MLS Futbolito Miami, Strikers watch party and MagicJack

MLS Futbolito is here in Miami and it starts this Sunday May 22.
Come out and check out this great 4 vs 4 tournament! It's at Kendall Soccer Park located at 8011 SW 127th Ave Miami, FL 33183. This event will have many sponsor booths, activities and you will also be able to be part of Univision's Republica Deportiva TV show. Last year I was able to participate in the celebrity match representing the Miami Ultras. Check out the picture below.

 If you didn't sign up for a team you can always come out and support the Miami Ultras soccer supporters group as we will have a team in the tournament. To honor our current NASL team The Fort Lauderdale Strikers we have decided to wear red and gold.

For those curious, the Ultras line up will have the following players:
Kyle "Train wreck" Kaly prime candidate to get red carded.
The Reece's pieces bros:
Derek "Chocolate" Reese and Zach "Peanut" Reese
Jorge "representing the 561" Marquez
David "The Judge" Ito
Mr. Colombia Alan 'G'
and our benefactor organizer and main Futbolito nut Mr. Mitch "Ultra Cool" Rivera
Coach will be yours trully Uncle Ed
Assistant coach will be Burrito (If they allow pets)

Strikers vs Silverbacks Watch Party 
The Strikers will visit the Atlanta Silverhawks for the second time this season in hope of also getting their second victory against them.
The united South Florida soccer supporters (South Florida United) are hosting a watch party at The Fox and Hound located at 4812 North Dixie Highway, Oakland Park, FL 33334-3929 (954) 491-8869 ‎The game starts at 7:30 pm but fans will be there earlier. You can also see the game streaming live by going to www.strikers.com 
We hope to see everyone out there! Go Strikers!

MagicJack vs Western NY Flash 
In case you didn't know it the MagicJack website is up and running! Just in time for their WPS match versus the Flash which will be televised this Sunday at 7:30 PM live on Fox Soccer.
The two best teams in the league will finally meet to see who will remain unbeaten!
Follow the team on Facebook for the latest information and you can also check them ot on their YouTube page.

MagicJack and Strikers win. Road trip to Atlanta pictures.

MagicJack started their season with a victory over the Boston Breakers this past Saturday night at Florida Atlantic University.

Ella Masar scored in the 26th minute for magicJack, who dominated possession early in the first half. Abby Wambach set up Masar's goal, playing the ball across the box before Masar beat Breakers keeper Alyssa Naeher. The Breakers (1-2-0, 3 points) had a number of opportunities after Masar's goal, but all were turned away by magicJack keeper Jillian Loyden (12 saves).

Read more HERE
Over 1200 people filled the stands and sat on the grass to see this game. A great beginning to what we hope will be the first of many victories. The next game will be Sunday, May 1 against Philadelphia Independence at 4pm ET.
Following are a few links with further news of the game.
Sun Sentinel
Soccer America 
Major League Soccer Talk
Examiner
Magic Jack Facebook (Pictures)

Strikers defeat Atlanta
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers gained their first victory of the season by beating the Atlanta Silverbacks 2-1 in Atlanta.

Fort Lauderdale went ahead in the 14th minute as Martin Nunez calmly chipped the ball over Atlanta’s keeper Felipe Quintero. Aaron Wheeler assisted on the goal as he controlled a Paulinho pass and then played it down into the path of Nunez for the chip. The goal is Nunez's first of the season.

Minutes later, Mexican International Mario Perez launched violent shot from just outside the box past Strikers keeper Nic Platter. Once the score was leveled, the Silverbacks and the Strikers exchanged opportunities throughout the rest of the half.

Strikers substitute Yoximar Granado was tackled in the box by Atlanta defender Tyler Ruthven in minute 87. Ruthven was shown a yellow card and the Strikers were awarded a penalty. Almost mirroring last weeks match Eduardo Coudet stepped up to the spot and launched the ball past the keeper to give the Strikers its first win of the season.

Read more HERE
The Strikers continue their road trip by visiting Div2 Champions Puerto Rico Islanders on Friday April 29 at 8:05 pm in Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel. You can watch that game live on www.strikers.com
Following are more links:
Strikers.com
Miami Soccer Fan 
Examiner 
Sun Sentinel
Flight 19
South Florida United 
Following are more pictures of South Florida United as they invaded Atlanta to support the Strikers!

