Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC Player of the Week

COQUITLAM METRO-FORD SC PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
RASHAUN RIVERS – COQUITLAM METRO-FORD BARÇA

In the Under 14 Select Division, the underage Barça boys defeated Langley United by a narrow, but well earned, 2-1margin. RASHAUN RIVERS scored both Coquitlam Metro-Ford goals to lead his team to the very important victory.

Rivers, two time winner of the award, opened the scoring midway through the first half when he collected the ball in the opponents' half of the field and, after beating a couple of defenders, rifled a world-class shot into the top corner of the net from well outside the penalty area.

Late in the game, with the scored tied 1-1, Rivers once again rose to the occassion as he took advantage of a defensive blunder, picked up the loose ball, rounded the goalkeeper, and slotted the ball intothe empty net for the winning goal.

For his outstanding performance, RASHAUN RIVERS has been chosen as Coquitlam Metro-Ford Male Player-of-the-Week.

Keane: the Autobiography

From time to time, as I do with youtube clips, I will post some literature from books to assist in your development off the field. Please read it. Reading is good for you and your soccer development!

Here is a couple of pages from Roy Keane autobiography, former captain of the treble winning Manchester United team of the 1990's and early 2000's.

In 1999, Keane's United won the Premiership league title, the FA Cup and the Champions League - all in the same year! Up until that time, it had never been done. Keane was instumental throughout that season and his leadership is legendary not only at United but throughout the soccer world.

In the book, he talks about accountability and the fact you just can't phone in results if you want to win games. Good, perceptive players (and coaches) can see probelms and complacency (relaxing in the 'comfort zone') coming from a mile away by the changes in attitudes and body language not only at games but before during and after training. You have to give the same effort versus the big teams as well as the little teams - even the 3 v 3 games in training!

He also talks about what it means to play for a big club to not only the players, but the supporters. Although we aren't Manchester United, we should approach each and every practice and game in this manner. From the club president all the way down to your parents driving you to each game/practice, others are sacrificing for your benefit. Don't take it for granted. You are lucky boys! You are all well taken care of!

Click the two photos below to read the two pages from the book.

Enjoy!

Classic Bayern/Barça

Some people love pop, some love new wave, some love punk but when it comes to games played between Coquitlam Metro-Ford Barça '96 and club mates Bayern '95, nothing but a classic number will do!

Once again the Barça/Bayern game brought out the best in both teams as both went toe to toe in a grueling 'cup like' game that resulted in tonnes of action, many chances, some great saves, three yellow cards, two sending offs and an exciting 0-0 draw.

Heading into the big game CMF Bayern, currently in 1st place, riding high after hammering 3rd place Richmond United 6-0 last weekend and strengthened by a few 'A' players from CMF Sparta '95 team, have only dropped 2 points in the last 10 games recording 9 wins and one tie in that time period.

Barça has been on fire as well only dropping 3 points in the last 6 games winning 5 out of their last 6 collecting 15 out of a possible 18 points pushing them to the top half of the standings.

The early moments were close as Bayern had the lions share of possession as Barça struggled to adjust to their new 4-3-3 formation. Although the formation posed a challenging concept for the Barça midfield of Kyle Jones, Giordano Baldonero and Marcello Polisi, Barça were dangerous on the counter - so dangerous that the red hot Rashaun Rivers thought he had opened the scoring when he was played clean through on goal by a lovely pass from Jones only to have the goal called back for offside.

Bayern made some changes midway through the half and put even more pressure on the Barça defense, led by the three big men (and one little one) in Anthony Martin, Anthony McKave, James Lynn and captain Trevor Hallam. Bayern should have scored at least a goal as the chances they developed provided many cracks in the Barça defensive wall but with Jake Sundar's safe hands and stiff team defending, Barça held strong and got out of the half unscathed.

After a animated half time team talk Barça came out with vigor and took the game to Bayern creating quite a few scoring opportunities. Frustrations soon surfaced as a Bayern player was sent off after an altercation with Hallam as the Barça captain had to move into the midfield with Jones being withdrawn from the battle with a lower body injury.

