The Aztexan

I'm sorry everybody. It's my fault. I completely forgot about today's game, so I wasn't there for Stoke when they needed it. I'll try not to let it happen again.

Neither of the other two games (Barnsley 0-0 QPR & Burnley 2-0 Coventry) affected the top of the table, so Stoke City remain in the #1 spot. But they sure would have looked better there with 65 points, instead of 62. The other teams nipping at the Potters' heels play Saturday, and Stoke play again on Sunday. They play QPR (that's Queens Park Rangers, not the home shopping network), who are currently in 15th place.

I promise I'll remember this time. ;-)

Labels: Stoke City

The Austin Aztex have named their U-23 Head and Assistant Coaches: Wolfgang Suhnholz and Bobby Murphy, respectively.

According to his Lonestar Soccer Club bio, Sunholz has quite an impressive professional history:

He played professional soccer for 18 years in Europe and the US. During his three years with powerhouse Bayern Munich the club won two National championships. He came to the US as a player and assistant Coach in the NASL. He was named the 1976 Soccer Bowl MVP after capturing the title with [Toronto's] Metro Croatia. The following season he earned All-NASL First Team honors, joining legends Pelé, George Best, and Franz Beckenbauer.

As a coach he was instrumental in founding The Capital Soccer Club in 1985. In 1988 he led the Capitals U-19 team to Third in the Nation and was named USYSA South Texas Coach of the Year.

Wolfgang has been a National Team Coach for the US Soccer Federation from 1996 -2001; 1996 – 1999 as an Assistant Coach for the U-16 & U-20 Nationals Teams; Head Coach for the US U-20 Men National Team from 1999 to 2001. While coaching for the US Soccer he went to 2 World Cups and led his U-20 Teams to the World Cup in 2001 in Argentina.

The Lonstar bio for Stunholz's assistant, Bobby Murphy, lists him as Director of the St. Stephen's Soccer Academy, one of only four residential soccer academies in the country.

In addition to the U-23 coaches, the Aztex also announced that Ron Dennie from the Austin United Capital Soccer Club will be the "Player Liaison Manager" for both the USL-1 and U-23 teams.

Sunholz photo from an old Austin Chronicle story on area youth sports.

Labels: coaches, U-23

Stoke City win again! Their fifth win in a row keeps them in the #1 spot in the Championship, very slightly extending their lead above the rest of the pack. Bristol City slip into 2nd, past Watford, who fall to #3. West Brom still have a game in hand, but are now 7 points back from Stoke.

P	Team	Pts	Move
1	Stoke City	62	—
2	Bristol City	61
3	Watford	60
4	West Bromwich Albion	55	—
5	Plymouth Argyle	52
6	Charlton Athletic	52
7	Ipswich Town	51

(Full table)

Congratulations and way to go, Potters! Keep it up for another dozen games, and we'll see you in the Premiership next season! You can start by pounding relegation-bound Preston North End next Tuesday, 2/26.

Labels: Stoke City

As rumored yesterday morning on the Aztex BigSoccer forum, Adrian Heath has been named Head Coach for the Austin Aztex.

Heath said, "I am overjoyed at the opportunity to Coach the Austin Aztex. I have had several offers recently to Coach in the English League but the chance to build something from scratch with Phil was just too tempting to turndown. I have followed US Soccer closely over the past few years and believe the game here is about to take-off and I want to be a part of that."

Heath is a manager and former player, having managed Championship sides Burnley, Sheffield United and Coventry City. As a player, most of his most notable achievements were during his time at Everton during the 80s, when they: won 2 League Championships, won the F.A. Cup and won the European Cup Winners Cup. Heath was top scorer for Everton in his first full season, and he scored double digits per year the rest of his time there.

The Aztex site also has an interview with Heath.

Q: What are you most looking forward to about coming to Austin?

Heath: I think it is just the newness and the freshness of it all. I’ve 25-30 years involved in professional football in Europe. In the previous four or five years we have been coming to America to play the game. We played BYU last year and the year before down in Salt Lake. So, I've come here and seen the newness of it all and the enthusiasm that’s coming with the game in America is something that really appeals to me.