Miami Ultras Alive
Folks, don't forget to tune into Miami Ultras Alive #3 Tonight Monday at 10 PM. Listen to us live on Blog Talk Radio as we review everything soccer in South Florida.
Be sure to sign in and join us in the chat room or call in at (323) 927-1455
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/miamiultras

NASLGuru
Don't forget to join www.naslguru.com the new NASL game.

Follow NASLGuru:
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Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NASLGuru
Share this game with your friends! Find the Guru inside you!

NASL Supporters Groups Unite and send a letter to the USSF.

After the decision made by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), that revoked their preliminary sanctioning of the North American Soccer Leagues (NASL) for Division 2 soccer, the NASL teams supporters groups united and sent a letter to USSF President Sunil Gulati.
Their message follows:

February 1, 2011

President Sunil Gulati
U.S. Soccer Federation
1801 S. Prairie Ave.
Chicago, IL 60616

Dear President Gulati,

As supporters of North American Soccer League (NASL) clubs, we would like to voice our concern regarding the recent decision by your Federation to rescind the provisional Division 2 status of the NASL. We are personally appalled by the decision of the Federation to deny second division sanctioning to the NASL. Many fans were positively encouraged by the interest the USSF paid to second division soccer this season, and were pleased by the new standards put in place to ensure stability and continuity at the second division level. We thank the USSF for the interest and leadership you have provided during 2010 to stabilize and maintain second division.

Should our community be deprived of high level, but affordable entertainment in the form of NASL soccer for 2011, fans will be starved of access to the beautiful game. Without professional soccer in our community, many fans may simply move on to other sports and an opportunity to continue the upward trajectory of interest in soccer here at home will be lost.

For our youth soccer community, it is imperative that the NASL play at the second division level this season. The USSF is striving to improve soccer in the United States and improve our national team. But if we deny young fans in five key American soccer markets local heroes to emulate and a club to support, we potentially lose a generation of kids who can help make the United States the best we can be in World Soccer. The partner federations and communities in Canada and Puerto Rico would also be severely affected.

The loss of our league will also have an inevitable ripple effect that will hurt not only the US National Team program and supporter’s base, but also development of soccer throughout the CONCACAF region. The NASL serves as a competitive league where many nations throughout the region have players developing their talent. Having better players throughout our region will no doubt be beneficial to the development of US Soccer, providing stronger competition to challenge and grow the US Nation Team.

When our teams played in USL, we were never able to keep track of our opponents or the composition of the league. The NASL has been forthright and aggressive in its local marketing while pledging a needed stability at the second division level. The NASL’s ability to attract the type of investors the USSF wants involved in the sport based on the new second division standards also has local fans excited about the future of both our teams and the league we compete in. We feel ownership and a connection to our league, the NASL that we never felt for USL.

The teams of the NASL have already invested much time and resources to establish this second division league. This is the foundation for creating a stable second division in this country, as opposed to a league that benefits from the constant expansion and contraction of teams. We believe that it is time for the USSF to work for what is best for the future and stability of U.S. Soccer. The mission should be to further the game's roots in our communities by supporting soccer at all levels.

We hope you recognize the vital role second division soccer plays across North American and Puerto Rico. We ask that you reverse this shortsighted and damaging decision. Displacing fans and hurting the development of soccer in the United States should not be what the USSF is all about. Your role as a governing body is to promote the sport and grow the game. Working with the NASL to establish a long needed, stable second division is the type of positive development this sport sorely needs.

Sincerely,

Pieter Brown
President, Miami Ultras
Miami FC / Strikers Supporters

Steve Holler
President, Ralph’s Mob
FC Tampa Bay Supporters

Tim Hayes
On behalf of The Dark Clouds
NSC Minnesota Supporters

Kristian Vázquez-Díaz
President, Islanders Foreign Legion
Puerto Rico Islanders Supporters

Daniel Stroud
Member, Jailhawks Member
Carolina Railhawks Supporters

Chris Martz
Westside 109
Atlanta Silverbacks Supporters

Steven Beauregard
Member, Ultras Montréal
Montréal Impact Supporters

What are your thoughts concerning the USSF decision? Should NASL be sanctioned as Div 2?

NASL News: Abundis and Pineda Chacon to coach Atlanta. Shore signs with Strikers

The Atlanta Silverbacks announced that Mexican Jose Manuel Abundis is their new coach. They also announced that one time Miami Fusion star Alex Pineda Chacon will be the assistant coach. Check it out:

The Atlanta Silverbacks announced today that JOSÉ MANUEL ABUNDIS will join the club as its head coach. Abundis, a first-time coach, will take the helm of the Silverbacks immediately.

