The Aztexan

Though the 2009 regular season is finished for them, the Aztex are still going strong. A number of players and other individuals were honored at a recent post-season awards banquet, and the team is still looking forward to a few bigger-than-usual exhibition games.

First, the awards:

• Yordany Alvarez — Fans' Player of Year


• Miguel Gallardo — Chantico's Army's Player of Year (more info)


• Eddie Johnson — Players' Player of Year


• Michael Callahan — Clubman of Year


• Ignacio "Nacho" Araujo (Univision Radio) — President's Award

Additionally, Eddie Johnson was just named to the All-League Second Team. (Presumably the First Team won't be selected until after the league final.)

There's a distinct international flavor to the slate of post-season exhibitions the Aztex booked this year. They've already played the first, a 2-0 loss to the Victoria Highlanders in British Columbia the week before last. So much for the Canadians.

Next up, our neighbors across the other border. The Aztex will host CF Monterrey, their partners from Mexico's Primera División, next week. Aztex president Rawlins:

“We’re delighted to bring in Rayados for the exhibition match on October 7. It will be a great challenge for our players to compete against one of the top Mexican teams. It’s also an opportunity for our fans to come out and enjoy top-level professional soccer in Austin one more time this year at a state-of-the-art facility that will provide fans with a great soccer viewing experience.”

Rayados ("the striped ones"), as Monterrey is popularly known, are indeed one of the top Mexican teams this year. They are 2nd overall in the current Apertura, with 23 points from 10 games (7-2-1).

The match will be held at the Round Rock ISD Athletic Complex (aka The Palace) at 10211 Parmer Lane (map). Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for kids, and are available online as well as from the Aztex office, both Soccer USA locations and all 3 La Moreliana markets.

Then, having pretty much played out this continent, the Austin squad will head overseas, to England. There they'll play exhibitions against 2 Premier League teams: sister club Stoke City FC (naturally)and newly-promoted Burnley FC as well.

The first match, against Stoke, will be on Wed., Oct. 14 at Nantwich Town’s Weaver Stadium. I don't know why they're not playing at Stoke's fabled Britannia Stadium. Though while nobody here has ever heard of Nantwich Town, at least it won't be frickin' astroturf covered with frickin' bright white throwball lines.

After almost a week of training at Stoke City's facilities and driving on the wrong side of the road, they'll face Burnley FC on Tues., Oct. 20. That match will take place at Burnley's home ground of Turf Moor, where they've played since 1883. (Eights, people; those are eights. Not nines. 1883. As in, shortly after electric lights started to catch on. As in, 30 - 40 years before Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, etc.) [Schedule change; see update below.]

Coach Heath on the trip:

“For our players it’s a fantastic opportunity to pit themselves against players who play in the Premier League week in, week out,” said Heath. “The thing I’m looking forward to is for them to see the intensity that the game is played over there and to give them an understanding about some of the things I’ve been talking about this year, they’ll see it first hand.”

Rawlins also called the trip something that the players will remember for the rest of their lives. He didn't say, but I expect a lot of people are thinking, that if any of them are able to impress someone in England, that it might be even more than that.

Rumors that the Aztex will continue playing exhibitions indefinitely after they leave England, traveling to Timbuktu, Siberia and Jupiter's moon Ganymede, have not been confirmed at this time.

Update, 10/2: the England schedule has changed. The game against Burnley has been cancelled (no reason given), and 2 more matches against lower-level clubs have been added. The first will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 15, the day after the Stoke match, against League Two side Accrington Stanley at that club's Crown Ground. All proceeds from that match will go to help keep that struggling club afloat, via the Save Our Stanley (S.O.S.) campaign. The following Tuesday, Oct. 20, Austin will take on Championship side Sheffield Wednesday at that club's training grounds. Wednesday are currently in the middle of the table, with 13 points from 10 games (3-4-3).

Labels: exhibition, internacional, Rayados, Stoke City, USL-1

Regular season USL-1 play has now concluded for 2009. The playoffs start tomorrow (Thursday). Sure it would have been nice to see Austin there; but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. We might as well get a head start on looking back.

Both of the league's expansion teams, the Austin Aztex and the Cleveland City Stars, fared poorly in their inaugural seasons, winding up at the bottom of the final standings:

P	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Portland Timbers	30	16	10	4	45	19	+26	58
2	Carolina RailHawks FC	30	16	7	7	43	19	+24	55
3	Puerto Rico Islanders	30	15	8	7	44	31	+13	53
4	Charleston Battery	30	14	11	5	33	21	+12	53
5	Montreal Impact	30	12	7	11	32	31	+1	43
6	Rochester Rhinos	30	11	10	9	34	32	+2	43
7	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	30	11	9	10	42	36	+6	42
8	Minnesota Thunder	30	7	10	13	39	44	-5	31
9	Miami FC	30	8	5	17	26	52	-26	29
10	Austin Aztex FC	30	5	8	17	28	51	-23	21*
11	Cleveland City Stars	30	4	19	7	22	52	-30	19

As you can see, the Aztex escaped the very last spot, if barely. That 2-point deduction they earned from the league in July (for playing Callahan despite his 5 yellows) didn't wind up making any real difference.

