The Aztexan

What a night! The first-ever Austin Aztex home game was Saturday night, and if you missed it, you really missed something. The crowd was good, the team was good, the play was good; heck, even the result was good! (Austin soundly defeated the Houston Leones 2-0.) Not too bad a start for an expansion side.

Being brand-new to soccer in Austin, I have the opposite background as the author of this excellent post-game report:

I won't pretend to be a neutral observer for the home debut of the Austin Aztex U-23 squad. I didn't want to ask for media credentials because I wanted to sit in the stands and gauge the reaction of the crowd - if there was going to be a crowd. I wanted to do this because I want so much to see the Aztex succeed and enjoy a successful, professional soccer organization in Austin. I've been going to the Austin pro/semi-pro games since the days of the Soccadilloes and the Austin Thunder. I bemoaned the disaster that was the Austin Lightning. I predicted the scam that was the Austin Posse.

Nevertheless, I was also anxious to see what kind of crowd would turn out. Turns out, my worries were unfounded. The count from the Aztex front office is "nearly 1,500", which is fantastic. All in all, a great start for a season — and a team — that's just going to get bigger & better!

Hope to see you at Saturday's match against DFW Tornados!

Labels: gameday, rivals, U-23

You probably don't need me to tell you this, but tonight is the first Aztex U23 home game of the 2008 season. About time, too! 7:30PM at Round Rock High School's Dragon Stadium vs. the Houston Leones. Hopefully this will be the first of many poundings the Aztex will give the Leones. See you there!

Labels: U-23

If you're following the Austin Aztex at all, you probably know their season officially starts Saturday. The first-ever game of the Austin Aztex is an away game, against the El Paso Patriots.

As noted in this fine write-up in the Chronicle, El Paso finished in 2nd place in the Mid South Division last year, so they may be a tough opening opponent.

Although I would have loved to make the 16-hour round-trip drive to El Paso, I'm afraid I'm going to have to miss seeing this auspicious moment in person. However, there is a possibility that some loyal Aztex supporters will manage to get an Internet video stream of the game hooked up to a TV at Mother Egan's on Saturday night.

Having that hook-up is not a certainty. In fact, having a video stream of the game at all is not a certainty. However, Mother Egan's having plenty of ice-cold Harp lager is a certainty. Hope to see you there!

Labels: rivals, U-23

Finally, some signs of life from our soon-to-be PDL arch-rivals, the Houston Leones, in the form of two articles from the Houston Chronicle.

The first is a fairly brief blurb covering the basic facts of the new team and the league itself, though it does have a little info on some of the players: Leones ready to roam pitch in Houston

Adhering to league rules, the team is made up of mostly college-age players, many of whom attend local schools, including the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Houston Baptist and San Jacinto College. . .

The team also boasts developmental players from Mexican teams UANL Tigres (two) and Cruz Azul (four), the latter with whom the Leones have a partnership.

The Leones will be coached by Carlos Ayala, who previously coached Cruz Azul's team in First Division A, Mexico's equivalent of a second division.

The second is a more in-depth piece on the owner, Juan Carlos Hernández: There's nothing amateur about Hernandez's venture. At least there were never any anguished decisions about where they would play, as Hernandez owns Soccer World Center, a 17-acre private soccer park in Richmond (southwest of Houston).

Proof [of Hernandez' seriousness], in the way of a brand-new 4,500-capacity stadium, is as hard as the white-coated concrete it is made of. A simple yet efficient facility consisting of two long bleacher structures along the sidelines that rise some 25-30 feet, a small but cozy press box (complete with A/C), and a no-frills scoreboard, sound system and lighting. The field is getting greener and should be in good shape come May 3, when the Leones host the New Orleans Shell Shockers.

The Leones will be one of only five PDL teams, out of the more than 60 this season, to own their stadium.

Sounds like a nice outfit. I can't wait for the Aztex to start beating them!

Labels: rivals, stadium, U-23

It's been kind of slow for the Aztex lately, news-wise. To tide you over until we hear something about the U23 roster, here are a few miscellaneous tidbits (apologies to readers who keep up on BigSoccer's Aztex forum, as neither of these will be news to you).

First, Playing Through, a nice write-up in the Austin Chronicle about local soccer hopefuls Marcelino Uriarte & Wes Allen:

It's a tale of two center midfielders.

Both are smart and versatile. Either would be a cornerstone of the Austin Aztex's Premier Development League team, a squad starting up from scratch a few weeks before the 2008 season opener on May 3 (home opener May 10 vs. Houston Leones, 7:30pm, at Dragon Stadium in Round Rock).

Second, here's a BBC Radio interview with Aztex owner Phil Rawlins. You can listen to the full, hour-long show in original RealAudio format, or just the 7 minutes of Phil's interview in MP3 format (which occurs about 42 minutes in to the full show). Apparently Phil, along with Head Coach Adrian Heath and USL President Francisco Marcos, was preparing for a Stoke City fan meeting of some kind, to discuss all things Aztex.