I also came across this interesting bit by Greg Lalas on Goal.com from December of last year (emphasis added):

A few days ago, I found myself having lunch with a couple of interesting English cats: Mike Morris, an uber-agent who represents Alex Ferguson, among others, and Adrian “Inchy” Heath, a scout for Newcastle and former player best known for his years at Everton. They were in New York on business. Our conversation, of course, revolved around soccer, specifically, American soccer and whether the game will ever “succeed” here.

Morris grants that he knows nothing about American soccer, but that didn’t stop him from making bombastic pronouncements about American soccer’s lack of success and development. “I just don’t see any signs of progress in the last 30 years,” he said, sipping red wine.

I, of course, had my defense prepared, ready to bring up all the usual arguments about MLS’s growth, the USA’s international achievements, the millions and millions of kids who play the game, etc. But before I could launch into it all, Inchy put down his pint and piped up. “Thirty years ago, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” he said. “Now the American under-17s are beating Brazil.”

I was taken aback. It was amazing to hear a Brit, who nurtured on the hardscrabble pitches of Stoke City and who now made his living in the Eurocentric milieu of world football, come to the defense of American soccer. Hell, Inchy even knew the result of a youth international friendly played in Florida a month ago.

I'm sure there will be concern about this appointment from some quarters. Some may worry that Heath is being brought in from a foreign league, with little to no knowledge of the history here, or the dynamics of the PDL and the USL, or the cultural links to the hispanic side of U.S. football (er, "soccer"). And people who are afraid that the Aztex will be little more than a farm team for Stoke City may certainly raise their eyebrows. But I think it's great. I mean, we'll see how he actually does, of course, but I'm more than willing to give a guy with experience as both a player and a manager in the highest levels of world soccer the benefit of the doubt.

Welcome to Austin, Inchy!

Labels: coaches

Coming to San Antonio, TX (actually 20 miles northeast in Cibolo), March 3rd - 9th, the first annual Texas Pro Soccer Festival.

The first Texas Pro Soccer Festival presented by Touch-Tel will feature four Major League Soccer teams, including the two-time MLS champion Houston Dynamo, during an electrifying week of double-header exhibition games, events and daily practices, officials announced. Besides the Dynamo, other MLS teams coming to the greater San Antonio area for the first time ever include D.C. United, Toronto FC and Chivas USA. The festival’s games will be held March 5 through 9 at Steele High School in Cibolo, while daily practices opened to area soccer fans are scheduled for the Soccer International facility (formerly Pepsi Soccer, Texas) in Schertz.

Wednesday, March 5
+ D.C. United vs. Chivas USA - 6 p.m.
+ Houston Dynamo vs. Toronto FC – 8:30 p.m.

Friday, March 7
+ Toronto FC vs. D.C. United – 6 p.m.
+ Chivas USA vs. Houston Dynamo – 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 9
+ Houston Dynamo vs. D.C. United – 12:30 p.m.
+ Chivas USA vs. Toronto FC – 2:30 p.m.

Looks like a good time, despite the glaring absence of FC Dallas. I wonder if the Aztex USL-1 team could get in on the second annual Texas Pro Soccer Festival?

Labels: MLS

After leaping to the #1 spot late last week, Stoke have weathered their rivals' results over the weekend, and remain in the top spot. Fellow challengers Watford, Bristol City and Charlton all settled for draws, keeping them from overtaking the Potters. It's still close, to be sure, and West Brom have a game in hand, but for now, here's the table. EPL here we come!

P	Team	Pts	Move
1	Stoke City	59
2	Watford	59
3	Bristol City	58
4	West Bromwich Albion	55	—
5	Charlton Athletic	52	—
6	Ipswich Town	51	—
7	Burnley	47	—

(Full table)

Next match: Saturday, 2/23 at home vs. #6 Ipswich Town.

Labels: Stoke City

Coming back from being down 2-0 at halftime, Stoke City beat last place Scunthorpe United 3-2. Since no other Championship teams played today, that puts Stoke City -- for now at least -- at #1!

Of the other teams duking it out at the top of the table, Watford & Ipswich Town play tomorrow (not against each other), Bristol City play Monday 2/18. West Brom doesn't play a league game again until next Saturday, 2/23, as they're playing in the FA Cup Fifth Round Proper.