I noted a couple of weeks ago that Austin and Cleveland were both in danger of posting one of the worst seasons in modern USL-1 history. Both squads escaped that fate by picking up 3 points since then (amazingly enough, both wins at the expense of the regular-season champion Portland Timbers).

These standings don't tell the whole story of the Aztex's 2009 season, however. Note that their goal differential is better than Miami FC's, despite the Aztex being 8 points lower in the standings. A few of Austin's losses were big ones, with a margin of 3 or 4, but most were much closer: 8 losses by one goal, and 5 losses by two.

And how about all those hits to the roster, due to injuries, travel issues, etc.? It seemed like the group of guys taking the field in red & white was never the same from week to week. Some key player or other was always missing, and some new loaner player was trying to fill the gap.

For example, take a look at the number of games & minutes played for these selected players, some of the team's key difference-makers.

Player	Games   (30 max)	Minutes (2,700 max)
Yordany Alvarez	14	1,229
Eddie Johnson	22	1,873
Sullivan Silva	24	1,654
Gifton Noel-Williams	16	1,024
Miguel Gallardo	14	1,215

Three of them were only able to play in half the games, and though the other 2 had more appearances, their minutes were still less than 70% of the maximum possible. It's a crude measure, and of course the team is more than these five guys, but this clearly shows a squad that was not at full strength.

That's a glimpse at the on-field performance; how about a peak at other measures? One significant feather in the organization's cap is the Community Relations award they were awarded by the Austin Chamber of Commerce.

The Aztex received the award based on its numerous contributions to the community this past year including the AISD Fitness Program where Aztex players worked to improve the cardiovascular fitness of 6th grade students at each of AISD's 18 middle schools. Results from the program alone were impressive as AISD reported an 11 percent increase in fitness across the schools compared with only two percent last year.

In addition to working with organizations like Any Baby Can, Austin CAN! Academy, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and Lift Up America, the Aztex raised more than $10,000 in donations throughout the year.

Another landmark this year was the first annual Copa Aztex, which showcased top-level Mexican soccer in Austin and helped promote the team and the local game to Mexican fans. (Don't forget a similar opportunity is coming up on Oct. 7, when the Aztex will host Monterrey's Rayados at the Round Rock ISD stadium in North Austin.) There was some dispute with the Copa Aztex attendance numbers reported by the University of Texas. Officially announced at just over 7,000, many felt that the crowd numbered closer to 10,000.

Speaking of attendance, here's how the numbers looked for the regular season games. We didn't see the 10K-plus that established — and MLS-bound — teams like Portland and Montreal had, but getting an average just shy of 3,000 seems like a pretty solid start to me. (kenn.com has 2009 attendance numbers for the whole league).

04/18/09	Minnesota Thunder	4,891
04/21/09	Vancouver Whitecaps	1,549
04/25/09	Cleveland City Stars	3,248
05/08/09	Puerto Rico Islanders	5,216
05/24/09	Carolina Railhawks	2,388
05/29/09	Puerto Rico Islanders	2,019
06/05/09	Charleston Battery	2,246
06/07/09	Charleston Battery	2,891
06/19/09	Carolina Railhawks	2,629
06/21/09	Rochester Rhinos	3,114
07/11/09	Portland Timbers	3,114
07/25/09	Montreal Impact	2,786
08/16/09	Minnesota Thunder	3,470
08/29/09	Miami FC Blues	2,611
09/07/09	Portland Timbers	2,439
average:		2,974

Labels: community, players, USL-1

The Aztex finish their trip to the northwest still winless against all Canadian opponents. The Victoria Highlanders PDL side is either tougher than one would expect, or the Aztex were showing the effects of 4 games in 8 days and a less-than-stellar conclusion to the 2009 season. Both Highlander goals were off penalties.

Here's a rundown of post-match coverage:

• match timeline — Chantico's Army


• Highlanders ground Aztex — Victoria Times Colonist
  

  “We just got off playing six games in 12 days, from Miami to Vancouver, and we were tired tonight,” said Aztex owner Phil Rawlins, also an owner and director of Stoke City of the English Premiership.
  
  “But Victoria thoroughly deserved the victory. The set-up and crowd here is excellent. I don’t see any reason why Victoria shouldn’t step up to the USL pro division, if it wanted to.”

  ["Nudge nudge, wink wink," he kept himself from adding. - ed.]


• Aztex give up two penalties, lose 2-0 to Victoria — AustinAztex.com
  

  Both offenses started slowly and didn’t manage any real scoring opportunities in the first 20 minutes. In the 21st minute, Austin’s Lyle Adams tripped up Victoria’s Matt Pele. On the ensuing penalty, Pele sent his shot past Aztex goalkeeper Nick Noble for the 1-0 lead. The Aztex countered minutes later with an opportunity on the Highlanders half of the field, but after a scramble in the goal box, the Aztex couldn’t find the back of the net and the ball was cleared away.

