginations of soccer fans across the United States — and beyond.

Crowds of 70,000-plus flocked to games as the NASL brought star power to a country where soccer had been virtually invisible just a few years earlier. The colorful, oftentimes controversial league attracted some of the game’s greatest players, and laid the foundation for Major League Soccer.