Football, There Is Nobody Like YOU!!!

By Christian Basantes

Spain is the current World Champion and the country that has one of the most powerful Leagues in the World. This country's Football League, also known as "La Liga", gets this status thanks to  two powerful teams, FC Barcelona (The "Blau-Granas", The "Catalanes") and Real Madrid CF (The "Blancos", The "Merengues"). Both teams have a big rivalry, and every game they play is called “El Clásico” (The Classic)

Both archrivals have the most amount of victories in Spain. Real Madrid owns 31 Spanish Leagues, 17 King Cups, and 9 UEFA Champions League. FC Barcelona is the owner of 20 Spanish Leagues, 25 King Cups, and 3 UEFA Champions League. As you can see, a great history of victories that have made their fans very proud.

But, I'm not here to make a comparison between these two powerful teams. I'm here to talk about the emotions that these two teams gave to the world of soccer on June 7th, 1992. When the last journey of 1991/1992 Spanish League was played, and the Champion was known in the last moments of the 38th round, the last one. The episode I'm about to tell you, is one of the many that increased the rivalry between these two powerful sides.

After 37 rounds of the league, Real Madrid CF was the leader with 54 pts. +47 GA.  FC Barcelona was the second with 53 pts. +48 GA. In that time, the punctuation system was different, for a victory a team used to get 2 points and for tying 1 point. Real Madrid was schedule to visit CD Tenerife at the city of Tenerife in the Canarias Islands. The local team didn't have any chance to be champions; they were just playing to complete their schedule. A victory for the "Blancos" would give them the League Championship. On the other side, FC Barcelona was meeting Athletic Bilbao in Barcelona. They really needed to win and wait that Real Madrid CF losses its game, which was considered almost a miracle to happen.

Real Madrid was the leader of the league for the last 30 journeys. CD Tenerife was a small opponent that didn't have any chance to beat the "Merengues". That's what everybody thought. The Real Madrid CF directors and CEOs, lead by the President Ramon Mendoza, organized a "Victory Tour" with many boxes of champagne and wine. They were pretty sure that the "Blancos" would get the Spanish League back after one year of missing it. But they didn't count that CD Tenerife would be willing to sell its defeat for a very high price. The Dutch Leo Benhacker, the coach, sent to the field players like Paco Buyo, great Spaniard goalie, Fernando Hierro, one of the best defenders ever from Spain, George Haghi, the Rumanian midfielder also known as "The Maradona of the Carpathians", Miguel Gonzalez "Michel", Spaniard midfielder, Ricardo Rocha, great Brazilian defender, and the famous Emilio Butragueño, historic Spaniard forward. CD Tenerife didn't have great names, but they were managed by the Argentinean Jorge Valdano, former Real Madrid CF player, who later, in 1995, would become Real Madrid CF coach. 

In Barcelona, the "Blau-Granas" were receiving the visit of Athletic Bilbao. Players like Andoni Zubizarreta (Goalie), Ronald Koeman, the Dutch great defender, Jose Mari Bakero, good Spaniard midfielder, the Bulgarian Hristo Stoichkov - an idol for "The Catalanes", Guillermo Amor, and Michael Laudrup (Denmark) were ready to play and fight for the miracle of retaining the Spanish League. About Athetic Bilbao, there is not much to say, let's move to how the games went.

Both games started at the same time. At the 8th minute, Goal in Tenerife! Fernando Hierro scored for Real Madrid CF, 1-0! Then, at 28th minute, George Haghi scored for Real Madrid CF and now they were leading 2-0 over CD Tenerife. However, 8 minutes later, at 36th, Hristov Stoichkov scored at the Camp Nou Stadium, a goal for FC Barcelona, 1-0!! Also, at the same time, CD Tenerife scored its first goal!! Estebaranz put the score in 2-1. It looked like neither CD Tenerife nor FC Barcelona were letting things easy for Real Madrid CF. The first 45 minutes in both games ended with partial victories of Real Madrid CF (2-1) and FC Barcelona (1-0). The title of Champion was more than secure for Real Madrid. The "Blancos" were now leading the league with 56 pts. +48 GA, and FC Barcelona was second with 55 pts. +49 GA.