The Aztex have a 3 week break before their next post-season exhibition game. They'll host the Rayados of Monterrey here in Austin on Oct. 7. Tickets are on sale now: $25 for adults, $15 for children.

Labels: exhibition, internacional, postgame, USL-1

And so it ends.

Still feeling the energy from their 2-1 win over the Portland Timbers, our Aztex made a valiant effort in their final match of the 2009 campaign. But it was not to be. Their last game was reminiscent of many this year, as they surrendered their lead late in the game.

The loss means the club has yet to net a single point north of the border.

But despite the loss, the Red & White ended the season on a strong, positive note. The result may have been disappointingly familiar, but the game they took to the Whitecaps was a solid one. I'm sure Vancouver didn't mind having a man advantage for those last 15 minutes.

Here's a rundown of other post-match coverage:

• box score — USLSoccer.com
  

  Weather: Sunny; Attendance: 5288

• Aztex finish first season with loss to Vancouver — Austin American-Statesman
  

  Austin's goal, a strike by Jarius Holmes in the 51st minute, broke a scoreless tie, but was one of only five Aztex shots on goal in the match.
  
  Vancouver had 23 shots, but Aztex goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo-Aparicio kept the Whitecaps at bay until Haber's equalizer.

• Aztex fall in Vancouver 2-1 to conclude USL-1 season — AustinAztex.com
  

  The game dynamics changed when Noel-Williams received a straight red card for a challenge that took down Whitecaps midfielder Kenold Versailles.
  
  With the man advantage, Vancouver capitalized in the 80th minute following a poor clearance by the Aztex on a Whitecaps corner. Vancouver’s Gordon Chin volleyed the ball toward the far post, where Marcus Haber redirected his header over Gallardo to even up the match.
  
  Six minutes later Vancouver took its first lead of the game when Chin received a pass from Lyle Martin heading into the Aztex box. Clear of Aztex defenders Chin sent a blast that struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced into the net for a 2-1 Whitecaps lead.

• Video Highlights (5:29) — VancouverWhitecapsFC on YouTube
  
  

Before returning home, the Aztex are spending a couple of days in the area. As part of a partnership with the club, they'll play an exhibition match against the PDL's Victoria Highlanders on Tuesday night in the nearby capital on Vancouver Island.

Earlier this summer Highlander’s General Manager Drew Finerty and Aztex owner Phil Rawlins agreed to an affiliation partnership to foster development of young soccer players through their respective PDL and USL1 clubs. The focus of the agreement is to create opportunities for developing players through the Highlander’s system and provide the Aztex “first rights” to young footballers with a chance to play at the higher USL level.

And there's more partner exhibition action coming up soon here in Austin, as well. Tickets are on sale now for the Oct. 7 match against Mexico's CF Monterrey at the RRISD Athletics Complex.

Labels: internacional, postgame, U-23, USL-1

Hot on the heels of their 2-1 upset of the Portland Timbers, the Aztex head north of the border for their final game of the 2009 season. They'll face the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday evening, Sept. 13, at 6:00 CT. Watch the game free on USLLive.com.

The Whitecaps are currently in the 7th and last playoff slot, though they haven't punched their ticket yet. They have 2 games remaining: the Aztex on Sunday and the Cleveland City Stars next Friday.

Vancouver is 1-1-1 in their last three, which includes their 3-2 win over Austin just a week and a half ago. Most recently, they're coming off a 1-0 loss to the Montreal Impact, in Montreal (match report / box score).

The Aztex have not yet won (or even tied) on Canadian soil. But Miguel Gallardo looked as good as ever in goal against Portland, and the Austin offense is starting to spark. Coming into this game fresh from their giant-killing win and with nothing to lose, they may well check that "first" off their list this weekend.

Get 'em Aztex!

Labels: gameday, USL-1

Holy cow! We won!

I mean, er, of course we won, I never had the slightest doubt, it was in the bag, like falling off a log, a walk in the park. (A walk in the park that you're used to getting mugged in, that is.)

Wow, what a difference a win makes. Fifteen minutes in to the second half, I was on the verge of posting on the Aztex BigSoccer "what players should we keep for next year?" thread with something like, "none of them!" But they withstood the Timbers' onslaught, and they kept pecking away, and the next thing I knew, Ryan McMahen put a long-range rocket into the net, and we were level. More withstanding, more pecking, and then suddenly Lyle Adams sneaks in a diving header, and the Aztex take the lead! The lead! What a concept!

That was exciting, but then it was time to endure the final minutes, waiting for the opposition to break our hearts with a late goal, as we've seen so many times this season. But no! They did it; they held on -- they won.

So between barely beating Austin last Monday, and getting shut out at home last night, what's the story with Portland? That's not how it's supposed to go between the teams in first and last place. Are they falling apart at the end of the season? That's possible, of course, though there's no obvious reason (e.g., player injury) why they should be. Perhaps they simply discovered that despite the lack of points the Red & White have earned, they can actually be a pretty tough opponent.

See you next year, Timbers.