Phil (& Adrian, presumably) will also be at Brittania Stadium tomorrow night to watch Stoke beat Crystal Palace, the lucky dogs. I'll post an update to the Championship League table after the game, but I'd like to thank Bristol City for their 0-2 loss to Southampton yesterday. Keep up the good work, lads!

Labels: coaches, media, players, Stoke City, U-23

Finally, the answer to one of the biggest remaining questions of the 2008 Aztex season -- "Where will we play?" -- is out.

The answer is (drumroll please...) Round Rock High School's Dragon Stadium, located north of town, near the intersection of I-35 and 620.

I've added Dragon Stadium to the Google Map included with my original stadium speculation post (it's the solid green marker at the top of the map). You'll see that it's farther out from downtown than, say, the big new RRISD stadium complex, but I think it will be much simpler to get to from the south.

Sure, it might be lacking a couple of things that would make it ideal (e.g., real grass, closer in to town, no American football lines) but honestly, what could anyone expect? There is no Easter Bunny, Gwyneth Paltrow is already married to someone else, and the Aztex didn't find a secret soccer-specific stadium between the couch-cushions of downtown Austin. Okay; mourning period over!

In all seriousness, I'm looking forward to seeing this place. With a little over a month until the season begins, I'm sure the team is being put together as quickly as possible. Let the countdown to the home opener begin! (That's Saturday, May 10 vs. the Houston Leones, if I need to remind you).

Labels: stadium, U-23

Another beautiful weekend for the second half of the U-23 tryouts at St. Edward's, and lots of players out to take advantage of it. There were reportedly 160 players trying out, separate from the 100+ that were out last weekend. That includes lots of local folks, as well as applicants from as far away as Toronto. The Aztex Pix Flickr group has more pictures of the day, including a few (posted by "grayfamilybuda") with good commentary.

The large turnout was thought to have been boosted by a Univision segment on the tryouts that aired mid-week. And there was additional press coverage this weekend: a photographer from Spanish-language weekly El Mundo, and a camera from News 8 Austin:



That video is now also available on News 8 Austin's site, along with a story drawn from the Aztex's report on last weekend's tryout (including an incorrect mention of "next weekend’s tryouts").

According to team sources, we should be getting some good announcements out of the front office soon. The word is that the stadium location has been decided, and will be announced as soon as all the agreements are finalized, possibly this week.

Labels: media, players, U-23

I stopped by day 2 of this weekend's U-23 tryouts today. The weather was beautiful. I'm no scout, but even I could see there was quite a range of skill on display. There were three separate scrimmages going on at the same time, so I guess that means there were about 66 hopefuls in attendance. The Aztex expect about that many more for next weekend's tryouts (Mar. 15 & 16), too, so I'm sure we'll get a good strong team out of all these guys.

I'm also no photographer, but I took a few snapshots. You can see them in the new Flickr account I set up. I've also started setting up a Flickr group, so that others can share their amateur (or pro!) Aztex photos. (Note, as of this posting, no pictures are showing up in the group, apparently because Flickr hasn't completed their review process of my account yet.)

Speaking of the tryouts, there's a nice interview with U-23 Head Coach Wolfgang Suhnholz on the Aztex website (start on the main page; then read the rest):

Question: Will the Aztex Stoke connection mean a “British style of play?”

Suhnholz: There no longer is a British style, or German style, or Mexican style. That has all changed. Soccer is a global sport. You play with the players you have and what they can bring to the table. I am a big believer that a good soccer player can play with anybody and any style.

Soccer has changed. The bottom line is that you want to put a good winning product on the field. I worked with European, Hispanic, African players, people from all over the world. Even the English don’t play old English soccer anymore. Look at Adrian Heath who has played in the UK and in Spain. He will take the best from everything and play the style that will win. That’s what we intend to do.

Labels: coaches, players, U-23

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

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

Although the USL-1 team won't play until next year, the Aztex U-23 team (formerly the Austin Stampede) has announced their 2008 schedule and availability of season tickets.

The ticket prices for adults are $50 for all 8 home games, vs. $8 per game (that would be $64 for the season, just to help you out with that tricky math ;-).

The other benefit of buying season tickets is that it shows some fan commitment. It's a pledge to support the team, financially at the very least, through their season.

The Aztex U-23 team will play this season against the DFW Tornadoes, Laredo Heat, El Paso Patriots, New Orleans Shell Shockers, Baton Rouge Capitals and Mississippi Brilla. Also of note: our first home game will be against another brand new team, the Houston Leones, who are affiliated with Mexican club Cruz Azul.

Personally, even though I'm really more interested in the USL-1 team next year, I'm ready to buy some season tickets. But there is one big thing holding me back... I don't know where they're going to play!!

I don't think that's been announced yet, and if it has, I sure can't find it.

Labels: stadium, U-23