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Both leaders going into the second round of the Yazoku Supercup Semifinals rested key players in preparation for what the coaches assumed would be an easy 90-minute ride to next week’s finals in Hong Kong. Yogyakarta and their loyal fans poured their hearts into a desperate match after last week’s 4-1 loss. Midfielder Suparman led the charge against a stalwart but overworked and inexperienced second-string Osaka defense, scoring once and heading in a 28-yard free kick from wingback Eman against backup keeper Isao Abe. Still, Osaka showed some spunk and protested that a blocked shot from midfielder Gen Minami had crossed the line, but to no avail.
In Adelaide, Racing Club Taipei also rested a number of their starters after last week’s 3-1 victory, but coach Pontius Wauters kept an eagle eye on his men to prevent the pre-game carousing and general debacle against South Pacific United of last week. Fans were treated to a show of offensive football and sharp man-to-man challenges, with neither keeper going home satisfied. Addy’s Vid DeLuca and hometown hero Eddy Price each went home with a goal, with the latter also winning a caution and a small fine for tearing off his jersey after slotting a precise diving header between two defenders and through the legs of aging legend Wong Trong. As for the Racing Club, goals from rising star Taichung Dragon Li Kai and starter Geert Van Donk ensured the team’s progression to the finals against new rivals Osaka.
Results:
Yogyakarta PSB 2
Osaka Bayside 0 (advances on 4-3 differential)
Adelaide Redbacks 2
Racing Club Taipei 2 (advances on 5-3 differential)
Lace up your sneaks and pack your boomboxes, the organizers of the first-ever Kickabout Sans Frontiers are now registering five-a-side squads from all over the world. The following gangs of showboaters, pretty faces, thugs, and streetball wizards have thrown their hats into the ring:
Les Formidables [Montreal, Canada]
The Freeballers (Jiyuukyuusha) [Osaka, Japan]
The Big Boyz [Lagos, Nigeria]
Her Majesty’s Street Soccer Service (HMSSS) [London, England]
Team USA [Washington DC, USA]
The Oriental All-Stars [Evil Island, Hong Kong]
The Meat Hangers [Australia]
The European Union [Bruxelles, Belgium]
Los Bongo Brothers [Sao Paolo, Brazil]
Wait for it!
This week marked the last matches of Yazoku’s exhibition season!
South Pacific United proved they have a little spunk left, even if only to hold a talented but underperforming Bangkok down to a scoreless draw marked with a relentless Pacific attack against a dogged Royal defense.
Belgian-owned Racing Club Taipei won back a fair chunk of respect from their Western expat supporters in the Wan and across Yazoku by finishing the job rival Osaka started of dragging former league leaders All-Koreas United from the top spot, in a one-sided match against a clearly exhausted Korean side. The hometowners were thrilled with two outside-the-box goals from third forward and Taichung Dragon Li Kai and midfielder Chou A-Ming, while a defense led by Welshman Griffith Lloyd Iwan, Hsieh Kai-hua, and Sao Paolo keeper Juliano Ramos held off even the strongest attacks. Rumors of alcohol-drenched Supercup celebrations on the R.C. side seem to have been quashed by Coach Pontius Wauters — R.C. has a cup to fight for!
A well-rounded Adelaide gave their South Australian fans a wonderful sending off in an action-packed last match against Harbin, with a hat trick from North Adelaide hero Eddy Price against a downtrodden keeper Xing Changhong, whom some argued barely bothered to play at all. Little consolation could be found for the Cold Warriors — goals from Shanghainese Shi Yuchou and captain “Firecracker” Wang Jing weren’t enough to end a catastrophic collapse from the top three in midseason to a miserable 8th place.
Osaka struggled to keep their first-place ranking against an outgunned Singapore Athletic. Heretofore quiet defender “Guts” Tanaka put Bayside up early with a scorcher free kick from 35 yards, deflected off the head of forward Noriaki Nishimura past a stunned keeper Yeo Full Yick. Victory seemed assured until Tamil Legend Hassan Ali ran past three defenders in extra time and received a stellar one-two to leap over Osaka keeper Norio Murabayashi and walk the equalizer into the net.
Finally, scrappy Yogyakarta PSB made their fans and backers proud in a straightforward final match against pitiful last-place-and-winless Vladivostok Concrete. Vlad scored their fifth goal in the season thanks to Ukrainian striker Max Petrenko, but it wasn’t nearly enough to hold off wingback Eman guiding forwards Suparman and “Hachetman” Waworuntu to slot away two to place the squad in second place.
Results (home club listed first):
South Pacific United: 0
Bangkok Royal Football Association: 0
Racing Club Taipei: 2
All-Koreas United: 0
Adelaide Redbacks: 4
Harbin Cold Warriors: 3
Osaka Bayside: 1
Singapore Athletic: 1
Yogyakarta PSB: 2
Vladivostok Concrete: 1
Here are the final standings for the Yazoku’s exhibition season — only two points separated the top three and five points stood between the top seven!
