A perfect example of this was the game between Manchester United and MLS All-Stars at the Reliant Stadium Houston Texas. First, the attendance was announced as a sellout crowd of 70,728 that created an incredible atmosphere at the stadium and lots of wild fans having a great time. Second, Manchester United (The Red Devils) is the richest club in the world and, guess what? They are owned by an American! Malcolm Glasser and Sons, who purchased the Club in 2005 for $1.49 billion. Malcolm also owns the Tampa Bay Bucks. I wonder? Is it that he is a sports enthusiast, or an investor, or both?

Liverpool directors.

Here are some more examples of American and oversees investors into the global market of soccer:

Liverpool F.C. was bought by Tom Hicks (Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars owner) and Canadian, George Gillett (Montreal Canadians owner). Liverpool has 28 million registered fans around the world and a recent Liverpool game was broadcast in 183 countries.

However, Stop Press: Syrian business man Yahya Kirdi and a consortium of Canadian and Middle Eastern Investors are in the final stages of buying Liverpool Football (Soccer) Club. Aug. 2010.

Cleveland Browns owner Randy Norman purchased Aston Villa, another English Premier Club, for $118 million. Stan Kroenke (who owns the Colorado Avalanche, the Denver Nuggets, and the operating rights to MLS, Colorado Rapids) bought a 12% stake in Arsenal. In October, Arsenal made a 15-year sponsorship deal worth $178 million with the international airline of the United Arab Emirates to put the airline’s name on the team shirts. Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich paid $223 million for Chelsea F.C.

I could go on. Why all this interest in soccer? Simple! For sports investors, the American market – vast as it is – has limited growth potential compared with the rest of the world; and there are far more soccer fans globally than there are American football fans. So increased popularity of soccer in the U.S., interchange of quality players between the U.S., European and UK Premier Clubs, the opening of Soccer Academies in the U.S, all are being encouraged by American investors. I will repeat my comments of the last publication of Coastal Breeze: “Team America will be a force to be reckoned with in the next world cup in 4 years time.” See the upside down Pyramid theory in the next issue.

Milk Cup Competition Northern Island: See next Coastal Breeze News. Many of you will be very surprised who the winners of the Elite U-20s final were.

Linda and Shaun Henell are presented their winnings by John Patterson for Coastal Breeze News. Lauren and Anne Feinman along with Salvador Gomez of Chef’s Express, supplied the gift certificate. Submitted photos

Coastal Breeze News World Cup Competition Winners, Linda (Soccer Mom) and Shaun Hannel of Marco Island, forecast the two teams to reach the final round. Congratulations! Their prize is a Breakfast for Two at Chef’s Express and the Official World Cup Soccer Ball, the “Jabulani.”  (The ball’s name means “to celebrate” in isiZulu.) Good job, guys! Enjoy the Chef Express’ great Breakfast or Lunch selection.  Keep the soccer interest going, Shaun. Remember, a healthy body – a healthy mind.

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Marco Surge collect donations outside Publix. Submitted photos

The first touch is perhaps one of the most regularly repeated sayings used by soccer coaches, especially at levels above recreational play, although even at that level it should be drilled into soccer thinking. Basically, it gets back to the speed at which you control the receiving ball. Fumble with it and your chance has gone. A player needs to receive and control the ball in one movement irrespective of the speed, height and direction of the ball. The ball must become under total control and part of your body reaction. In fact, it should become an extension of your body and body movement. Clever stuff, but it needs practice, practice and more practice. It sounds boring, but it is essential. I, and many others, perfected this control by simply kicking the ball against a hard surface and controlling the return.

Landon Donovan on the USA team in the 2010 World Cup.

The reason I say this is that many in America are asking what do we do next to progress to winning this World Cup. The answer may be found in an article by Juergen Klinsmann, a star striker for Germany, the first player to score at least three goals in the World Cup matches of 1990, ‘94 and ‘98. Klinsmann, now Germany’s coach, has spent time in the U.S. He is highly respected throughout the soccer world.