Here's a rundown of other post-match coverage:

• box score — USLSoccer.com
  

  Weather: Sunny, 86; Attendance: 10,141

• Timbers fall 2-1 to the Aztex — KATU.com
  

  The Timbers attempted 17 of their 23 shots on the night in the second half, including four from Keita. Early in the second half, midfielder Brian Farber slashed his way through the box which drew Gallardo off his line. Farber hit a shot around the goalkeeper, but Keita got a touch on it to send it towards the far post. As the ball crept towards the goal line, an Austin defender was in position to clear if off the line.

• Aztex stun league-leading Portland with 2-1 victory — AustinAztex.com
  

  Timbers defender Stephen Keel headed the ball at the far post in front of the goal where Austin’s David Horst then attempted to clear the ball but instead headed it into upper corner beyond the reach of Aztex keeper Miguel Gallardo to give the home team a 1-0 advantage.
  
  “After the own goal, it was almost like here we go again,” said Heath. “But this time we didn’t.” Instead, in the second half, Austin responded.

Next up for the Aztex is a match-up against Vancouver Whitecaps, Sunday at 6:00 PM.

Labels: postgame, USL-1

In their first trip to Portland of the year, the Aztex take on the Timbers again on Friday, Sept. 11. Kickoff will be at 9:00 PM CT; as always you can watch online for free on USLLive.com.

Austin fans will already know the result of both teams' last game: the Timbers squeaked out a 1-0 win with a late goal here at Nelson Field on Monday.

What you may not know is that the Red & White are in danger of posting one of the worst records in modern USL-1 history. Looking over the league standings back to 2003, when USL-1 was called the A-League, only a few of the teams in last place posted so few wins. Worse, seasons were shorter back then, with fewer total games. The following teams are listed worst-to-"best".

Team	Record (W-L-T)	Games Played	Points Per Game Played
2003 Indiana Blast	3-18-2	23	0.4783
2009 Cleveland City Stars	3-17-7	27 (of 30)	0.5926
2005 Toronto Lynx	3-17-8	28	0.6071
2004 Calgary Mustangs/ Edmonton FC (tie)	4-18-6	28	0.6429
2009 Austin Aztex	4-16-8	28 (of 30)	0.6429
2007 California Victory	4-17-7	28	0.6786

As you can see, Cleveland is currently worse off than Austin. And though they have a game in hand, their last 3 games are against Vancouver and Portland (twice). But if the Aztex don't pick up any more points, and Cleveland manages to get a win, Austin could wind up in 2nd place on this List of Infamy. Also note that Austin's point total reflects the 2-point deduction taken by the league.

We've heard from Coach Heath for several games now that there's plenty to play for, even after the playoffs became an impossibility: players showing why they should be asked back next season, etc. Let this be added to the list.

And come on you Red & White!

Labels: gameday, USL-1

Well, what can you say. (No, seriously. I've about run out of things to say about these results.)

The Aztex ended the 2009 home season more or less the same way they played all year. They dug in, they fought, they worked hard, they had a few flashes of danger — and then they gave up a late goal, and lost.

I'm once again too late and too short of time to wax poetic about this milestone in the history of Austin pro soccer, so for now, here's a rundown of other post-match coverage:

• box score — USLSoccer.com
  

  Weather: Hot, partly cloudy

• Aztex shut out by Portland in final home game — Austin American-Statesman
  

  If an entire season can be summed up in 90 minutes, the Austin Aztex did their best to show a full year of fight and flaws Monday night in a 1-0 loss to Portland.
  
  Early injuries and late goals — so often the scourge of Austin's inaugural-season slide to the foot of the USL-1 table — struck again in the final home game as Austin battled a superior opponent and came up empty. Played out in front of 2,439 fans, the game was the last act of a troubled stay at Nelson Field, before next year's switch to House Park.
  
  ..."We played a team that's gone on a 24-game unbeaten streak, and if you would have come tonight you wouldn't have known there was an awful lot of difference between the two teams," Austin coach Adrian Heath said.

• Portland gets late goal to defeat Aztex 1-0 — AustinAztex.com
  

  “When you consider the games we’ve had in a short period, I can’t be too critical,” Heath said. “On the whole, not bad.”
  
  The travel seemed to have its effects on the team early. Ryan Caugherty went down in the first 10 minutes with a knee injury and Gareth Evans pulled a hamstring less than 15 minutes later. Near the end of the match, Eddie Johnson went down, reinjuring his back.
  
  “It really takes a toll on you,” Gallardo said of the travel. “Our legs gave out toward the end.”

The Aztex season wraps up next weekend in the Pacific Northwest. Friday will see them take the field against the Timbers again, in Portland (their first time there, remarkably). The final game will be on Sunday, against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The team will stay in the area after that game, and play an exhibition with the PDL's Victoria Highlanders next Tuesday, Sept. 15.

Labels: postgame, USL-1

I can't believe it's come so quickly, but this is it: the 14th and final home game of the 2009 Austin Aztex season. It will also be the last game they'll ever play at Nelson Field, since they're moving to House Park next year.