Abundis, 37, is best known for the 17 years he spent competing at the top levels of international soccer. As part of the Mexican national team from 1996 to 2001, he appeared in 47 games and scored 10 goals, representing Mexico in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup.

As early as 1992, Abundis made a name for himself as the top player for Toluca, a club in Mexico's top soccer division. He totaled 270 appearances and notched 80 goals there, and he also played for Mexican clubs Atlante, Pachuca, CF Monterrey, and Querétaro. In 2006, he played a season for Major League Soccer's New England Revolution. Since arriving in Georgia, Abundis has led youth soccer clinics and become a respected part of the Atlanta community.

"José is a very talented player, but he has also demonstrated that he has the energy, the passion, and the leadership to succeed in coaching," said Director of Soccer RODRIGO RIOS. "We're honored to have him here, and we know Atlanta will welcome him enthusiastically."

Joining Abundis on the coaching staff will be Assistant Coach Alex Pineda Chacon who returns to the Atlanta Silverbacks after previous stints with the organization, both as a player and an assistant coach. Chacón, who played for over 10 years on the Honduran national team, was named Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Player in 2001.

Read more HERE
following is a video of Jose Manuel Abundis in action:

Here are goals by Alex Pineda Chacon with the Miami Fusion:


Shore signs with the Strikers
The Strikers announced this week the re-signing of coach Daryl Shore. Shore came in last season and turned the team around. I'm sure the fans will be happy to see coach Shore back.
Here is what the Strikers had to say:

The Strikers have announced today that they have agreed to a contract extension with head coach, Daryl Shore. As per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“I am grateful that Traffic Sports has given me the opportunity to return and lead our team as we embark on a new era. I understand what the Strikers mean to South Florida soccer and I can promise that we will be one of the hardest working clubs in the NASL, with the goal of making the playoffs and bringing a winning mentality back to this team. We want to build on the success we enjoyed late last season by returning a good core group of players from last year’s team and bringing in new players that are going to help us achieve our goals. The Strikers legacy is powerful in South Florida, and we are ready and humbled to follow in the footsteps of some of the game's greats," said Head Coach Daryl Shore.

Shore, 41, is a New York native who graduated from South Plantation High School, in Plantation, Florida. He played in college as a goalkeeper for Birmingham-Southern College and went on to play professionally for the Birmingham Grasshoppers and the New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers. After managing professional organizations all over the country such as the New Orleans Storm and the Lehigh Valley Steam, he began a ten-year tenure for the Chicago Fire as an assistant coach. Shore served as an assistant to four head coaches with Chicago, including Bob Bradley, Juan Carlos Osorio and former Striker Dennis Hamlett . He also played a significant role in the growth of the Fire’s player development program. He was hired last July as the head coach for the Blues.

Read more at www.miamifc.com

USL / NASL Updates

Our good friend and Miami Ultra Robert Scorca went over the team sites for all the members of the NASL and here is what he found:

Minnesota Thunder has not had a news update since Oct. 15th before the news of NASL broke out.

Atlanta Silverbacks and St. Louis Soccer United have updates mentioning that 7 teams are part of the new league. This is before Crystal Palace Baltimore and Tampa Bay Rowdies joined the new league and before the NASL name was chosen.

Miami FC, Carolina RailHawks, Montreal Impact, Vancouver Whitecaps, Crystal Palace Baltimore and Tampa Bay Rowdies all have the most current info posted. This includes 9 teams and the NASL name. No this is not a typo about Montreal!

The Vancouver Whitecaps team site ties into all the other teams home sites. Also in google if you type in NASL there is the new NASL listed with google links to all the NASL teams. This is good because it mentions the other teams under each NASL team, the reserve teams, and woman's team. Being google there is no guarantee this is correct.

The USL site tells a different story. If you go to the team sites for the Montreal Impact, Vancouver Whitecaps, and Tampa Bay Rowdies they are still members of the USL-1. How do they do this? Under the news for the clubs they are updated prior to their news release mentioning the split. Vancouver team news stops on Nov. 3rd, Tampa Bay's stops on Nov. 18th, and Montreal stops on Nov. 10th. The Charleston Battery team site is updated to Oct. 28 so there is no mention of them dropping down to the USL-2. I guess the USL philosophy is no news is good news.