In the second half, we would have moments not suitable for those with a weak heart. 49th minute Goal in Barcelona!! Hristo Stoichkov, one more time, was scoring for "The Catalanes" and now they were leading its game 2-0. FC Barcelona had now 55 pts. +50 GA. In Tenerife, things were still normal for Real Madrid CF, but suddenly they got too relaxed. That's why at the 77th minute, Goal in Tenerife! An own goal by the experienced Brazilian defender Ricardo Rocha gave the tied to CD Tenerife, 2-2! Now we had, Real Madrid: 55 +47; FC Barcelona 55 +49!! This was a psychological goal that Ream Madrid CF never recovered. In Tenerife, the Madrid fans were getting nervous, while in Barcelona, the fans were getting very excited. But the worst for Real Madrid came at the 78th minute. In a very fast play, Pier scored for CD Tenerife and they came back for a lead of 3-2!. Now we had FC Barcelona: 55 pts. +49, and Real Madrid: 54 pts. +47. FC Barcelona was leading the Spanish League since the 77th minute of the last game in the last round! While Real Madrid CF was relegated to second place, after being leaders for the last 30 rounds! On my Goodness! This is what was really happening!!! Amazing how things were changing for a bunch of mistakes that the "Merengues" did in the Football field.

At the end of both games, Real Madrid CF lost 3-2 in Tenerife, while FC Barcelona beat 2-0 Athletic Bilbao in Barcelona “La Ciudad Condal”. The Real Madrid CF directors and CEOs didn't accept the defeat easily. They were talking about supposed incentives to CD Tenerife players from FC Barcelona directors, and suspicious actions from the referees. For example, a legitimate goal from Luis Milla, Real Madrid CF player, wasn't called as valid; three penalties for the "Blancos" were denied, some strange businesses under the table, and so on. However, nothing was ever proved.

The great "Blau-granas" "The Catalanes" had won the Spanish League in an unforgettable and memorable end. It was the beginning of a memorable era of victories for FC Barcelona and its "Dream Team". In Tenerife, the CD Tenerife fans were really happy because their team played with lots of dignity. They never felt too proud of themselves, and I'm very sure that the boxes of champagne and wine that Real Madrid CF directors brought, were drank it till the last drop by them. Real Madrid CF players and directors came back to Madrid with nothing, for sure, with a sepulchral silence and disappointment, while in Barcelona, everything was party, lots of happiness and lots of pride. I just wonder who were happier for the disgraceful faith of Real Madrid CF? The CD Tenerife fans? or the FC Barcelona fans? Who do you think? 

Anyway, for great memorable moments like this, I can tell you and and I'll always tell you, my fellow Soccer fans, excuse me!! Football fans: FOOTBALL THERE IS NOBODY LIKE YOU!!!

Christian Basantes

The Whitecaps First Away Game

By Santiago Endara

Last Saturday at 1:00 pm Vancouver time, the Whitecaps played their first away game of the MLS era against the Philadelphia Union.

The game ended with a 1:0 victory of Philadelphia over Vancouver.  Here is the analysis of the game

Our coach Teitur Thordarson, had a hard time finding the right squad as his most talented players where either injured (Midfielder Davide Chiumiento and Goalie Jay Nolly) or playing for their national teams (Jay DeMeritt for the USA and Michael Boxall for New Zealand) 

The game was even and Vancouver did a good job, but had a couple of mistakes that eventually coasted us the game:

1) Hassli: He was unfairly booked in the first half for a fault that didn’t deserve a yellow, but after this happened, he fell into the trap of the Union players, as they were constantly provoking him hoping to get a bad reaction and cause his expulsion.   That is exactly what happened.  He went too hard for a divided ball, and that added to some previous rough plays against other defenders convinced the referee that he was too rough to continue on the field.  His expulsion, in addition to demoralize his team also caused that the Union could add one more men to attack, causing more problems to the defence of Vancouver, which eventually allowed a goal.

2) Harris: He was not a problem for the defenders of the Union.  Harris lacked speed and skills to create problems in a solid defence. 