The game quickly turned in Barça direction as the extra room provided many holes in the Bayern defense and Barça's chances doubled through their slick passing and movement. Rivers, Michael Mobilio, Polisi and Baldonero all came close while forward Paul Serres threw himself into every tackle and Krsto Lulic and Ryan Mobilio ran hard up and down the flanks.

Barça's defense were ruthless as Lynn, McKave and Matteo Galaccio won every lose ball, not giving the much bigger Bayern forwards a moment to breathe and using their balance and strength to win the 50/50 battles. Special mention should go out to Anthony Martin who anchored the back line outstandingly in the second half, stepping up his physical play and demonstrated why the Barça coaching staff think he can be one of the best defenders in the province.

Hemming the Bayern team in their end resulted in a hand ball in the box and a penalty shot for Barça enabling them to win the game. Polisi bravely stepped up to put Barça in the lead but the Bayern goalie guessed right (literally) and made a smart save to preserve the scoreline. Frustration surfaced and some uncharacteristic verbal barb's were exchanged resulting with the referee handing out a yellow card to the Bayern goalie and a red card to Polisi. Up until that moment Polisi was having an outstanding game and will miss the next game due to suspension. As gutted as he was after the incident, Polisi maturely took responsibility for his action, apologized to his coach and team and promptly demonstrated his class apologized to both the Bayern coach and the referee for his action.

The game continued in the same manner as Barça continued with the pressure but to no avail. 0-0 was a much deserved scoreline as both teams played their guts out and added to the classic list of games between the two teams.

Barça move on to close out he 2008 part of the season next week with a game versus Surrey United/Guildford in Surrey before the Christmas Break. Barça will want revenge as they dropped a disappointing 2-1 decision back on September 27th losing a game they had no business losing. Barça now move to 6-3-4 for 21 pts and 5th place in the league.

Game Day Routine

Here is game day routine that the boys should try and follow as most of our games this year are at 3:00pm. The routine is flexible so that the players can adjust them to fit with different game times.

This routine was designed by former soccer player, sports councillor and author of "the New Game Plan" Stephe Raghoobarsingh.

Stephe has now written two successful books and works with many amateur and professional athletes from a variety of sports helping these athletes 'get into the zone' and meet and exceed their potential.

Barça Leave it Late

Welcome to the second addition of the Rashaun Rivers show!

The Coquitlam Metro-Ford Barça '96 boys team won their 4th game in a row and 5th in 6 games beating a very game Langley United team 2-1 on a cold and rainy night under the lights in Langley.

The rain couldn't cool the red hot Rashaun Rivers who scored 2 outstanding goals including a world class hammer job that Cristiano Ronaldo would have been proud of. Rivers opened the scoring half way through the first half after some heavy pressure from the Langley team who was winning all the 50/50 balls and most of the races to every lose balls up until that point. Rivers collected the ball midway in the Langley end, proceeded to beat a Langley defender and rifle a shot on a rope from around 25 yards out that kissed off the underside of the crossbar and post to settle in the absolute top corner of the net. Gasps of breath could be heard around McLeod Stadium as Rivers put Barça up 1-0. The score stayed 1-0 thanks to some timely movement in goal by Jake Sundar who was quick off his line to pick off any through balls that came dangerously close to the Barça goal.

The second half started brightly for the Barça boys and really should have added to their lead when Barça strung at least 10 passes together in the Langley zone that led to a strike from Giordano Baldonero from 25 yards out that just missed the top left hand corner of the net.

Barça played much better in the first part of the second half and were in control until a breakdown after a Barça corner was cleared and Langley countered and chipped Sundar to make the score 1-1. Things turned negative for Barça for a while with the fast turf, poor weather condition and poor movement off the ball. The flowing Barça passing game that was so prevalent last weekend in there win versus Abbotsford again deserted them and left Barça scrapping to get something from the game.

Langley came close again when Jake Sundar kept out a hard shot on his back when another Barça defender was second to a loose ball at the top of the box. This time, it was Barça turn to counter and Marchello Polisi saw is shot hit the crossbar and go over.