The following is brief summary of the key points made by Juergen: “After the US dramatic win over Algeria, the USA failed to properly manage and recover, both mentally and physically, for the game against Ghana. Suddenly Bill Clinton is coming by; Mike Jagger is in the stands, and all that takes you away from the World Cup. It’s about now and tomorrow, not what happened an hour ago. Oh yes, not forgetting the emotional moments, the team, the players have to be brought back down to ground level, forget the last game, and focus on the Ghana battle.”

I have to say this, the U.S. should have been in the Quarter Final against Uruguay. They lost by a clear and incorrect disallowed goal.

Juergen Klinsmann, Germany’s coach.

Juergen: “The US soccer development system is basically that parents pay for their kids to progress through soccer with the goal to get a scholarship in college. This is the complete opposite to the rest of the world. We all (came) from moderate families and fought our way through…….so we need to keep this hunger throughout our lives. I compare it with basketball here because I look at these guys and they are coming from inner cities. The kids need to be really hungry. Get kids on a technical level to perform and that’s what I mean by the first touch.”

The US team gave a far better performance than many of the so-called favorites to win. Observing progress and being involved with soccer over the years, I see there is every indication that the quality of players has improved dramatically. I feel the surge will continue and by the next World Cup the US will be a team to reckon with. We’re at the next stage where kids need to move forward and continue to the next level, be involved with competitive games, and dream. This progress will continue if they have soccer stars to look up to like Landon Donavan. In addition, US players are moving to premier clubs in the UK and Europe and getting experience with a faster game. Many quality and experienced players are moving from the soccer nations into the American game which all adds to the progress. A number of UK premier clubs are owned by Americans or have American investors. I could go on -  see next issue!

Local Stuff

Young Marco players—time to dream of the World Cup! Submitted photos

The above prompted the Marco Island Soccer Academy to progress to higher levels and give the kids who have dreams the opportunity to develop advanced skills. We hope to recognize talent from all the soccer groups on the Island, including Optimists, Marco Surge Soccer Club (Joe Bartos 3 v 3), and the Marco Island Charter School, and soccer events and tournaments. We encourage the forming of competitive teams, together with the support license and thirty years’ experience of Bonita Storm Soccer club. To succeed Marco Soccer groups need to be in harmony and work as a total team in the same direction. Parks and Recreation Director Brian Milk has recognized the demand and opportunities for the kids of Marco, and we are all looking forward to seeing a Marco Island competitive team representing our community. Perhaps we will even develop our own Marco Island star.

Marco Island Surge Soccer Club

Surge soccer players collected donations outside Publix to raise support for the club’s National Championship team’s competing in Orlando on July the 24. Best of luck to Joe and the teams. Don’t forget to let me have photos and results. Visit www.MarcoIslandSoccer.org.

Stop Press

Left to right, Alex R. Galiana, Bryan Milk and Coach Patterson.

A meeting was held on Friday, July 23, with the Parks and Recreation Director Bryan Milk, Alex R. Galiana, recently appointed Recreation Supervisor, and  Coach Patterson. Guess the subject – Soccer! The meeting focused on how Parks and Recreation will manage and schedule the use of the Parks facilities to meet this rapidly growing sport .

Coastal Breeze has converted many readers to soccer fans, Gil Mueller is one of them, read his story in Salute to Veterans – Soccer was the last thing he had on his mind then.

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Spain’s goalkeeper, Iker Casillas, lifts the World Cup trophy after the final match with Netherlands. Submitted

Well, for the non-soccer fans the World Cup is over. All you have to do is wait another four years (a mixed response, no doubt!) My personal experience over the recent weeks is  that  friends, colleagues and strangers want to talk about the game of soccer (do you mean football?) One great tournament. One great show, Africa the Rainbow Nation.

International soccer games go back a long way. One of the most memorable ones is England v Germany in 1915. The story appeared in the Times newspaper in 1915, headed “The greatest legacy must surely be the message of Hope.”  On Christmas Day, soldiers from both sides of the trenches introduced a truce, starting by singing Christmas songs—the Germans, “Silent Night,” and the Royal Welch, “Good King Wenceslas.” This developed into a spontaneous game of soccer in no-man’s land 100 meters between trenches. To cut a long story short the Germans won 2 – 1. Nothing changes, does it?