3) Defenders: The Vancouver Whitecaps defenders kept the ball away for most part of the game and did a good job in general but made several mistakes that will be great if they can correct:

a) When heading the ball away of your area on a defensive header, never aim for the center of the field but to the sides.  If you clear to the sides, the ball will not bounce back to the other team in a dangerous zone.  This is exactly what happened in the Union game: A bad defensive header was left in the boots of a Union player who crossed the ball to the box and it ended up in a goal.  Although the goal has been considered an offside by many fans, in my opinion, I can’t tell, the TV does not show the best angle to decide if it was an offside or not.

b) The defence needs to control more the pace of the game.  The Whitecaps could not put the game in the “fridge” when that is what they should have done.  Of course this skills are more present in players with more experience, so that is when you feel the absence of DeMeritt.

So, this are the updates of the first away game of the Whitecaps. 

Vivit our blog and we will keep you informed of the rest of the games.  

   

This were the line ups:

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Joe Cannon; 25.Jonathan Leathers, 14.Greg Janicki, 4.Alain Rochat, 19.Blake Wagner; 16.Nizar Khalfan (23.Long Tan 88’), 7.Terry Dunfield, 28.Gershon Koffie, 31.Russell Teibert (8.Wes Knight 65’); 9.Atiba Harris (37.Camilo Sanvezzo 83’), 29.Eric Hassli

Philadelphia Union
1.Faryd Mondragon; 25.Sheanon Williams, 5.Carlos Valdes, 4.Danny Califf, 2.Jordan Harvey (19.Jack McInerney 67’); 7.Brian Carroll, 9.Sebastien Le Toux, 6.Stefani Migliorani, 13.Kyle Nakazawa (8.Roger Torres 67’); 20.Carlos Ruiz, 10.Danny Mwanga (15.Gabriel Farfan 83’)

7 Tempat Liburan Natal

1. Bethlehem di Tepi Barat:

Komersialisme kini kian menggusur makna sebenarnya dari Natal. Maka untuk kembali pada akar dari Natal, tak ada yang bisa mengalahkan perziarahan ke tempat kelahiran Yesus. Manger Square (Pelataran Palungan) di bagian Old City, Bethlehem, pada malam Natal dipenuhi pohon Natal. Dan puncak perayaan bisa ditemukan pada misa tengah malam di gereja St. Catherine, persis ketika lonceng berbunyi pukul 24.00.

2. Desa Santa Claus, Finlandia:

Kalau tak puas dengan banyaknya Santa Claus di mal, berkemaslah dan terbang ke lingkaran artik Finlandia. St. Nicholas alias Santa Claus merupakan warga kehormatan di Desa Santa Claus ini. Walau terletak di daerah bersalju, di pedalaman hutan yang dihuni rusa, tapi para turis malah makin tertarik mengunjungi desa ini. Tak jauh dari desa itu juga terdapat taman ria Santa Park. Agak mahal mengunjungi tempat ini, tapi Anda dijamin puas.

3. New York, Amerika:

Cukup banyak film yang menampilkan semaraknya New York di waktu Natal (contoh: Home Alone 2). Lampu Natal di mana-mana, semoga ada sedikit salju turun, lalu Anda bisa melihat gemerlapnya pohon Natal terbesar di Rockefeller Center yang sudah dipasang dari awal Desember, ice-skating di sekitar pohon Natal itu, lalu berbelanja di toko-toko mewah di New York. Dan di penghujung acara ada pertunjukkan "The Nutcracker" oleh New York Ballet.

4. Pantai Bondi, Australia:

Kebalikan dari semua klise Natal di bagian utara dunia, di pantai ini Anda tak akan menemukan salju atau lampu Natal. Tanggal 25 Desember pantai ini akan penuh oleh backpacker, dan digoncang oleh pertunjukan DJ dan band. Ini tempatnya untuk cuci mata.

5. Dublin, Irlandia:

Umat Katolik di Irlandia merayakan Natal dengan rasa humor. Acara yang paling menarik adalah renang pada pagi 25 Desember, di kolam air asin 12 meter. Menjelang Natal jalanan kota Dublin selalu ramai, ada Pasar 12 Hari Natal di Docklands, pertunjukkan pantomim, lampu-lampu Natal, ice-skating, beserta bazar dan perayayaan di Temple Bar. Jangan lupakan juga nyanyian Natal (Christmas Carol) di Katedral St. Patrick.