As the game entered the last 5 minutes and both teams seeming to be looking at a draw, Rivers hustled onto a through ball that was played too deep and pressured the defender who promptly tried to play it back to his goalie. Rivers caught up to the ball rounded the keeper and slotted the ball into the empty net to the delight of his teammates and relief of his coaches.

Barça sneaks out a win that last year would have resulted in a loss. Barça moves to 6-2-4 on the season for 20 points and cements their 5th place position drawing closer to the 3rd and 4th place teams.

Special thanks to Jacob Powell who was called up for the game from the CMF Euro '97 team. Jacob played very well in the victory and again illustrated the ability of the club to produce players that can raise their game to play at a higher level.

Barça moves on to play the 1st place Coquitlam Metro-Ford Bayern next week that should be a classic as is all Bayern/Barça matches are.

Can You Move it Like This?

Can you shake it like that?

Barça Uses Math to Win 3rd In A Row

Great Effort + Solid Team Work = Excellent Win!

The Coquitlam Metro-Ford Barça '96 team had one of their better games of the season beating a very good Abbotsford Mariners team 2-1 at Charles Best. The great effort combined with sold team-work resulted in their 3rd win in a row and their 5th on the season in the very tough U14 Select 'B' division.

Over the last two games, the Barça coaching staff has been disappointed with the effort of the Barça players and challenged them to get back to the two thing that makes them an outstanding under aged team - EFFORT and TEAM WORK. Today, they passed with flying colours!

To Abbotsford's credit, they are an outstanding under aged team that will be challenging Barça in the future. They have been having some of their promising '96s play up with their Select 'A' team but with the 'A' team having a bye this weekend, they brought them down along with one of their best '95 players for the tough match with Barça.

The first half was a battle of wills with both sets of midfielders fighting for territory and supremacy. With the constant pro-active movement of Barça's outside backs (Trevor Hallam, Anthony McKave and Matteo Gallacio), the Barça midfield of Paul Serres, Giordano Baldonero, Kyle Jones, Marchello Polisi and Ryan Mobilio was able to grasp the momentum and pin the Abby team in their end. The half ended 0-0 but the chances, time of possession and shots on goal were firmly in Barça's favour.

The second half started off much the same as Barça kept the Abby Mariners on their heels. After some good defensive work from James Lynn and Anthony Martin, Rashaun Rivers worked his way down the right side and powered his way into the penalty area and scored a deflected goal to put Barça up 1-0.

Spurred on by this much deserved lead Barça kept winning the 50/50 balls and with 15 minutes left in the game Baldonero found Rivers at the top of the box who slipped a nice ball into a onside Krsto Lulic who charged to the net only to be taken down by a Abby defender. After a 'rock, paper, scissor' contest, Polisi stepped up to put Barça ahead 2-0. Cudo's to Lulic for being a team player by stepping aside and letting Polisi to take the PK!

Barça had a few more chances to put the game out of reach with both the Mobilio boys (Ryan and Michael) finding room in the 18 yard box and coming close.

With 5 minutes left on the clock, Abby got one back when a breakdown in the Coquitlam Metro-Ford defense allowed Abby's most dangerous player in behind the defense and his centering cross came off a Barça defender past keeper Jake Sundar who, besides some foot clearances, had very little to do. One must say that the undisclosed Barça defender clinically slotted the ball into the corner of the net! ;)

It was all hands on deck for the final 5 minutes but Barça showed too much heart and character to let this slip away, pressing Abby in their own end and walked off demonstrating to all their fans that they are at least one of, if not, the best team in their age group.

Barça improve to 5-2-4 for 5th place in the U14 Select 'B' division and look forward to using this new found Math against Langley United next week in Langley.

Barça Win Again!

It wasn't pretty but the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Barça escaped another close encounter to hold on to a 1-0 win over Alouette Ultra to record their 4th win of the season and move into a tie for 5th in the very competitive U14 Select 'B' division.