The Portland Timbers make their second trip to town Monday evening, Sept. 7. They were last here nearly two months ago, when they got a 2-1 win on July 11. That was one of the games in the Timbers' record-breaking 24-game unbeaten streak. A streak, I'm not sorry to say, that was broken in their last game, last weekend. They were beaten 2-1 at home by the Rochester Rhinos (match report / box score).

While we can hope the Aztex will extend that 1-game losing streak on Monday, it won't matter a hill of beans to the Timbers' playoff picture: they clinched their berth weeks ago. With 52 points (14-2-10), they're right at the top of the table. And with their last 4 games all being against the two last place teams (Austin and Cleveland), I'm sure they're confident that they'll finish the season in the same position.

The Aztex are rolling back into town after a rough, cross-continental road trip: a 2-1 loss in Vancouver on Wednesday and a 3-1 loss in Miami on Saturday. That's 5,800 miles in 6 days, plus the weight of 2 losses to carry home.

On the other hand, Saturday saw Miguel Gallardo make his return from a 3-month stint on the injured list. Though it didn't turn out to be the most triumphant return, he did make some great saves. Surely the Austin defense will only keep getting stronger now that he's back at its heart.

On the offensive side of the field, RSL loaner Jean Alexandre has continued to be a bright spot, getting both Aztex goals in Vancouver. And recent signing Jamie Watson has added instant spark to the Austin offense, getting the lone goal in Miami and constantly threatening opposition defenses.

This being the last home game, the club has designated it Fan Appreciation Night:

• discount tickets - $15 adults, $12 children
• free kid admission - for kids wearing a youth soccer an Aztex jersey
• halftime prize drawing - prizes include a signed jersey, official ball & $100 Soccer USA gift certificate
• Aztex apparel sale - $40 jerseys, $10 t-shirts & $15 scarves (prices also available at both Soccer USA locations)

Kickoff will be at 6:00; the pre-match supporter gathering at Nomad Bar will begin around 4:00. As this is the last game at Nelson, this will probably be our last time at Nomad. Yes, it's the end of an era, but it's not too late to be able to say you were there!

Come on you Aztex!

Labels: gameday, USL-1

Miguel's back!

...Okay, that pretty much does it for the good news portion of the post.

Despite now having everybody but Eddie Johnson healthy and on the field, the Aztex were handed another solid defeat in Miami last night. It seems as though playing matches on either corner of North America 3 days apart isn't conducive to solid play.

Also, perhaps it will take a little time for Gallardo's return to be fully integrated with the current back line. Wes Allen was the only guy on the back line who's played in front of Miguel, it was a new thing for Horst, Dello-Russo and Sakuda.

Any way you cut it, it's a shame to have let this win slip away. The final 3 matches of the season are going to be a hard row to hoe: 2 more against Portland (one here, one there), and the final game back in Vancouver against the Whitecaps.

Here's a rundown of other post-match coverage:

• box score — USLSoccer.com


• Miami FC ends six-game losing streak — Miami Herald
  

  Miami FC snapped its six-game losing streak Saturday night, beating the Austin Aztex 3-1. Miami's newest signings made an immediate impact. Midfielder Brain Shriver [sic] and Nelson Pizzaro assisted on two goals, while Aaron King scored his first goal with the Blues in his first start with the team.

• Despite return of Gallardo, Aztex fall 3-1 — AustinAztex.com
  

  The last time the Austin Aztex visited the Miami FC Blues in early June, Austin goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo made the trip but didn’t see any action. That’s because Gallardo had broken his leg just two days before in Puerto Rico. On Saturday night Gallardo returned to the lineup for the first time since his serious injury and showed flashes of his skill in goal, but it wasn’t enough as the Aztex fell 3-1.

Next up, again in very short order, is back here at home Monday night against Portland. More on that game soon, in a separate post.

Labels: postgame, USL-1

I really enjoyed Chicago Red Stars' CEO Peter Wilt's post on Pitch Invasion the other day, Grading WPS in Year One. In it, he takes a hard look at 8 aspects of the just-finished inaugural season of Women's Professional Soccer. These include attendance, fan experience, marketing and operations, and quality of play. He also has an overall summary grade for "sustainability":

WPS will not “make it” in 2009, 2010 or 2011. “Making it” in this case is about sustainability and that merely requires keeping enough teams in existence for the League to be around for future generations. The League has not yet proven its business model operationally, but it has set a base line that allows adjustments to be made in order to work toward profitability much like MLS did in its early years.

I find this kind of analysis fascinating, because I'm interested in the business side of the American game as well as the play on the field. I was impressed by the thoroughness of Wilt (and presumably others at WPS) in analyzing their season.

Then I realized: that's the kind of stuff I want USL to pay attention to, but it doesn't seem to me like they've done nearly as well.

There are some significant differences between WPS and USL-1, to be sure. WPS is a brand-new league, with international superstars on every team, etc. But the attendance figures are similar, and from the standpoint that both leagues are laboring somewhat in the shadow of MLS (and EPL, FMF, et al.), there are surely some parallels.

Maybe the current USL-1 league and teams are all over these same issues, and I just don't know it. If nothing else, from my viewpoint as a fan, I don't feel like the marketing, the league-level branding, if you will, gets much attention at all.