Labels: Stoke City

Stoke City take on last-place Scunthorpe today at 1:45 PM (CT). From the comment thread on a previous post, here's a pretty funny bit where Scunthorpe's quality comes up during an interview Ali G. had with David and Victoria Beckham for Comic Relief in 2001.

For the bit transcribed here, you can fast-forward to about the 3:15 mark in this YouTube clip (the whole thing is pretty funny, though probably not kid- or work-safe, depending on how well your kids or coworkers understand British accents. ;-)

Ali: Now Beckham, do you reckon the better the footballer you is, the fitter the girl you go out with?

Beckham: Obviously.

Ali: So, you is the best at football, ya know. So you gets Posh. So does Sporty Spice go out with someone from Scunthorpe United?

Victoria: [laughing] That's horrible!

Ali: What do you mean?

Victorai: That's my friend, and she's lovely.

Ali: Exactly! Why? Is you tryin' to say Scunthorpe is not a good team?

Victoria: [laughing] Yes!

Ali: 'Cause that is a horrible thing to say about them.

Labels: Stoke City

From the Houston Dynamo fan blog Nutmegged, we have a nice introduction to another brand-new Texas soccer team, and what may well be the Aztex U23 team's main rival in the PDL: Holy Leones! USL PDL roaring into town.

So who, are the Leones? According to the team's Wikipedia page, the team was formed last year by local real estate and construction bigwig Juan Carlos Hernandez, whose son Juan Carlos Jr., was a goalkeeper in the Cruz Azul youth development teams. The USL's page on the team has some wonderful up by the bootstraps background info on Hernandez, which is all very nice.

Labels: rivals, U-23

Stoke City beat Southampton 3-2 today, a result that pushes them up to the #3 spot in the Championship! And, they're only 2 points back from the Watford, the team currently in the #1 spot. West Brom tumbles from #2 to #4, as Bristol City also moves up with Stoke. Of course it's all pretty tight up there, with just one point separating each team's place.

P	Team	Pts	Move
1	Watford	58	—
2	Bristol City	57
3	Stoke City	56
4	West Bromwich Albion	55
5	Charlton Athletic	51	—
6	Ipswich Town	48	—
7	Burnley	47

(Full table)

The Potters play again on Friday, 2/15, when they'll continue their winning streak against Scunthorpe, currently in last place in the Championship. Go Potters!

Labels: Stoke City

Yet again this week, Stoke City won their match but failed to move up the table. Beating Wolverhampton 4-2, they now have 53 points, and stay in 4th place. The only movement in the top of the table this week, in fact, was Watford and West Brom trading places at #1 and #2.

P	Team	Pts	Move
1	Watford	55
2	West Bromwich Albion	54
3	Bristol City	54	—
4	Stoke City	53	—
5	Charlton Athletic	50	—
6	Ipswich Town	45	—
7	Crystal Palace	45	—

(Full table)

Stoke's next games are vs. #18 Southampton on Tuesday, 2/12, and vs. #23 Scunthorpe on Friday, 2/15.

Labels: Stoke City

They're keeping busy over in the Aztex front office. Yesterday a fan club email list, today, a Founders Club. If you're one of the first 100, $250 gets you:

• Two season passes for all 8 home games of the U23 Team in 2008


• Two Aztex polo shirts


• An invitation to the end-of-season Player Awards Banquet


• An invitation to two Head Coach’s Briefing events during the season


• 30 Day advance notice of 2009 season tickets for the Professional and U23 teams


• Your name listed on the Founders Club Page in the Match Day Program

Labels: supporters

Seen on the Aztexan site today, the team has established a fan club. It sounds like, from the signup form, it's mainly a mailing list, "for special updates and offers."

According to the team site, the first chap to notice the signup ad was "13 year old Alistair Donaldson of Loggerheads, Shropshire in the United Kingdom." Unfortunately, I don't see a way to link to the main story with the lad's picture. You'll have to just go to the team home page, I suppose (note to Aztex webmaster: provide permalinks to your stories! ;-).

Labels: supporters

After my recent post on possible stadiums (and the discussion in the comments), I've learned that grass is on its way out in Austin ISD's stadiums. Two of the three I mapped, Nelson Field and Burger Stadium, have already been converted to artificial turf, and House Park is scheduled to be switched over, though I'm not sure when.

