Proposed Changes to College Men’s Soccer

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According to a new article recently completed by The Washington Post, changes have been proposed to the operations of the men’s Division I college soccer season.  Currently, the program runs on the same schedule it has held for over fifty years.  The season is jammed into just over three months in the fall, with very limited practices and exhibitions allowed in the spring.

However, the proposed changes would allow the number of official team days to increase from one hundred and thirty two to one hundred and forty four.  The season would start in late August with training camps.  Between mid-September and Thanksgiving, the teams would play two friendlies and thirteen matches.  Winter break would fall from Thanksgiving until late February, during which time teams would be allowed to hold eight hour long training sessions.  In late February, spring training camps would begin.  By mid-March, the season would be in full swing once more, including nine more season matches, in addition to conferences and the NCAA tournament games.

The reasoning behind lengthening the season from three months in fall to an academic-year-long activity involves several issues.  The Division I soccer competition structure is outdated; the format doesn’t match the structures set by youth and professional leagues which, in turn, does not prepare players to go forward in the sport.  This becomes a factor, as the sport continues to grow in popularity in the United States with fewer players truly equipped to face off in an international competition due to lacking training practices.  As a result, players of the sport often elect to skip college entirely in light of pursuing professional playing.  To those who have designed the proposed changes, a college education is invaluable and, therefore, these moves must be made to present players with a reason to attend college and play in Division I; it allows players to not only expand their soccer experience, but their life experiences as well.

Fundamentally, the issue is a matter of time.  In the current system, the season has too many matches on too short of a time period, resulting in injuries, substandard performance in the sport, as well as substandard academic performance.  A less strict schedule would allow for less stress on the students and more focus on schooling.

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Keys to the Rookie Enjoying the World Cup

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In a recent article completed for The New Yorker, the author disclaimed that he has enjoyed soccer his entire life; he started playing as a youth in the mid-1970s, in the heat of the United States boom in soccer.  The sport became popular overnight; despite the joke that no American truly enjoys soccer, the author contends that his generation still very much enjoys the sport.  With the prevalent discussion of the World Cup, the author believes his theory has been proven.

However, intrigue in the event doesn’t automatically lead to an understanding or true appreciation of the sport.  In the article, the author provided several tips on how to get the most enjoyment out of being a spectator.

First, picking a team is important; watching a race is significantly less enjoyable without a dog to hope for.  Place bets, create a bracket; get invested!  The author states that he particularly enjoys rooting for the underdog.  Research is also necessary for this endeavor to be successful.  Five minutes on the Internet can afford a wealth of information—an understanding of the offside rule and how it affects play, finding familiarity with the match-ups and teams that are held as the favorite to win.  Research can also indicate injuries of players, influencing the chance of placing successful bets.

An event such as the World Cup also presents an opportunity to appreciate the sociocultural anthropology of teams and countries all over the world.  Study the rise and fall in confidence, both on an individual level, as well as team-wide.  Observe the delicate balance of commitment struck between offense and defense; it’s a study in risk versus reward.  An event such as this also archives differences in how countries and continents strive to approach the game differently.

To truly appreciate the sport, as argued by the author, the spectator must embrace the physicality of soccer.  The ever-flowing movement must be the focus, not simply setting the eyes to the ball.  Try to appreciate the skill that is required to pass the ball so fluidly that it almost appears to magically land precisely where it was intended; think on the hours, days, months and years of practice that must’ve been required to make the pass look so effortless.  If this appreciation is delved into, no spectator will remain confused on the draw of the sport.

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Ten-Year-Old Scouted by Nigerian Soccer Coaches

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Lateef Omidiji Junior is an exceptional ten-year-old in many ways.  He attends Mabel Hoggard Elementary School in Las Vegas, where he is a straight-A student in fifth grade.  He dreams of becoming the next Didier Drogba, his favorite soccer player; however, should this dream default, he hopes to attend medical school at Harvard and play for their soccer team.  Fortunately for Omidiji Junior, it appears he stands a distinct chance of achieving his first goal, according to an article recently completed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Last year, with a son at the meager young age of just nine-years-old, several scouts approached Lateef Omidiji Senior from the soccer federation of Nigeria, and issued a request for his son to start playing immediately for one of their teams.  Omidiji Senior, though immensely proud of his son, deterred a bit, telling the scouts that he thought it was best to wait for six or seven years before throwing the child into such a competitive environment.

Over the course of the last year, scouts have only become more persistent, as word has spread about this apparent soccer prodigy.  Danladi Nasidi, infamous coach of Nigeria’s U-13 national side soccer team, traveled over twenty hours just to watch the child play a game recently.  For Omidiji Senior, this placed a certain level of reality on the situation; growing up as a boy in Nigeria, Omidiji Senior always heard stories of the infamous coach and knew just how important he was.  His presence at Omidiji Junior’s game was, therefore, not underappreciated.

Nasidi has commented on his impression of Omidiji Junior based on observation of the boy’s playing.  The coach was impressed with the boy’s soccer knowledge, particularly given his youth; he felt assured Omidiji Junior could very successfully play amongst older athletes.  However, the physical component remains a bit of a concern for Nasidi, as he evaluates Omidiji Junior’s skill in this regard as merely “okay.”  This is to be expected, as the boy most likely hasn’t even hit puberty yet.  Given time, however, it seems Omidiji Junior’s fate is destined to follow his prime path in life, towards becoming the next Drogba of soccer.