All of which is simply to say, I hope that when the dust settles from the current USL/NuRock/TOA drama, somebody makes sure to address these kinds of issues at a league level.

Labels: deep thoughts, The League, USL-1, WPS

They put up a pretty valiant effort, but the Aztex dropped another one Wednesday night, going down 3-2 to the Whitecaps in Vancouver. At least Jean Alexandre's brace and several good, threatening attacks kept Vancouver from being able to coast.

Here's a rundown of post-match coverage:

• box score — USLSoccer.com


• Whitecaps claim 3-2 win over Aztex — Vancouver Sun
  

  While the Whitecaps were full value in terms of entertainment, the result didn't come easy. Twice Austin fought back from a two goal deficit to keep the nearly sold-out crowd of 5,081 on edge all night. Trailing 2-1 at the half, the Aztex pressed Vancouver after the break and were carrying the play until Charles Gbeke headed Takashi Hirano's cross past Aztex goalkeeper Nick Noble in the 65th minute.

• Alexandre scores twice, but Vancouver edges Aztex 3-2 — AustinAztex.com
  

  In the second half Austin built off the momentum generated at the close of the first half and had a pair of solid scoring chances early including one in the 59th minute when midfielder Ryan McMahen delivered a line drive from the edge of the 18-yard box. Nolly dove hard to his right and knocked the ball just a few feet wide of the post. There Gifton Noel-Williams slid to the ground and put a tough shot on goal but Nolly once again turned it away for an Austin corner. Two minutes later Aztex defender Michael Dello-Russo sent in a sharp free kick at the far post where Austin’s David Horst avoided a pair of Vancouver defenders and headed the ball just wide of the goal.

Two days and a 2,800 mile plane trip later, Austin's Red & White will be challenging Miami's Blues for the final time this season. Kickoff for the Saturday night game in Miami is at 7:00, shown free as always on USLLive.com.

The USMNT will be playing El Salvador in a World Cup qualifier at the exact same time, but if you prop your computer up next to your TV, you can watch them both. Or make it easy on yourself and join your fellow Aztex supporters at Mister Tramps, where we've secured one of the 8 TVs in Austin that won't be showing the Longhorns game, plus a laptop or 2 for the Aztex game.

Labels: postgame, USL-1

My, my. The drama we've had in the United Soccer Leagues in the last week is enough to support a new soap opera. Perhaps USLLive.com should branch out. Here's an episode guide, in case you're just catching up. It's a long story already, so get some popcorn and settle in.

First, we got the news that some outfit called "NuRock" had acquired United Soccer Leagues:

Rob Hoskins, Chairman of NuRock Soccer Holdings, commented, “Our vision for USL is to become the most competitive and profitable pyramid of soccer leagues in North America, while providing affordable family entertainment, and serving as the inspirational destination for professional and amateur youth soccer players in the U.S.”

Nike and Umbro will continue to support USL through a long-term sponsorship agreement naming Umbro as the official sponsor and exclusive supplier of match balls for USL’s professional and amateur leagues, including USL First Division, USL Second Division, Premier Development League and W-League. Nike Soccer will also serve as an exclusive sponsor for USL.

Well, that sounded nice enough. But it became immediately apparent that there was trouble with this deal. The blogs Major League Soccer Talk and Inside Minnesota Soccer were the first to provide some details:

We are aware that the sale to Nurock is a shock to many including some owners in the league. It’s widely known that Traffic FC along with a current USL-1 owners group made a bid for league but did not win that bid. However, that same owners group led by Aaron Davidson of Miami FC and Selby Wellman owner of the Carolina Railhawks, have been unhappy with Marcos and Executive VP of USL Tim Holt. We had been informed by multiple ownership sources, that Davidson and Wellman were working with another group who were in the due diligence stage after winning the bid from Nike. The other group who had reportedly won the bid was not either Nurock or Traffic.

They have since followed that breaking story with an in-depth 3-part history of events leading up to the current telenovela situation: "United Soccer Leagues at a Crossroads".

Part One: Building USL starts all the way back at the beginning, starring a former executive for the NASL's Tampa Bay Rowdies, Francisco Marcos.

Marcos founded the Southwest Indoor Soccer League (SISL) in 1986 which evolved into an outdoor league in 1989. Eventually, he created the first league that spanned North America since the old NASL. However, different from the NASL, this league created a pyramid system. This was something the Portuguese soccer executive understood from his connections to soccer in Europe. In time he built the league to include three levels of senior men’s play, the first national women’s league, (W-League) and the first competitive North American system of youth leagues (Super Y-League).

Part Two: The Struggle for Power covers Nike's purchase of the USL (via their purchase of league owner Umbro), last year's sudden team changes (the departure of the Atlanta Silverbacks and the "promotion" of the Cleveland City Stars), but most importantly, the formation of the Team Owners Association (TOA):

The TOA wanted a league that was team-owner controlled but were willing to negotiate with the league. The teams felt they needed more representation in the league office in decisions that directly affected the franchises.