German soldiers from World War II.

Thank you, readers, for your nice supporting comments and The beautiful game article in the last issue by Tarik Ayasun, which brought back to me similar memories—same game, different culture, same dreams.

An estimated viewing audience of more than 700 million watched the final World Cup 2010 Final game in which Spain won against Netherlands, Spain 1 – Netherlands 0.

Not the most exciting of games due to both teams neutralizing their style of play.

The Local Scene: There has been a number of soccer happenings since the last edition. The 3 v 3 Tournament at Mackle Park on July 10 attracted many teams, both local and off island, with lots of supporters. It was a very well organized event. Well done, Kat. Look forward to the next one.

Marco Island City Soccer Academy is coming! The forming of Marco Island Soccer Traveling Teams to represent the City of Marco with local sponsors has gained momentum, with an agreement between Bonita Storm Soccer Club and Marco City Soccer Academy to work together on their FYSA club License. Tryout will commence through the City Parks and Recreation in July. This is a search for the talent of Marco to form competitive teams and qualify for regional tournaments and State Cup. 3 v 3 games are a good base for players to understand passing coordination; 11 v 11 is a different ball game. Teamwork is essential and it is crucial that each player understands his or her individual and team responsibility. Good positioning play is essential.

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Modern soccer ball

Previously, I have covered the history of football (soccer), the World Cup, and the history and development of soccer boots (cleats). I haven’t talked about the actual soccer ball, which at present is under much scrutiny. Adidas traditionally designs a new ball for each World Cup tournament. It has been reported by both players and goalkeepers that the 2010 ball has a mind of its own. It’s the goalkeepers who suffer: from the goals already scored there have been many examples of the ball suddenly changing direction, dipping and turning in flight. All this fuss over a round aerodynamics-designed piece of sewn plastic filled with air, when in the past (1540) a leather, possibly deer skin with an inflated pigs bladders, was all that was needed! The ball continued to develop and in 1855, Charles Goodyear patented vulcanized rubber and, amongst many of its uses, designed the first vulcanized soccer ball. In 1863, the first rules of soccer were introduced by the English Football Association. The rules included “the ball must be spherical with a circumference of 27 to 28 inches.” This rule still applies to official soccer matches played all over the world.

The World Cup started June 11 and will continue to the final stages quarter-final July 2/3; semi-final July 6/7; and the final on the July 11. Already teams considered as underdogs have performed far better than the experts predicted. However there is still a long way to go. When all groups A to H have played  the other 3 group teams, we have a mini-league table: the top 2 from each group moving to the next stage (Group 16) of the competition. This is then a simple knock out. Winners move on. The losers have an early shower and departure.

I won’t be giving a detailed commentary as every game is well covered by the newspapers, television, and can even be received on your mobile phone. I have to say, apart from the high pitched Vuvuzela, Africa has presented the soccer world with one great competition and awesome venues. It’s like a world jamboree. Politicians and Country Leaders, take note! Does it take a game of soccer to bring countries in harmony with each other?

Old soccer ball

Great show, Team USA (the comeback kids) who have progressed to the last 16. How? Guts, determination, believing in themselves and never, never giving up. In my opinion I thought the two disallowed goals were perfectly good and should have been allowed. USA, you must have enjoyed this tremendous game of soccer and be proud of your team and coach.

In the quarter final games on June 26/27:

Uruguay 2 ? Korea Republic 1. Uruguay move to the Quarter Final.

Ghana v USA. Fabulous game, USA, so near and yet so far! One mid-field mistake, one goal. It’s that delicate; soccer can be a very cruel game. America, you can be very proud of your Soccer Team and what they have achieved in the world theater of soccer.

Ghana 2 ? USA 1. Ghana moves to the Quarter Final

Germany 4 ? England 1. Well done, Germany, a truly stunning performance. I really think the disallowed goal which would have leveled the score 2-2 may have changed the pattern of the game (we know how you feel USA). Having said that, the best team won.

Germany moves to Quarter Finals.

Argentina 3 ? Mexico 1. Great game ?all South American?the young Mexican team against the experienced Argentina team. The difference experience makes, with the likes of Messi Tevez, and my favorite defender Gabby Heinze, supported by vintage Zanetti and Samuel.