Barça started off quickly and had four glorious chances to virtually kill off the game in the first 15 minutes with Krsto Lulic, Rashaun Rivers and Kyle Jones missing chances that on other days would have nestled in the back of the net. Rivers eventually opened the scoring on one of his many chances with a well struck shot into the corner of the net. This woke up the older Alouette team who were dangerous from all set plays.

Infact, Alouette could have - should have - drawn level with 5 minutes left in the half when a corner was poorly cleared by the Barça defense and the Alouette midfield saw his brilliant volley from 6 yards out miraculously pushed onto the bar by goalkeeper Jake Sundar and cleared by defender Matteo Gallaccio. Sundar recorded his 4th shutout of the year in the process.

After the half Barça again started off well but uncharacteristically ventured away from their fluid passing and possession game that sees off opponents. Barça was now losing all the 50-50 battles, were second to every ball in all areas of the field, and gave the ball away cheaply as Alouette piled on the pressure. Most of the chances came outside the penalty area and when a big save was called upon, Sundar and his Barça defense thwarted the effort. Alouette came close with a great long distant strike that hammered against the crossbar and out of the danger area. Barça had chances to kill off the game on the counter attack but finishing and sustained pressure were lacking.

Barça was able to hold on and collect the full points but efforts like this will not do in the future or dire consequences will be the outcome.

Barça have hit the halfway point in the league schedule and are 4-2-4 with 14 points and tied for 5th in the league standings. Barça now move on to play a much improved Abbotsford Mariners 'B' next week.

Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC Player of the Week

COQUITLAM METRO-FORD SC PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

RASHAUN RIVERS – COQUITLAM METRO-FORD BARÇA

In the Under 14 Select Division, Barça edged the older, and stronger, Surrey United Selects by a 4-3 margin mostly due to the outstanding play of RASHAUN RIVERS.

Despite the fact that Barca struggled throughout most of the match, Rashaun managed to score 3 great goals to lead his team to an unexpected victory. Rivers, a first-year player with Barca, has had to adjust to a steep learning curve and has adjusted remarkably well to the higher expectations. With a great work ethic, positive attitude, and true athleticism, Rashaun has risen to the unenviable task of playing against older, bigger, select players and is continuously making positive contributions to his team’s endevours.

What made Rashaun’s performance even more impressive is the fact that Barca played one of its worst games of the season! For his outstanding performance, RASHAUN RIVERS has been chosen as Coquitlam Metro-Ford Male Player-of-the-Week.

Hungary for a Better Life

On the most important day of his life, Shadrak Kwabena wakes up hungry. He is 9 years old, his pencil legs covered in knee-high, hand-me-down yellow socks. This is the moment his mother imagined when she took him to the coach three years ago with a request: Please give my son a future.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=ghanasoccer

Nike - Take It To The Next Level (Director's Cut)

Neat commercial.

Enjoy

Mr. Jones

Play Well and Lose, Play Poorly and Win!

Tale of two games!

Barça came away from the last two games against Richmond United and Surrey Selects showing the best of themselves (and losing a match they had no business losing) and the worst of themselves (and winning a match they had no business winning). Both games were against teams that have been doing quite well in the league and were always going to be tough but as many Premiership teams can attest, the game(s) don't always go the way they are suppose to go.

Against Richmond United, the Barça boys showed that they can be one of the best teams in the league with their fluent passing and stingy defense. While limiting Richmond to only a handful of chances (3 actually) Barça created at least SIX clear cut chances to sink a strong Richmond team that sat in 3rd spot in the league standings.

Richmond scored on two of their chances including an offside play where a Barça player was wrongly penalized for a high foot clearance in the box and Richmond were awarded an indirect free kick 10 feet out from goal!

The Barça boys only scored on one of their six glorious chances. As much as the referee made the wrong call on one of the Richmond goals, we didn't score on our chances and thus we must share the blame! The goal was scored by Giordano Baldenero from a terrific and delicate cross from Ryan Mobilio.

Ever the other way around, Barça finally was on the other end of a result that they probably don’t deserve against a very good Surrey Select team.

Thanks to 3 goals from Rashaun Rivers, Barca knocked off an older, bigger Surrey team that had brought down 4 players from their ’95 ‘A’ team for the match.