The financial structure of the league was also in question by the team owners. They claimed the league did not share in the losses and held no accountability to the teams. The USL is structured in a way that teams pay a one-time franchise fee and then have yearly renewal fees. If a team was having financial trouble and would drop its franchise, the league would just repopulate and claim another franchise fee. Some owners were frustrated by this, as many USL teams lose hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. The annual operating expense for an average USL-1 team is between $1.5 million to $2 million. The long distances between USL-1 cities does not help with the cost of airfare and its said that most teams will spend more on travel expenses for one game than they will make in revenue in a home game. The average break even point for most teams is a home attendance of about 5,000.

Part Three: Negotiations Break Down details the groups and circumstances involved in the league's just-announced sale. It would seem that the TOA were on the verge of the takeover they sought, only to have it snatched away at the last moment:

When the dust settled, and the winning bidder was announced internally, it was Jeff Cooper’s group.

Cooper, a successful lawyer from St Louis, had twice attempted to bring MLS to a city whose history in the sport is second to none in this nation. As the owner of the St Louis Athletica, and a board member of English Football League club Brentford, Cooper had made an impact even without MLS. Now, Cooper appeared to have bagged his biggest prize of all: a league that consisted of over 600 clubs, professionals, amateurs and youth.

The TOA began working with Cooper, who had outbid their own efforts and found him to be on the same wavelength. With radical changes about to be made to the league under Cooper’s direction, a closing on the deal that appeared imminent was suddenly off.

Instead, Nike who had formally recognized Cooper as the high bidder shifted gears and awarded NuRock control of USL. This move, which was done legally but without properly notifying many owners, created a further rift with USL’s Tampa based leadership, which could be irreparable.

Meanwhile, the TOA made its appearance on the scene. Their first press release was a little veiled, if only due to the PR-speak.

Following extensive negotiations with USISL, Inc., the parent company of the United Soccer Leagues (USL), to restructure the USL First Division (USL-1) into a league owned and controlled by its teams, the Team Owners Association (TOA) today announced that it has accelerated its pursuit of all league options for the 2010 season and beyond. 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, reached this decision following the announcement by Nike, Inc., the parent company of USISL, Inc., that it had concluded the sale of USL to a third-party (NuRock Soccer Holdings) which does not own a team in USL-1.

"Accelerated its pursuit of all league options for the 2010 season"? What does that mean? BigSoccer blogger Bill Archer took a stab at parsing the press release, along with his own view of the situation:

I don't know much about this NuRock Soccer outfit, beyond what we all can read in the usual cookie cutter corporate-speak press release. Maybe they're great guys.

Personally I agree with the TOA: it's time USL became a real league, owned and operated by and for the teams themselves which is, by the way, exactly how FIFA says it should be done.

As long as the interests of a third party are involved - be it an individual, a public corporation or a private partnership - then stuff like long term development and the good of the game are going to take a back seat to the bottom line. USL1 isn't a chain of muffler shops or fast food joints and it can't be run as if it was.

In the midst of the airing of all this dirty laundry, the league continued to press ahead. The new owners were already restructuring the league offices:

United Soccer Leagues announced Monday the restructuring of its executive management team following last week’s acquisition of USL by NuRock Soccer Holdings from Nike. NuRock’s Rob Hoskins will serve as Chairman with Alec Papadakis being named CEO. USL’s Tim Holt has been named President of the organization with founder Francisco Marcos transitioning to the position of President Emeritus and Senior Director of International Development.

... As Senior Director of International Development, Marcos will expand his recent efforts in the area of international relationships and partnerships as his primary role with the organization, utilizing his European background and residency as well as his numerous relationships with soccer leaders around the world to aid USL in its objectives to foster meaningful relationships between USL, its clubs and players with foreign clubs and organizations.

Back on the TOA side of the story, Montreal Impact president Joey Saputo didn't wait long to start spelling out exactly what the TOA has in mind:

Saputo said the teams, which include the Vancouver Whitecaps, can still reach agreement with NuRock to have more say in league operations, but if not, they are prepared to play a full schedule in 2010 in their own league.

..."We have no say on the type of owners coming in," he said. "No disrespect to (some) other owners, but they don't belong in this league. But we have no say. We find out at the last minute that teams are coming in, like the Cleveland Stars. It makes no sense. We want control of our destiny."

...He said starting a new league would cost about the same, as the teams are already in place [and that] other clubs are prepared to join a new league so it would have between eight and 12 clubs.

..."The league exists because of the teams, not because of the league," he added. "I think we have the power. We are united and finally, we've decided to take this strategy of looking at other options."

So there you have it. The TOA damn sure is threatening a breakaway league, no two ways about it. But then suddenly, news is out from the league that Ontario's Ottawa Fury want to move up from PDL to USL-1:

"Our application for a USL franchise, at this point in time, ensures that soccer specific elements will be incorporated into the stadium design to optimize the experience for soccer fans and players," said Jeff Hunt, an OSEG [Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group] partner.