 

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Lionel Messi

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In recent years Lionel Messi has been compared to Diego Maradona, an Argentine legend.  Lionel Messi, from Barcelona, will be playing for Argentina in this years world cup in Brazil.  Messi will be sporting number 10- the same number Maradona wore throughout his 17-year career.

Maradona helped Argentina win the World Cup in 1986 by contributing five goals to their win against West Germany in the final game. Maradona and Messi have definitely been compared before, both having such a strong influence on the team.  However Messi, at 26, feels he still has some work to do before the comparison is legitimized.  Messi believes he has to help his team win the World Cup before the comparison can begin but is very grateful for the commentary, “The comparison with Maradona is a very nice complement, but not one that I can accept yet,” Messi says.  The inclusion of “yet” in his statement is hopeful and realistic! He recognizes that he is a worthy player and is hopeful that he may help Argentina win the world cup!

An article from www.soccernews.com describes Messi’s career and his mentality towards the game.  Messi started his international debut in 2005 and this year will be his third World Cup in Brazil.  Messi has a great attitude about his playing and the game in general.  He believes that his career is all about playing his best and constantly trying to improve himself.  This shows his true dedication to the game.  Already he is an honorable player both mentally and physically but I am interested to see how far he will go.

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66 Days Until the World Cup

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June 12 marks the start of the 2014 Word Cup and day by day, it approaches. The first match will be Brazil against Croatia. Each day leading up to this amazing tournament brings changes and some of them are not good. Unfortunately Jay Rodriguez, 24, hurt his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee halfway through the first half in the Saints’ game against Manchester City. Rodriguez will be out of commission for six months to heal his knee, which means, regrettably, he will no longer get the change to play with the Southampton team in the 2014 World Cup.

Rodriguez scored 15 goals for Southampton this season, placing them in 8th place in the Premier League. Striker Rickie Lambert, left back Luke Shaw, and midfielder Adam Lallana all have a chance to make it to Brazil. Unfortunately Rodriguez will be hanging with Theo Walcott on the national team’s injured list.

Les Reed, the Southampton director comments on Jay’s disappointment about not getting the chance to play “but is determined to get back playing for the Saints as soon as possible… Jay has asked us to pass on his gratitude to everybody who has shown him their concern and sympathy during the 48 hours since his injury.” What a good sport!

Jay Rodriguez

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98 Days Until the World Cup

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The Countdown Begins…

June 12 marks the start of the World Cup: Brazil versus Croatia to start. Ecuador has decided to retire the Number 11 jersey. They recently played Australia in a friendly match in London and won 4-3. No one on the Ecuador team was wearing Number 11. A little background on this decision around the Number 11 jersey: Christian Benítez, their striker, recently passed away due to a heart attack at the age of 27 while playing for his club team in Qatar in July.

According to FIFA regulations, his number must be available for use in the World Cup in June. However Ecuador’s federation is going to resist this. They want to honor Benítez. “We will have to have it, that’s what we’ve been told,” Reinaldo Rueda, Ecuador Coach, told Reuters regarding the Number 11 Jersey for the World Cup in June.

The numbering convention, until a few decades ago, precluded individual players from owning their numbers. The goalkeeper wears Number 1 and the numbers go up from back to front, with the striker having Number 11. It’s a touchy situation- the team and fans want to honor a player and what other way to do that by holding on to their number but if every great player was honored, the numbers would be in hundreds by now. Maybe that’s not a bad thing?

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Player of the Month

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Player of the Month

Adnan Januzaj was voted player of the year for the month on the Manchester United team for the month of January. This was announced just before his birthday!  What a great birthday present. Januzaj is actually from Belgian and turns 19 years old this year. He earned 75% of the votes on a website that is translated into six foreign language sites. He also received a £500 check to be given to a charity of his choice along with his Player of the Month elect. Adnan chose UNICEF.  Adnan graciously accepted the trophy and announced that he hopes there are more to come.  This is very inspiring for fans that Adnan sees his role on the team as a long haul.  He wants to continue to succeed over and over again.  It’s not just about winning once. The United Manchester fans sing his name when he appears and Adana says, “I like it when they sing because it gives me a bit of motivation as well.  I am very happy with it.”

Adnan was born February 5, 1995.  His position is the wing and he has scored a total of 3 goals in total so far since his joining of the team in July of 2011. Adnan joined the Anderlecht club team when he was only 10 years old in 2005.  When he was 16 he left to join Manchester United in March 2011.  After his second season on the team he was promoted to the first-team and was and still is number 44 on the team.  One of his best plays was against Wigan Athletic in August 2013 with only six minutes left in the game. A month later he made another great impression substituting in the 68^th minute of the game.  Adnan proves himself no matter how little time he is given on the field and has proved himself to be a great player.

Patrick Schaal very much supports his nomination for Player of the Month.  Second for the player of month were Danny Welbeck and Chris Smalling.

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