Kyle Jones scored the other goal from the penalty spot.

At one point Barça was winning 3-1 before letting Surrey back into the game. Barça had a chance to make it 4-2 when Giordano Baldenero scored on a second PK but the ref called it back for encroachment when one of our players was pushed into the area before the kick was made. The second shot was saved and brought a 'dead in the water' Surrey team to life! All hands on deck was the call of the moment and real heart was needed to get anything out of the game.

Barca did not play very well but thanks to Rivers last minute volley, Barça was able to steal the 3 points that in other games were stolen from them!

The Barça lads now move on to play Alouette Ultra next Saturday at home.

Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC Player of the Week

COQUITLAM METRO-FORD SC PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
TREVOR HALLAM – COQUITLAM METRO-FORD BARÇA

Leadership is given to those that others follow. The best leaders lead whether asked or not! In the case Barça captain, the rest follow his true leadership.

The newly elected diminutive Barca captain is proving his true leadership by accepting responsibility on and off the field, battling back from injury with a giant of a game and filling in on the back line making crunching tackles at the back while making huge contributions going forward and turning defensive situations into offensive chances.

Against the older North Shore Select '95's, Trevor was at his best helping his team to a much deserved and needed 1-0 win by demonstrating all of these attributes from the start of the game to the finish.

Hallam is a naturally quiet boy who leads by example, sacrificing his body and using his skill and smarts to lead his team. Whatever is asked of Trevor, he follows through without questioning or batting an eye... and the rest follow.

Well done captain! For his outstanding performance, TREVOR HALLAM has been chosen as Coquitlam Metro-Ford Male Player-of-the-Week.

Barça Win With Tough Defense

The Coqutilam Metro-Ford Barça '96 Select boys team won their second game this season through hard work, excellent ball movement and tough defense in their game versus North Shore Selects '95. The 1-0 scoreline didn't do justice to the Barça chances that were generated but when the game got close in the second half, it was tough defense that came through.

Led from the back by captain Trevor Hallam, the back line held strong and again gave up very little in the way of chances. Goalkeeper Jake Sundar, defenders James Lynn, Anthony Martin, Anthony McKave, Matteo Gallaccio, Paul Serres, and Hallam have been a impenetrable wall in recent games and has only allowed 5 goals against this season - best goals against in the league made up of teams a year older than our boys.

Barça owned the first half and had many good goal scoring chances as Krsto Lulic, Rashaun Rivers, Ryan Mobilio and Kyle Jones all came close to opening the scoring. If not for the North Shore goalie, the game could have been over in the first half.

The second half started off the same with Lulic coming close again but things turned as the Barça boys struggled to control their passing and North Shore poured the pressure on. North Shore came close a few times - hitting the crossbar, but the defense never cracked and Barça was soon rewarded for their weeks of hard work with a well taken goal.

After a short throw-in between Marcello Polisi and Lulic, Polisi struck a peach of a cross that found the head of Rivers who rose above a defender and the goalie to delicately direct the ball into the corner of the net.

Again through strangling defense, Barça went forward in search for more but found their chances just going wide.

Barça had to settle for a 1-0 victory and improve to 2-2-3 for the season, moving on to take on a tough Richmond Selects team next week.

Good Effort Through Two Games Only Nets Barça Single Point

Two very gutsy performances against teams a year older provided proof that the Barça boys are up to the challenge. The downside - they only see a point for their effort.

Barça played the Chilliwack Impact two weeks ago, a team that finished in the top 3 in the U13 Gold A division last year, and came away with an undeserving 1-0 loss. Some would argue that Barça deserved at least a draw in the game and through their tough defending and incredible work ethic only really gave up the one chance.

The Impact came out blistering and scored a minute and a half into the game catching the Barça boys a little sleepy from the long drive out to Chilliwack. Rashaun Rivers came inches from tying the score soon after on a header but the Impact goalie was up to the challenge and parried the ball out for a corner. There wasn't too many chances after as Chilliwack owned the first half while Barça did more than hold their own in the second. Final result; Impact 1 Barça 0.