Argentina moves on to Quarter Final and still my favorites to win the World Cup.

Semi-Final ? Argentina v Germany wow! 7. July. Don’t miss it!

Local News

Marco Island City Parks and Recreation in conjunction with Coach Patterson are starting a Soccer Academy to progress year round ongoing skill and tactical coaching for the kids who want to seriously progress their soccer. The ultimate aim is to develop traveling soccer teams to represent the City in local and state tournaments. Marco, we have the kids, we have the talent, and we simply need to give these kids the opportunity to develop their skills. Phone Parks and Recreation Mindy Matusiak 239-642-0575 for details.

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Qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup shown in green on world map above.

In soccer footwear makes all the difference:

“Boot it”, a well known British expression basically means the act of forcing or clearing the ball away. The original soccer footwear was high ankle guarding boots (not cleats). A considerable change from the sleek multi-colored low cut boots/cleats of today. Also a far cry from Henry V111 King of England’s (1526) wardrobe, which included one pair of leather football boots.

Boots have developed just as the game has changed through time, and the biggest impact in Europe was in 1953 when the Hungarian International Team hit the soccer stage beating England who had been boasting an unbeaten home record until that point. England was humiliated by the Hungary team (the Magical Magyars), captained by Ference Pusk’as who became a soccer legend. In the return game in Hungary in 1954, England was again humiliated with a 7-1 thrashing.

How did Hungary do it? The Hungarians introduced a completely new style of play to the game. The Hungarians also introduced a new low level cut boot or cleat, allowing their players maximum freedom of movement playing the famed “Hungarian W” attack. This revolutionized the game and influenced the style of the world champion Brazilian teams of 1958, 1962, 1970 and was many years ahead of the Dutch’s similar approach of “Total Football”. (See Wikipedia for more details.)

The World Cup

The World Cup 2010

The World Cup USA drew in their first game, (as I predicted earlier) against England, on June 12th.  The score was 1-1. Initially 205 countries took part. 172 teams were eliminated. 32 countries qualified. (By the way, according to the Daily Mail, an estimated 500 million  people will be watching the 2010 World Cup.)

Teams to watch

US, England, Ivory Coast,  Portugal , Argentina, South Korea and S. Africa and France, who play against each other on June 22.  (My wild card) Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire): Capt. Didier Drogba is Africa’s best chance of qualifying to the final stages. Drogba won the UK Premiership League Golden Boot award scoring 29 premiership goals. Described as a “weapon,” not a soccer player.

The  USA v Turkey World Cup warm up game (in Philadelphia) on 29th May saw an excellent performance by the USA, coming from behind to win 2-1 through determination, graft, and good team work. There was incredible support from the 56,000 + spectators attending the game. Landon Donovan was outstanding in his unselfish assist lead to goal for Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey. The USA squad man to watch is Jose Torres. Kids, please note: Torres is 5 feet 5.5 inches in height so it’s not always about “big is best“. It’s about having a soccer brain, speed, and a low center of gravity against the big guys. These are assets. Good job, USA!  Just a couple of observations: both Donovan and  Dempsey are effective mid-field. Forwards, this can leave gaps in mid-field if these players are over keen to get into the goal-scoring action. This led to Turkey’s goal–a break from a defensive situation leaving mid-field gaps. The USA will need to watch this. Apart from that they were brilliant.

Teams and coaches at Optimists’ End of Season Party. Submitted

Local Stuff

We have a quiet period now until the start of Marco Soccer Summer Camps. The Optimist Soccer Club held their end-of-season party with lots of food and a film show, and awards at Mackle Park.

Stop Press

City of Marco Island Parks and Recreational Department – Marco City Soccer Academy. For more information, call Mindy at 642-0575 or Coach Patterson at 642-3686

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Marissa, Em, Kelsey, Ellie, Riley, Shack, Andy.

The 2010 World Cup is being held in South Africa starting June 11th and World Cup fever is already spreading across the globe and, yes, the US is very much a part of it! “Does the US stand a chance?” is a regular question I am asked. Yes! Very much so, and what’s fascinating is that in the same group (Group C) in which they are drawn, are Slovenia, Algeria, and England. I predict that the US will move onto the next round. And I predict theirs will be the largest US viewing audience ever for a sports competition.

