As you'll recall, the league in which the Green Team played went to 7v7 last spring so we scrambled to put together a new team to play in a tougher league. Keeping the green theme, we went w/ Verde FC & enter the MUSL Over 30 5th Division. It was a fun experience & we'll definitely stay w/ it for next year, but we'll have to make some improvements in order to get more points & move up the table a bit.
As a brand new team, finishing bottom of he lowest division didn't surprise me too much, but what did surprise me was the lack of quality in some of the other squads. Had we had enough players on a regular basis, we would have gotten more than 5 points out of the 14 matches (that still puts us on track to finish better than Derby County did in the Premier League a few years ago when they were relegated w/ 10 points after 38 matches). We were short-handed more often than not though which was rough. Playing 8 or 9 against a full side week-in & week-out starts to weigh on ones soul a bit. Everyone on the team improved though so moving ahead, things look good. We had 22 people on the roster but only 15 who showed up on a regular basis (& only about half from week to week). Other than that, our friendships got stronger & the dedication was always there. Even when losing 4-0 w/ 9 people, we kept going forward & trying to play decent soccer, so we can take that from the season as well. Plus, I rediscovered my love of slide-tackling. Even though I also rediscovered the weekly bruises that occur in a tougher league, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. Perhaps next year, we'll relocate to the Ypsi area, sell some kits, & get a few people out to support us on a weekly basis. Start writing your Verde FC songs now so you'll be ready come when May rolls around.
Showing posts with label verde fc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label verde fc. Show all posts
Friday, October 29, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
WCP #15: Matsuchan & Vuvuzela
After the Verde FC match yesterday morning, a match in which I blew out the inside left big toe of my boots, I went w/ Elizabeth, Dan, & Sammy to Matsuchan, the new ramen shop @ Ford Rd. & Sheldon in Canton. (Check out the review on Yelp. I went w/ the Tofu/Vegetable ramen which may have been a mistake. The salt broth was pretty bland. Both Dan & Elizabeth got much better stuff. I don't recall what Dan got (it was really good though), but Elizabeth got the Soba/Miso Salad & it was awesome. The place is tiny & uber-authentic. Go there.
Afterwards, we hit Soccer World on Canton Center. I scored a new pair of boots to replace the blown out toe & I scored some Vuvuzela for the kids. They came to the Green Team match & had a great time blowing them on the side-lines. As for the shoes, I got some Diadoras that were on 1/2 off clearance which was pretty cool. I wore them for the 1st 1/2 & then switched back to the old ones to avoid the blisters while I'm breaking them in. I think they'll work out well.
And now, Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day. a big part of me (but not my cock) wanted to go w/ Patrice Evra for unifying the French squad against Domeneche. I'm loving the melt-down & their willingness to air their dirty laundry on such a grand stage. I think it should really go to someone who actually played yesterday though, which leaves us 2 options. Fabiano finally shined up his scoring boots, but the 1st was lucky & the 2nd was the result of his use of his hand... twice. If Henry is a villain for putting Ireland out w/ a hand-ball, Fabiano must be seen in a similar way. Cote d'Ivoire was looking likely to score until he put in a 2nd which changed everything. They are unlikely to progress now (especially w/ Portugal's hammering of N. Korea while I write this). Of course, they're just Cote d'Ivoire & he's not French so it will go relatively unnoticed. But not by me. This leaves us w/ the 2nd option, a man whom I never would have expected to get this prestegious award. He scored Brazil's 3rd goal, work his ass off, & wass then taken out after a nasty tackle on his shin: Elano.
Revolution has come... time to pick up the gun
Afterwards, we hit Soccer World on Canton Center. I scored a new pair of boots to replace the blown out toe & I scored some Vuvuzela for the kids. They came to the Green Team match & had a great time blowing them on the side-lines. As for the shoes, I got some Diadoras that were on 1/2 off clearance which was pretty cool. I wore them for the 1st 1/2 & then switched back to the old ones to avoid the blisters while I'm breaking them in. I think they'll work out well.And now, Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day. a big part of me (but not my cock) wanted to go w/ Patrice Evra for unifying the French squad against Domeneche. I'm loving the melt-down & their willingness to air their dirty laundry on such a grand stage. I think it should really go to someone who actually played yesterday though, which leaves us 2 options. Fabiano finally shined up his scoring boots, but the 1st was lucky & the 2nd was the result of his use of his hand... twice. If Henry is a villain for putting Ireland out w/ a hand-ball, Fabiano must be seen in a similar way. Cote d'Ivoire was looking likely to score until he put in a 2nd which changed everything. They are unlikely to progress now (especially w/ Portugal's hammering of N. Korea while I write this). Of course, they're just Cote d'Ivoire & he's not French so it will go relatively unnoticed. But not by me. This leaves us w/ the 2nd option, a man whom I never would have expected to get this prestegious award. He scored Brazil's 3rd goal, work his ass off, & wass then taken out after a nasty tackle on his shin: Elano.