Barça went on to face another top, older team in the Ladner Celtics and again showed very well. In fact, Barça had the better scoring opportunities with Marcello Polisi missing from 6 yards out and Kyle Jones forcing the goalie to push the ball off the crossbar and over the net from a 25 yard bomb. Ladner came close with a free kick that keeper Jake Sundar was called upon to parry over the bar. Both teams battled in the midfield as Barça struggled with injuries to a few of it's players and the transfer of Anthony De Luca to the Kilarney Panthers of the 4 District U13 league. Final result; Celtics 0 Barça 0.

Both results were high on effort and will put the Barça boys in snarly moods come this weekend versus North Shore Selects.

Disappointing Effort Leads to Disappointing Result

How can something that started off so good ended up so bad?

That's the question that the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Barça '96 team are asking after taking a well worked 1-0 lead in the first 5 minutes of the game and then watch the game turn on it's head with some defensive errors and sluggish play that resulted in a 2-1 loss to Surrey/Guildford United.

With only 2 over aged call ups, Surrey controlled most of the match and pressured the Barça boys into making some poor decisions followed by some poor passes. Usually the strength of the team, Barça's possession game was virtually non existent and the unforced give-aways were at an all time high frustrating the coaching staff to no end.

Paul Serres open the scoring for Barça after some excellent possession passing and Barça could have added to that lead but their shooting legs and passion to score let them down. Soon after, Surrey got a break and scored on an offside play that was missed by the referee. Poor tackling and a Barça defense that kept getting caught square all game lead to the second goal and Barça was in for a fight that they would end up losing. Being outworked is not typical for the Barça boys but today was a good example that the hardest working team usually wins the game. In this case it became the truth! Barça are now a win, a tie and 2 losses.

Barça move on to play a very tough, tough Chilliwack Impact team that is walking through the competition at the moment and if they don't come out fighting, will be on the end of a very lopsided scoreline!

Barça Play Well But Still Lose

Anyway the game turned out this weekend, Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club was going to win!

The annual club grudge match took place this weekend with Coquitlam Metro-Ford Barça taking on club mate Bayern in one of the most entertaining matches ever between these two teams. Both teams took the game seriously, both came to win, and both demonstated excellent control and passing. Unfortunately for the Barça boys, Bayern came out on top 2-0.

Bayern, with only 6 returning players from last season, are much improved side since last year and had 3 call up's from CMF Sparta in their line-up this weekend. Add the two other Sparta players from last year, Bayern are a new and improved team.

The first half was quite even with much of the play in Barça's half of the field. Bayern open the scoring on a corner kick with a botched assignment somewhere in the 18 yard box. The header that resulted in the goal was nicely taken and had little chance for Jake Sundar in goal who played strongly throughout.

Bayern soon made it 2-0 with an unfortunate bounce off a Barça player that popped out to the top of the 18 where an unmarked Bayern midfielder lofted a ball into the top corner leaving Sundar with no chance. Barça's Rashaun Rivers had a bicycle kick stopped but the half ended 2-0.

Barça came out flying in the second half and really dominated missing chance after chance . Michael Mobilio missed a half breakaway, Giordano Baldonero shot wide from the middle of the 18 and Kyle Jones worked his way into the 18 only to see his blast expertly saved by the Bayern keeper. Time ran out and Bayern escaped the winners.

Barça move to 1-1-1 and look to play Surrey United/Guildford United next weekend at Charles Best.

Barça Come Out of Gate with a Win and Tie

The Coquitlam Metro-Ford Barça '96 team have started out the 2008/09 season with a win and a tie versus Abbotsford Mariners and Langley United, respectfully, in the tough U14 Select 'B' division. Barça beat Abbotsford 4-0 followed up with a 1-1 tie with Langley this past weekend. Both games were completely dominated by Barça and the scorelines really don't reflect the flow of play during the games. In their defense, both Abbotsford and Langley are predominately made up of players the same age as the Barça boys where as the Barça boys have played almost their entire youth experience playing older players.