First, let’s not underestimate their achievement so far. 205 countries have taken part in the earlier stage of the competition; 172 teams eliminated; leaving 32 countries left in groups A to H. Truly a Global tournament.

A brief World Cup history

The Federation Interenationale  de Football Association (FIFA) was formed by seven  European soccer associations in1904.The first World Cup was held in 1930. There have been 19 World Cup tournaments since, including the present one 2010.

However, World Cup Soccer History really owes its beginnings to Jules Rimet who became president of World Football Association in 1921. Rimet, along with other officials, organized the first World Cup tournament in 1930, teams from Europe, South America and North America competed, which including Mexico and the USA.

There have been plenty of drama and upsets over the seventy years which have shocked many fans and this is where I eat humble pie: In June 1950 England, who at the time considered themselves Kings of Football, met the USA in a qualifying game. The odds were 3:1 for England to win the Cup, and the USA 500: 1. The USA won 1- zip and England failed to qualify! So expect more upsets and surprises in this years tournament.

The positive message invoked by Jules Rimet is summarized by his famous words as he pushed to organize this international event that would make no discrimination on the grounds of professional or amateur status:

“Soccer could reinforce the ideals of a permanent and real peace.”

Jo, Santi, Kyahan, Kyle, Sean.

The local soccer scene

The Optimist soccer season is coming to an end. What great fun we have all had, over 200 kids in 29 teams ranging from kindergarten to 8th. Grade. It’s amazing to see the difference, after regular weekly coaching on skills and team awareness, ball control, seeing the game as a big picture, letting the ball do the work, communication, and to see the kids play as a team. My present coaching sessions start at 6:30 in the evening and finish when it goes dark. That means non-stop activity for one and half hours. Even then the kids want to keep going. Their fitness level, without exception, has improved. They all look and act healthier and are all big buddies.

Our Optimist teams have given 100% and have shown respect for both their fellow team players and their coaches. It’s been so encouraging to see parents on training evenings and game days full of praise for the effort everyone has put into the sport, and some have been surprised at the advances made by their sons and daughters. It’s all been good healthy competition and a lot of fun. So well done guys!

I have to mention that we have a donator who has contributed some $5,000 to Optimist Soccer over the last two seasons who wishes to remain anonymous. Thank you everyone for your support, donations and company sponsorships. Its good for the kids, it’s good for the parents, and it’s very good for Marco Island.

Stop Press –

Don’t miss the Optimist Soccer Final end of season Film Show and Party at Mackle Park on Saturday, June 5. All soccer players, families and fans are welcome. Starting Time 5:30 PM. All World Cup games can be watched throughout the tournament at Vandy’s.

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The following is a brief history of how I was involved in bringing soccer to Marco Island and how the sport has grown here.

Submitted

After thinking of retirement from UK professional and recreational soccer in the late 90’s, my initial coaching was with the Optimist Club of Naples, where I developed good contacts with all nationalities and enjoyed a competitive game on a Wednesday evening at Veterans Park, Naples. A Naples team was formed which was great fun. The Optimist Club of Naples was keen to extend their program to Marco Island, but interest on Marco had not taken off with the kids nor, more importantly, with the parents. After gaining a Florida State Coaching License, I decided to help where I could on Marco Island and joined Steve Foster, then coach for Marco Island Charter Middle School. It was a great partnership with both coaches having a great passion for the game.

A meeting with the Parks and Recreation Boards in 2000 was held to bring to the attention of the board the rapidly increasing interest in the sport throughout America, and the need to recognize this growing sport on Marco Island. Although, Parks and Recreation were very interested, the general opinion was that soccer would never be a major sport in America.  Later in 2000, an upgrade of the Mackle Park soccer field and the resizing to FIFA regulations was recommended and was approved by City Manager, Bill Moss, and Director of Parks and Recreation, Dana Souza.

