La Vecchia Signora For 31!

                Juventus, also known as Vecchia Signora, succeeds in winning another league title in Italy’s Serie A league. Juventus now have 31 league titles and their second in a row. With a very defensive 3-5-2 formation, they have managed to win 27 games, 6 draws and lose 5 times. This added up to a total of 87 points with second place only reaching a 78 point mark. Although Juventus had not been beaten last season in the league, they did manage to obtain more points than last season. Last season their record was 23 wins, 15 ties and no losses. That’s 15 games of Juventus fans wondering what could have been if there was a different result. Their total points were 84, so it wasn’t such a bad season. We will see if Juventus can manage to defend their league title and go for their 32^nd one. It is going to be an evenly matched league next season with teams such as Napoli, Milan and Inter de Milan getting busy in the transfer market.

 

One More Time!

     FC Barcelona has sealed the league matches before the season ends. Currently at 97 points with one game left, they are trying to reach that 100 point mark. They had 31 wins, 4 draws and only 2 losses throughout the season. Barcelona has obtained their 22^nd league title, falling 10 behind the team with the most which is Real Madrid with 32. It may seem far away but Barcelona has obtained their 4^th league championship in the past 5 years. If Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and the rest of the team kepp playing the way they do, they are sure to catch up in the next decade or two. Barcelona’s ball possession tactic and constant passing of the ball through the midfield has proved very effective and now they just wait for their next game and hopefully get to 100 points.


 

Farewell to One of the Greats

 

His time as a soccer player is now becoming a part of the past. David Beckham retires at age 38 being a champion in France with Paris St. Germain and donating his 7 million dollar salary to charity. He has had a long career in soccer and will retire as a legend. Being captain of England’s international soccer team and winning titles and championships with Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan, LA Galaxy and now Paris St. Germain. He has won over 19 trophies in his career. One of the things he will mostly be remembered for are his beautiful free kicks. A saying was even named after him. It was “Bendi it like Beckham.” David will always be remembered as a great soccer player of this decade if not century.



Blog 26: Senior Project Reflection

1. Positive Statement
I am most proud of my product in my senior project of becoming a better defender because I feel I have become a bteer player overall and I have improved many of my weaknesses. With this I feel I have a better chance and am a step closer to being able to accomplish my goal of playing college soccer for Sonoma State University.

2. Questions to consider
a. P
b. P

3. My independent Component worked in my senior project beause it was fairly easy to complete my hours since there was always training and games. It was also a very important tool to retrieve information and help defend my answers about endurance and the 4-2-3-1 formation.

4. If I could change anything in my senior project it would have to be my EQ just because it was very difficult to find research that specified an U-19 league championship. A lot of the information was general to any age of soccer competition.

5. Finding Value
With my experience in mentroship with my mentor Leo Espinoza, I was able to improve on my defensive skills and become a better overall defender which means I can now tell any coach I play for, that I can play forward, midfielder and defender, which would give me a higher opportunity of playing and hopefully mastering every position on the field. My independent component along with the "4-2-3-1 Soccer Formation" article, helped me see what tactics are effective and how to position myself on the field when playing a certain position. With this information, I can use it to my advantage when trying out for Sonoma State's soccer team. All in all, I want to join their team and I feel these experiences and information will help get me to that point.

America New Mexican League Champion!

It was a rainy Sunday night in the Estadio Azteca, with over 100,000 fans waiting to watch their team play a finals that would go down in history as one of the best in Mexico. Club America became Mexico’s new league champion. This gives the team their 11^th league title in history, 1st since 2005, and up against a powerful Cruz Azul team who seemed to have everything under control. Cruz Azul won the first leg 1-0 and in the 14^th minute of the 2^nd leg, America was already down to 10 players. They had a whole game ahead of them and already had to push through the struggle of having one less player and being down in the scoreboard. Come the 20^th minute, on a Cruz Azul counter attack, Teofilo Gutierrez scores the game opener to have America at a 2-0 overall deficit. The game continued with goal scoring opportunities for both teams. It was hard to even sit still. Towards the last 10 minutes of the game, hope had seemed lost for America, needing to score 2 goals to go into extra time and nothing happening. Then, on a cross from the right side of the field, America defender Mosquera, was able to get a header in and score the first goal for America in the 89^th minute. There was hope for America. America kept insisting yet nothing was happening. With only 30 seconds left in the game, America is given a corner kick in which the goalkeeper even goes up to try and score. As the cross goes over the box, goalkeeper Moises Munoz gets a header in. There was a defensive block and two seconds later you see the ball circulating behind the net. GOAL! America scored the missing goal that took them into extra time. It was an amazing moment.

                Going into extra time, America dominated but was unable to score thanks to amazing saves by Cruz Azul goalkeeper, Jesus Corona. The game ended in a draw which meant there would be a penalty shoot out. First up is Cruz Azul with a block from Munoz and a miss for Cruz Azul. America is up next and scores. Cruz Azul goes up again and the shooter slips on the kick and misses. America is now up 1-0 and the next shooter scores, getting them to a 2-0 advantage. Cruz Azul score their next two shots and now it’s up to America’s executer to end it all. Miguel Layun prepares himself and shoots then slips. Then the ball goes to the right side of the goal and even with him slipping, the ball finds it way behind the goal. America was officially the new Mexican league champion. America deserved it having placed second in the league and dominating all their playoff matches. Now they have a title to defend next season, so we’ll see how that goes down.

 

Monaco Big Spender in Tranfer Market

AS Monaco FC has been spending a lot of money to build their team for Ligue 1’s next season. The ultimate goal is to become league champions and stop PSG’s domination in the league. Being on a budget of 200 million Euros. 140 million of those have already been spent on four players. The first two were goalkeeper Victor Valdes, and center forward Radamel Falcao. The next set of players the team recently bought were Porto’s midfielders James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho for a combined $90 million. This team is taking things very seriously and we’ll see who their next target is in the days or weeks to come.

Neymar to Barcelona Transfer

         It had been rumored for about two years now, and it has finally become a reality. 21 year old all star, Neymar, will be departing his current club Santos and has found a new home. After all the rumors of playing for Real Madrid, Chelsea & Manchester City; FC Barcelona was able to get a hold of Neymar. According to USA Today’s “Neymar signs 5-year agreement with Barcelona,” Neymar will be in Barcelona to sign the missing contracts and be officially presented as a Barcelona player. The amount paid for Neymar was not specified but it was an approximation of 30 million Euros, equivalent to $38.7 million. He leaves behind a legacy in Santos at such a young age, being Pele’s replacement, top scorer of all time with 138 goals in 230 games, 1 Copa Libertadores Championship, 1 Brazilian Cup and 3 straight Sao Paolo State Championships. "Here it ends this wonderful passage with a special club," Neymar said. "Thank you for everything. I'll keep these moments with me my entire life."

(Not a bad look for Neymar)