Monday, May 17, 2010
A Soccer Post You Might Actually Want to Read Involving a Ref and a Brawl
Here's a sampling of the ref's calls in the Verde FC Match Yesterday:
1) Assistant Ref threatened to throw my goalie out of the game for marking the line w/ his foot... it's against the letter of the laws of the game, but it was clear they'd be sticklers for the little things because they couldn't handle the important stuff.
2)My defender has his arm pushed into the ball in the Penalty Box. Ref gives a PK. Before the kick is taken, he then proceeds to admit that he screwed up but didn't change his call.
3) My striker was taken down by the last defender. The ref called the foul but refused to give the red card. So much for the letter of the law.
4) Ref blows the whistle for a pass-back to the keeper. As Eric & I go forward for a quick kick he changes his mind & says "just play." W/ our defense up for the kick, they caught us out & were on a break. It lead to a goal about a minute later.
5) After the match when I was attempting to discuss these issues / the refs, I was quickly told to "shut the fuck up" & "fuck off."
Afterwards, Eric, Cal, Dan, & I headed to another field to play a second match, this time w/ The Green Team. We were a few minutes late & the game had already started. For some reason, we were playing a team of 18 year olds. After some scrappy play, one kid attempted to slide-tackle Jim. He missed the ball, & took out Jim's legs. Jim called the foul & all Hell broke loose. I turned around & he was all up in Jim's face. Jim tried to explain that sliding isn't allowed in that league. "Says where?" asks the kid. First of all, we have 3 English teachers on the team, he's gonna have to come a little more grammatically correct than that. Suddenly, people were all tangled up... we're trying to hold people back while they're trying to fight. People are rolling round & some punches were even thrown (by them... not us... Green Team speaks w/ non-violent resistance; when we raise our fists, it's not in violencec but in solidarity & union w/ the opressed peoples of the world). I've heard of the old days in the league when there used to be fights all the time, but I'd never experienced one 1st hand until yesterday. It was quite a scene.
1) Assistant Ref threatened to throw my goalie out of the game for marking the line w/ his foot... it's against the letter of the laws of the game, but it was clear they'd be sticklers for the little things because they couldn't handle the important stuff.
2)My defender has his arm pushed into the ball in the Penalty Box. Ref gives a PK. Before the kick is taken, he then proceeds to admit that he screwed up but didn't change his call.
3) My striker was taken down by the last defender. The ref called the foul but refused to give the red card. So much for the letter of the law.
4) Ref blows the whistle for a pass-back to the keeper. As Eric & I go forward for a quick kick he changes his mind & says "just play." W/ our defense up for the kick, they caught us out & were on a break. It lead to a goal about a minute later.
5) After the match when I was attempting to discuss these issues / the refs, I was quickly told to "shut the fuck up" & "fuck off."
Afterwards, Eric, Cal, Dan, & I headed to another field to play a second match, this time w/ The Green Team. We were a few minutes late & the game had already started. For some reason, we were playing a team of 18 year olds. After some scrappy play, one kid attempted to slide-tackle Jim. He missed the ball, & took out Jim's legs. Jim called the foul & all Hell broke loose. I turned around & he was all up in Jim's face. Jim tried to explain that sliding isn't allowed in that league. "Says where?" asks the kid. First of all, we have 3 English teachers on the team, he's gonna have to come a little more grammatically correct than that. Suddenly, people were all tangled up... we're trying to hold people back while they're trying to fight. People are rolling round & some punches were even thrown (by them... not us... Green Team speaks w/ non-violent resistance; when we raise our fists, it's not in violencec but in solidarity & union w/ the opressed peoples of the world). I've heard of the old days in the league when there used to be fights all the time, but I'd never experienced one 1st hand until yesterday. It was quite a scene.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