In addition to a project page Google found on the website of "Sports Engineering Technologies, Inc.", an artificial turf company site, there are also mentions of the de-grassification as part of AISD's 2004 Bond project. There are separate pages for Burger, Nelson Field and House Park, but they all share the same bullet point: "Replace natural turf with a synthetic playing surface".

As commenter ERic pointed out, it boils down to AISD -- certainly not the most well-off school district in Austin -- having to support more schools and more teams with the same number of stadiums.

So of these possibilities I'm tracking here, it looks like that leaves UT's Myers Stadium and Veterans Stadium in Del Valle as the only grass options.

Labels: stadium

To follow up on last week's post about a get-together Wednesday night -- to watch the U.S. vs. Mexico game and start talking about an Aztex supporters group -- the location has been finalized: Mother Egan's Irish Pub, 715 W. 6th St. (Google map).

The game starts at 8:00, but it sounds like some may come a little earlier, for dinner. That's what I'm doing. See you there!

Labels: supporters

The Aztex's English Championship League partner team Stoke City had good news today in their quest for promotion to the Premiership. They beat 7th place Cardiff City, 2-1, giving them 50 points on the season.

Other results relevant to Stoke's promotion chances:

• West Brom (#1) 2-1 Burnley (#8)


• Queens Park Rangers (#19) 3-0 Bristol City (#2)


• Watford (#3) 3-0 Wolverhampton (#9)


• Scunthorpe (#23) 1-0 Charlton (#5)

So although Watford & Bristol City trade places, Stoke City stay exactly where they are at #4. It's close, though: just three points back from the top of the table:

P	Team	Pts	Move
1	West Bromwich Albion	54	—
2	Watford	52
3	Bristol City	51
4	Stoke City	50	—
5	Charlton Athletic	47	—
6	Ipswich Town	45
7	Crystal Palace	45

(Full table)

Labels: Stoke City

Last week's Austin American-Statesman article covering the Aztex announcement had an interesting comment from the owner about possible stadiums where the team might play:

Rawlins said he's talking with five organizations about renting a stadium for games, but that the long-range plan is to build a facility, as other teams in the league have done.

The team's own stadium, built just for them, will be a dream come true. But that's a long way off, of course. So, where will the Aztex -- the U-23s this year, and both teams next year -- play? There's been a good bit of discussion of this most important of decisions on the BigSoccer forums. I skimmed through those posts again, and came up with the following list of possible Austin-area stadiums the Aztex could play in:

• House Park, Austin ISD


• Myers Stadium, UT


• RRISD Athletic Complex, Round Rock ISD


• Burger Stadium, Austin ISD


• Chaparral Stadium, Eanes ISD


• Connally Stadium, Pflugerville ISD


• Nelson Field, Austin ISD


• Veterans Stadium, Del Valle ISD


• Hawk Stadium, Pflugerville ISD

Then I found and marked them all on a Google Map (if you click that View Larger Map link, you'll see the legend for which tag goes with which stadium; you can also click each tag to see it).


View Larger Map

I figure this is a work in progress, and I don't claim it's complete, or even completely accurate. One handy page pointed out in comments is this list of all the area stadiums on the TexasBob site. Feel free to comment or email me with further information, corrections, etc.

For my part, and with the benefit of more or less complete ignorance, I'm hoping for House Park. I gather that it's narrower than it should be for soccer, and that parking can be a problem. But there's something about it that just seems like it has good character, somehow. Oh, and it's less than a mile from my office. ;-)

Update 1: replaced link to Statesman page with TexasBob; added Hawk Stadium (Pflugerville) to map; added links to TexasBob for all high school stadiums

Labels: stadium

Some of the Austin-area folks on the BigSoccer forum are planning to meet next Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 8:00 PM (CT), to watch the U.S. Men's National Team take on Mexico. Another purpose is to discuss plans for an Aztex Supporters Group.

The exact location is yet to be determined; current candidates are Mother Egan's or Fadó. I'll update or post again when that decision is finalized.

Mark your calendars, and I hope to see you there!

Labels: supporters