The USL news site is updated much more frequent.
Nov. 4 there is a post titled "New era under way for USL-1" This article mentions that in attendance are representatives for the following. Austin, Cleveland, New York, Puerto Rico, Portland, Rochester, Tampa Bay, Edmonton, Ottawa, Baltimore and Detroit. With things breaking the way they are I am sure these cities know how to reach the NASL's front office for a place to play.

Nov. 10 there is a post titled "USL Statement regarding USL-1" This came out in response to the TOA's application being sent to the United States Soccer Federation.

Nov. 20 there is a post titled USL statement regarding Tampa, Baltimore. This mentions about both clubs being under contract to the USL. This was in response to Tampa Bay and Baltimore being mentioned as entries of the new league which is at the time of the article being named the NASL.

For further updates be sure to check out:
The Kartik Report
Inside Minnesota Soccer

A special thanks to Robert Scorca for his research on this topic.

The Death of Soccer in Miami... Again?

There is a song by the Smiths that goes like this:

The death of a disco dancer
Well, it happens a lot 'round here

Well, it's not the death of a Disco Dancer but more like the Death of Soccer in Miami, and it does happen around here quite often! It appears Soccer does not live long and prosper in this town ...

Miami FC may become the latest victim in the endless saga of failed South Florida teams. Not only is the team on the brink of extinction thanks to a failed attempt to buy the United Soccer League by parent company Traffic Sports, but the team is in the midst of an eight game losing streak that included a 9-0 pounding by the Carolina Railhawks only a week ago.

As most of you know USL was recently bought by Nurock Soccer Holdings from Nike and in a press release that came out yesterday Click here, it appears that USL founder Francisco Marcos and Tim Holt remain on board. It was mentioned on other blogs and news sources that another group led by a group of current USL teams had out bid all potential buyers and was on the verge of securing the purchase of USL when suddenly there was a press release stating that Nurock was indeed the winner!

Speculation remains that there was an inside maneuver by USL personnel along with Nurock to secure their bid would succeed (even though it was not the highest bid) and as the press release suggests... well, you can come to your own conclusions.

Now USL team owners are not happy. The Team Owners Association (TOA) has announced that it has accelerated its pursuit of all league options for the 2010 season and beyond. It's no secret most USL teams were not fond of Marcos and Holt at the helm of the league, the two would most likely have been out of USL had the TOA led by the Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina RailHawks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact, St. Louis Soccer United, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Vancouver Whitecaps been successful in their bid to take over USL.

If the TOA is looking for other options we can assume they might start a League of their own. But how strong a league could it be? Vancouver is on it's way to MLS in 2010 so after next season another team is out. How can they survive? I would think one option could be via MLS. There is no chance all these teams could be part of that league but the fabled MLS-2 could be an option the TOA might look at. Most of us Soccer fans dream of the relegation idea but that's not going to happen if ever for a very long time. An arrangement could be made however whereby MLS-2 teams could become affiliates of current MLS teams. Maybe rules could be less harsh on the MLS-2 teams where they will not have the restrictions of the single entity structure currently in place for MLS teams for the sake of making MLS-2 attractive to the cities they play in.

In this scenario NuRock would lose the majority of its USL-1 teams. Some may say USL can continue with the few teams remaining and by promoting the USL-2 teams possibly even eliminating USL-2 for now, but, it would nonetheless be a much weaker USL. Will USL survive if it loses so many teams next season?

What if all the teams decide to fold? The loser would be Nurock,which might opt to close the league down before they lose more money. But in reality we all lose. US Soccer would lose the structure that keeps feeding MLS and the U.S. national team. I find it remarkable that Nurock and USL management did not think ahead and try to secure an arrangement with the current USL-1 teams instead creating all this drama that might lead to the end of USL.

For the best up to date information on this situation visit Brian Quarstad at Inside Minnesota Soccer and Kartik Krishnaiyer of Major League Soccer Talk.

For now all I can say to South Florida Soccer Fans is to support Miami FC in these last 3 home games. Let's send a message that we want Soccer in Miami. Lets send a message to Traffic that they need to step up and give us Major League Soccer along with other investors out there such as everyone on the committee supporting the World Cup bid for Miami, like Emilio Estefan, Facundo Bacardi, Bacardi Limited; Peter Dolora, senior vice president of American Airlines; George Feldenkreis, chairman/CEO of Perry Ellis International among others.
Support Miami MLS by going to http://www.miamisoccerfan.com/Soccer/Tickets.html