Don't bother searching that story for the year the Fury would join the league; it's not in there. The Canadian Press story on Joey Saputo linked above, however, puts it at "likely 2012". Not even MLS is looking that far down the expansion road.

The TOA isn't wasting any time getting their word out. Next up was an interview with TOA spokesman and Railhawks owner Selby Wellman. In addition to saying that the non-TOA teams (including Austin, but neglecting to mention Puerto Rico) "[are] still with us and part of our group wanting to move the league forward", Wellman also made these statements:

So the [existing] league office, basically, is an administrative operation. Just keeping up with 710 teams, registration and all those kinds of things they do. They move paper. They’re not like most league offices where you have marketing people, public relations people who can promote your league, who can go out and get national sponsorships, who can go out and seek new owners and get franchises and things like that. They don’t have the skills and the resources to do that. That’s what we’re trying to fix. And if we had been successful at buying the whole league, that was what we were going to do. We were going to restructure the league office into a marketing organization, not just an administrative operation.

...It’s pretty frustrating as an owner, I can tell you this, to put a lot of money, which we’ve done, into our team, and have the attendance to be pretty much not acceptable to us, related to the perception of us being just minor league soccer. Then all of a sudden, you know, I bring New England [Revolution, of MLS] and whoever here, and my crowds will quadruple on me. So what that tells you is that we’re in the market here in Carolina. And by the way, my fellow owners around the league have experienced the same thing. We know we have markets, we know we’re good soccer markets, all right, and we know we play really strong professional soccer. So we’ve got to promote it. And the league has to do that, the league office, that’s a league office’s function.

...I would expect somewhere in the next 30 days or so they’ll start coming out to us, wanting us to recommit to play in 2010 in USL. If they don’t come to the table with us having the ability to control our league, we won’t play with them.

There you have it. It boils down to the same statement heard in heated playground fights the world over: "I'm gonna take my ball and go home!"

I hadn't seen anything specifically from or about the Aztex in all this, so I emailed owner Phil Rawlins for a comment. His reply makes it clear that the team's position is not on the TOA side:

The TOA does NOT represent all the USL-1 team owners, far from it, there are several teams and owners that have chosen not to participate in that group and Austin is one of those. For the most part the "shouting-match" that is now taking place through the media is a distraction from the important work of running a successful team in the League.

I welcome the change of ownership at USL and believe the new owners can bring business savvy and a passion for soccer that can help invigorate the League. I hope that all parties involved in these discussions will give the new owners a chance to prove themselves and share their plans before pre-judging them.

So that's it, the story so far. Volleys will surely continue from both sides. Personally, the fact that this civil war has exploded out into public is embarrassing. The members of this league, in this sport, in this country, at this time, can hardly afford to waste any time or energy on this kind of infighting. It's also attracting the entirely wrong kind of media attention. Somebody here is too greedy for money and/or power — honestly, they probably all are, but someone is outdoing everyone else — and they're jeopardizing the future of this essential component of American soccer.

Here's my bottom line. I'm a soccer fan, I want to watch soccer matches. Thanks to the Aztex, I've had that for 2 years now, without having to road-trip 4 hours to Pizza Hut Park. If this whole ruckus winds up interfering with that in any substantial way, I'll personally hunt down everyone involved and key their car. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch the Aztex-Whitecaps game on USLLive.com.

Labels: deep thoughts, The League, USL-1

The Aztex start their sprint to the end of the season tonight, Wednesday, September 2. First, a trip to Canada to face the Vancouver Whitecaps, then a quick hop down to Miami for another match Saturday.

Vancouver is currently 7th in the table, sitting comfortably in the final playoff spot, 7 points up from Miami, the next closest rival. The Whitecaps are coming off a 1-1 draw at home with the Rochester Rhinos on Saturday (match report / box score). If nothing else, I hope Vancouver can stay on their feet better at their home ground.

As this midweek game is at 9:30 CT, I've heard of no watch event. Grab a Lone Star and fire up USLLive.com at home.

That game is followed in short order by a trip down to Miami on Saturday, for the Aztex's last time to face them this season. The Blues, of course, are coming off a 1-0 loss to our boys here in Austin last Saturday. And don't forget that 9-0 smashing — the worst result since 1998 — that they got from the Carolina Railhawks just last week (I'm sure they haven't).

This match, at 7:00 CT Saturday night, unfortunately coincides with the U.S. mens' team World Cup qualifier against El Salvador. Worse still, it conflicts with a Longhorns football game. Aztex fans, in exile from anywhere near campus, will be gathering at Mister Tramps Sports Pub And Cafe, 8565 Research Blvd. The U.S. game will be on the TVs, and the Aztex game will be on the laptops. Go, Red & White (& Blue)!

Update: according to the team preview, goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo is making the trip:

Season-opening goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo is making the trip and could see his first game action since breaking his leg on June 12 against Puerto Rico.

“It’s exciting to be back. It’s exciting to be available for selection. Unfortunately, it might be a little too late for the playoffs. I’m just happy for Adrian to be able to count on me if he needs me. That’s the most important thing. I think I’m pretty comfortable right now to play a game.”

Labels: gameday, USL-1