The Aztexan

The Aztex have returned from their tour of England, victorious in all 3 of their exhibitions there. They also trained at top-flight facilities, attended a couple of Premier League matches, and even left a player behind for a trial in the big league.

• Game 1, Oct. 14 — Austin Aztex 1-0 Stoke City FC Academy
  
  This game was a bit of disappointment to some fans, as we had assumed that Stoke would field their first team, or at least some level of it, rather than the U18 academy squad. But given that they played the day after their transatlantic flight, a 1-0 win isn't bad, even against teenagers.
  
  Stoke's match report gives lots of love to Eddie Johnson:
  

  The inexperienced Potters side had to defend for long periods of the match as former Manchester United apprentice Eddie Johnson caused them particular problems throughout an encounter watched by City boss Tony Pulis.
  
  And it was indeed livewire Johnson who set up the 85th minute winner for the Aztecs [sic] by flicking the ball across goal for central defender [Gareth] Evans to plant a close range header past City goalkeeper Dave Parton.
  
  After a fairly uneventful first half hour to the friendly match, the arrival of Pulis seemed to spark a lively end to the first half in which Johnson went close to scoring on three occasions for the USL-1 team.
  
  He had a goal disallowed in the 35th minute for a foul in the area, forced Alexander Hedley into a last-ditch clearance at the far post and brought the best out of Parton with a curling shot just before the break.



• Game 2, Oct. 15 — Austin Aztex 2-1 Accrington Stanley
  
  
  • Heath leads Aztex on their longest trip yet — The Independent
    

    Around 5,000 miles, not to mention a chasm in history, separates Accrington Stanley and Austin Aztex. To the relief of the American club's coach, Adrian Heath, tonight's journey up to Lancashire from their Staffordshire base is almost like nipping out to the shopping mall in Texas.

  • FULL-TIME: Accrington Stanley 1 Austin Aztex 2 — Lancashire Telegraph
    

    Stanley fielded a number of trialists, including former loan striker Craig Lindfield, but went behind when Nicky Patterson found the net just after the half-hour mark.
    
    Substitute Viniel Sirin volleyed home a second for the touring Aztex, who are managed by former Burnley boss Adrian Heath, on the hour before Gary King pulled a goal back by finding the empty net after Lindfield had beaten the visiting keeper to a loose ball.

  • Another day, another win — The Aztex Blog
    

    We put on a great show, looking more confident and clearly enjoying the playing surface. The fans showed some great British humour when our first goal went in, chanting "USA, USA" and then 'touchdown'!!!

  • Match Photo Gallery — Accrington Stanley
  
  


• Game 3, Oct. 20 — Austin Aztex 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday FC
  
  Other than text messages from the team back to stateside Aztex fans, and subsequent posts to BigSoccer, I could find no record of this game anywhere on the Intarwebs.
  

  Goals by Michael Callahan (1st half) and Jarius Holmes (2nd half) were enough to put the match away. Last I heard was that the guys are in the locker room, trying to warm up by having some pies.

In addition to playing, our American team also attended 2 Premier League matches. They saw Stoke City beat West Ham 2-1 at Stoke's Britannia Stadium on Saturday, the 17th, and Wigan draw 1-1 with Manchester City at Wigan's DW Stadium the next day.

And of course, this wasn't all just for the fun of the experience. These guys weren't just playing; they were auditioning.

In general Heath said the scouts from throughout England and those based in England representing clubs abroad were impressed with the quality of the Aztex. “They were quite surprised at how competitive we were,” he said about the scouts’ reactions. “We enjoyed the trip, and it gave the players a very good idea of the professional game at that level.”

And according to that article, this trip might even pay off for some of our boys:

• Keiron Bernard — "In addition to having an extended visit with the English Premier League side Stoke City, an affiliate club of the Aztex, the defender has sparked interest from unidentified La Liga, Serie A and top Dutch sides as well as Spanish second division club Real Murcia."


• Miguel Gallardo — "also garnered some attention from Real Murcia"


• Eddie Johnson — "may be seeing a move back home with interest coming from a pair of League One clubs and a third from League Two", and is "staying back in England at home there since our season is done and weighing the different opportunities."


• another, unidentified player — "has garnered significant interest from a team in Mexico, something that could see movement over the next few weeks"

So concludes the 2009 post-season; done & dusted. Stay tuned in the off-season for news of how Austin is ramping up for a stronger 2010 showing (and in what league).

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

Just a quick reminder: the Aztex are in England for the next week or so.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for the Aztex players and for many of them this is the trip of a lifetime," said Rawlins. "Many of them have never even been to England, let alone been exposed to the English game which they have seen and heard so much about. They will be able to experience football in a different environment, play against some top Premier League players and also have the opportunity to benefit from their training methods."