Club Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points
OSA 5 3 1 17 11 +6 18
YGY 5 2 2 13 8 +5 17
SNG 4 4 1 15 9 +6 16
RCT 5 0 4 17 14 +3 15
AKU 4 2 3 18 15 +3 14
ADL 4 1 4 15 12 +3 13
BKK 3 4 2 12 10 +2 13
HRB 3 1 5 15 20 -5 10
SPU 2 1 6 7 20 -13 7
VLD 0 2 7 5 15 -10 2
From here loyal fans will shift their eyes to Hong Kong’s Happy Valley Football Complex where war machine Osaka Bayside will take on struggling once-favorites Racing Club Taipei. Stay tuned for more!
Old friends, old friends….
As one of the longest of longtime loyal fans of the Black, White and Green (aye, these colours run in me veins) through the heady glory days of their 3rd place finish after Season 3 and their 4th place spot last year, it saddens me to the very marrow of my bones to see such a travesty.
Has “Tuan” Luiz forgotten the core that made his team strong? Defense! KL has always prided itself on its overwhelming defense, led by Yusef Hasan (we’ll always call ye Stevie Crouch, ole son) and now-retired captain Hall of Famer Andre Filo and backed up by Maarten and Mboma holding down the net in the rear?
Oi, ’tis true it was a wise man who pulled the inexperienced Paulie Boy Wodjak from the back four, yet perhaps Hasan’s been sporting too many counterattacks, or Mboma’s knees creak more than before. But to replace the Great Filo with Sebastien Ribleaux? Replace true leadership and the all-seeing eye of the Cameroonian Magicman with this talented-but-slow-on-his-feet bloke? The midfield’s the gateway to the back, and we’ve just left the door open and the ill wind’s been blowin’ in all too often.
If ya ask me, have Millet hold down the centre circle and start Buddy Flavour at his side and watch the Ole Craftsman put a little English on the ball as he graces the Marseilles net with a direct one from 24 metres. That boy’s got his brother Sterling watching from the Divisio, and he’ll want nothing more than to knock the Triumph to their knees….
…and maybe, just maybe, have the fight left to win a spot on the top half of the league board. Hartono, Samba, Supriadi, you’re not off the hook either!
Remember, boyos, you’ve gotta win this one and the next if you want to recall the taste of glory instead the bitter brew of shame! My heart pounds for thee, KL!
-BWG “for life”
I’m assuming that the title of this blog comes from Zubilaga’s notorious response to a youth soccer coach who ask him what advice he would give to his ten year olds about how to play the game. “Play with your cleats up…”
-Interbrain
So who do people think should start for the US Team in their match against Belgium? My picks…
GK Lucy Arzoomanian
DF Stanley Power
DF Flip Garcia
DF Paul Wodjak
DF Jerome Starr-Foss
DMF Tim Gatsby
LMF Sean Bannon
CMF Sam London
RMF Ismael Justice
LF Dennis Goldrich
RF Ron Labor, Jr.
with Wahuna coming in fresh for the final 15 minutes…
-Interbrain
After consultation with the Interfoot webmasters, KDMF public relations, both Divisio Ultimo & Apex League officials:
www.dicesoccer.com is up and running. Now you can track Interfoot’s sister league and its second division. Of course it’s a little rough right now but give it some time and you can just see the DS world expanding before your eyes!!!
-Stani
The Apex League season is down to the last two matches of the season. Infinity Fleur-de-Lis and Highlands Clan Futbol stand atop with 47 points; leaving only Dresden and Gotham with a chance to sneak into the promotion slots at 43 and 42 points respectivley. This next round will be crucial with either a draw or win for either IFL or HCF guaranteeing them promotion to Divisio Ultimo.
The end of the season will also trigger the off season transfer window opening with many players in DU, Apex and Interfoot set to change addresses. This promises to be an eventful Transfer Window for the DS leagues.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Loyal and Patient Interfoot Fans,
The Interfoot Masters have announced this season’s nominees for the Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder, Forward, Rookie, and Coach of the Year. The winners, decided by a council of the league’s most well-respected experts and commentators, will be announced after the Season Final in just a couple weeks.
Silken Gloves (Goalkeeper):
David Raczinski (MAR)
Luna Arzoomanian (NAI)
Josef Spatz (VAN)
Lucas Svardal (KIN)
Iron Boot (Defender):
Eduardo Tanseco (BEI)
Markk Kovacz (MAR)
Nilda Falcon (NAI)
Gordon Gist (SYD)
Richard Mandrake (TOK)
Winged Boot (Midfielder):
Silke Otten (PRA)
Felix Fitzgerald (KIN)
Apollo Chen (CAI)
Tim Gatsby (NYC)
Sudoyo (VAN)
Diamond Boot (Forward):
Alain Blanc (MAR)
Moises Gwara (PRA)
Ron Labor, Jr. (NYC)
Tilmo Perez (BEI)
Kazumi Morinaga (SYD)
Brass Boot (Rookie):
Tilmo Perez (BEI)
Johnno (”John”) Polites (SYD)
Sean Mnookian (BEI)
Glorious Scepter (Coach):
Lucien LaBeouf (MAR)
Chris Tweedy (VAN)
Hank Troggers (SYD)
Sam August (KIN)