6. Nuremberg, Jerman:

Membeli hadiah Natal tak selamanya di pertokoan atau mal, cobalah mengunjungi Christkindlesmarkt (Pasar Natal), di Hauptmarkt, Nuremberg. Di sini sekitar 180 kios tenda menawarkan mainan, pernak-pernik, lilin, roti jahe, dan permen bagi para pengunjung. Sambil berkeliling anda bisa menikmati bratwurst (sosis khas Jerman) dan anggur hangat yang dicampur jus atau rempah-rempahan seperti kayu manis, cengkeh, atau jahe. Setelah senja dan semua lampu Natal dinyalakan, tempat ini berubah seperti negeri dongeng. Ini tempat belanja Natal paling romantis.

7. Zurich, Swiss:

Terkenal akan coklat, pegunungan, dan salju, Swiss juga cocok untuk liburan Natal, terutama di kota Zurich, karena banyaknya pasar Natal (bahkan di dalam stasiun keretanya), dan juga ada tur keliling kota dengan tema Natal. Jug ada pohon Natal 'bernyanyi' di Werdmuhleplatz, yaitu koor pada panggung segitiga yang disusun sehingga mirip pohon Natal, lengkap dengan nuansa hijau dan lampu kelap-kelipnya.

Source : http://forum.vibizportal.com/showthread.php?t=18838

MLS has arrived, the dream is here to Stay!!

by Christian Basantes

It was Saturday March 19, 2011 when a dream finally came true. I came to Vancouver 8 and a half years ago, and I loved the city since the very beginning. Its people, its multicultural background, its organization, its weather, and the passion for sports as hockey, Canadian football, basketball and so on. But I could feel that the city was missing something, and that was a real Football (Soccer) League. But before talking about last Saturday, let's talk first about some memories.

Some Memories:

I am a big soccer fan, I am a "frustrated" soccer player, coach, manager, so on..... Anyway, I used to go to every single game that my team, the now powerful Liga de Quito, played in my home city, and that was every weekend. Other than my family and friends, soccer and Liga were the things that made me homesick.

Over the years, I had the opportunity to experience professional matches between Guatemala and Canada (Qualification to Germany 2006) that I got invited by a good friend. Great game with a lot of fun. Also, I went to the U-20 match between Spain and Brazil during the 2007 U-20 World Cup, which it was the best game ever in this province. Spain beat Brazil 4-2. Both games were really exciting, but these happened once and then Football was gone again. I wanted more, I wanted to see a real Soccer League and enjoy more of my favourite sport live.

The MLS History

MLS was the answer to my dreams, in 2009 the Whitecaps got the MLS franchise, so in 2011 the dream was coming here. But when the MLS started? After the successful organization of the 1994 World Cup USA. Before that tournament, American soccer executives had the idea to create a similar thing to the disappeared NASLA. After a couple of years of planning, the MLS had its first season in 1996. Players like Marco Antonio Etcheverry (Bolivia), Carlos Valderrama (Colombia), Eduardo Hurtado (Ecuador) and more, were taking part of the event and the fans started to enjoy great games. DC United was the first champion after beating LA Galaxy in the final. The DC team enjoyed victory three more times in 1997, 1999, and 2004. They are the most winners in 15 years of MLS history. Later, more teams had its turn to raise the MLS cup. Chicago Fire (1998), Kansas City Wizards (2000), San Jose Earthquakes (2001, 2003), LA Galaxy (2002, 2005), Houston Dynamo (2006, 2007), Columbus Crew (2008), Real Salt Lake (2009), and Colorado Rapids (2010). As we can notice, just 9 teams have been able to sing "We are the Champions" in 15 years of great seasons.

At this current moment, 16 American teams and 2 Canadian teams take part of the competition. Toronto FC was the 1st Canadian team to join, and yes Vancouver Whitecaps FC are the 2nd. Coincidentally, the 1st game for the Whitecaps was against the "experienced" Ontario team.