He added: "We hope in the long run that this will be the first of regular visits to England which will certainly boost the development of the squad and raise the profile of the Aztex. It will also be good from Stoke City's point of view to take a look at how things are developing with Aztex as we look to develop that relationship for the long term future."

This marks the first time a USL-1 team has toured England. They'll be training at sister club Stoke City FC's facilities, attending the Stoke vs. West Ham match at the weekend and have three friendlies lined up:

• Wednesday, 10/14 — Stoke City (at Nantwich Town's Weaver Stadium)


• Thursday, 10/15 — League Two's Accrington Stanley (at Crown Ground; benefits Save Our Stanley)


• Tuesday, 10/20 — The Championship's Sheffield Wednesday (at Hillsborough Stadium)

The 18-player roster for the trip includes mostly familiar faces, plus a few new ones: Miguel Gallardo, Nick Noble, Kevin Sakuda, Kieron Bernard, Salif Diao-Jimenez, Ednerson Raymond and Vaniel Sirin (Haitian internationals), Sullivan Silva, Mike Callahan, Ryan McMahen, Tynan Diaz (Victoria Highlanders), Jarius Holmes, Nicholas Patterson (Harrisburg City Islanders), Michael Dello-Russo, Jamie Watson, Jean Alexandre, Eddie Johnson and Gareth Evans.

Kickoff for Wednesday's Aztex - Stoke City match is 1:00 PM CT; you can listen to live match audio, courtesy of StokeCityFC.com. The best way to follow the rest of the team's trip will be via the official Aztex blog, which Kay Rawlins plans to keep updated.

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

The drama continues. Following on the first installment, here's a quick update. This post doesn't present any new or breaking news, it's just a summary of events to date. Most links are to Brian Quarstad's estimable Inside Minnesota Soccer blog, which in more pleasant times focuses on the Minnesota Thunder, but which has been all over this whole story from the start, like white on rice.

• Friday, 10/2 — USL "released" all players from 3 Team Owner Association (TOA) teams (Minnesota Thunder, Carolina Railhawks & Miami FC) from their contracts (link). Also, the league removed the logos and links of those teams from its website (link).


• Sunday, 10/4 — Carolina RailHawks co-owner and TOA spokesman Brian Wellman assures players and the press that the contract release doesn't count (link).


• Monday, 10/5 — In an illuminating interview with David Fellerath, of North Carolina's indyweek.com (which covers the RailHawks), Wellman calls the league's action "unfortunate and unnecessary". (link) (If you click through and read just one of these links, this is the one.)


• Tuesday, 10/6 — Sunil Gulati, president of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), summoned league officials and team owners to New York to try to settle the whole dispute (link). Also on Tuesday, Quarstad posted the full text of the contract-release email the league sent on Friday (link).


• Wednesday, 10/7 — Gulati jetted off to London for the "Leaders In Football" conference, with no resolution announced in the USL/TOA situation (link). Blogger Kartik Krishnaiyer considered possible advantages that a breakaway league might have with respect to TV rights (link). Lastly, Quarstad also got hold of a copy of "the standard United Soccer League (USL) Players Contract", which doesn't look like something the league has the authority to terminate (link).

So there you have it. More drama; continued limbo. I'll just add a few observations.

I don't buy the assurances that this whole dust-up is a minor distraction. Three whole teams' players — with two more sure to follow immediately after the league finals — were fired last week, and had their teams disassociated from the league. Subsequent analysis, and possibly a future lawsuit for good measure, find that that firing was probably out of order. But in any case, it's the thought that counts, as they say.

Don't forget that these are people's livelihoods at stake here. And not just the Minnesota, Carolina and Miami players, either. If this league falls apart, it will affect every player on every team, not to mention other team staff. Even if their clubs made money hand over fist this year (show of hands? anyone?), you can't pay much of a wage bill if you don't play any games.

Another aspect is the chilling effect this must have on planning, scouting and recruiting for next year. For one example, consider the fate of Jamie Watson. (For the record, I have not spoken with him, and have not the slightest bit of inside info on his career.)

Though he had a good season for the Aztex U23s in 2008, Watson didn't wind up on Austin's USL-1 roster in 2009. Instead, he played for the Wilmington Hammerheads in USL-2. He had a great season there, ultimately being named the 2009 USL-2 MVP. He came back to Austin to finish the season with the Aztex USL-1 squad, was still with them in Wednesday's friendly against Monterrey, and will presumably travel to England with the Aztex.