Early in 2001 the Charter Boys won their first Soccer Trophy. Considering the school had limited players we were fortunate at the time to field a full team plus 2 or 3 subs. We were very proud of the team as they beat Naples teams, where the game of soccer was more accepted and a growing schools sport. Unfortunately Steve received a very bad injury playing on a poorly maintained field and was forced to retire from both soccer coaching and refereeing. Steve was a registered soccer referee and had a depth of knowledge of the game.

Soccer was now starting to rapidly develop on the Island through the Charter School. This awareness was recognized by the Parks and Recreation Department and, thanks to Dana Souza, the playing surface was again improved by re-turfing and an improved sprinkler system. The Marco community now recognized the need to develop soccer, not only through the players but also their parents.

I introduced programs in 2003 and 2004 Soccer Summer Camps which were a great success, but for reasons not known did not continue. This did not affect the progress of the sport and I continued to work with the Charter School, encouraging the introduction of assistant coach to help with the coaching. Charter School teacher Jackie Sauter joined the squad in 2003 and was a joy to work with. Jackie is a skilled soccer player and provided the high quality of coaching support needed. It also helped to have a school in-house soccer coordinator. Jackie took over the coaching position after two years and I helped out as needed. The interest in soccer was really taking off at the Charter School and we found that pre-season tryouts and cuts were needed.

Parents’ interest was increasing, and at the end of the 2003 season, we introduced a Team versus Parents game, which initially was suggested as a joke. The game day arrived and we had a full team of enthusiastic parents wanting to show the kids that they also could play soccer. To this day, the Team v. Parent is an end-of-season fun game.

Who said soccer would not take off!

Working closely with Parks and Recreation (again, Dana Souza), it was decided that the City would work with the idea of a Beach Soccer Camp. This was encouraged by Tony Smith, another passionate soccer coach. Tony is now a Florida State Coach and also coaches at both the Charter School and helps coach at Lely High School. The past two years were a complete success and Tony has a full summer program again for 2010, supported by the City, and included in the Parks and Recreation Summer Program.

Next came further interest and contribution from both parents and local businesses. The Optimist Club of Marco Island which was formed in 2009, included soccer as a main sport, thanks to the likes of Kim and Tim Burke, Joe Bartos, Tom Garousi, and others.

Joe Bartos has also established the Marco Island 3v3 Soccer Club and is having great success both in local tournaments and traveling.

The City was also keeping up with the growth of sporting activities and the need for improved facilities, with the upgrading of Winterberry and Mackle Park. In addition, flood lights were installed at both venues making the facilities perhaps some of the best in SW Florida. Both venues can now accommodate multi-purpose sports, and the demand is still growing.

Discussion with Parks and Recreation Director Brian Milk in May 2009, was to develop competitive traveling boys’ and girls’ teams to represent the City of Marco Island. Selection would be based on tryouts. Only the players with the best skills and a competitive spirit would be selected. Private sponsorship and support from the city would be required. A further meeting was held recently with Brian Milk of Parks and Recreation, to progress the idea and to highlight again the on-going interest in soccer. Mr. Milk discussed possible future plans for Mackle Park and for other venues. These are very exciting projects. Parks and Recreation realize the growing need for extra and improved sports facilities.

It was also interesting to meet and discuss the sports interest on Marco Island with Frank R Recker, Council Chairman. Frank is fully behind the growth of sports and the need to have the best accommodation for Marco Island children and youth. Thanks to Frank the floodlight project was approved, which allows daytime and evening activities, thereby making the best use of the City sports facilities. Parents’ interest in supporting soccer is now really growing as they see it as a very active, inexpensive, and healthy sport for their children.  Mike Vanderjagt ex-kicker for the Colts is now coaching soccer and is very active in both 3v3 and Optimist. All we have to do is teach Mike how to kick! (That’s a joke, Mike, honestly).

John Patterson

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen found that kicking a ball with friends not only leads to better overall fitness levels than running, but also to a higher degree of motivation to keep exercising, and an increased ability to keep and create new friendships. It also improved endurance and sprinting ability, and increased the participants’ oxygen consumption—an indication of physical fitness and muscle mass.

Crucially, the study concluded that those who played soccer continued their training as a group compared to other individual sports.

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