Last Saturday March 19^th, A day to remember

But, enough of history, let's talk about last Saturday. The missing thing that Vancouver needed finally arrived on March 19th. MLS arrived here to stay, and we welcomed this dream with a great victory in an unforgettable game! Eric Hassli twice, Terry Dunfiled and Atiba Harris made us yell GOAL 4 times! Whitecaps won 4-2 over Toronto FC. The atmosphere was amazing, rivers of people filled the Empire Field, and our Football Drum Band  "La Doce" was part of that huge crew of soccer fans. 

Six goals for a first game were more than my expectations. The debutants beat the experienced team (It is the 5th season for Toronto FC), but for many moments of this game, the Whitecaps seemed to be the experienced ones. Simply, the performance was excellent and it looks promising for future games. Will the Whitecaps be the Champions? I don't know. The only thing I can say is that let's be motivated and keep supporting our team. Of course, we have season passes, but my message is for the rest of the fans. This victory was a great start, but let's keep it real and keep our feet on the ground. Game by game, and step by step, we can achieve our dreams. I think the next dream to come true is to see the Whitecaps being Champions, well let's keep supporting and cheering in order to make that dream come true.

And Football is coming to Vancouver (finally)

Well we are less than 48 hours from the first game of the Whitecaps in the MLS. 

La 12 is almost ready to go to the stadium to have some fun and to propose the rest of the people a cheering style that is fun, raucuous, friendly, rhytmic and has good and catchy songs!  

The idea will be to have a party in the stadium while we support our Vancouver club.

We have done all the efforts to be good fans and to support the spread of Football in Vancouver.  
  
We wish everybody good luck: our members, members of other supporter groups and mostly the Whitecaps players, who will have all our support. 

       Hellooo! I'm Back Again

       Setelah sekian lama aku tidak aktif dalam dunia blogger, akhirnya saya kembali. Akhir-akhir ini aku banyak mengalami banyak kegiatan. Diantaranya, libur di saat kakak-kakak kelas IX melaksanakan Try Out dan Ujian Nasional, Mid Test, Wisata Edukasi, pembagian rapot, dan liburan akhir semester. Kali ini aku akan bercerita tentang Mid Test.

       Mid Test ini dilaksanakan pada hari Senin, 14 Maret 2011. Aku belum persiapan sama sekali. Namun, pada hari Sabtu dan hari Minggu aku belajar Agama dan B. Indonesia. Jadwal pelajaran pertama adalah Agama dan B. Indonesia. Hari kedua Matematika dan PKN. Hari ketiga yaitu IPS dan B. Inggris. Hari keempat yaitu Science dan TIK. Hari kelima tiga pelajaran sekaligus, yaitu PLKJ, Jasa Perniagaan, dan Seni Budaya. Sebelumnya, aku ingin memberitahukan bahwa sekolahku ini Rintisan Sekolah Bertaraf Internasional atau biasa disebut juga RSBI. Jadi pada hari Sabtu khusus dijadwalkan untuk Mid Test RSBI yaitu MATH & Science. Aku terus belajar giat dan rajin, untuk menjadi yang terbaik, dapat membahagiakan orang tua, membawa nama baik kelas 7-5, dan membawa nama baik sekolah. 

          Setelah semua Test telah aku lalui, ada program sekolah untuk melepaskan kejenuhan selama seminggu belajar untuk Mid Test, yaitu Wisata Edukasi. Mendengar hal tersebut anak-anak langsung menyambut dengan ceria dan bergembira, termasuk aku. Aku sangat senang mendengar hal tersebut. Wisata Edukasi ini diadakan di Desa Pancawati, Bogor. Kegiatan wisata ini tidak menginap, tetapi sore harinya langsung pulang ke Jakarta. Anak-anak telah dibagikan selebaran untuk membawa apa saja yang harus dipersiapkan. Aku sendiri sebenarnya ingin membawa kamera untuk mengabadikan momen-momen yang belum tentu akan terulang kembali. Tapi aku bingung, karena aku takut kalau membawa kamera, nanti bisa hilang. Selanjutnya, kita (aku dan anak-anak yang lain) tinggal menunggu waktu untuk saatnya tiba berangkat ke Desa Pancawati, Bogor. Rasanya SENAAAAAANGGGGG SEKALIIIIIIIII!!!!! Karena itu, doakan kami ya agar kami selamat sampai tujuan! Terima Kasih. :)