So I was asked this week, in the wake of the news that the Hammerheads lost their franchise, whether Watson would stay with Austin. I personally hope so, but I don't know, and replied as much. But it got me thinking.

If I were a promising young pro soccer player, would I want to hitch my wagon to a league going through this kind of turmoil? Watson has previously played for Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas. Even if the pay and chances for playing time were both lower in MLS, which league looks like a better bet right now?

Lastly, let me double down on my previous threat. If these shenanigans inhibit me in the slightest from being able to go down to House Park next summer to watch the Red & White play, I'll not only key the car of everyone involved, I'll also track down all their email addresses and sign them up for every free Viagra spam I can find.

And I can find a lot.

Labels: players, The League, USL-1

The Aztex bagged an impressive win last night at the RRISD Athletic Complex, beating Mexico's first-division contenders Monterrey 1-0.

Though just an exhibition match, the win is significant. For one, it ends 2009 play in Austin on a high note. The fact that it was earned from a good, in-form Mexican pro team, adds to the victory. It's also a nice result to have in their pocket as they head to England next week - much better than a 2-0 loss to a PDL club.

However, I find the attendance troubling. At 1,930, it would rank as the second worst regular season crowd this year. It also compares poorly to last year's Aztex-Mexican match-up. When Tigres came out to Dragon Stadium — to play an Aztex U23 squad — they drew 4,743 fans. Lastly, there's this year's Copa Aztex match between Cruz Azul and Tigres. The official attendance, though widely considered to be underreported, was still in excess of 7,000.

So I'm not sure what happened with this game. Ticket prices were cut from $30 to $25 not long after they went on sale, and additional sales outlets (La Moreliana markets) were added.

Was it just timing, that it took place on a weeknight after school is back in session? Was it poor marketing? Presumably it would have been marketed heavily to Mexican fans, but not being in that demographic, I have no idea what level of publicity it got there. I can say that a coworker who plays in AMSA (Austin Men's Soccer Association) told me that, unlike other Aztex events, he hadn't heard anything about this game.

Were fans put off by the Aztex's losing form this season? Are there just not that many Rayados fans in Austin? Or did they all decide to drive to Houston for Monterrey's exhibition against the Dynamo on Sunday? Is there some kind of Bermuda Triangle on Parmer Lane?

Here's a rundown of other post-match coverage (the match did get some coverage in the Mexican press, at least):

• Austin Aztex 1-0 Monterrey... Triunfo texano — mediotiempo.com
  

  La Pandilla utilizó un equipo alterno ante las ausencias de Walter Ayoví, Humberto Suazo y Osvaldo Martínez, pretendiendo poner en forma a jugadores con poca actividad en la liga.
  
  Pero eso no le impidió ser dueño del esférico de principio a fin del cotejo, aunque sin cohesión con su zona delantera para alcanzar al menos el empate 1-1.

• Aztex score early, hold off Club de Futbol Monterrey for 1-0 win — AustinAztex.com
  

  It didn’t take long. Just seven minutes into Wednesday night’s exhibition match against Club de Futbol Monterrey and Austin Aztex midfielder Jean Alexandre found the back of the net. Despite numerous opportunities in both halves, Monterrey never countered with a goal of its own and the Aztex held on for a hard-earned 1-0 victory.

• Exhibition Match :: Austin Aztex 1, Club de Futbol Monterrey 0 — Chantico's Army

  In front of a crowd that was 95% in support of the blue and white, the Aztex really impressed all (well, okay, maybe not all) in attendance. The Aztex' Jean Alexandre (on a loan from Real Salt Lake which has been extended through the trip to the UK) took advantage of an early Monterrey defensive failure to punch the ball into the goal in the 8'.

Next up for Austin is that big trip to England, where they'll have exhibition matches against Stoke City, Sheffield Wednesday and Accrington Stanley.

Labels: exhibition, postgame, Rayados, USL-1

I mentioned this last week, but don't forget: there's one last chance to see the Aztex play in Austin this year. On Wednesday, Oct. 7, they will host Monterrey's Rayados, of Mexico's Primera División.

Monterrey is doing well in the current Apertura season. They are 2nd overall, with 23 points from 11 games (7-2-2). Most recently, they beat Puebla 2-1 at home. As MLSNet.com notes, that game saw two former FC Dallas players face off: Rayados' Duilio Davino and Puebla's Carlos Ruiz.

Kickoff for the Aztex game will be 7:30 PM, 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.

The Chantico's Army folks will meet at the main gate about 6:30, and will probably gather at Mister Tramps for the customary post-match pint.

Labels: exhibition, Rayados, USL-1