The Abbotsford game was completely one sided as Barça dominated from start to finish. As with the Langley game, Barça went close, hitting the post and/or crossbar on 4 separate occasions and the Abbotsford goalie made quite a few impressive saves to keep the scoreline to 4. Giordano Baldonero, Ryan Mobilio, Rashaun Rivers and Michael Mobilio scored for Barça while Jake Sundar recorded his first shutout of the year.

Langley provide a tougher opposition (with 4 older players on their roster) but the time spent in the Langley end of the field was more than enough to get the 3 points easily. Langley's goalie made at least 10 good saves and like it always happens when one team doesn't take their chances at the one end, the other team comes down the field and scored as Langley did with their first shot of the game from 25 yards out. After a half in which Barça played almost the entire half in the Langley 3rd, they came off the field at half time down 1-0.

To the boys credit, they turned up the heat and finally got the goal that they had been threatening all half when Baldonero scored his second in two games on a rebound after some nice passing midway through the second half. Langley was now wobbling but Barça's poor finishing and killer instinct continued to let them down as seconds before the final whistle, Rivers hit the post with a header that left the game 1-1 and the Barça boys feeling let down and disappointed.

No time to hang heads as Barça now turn their attention to the annual grudge match with fellow club mates CMF Bayern '95's. It should be a good one!

Barça End Pre-season on the Right Track

With a busy off season for most of the boys after losing in the Coastal Cup to the eventual champions, the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Barça '96 team got back to work with a pair of pre-season tournaments in Washington State and Coquitlam. Both tournaments are seen as the two best tournaments in their respective state/province and two of the most competitive in the entire Pacific Northwest.

The Pacific Coast Challenge in Bellingham was to be a real huge test for the Barça boys as the teams from the states are usually a 1/2 year older (August '95 cutoff date) and with Barça '96 carrying 5 late born players who could play a year down (U12 division), the contests were always going to be tough. With the addition of new striker Rashaun Rivers to the team, Barça was missing Marchello Polis who was busy in Europe with his Vancouver Whitecaps Prospects team on tour. Barça called up Niko Sulentic from Burnaby to help out the boys in this tough task.

And tough it was as Barça '96, playing in their first competitive game since being knocked out of the U13 Coastal Cup in April, came up against the #2 team in Washington State in Eastside FC '95. although the scoreline completely flatters Eastside and does not do justice to the flow and play of the game, Barça played quite well and totally pushed Eastside to the end. Eastside scored late in the first half to go up 1-0 totally against the run of play. After a few squandered Barça chances Eastside made it 2-0 and forced a tired Barça team to go forward even more in the hunt for points and left Barça vulnerable at the back. More chances went a begging and Eastside score 3 more late in the game to make the scoreline 5-0. Barça went on to tie Washington Crossfire '95 1-1 and tie their last game 0-0 with WFC Rangers '95 to finish 3rd in the group and unable to advance to the semifinals.

Barça then hosted the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Annual Labour Day Tournament and invited the top teams from the lower mainland to participate. Barça were seeded in the toughest group with a tough Richmond Caledonia (3-0 win), Peace Arch United (2-0 win) and Point Grey United (2-0). Barça cruised through the group with 3 straight wins to advance to the semifinals while not allowing a goal the entire tournament in open play. Barça then moved on to play Whalley PSV in the semi's and lost their scoring boots. Without giving up a shot on goal, Barça had to head to the dreaded shootout and lost 4-3 in spot shots disappointingly settling for 3rd in the tournament. PSV went on to beat Lynn Valley in the finals to win the tournament.

All in all, it was a good way to head into the tough season ahead.

CMF Barça's Polisi Goes European

Over the summer, Coquitlam Metro-Ford Barça player Marcello Polisi was selected to travel with the Vancouver Whitecaps U12 Prospect team to Holland and came away from the trip with a worldly experience playing against some of the best young players in Holland and Germany.

Polisi and his Whitecap teammates played some exhibition games versus PSV Eindhoven U-12 (0-0) and FC Utrecht U-12 (3-3) in which Polisi score the 3rd and tieing goal. They then moved on to finished fourth at Yerseke Mosselen Tournament in Holland .

The Yerseke Mosselen Tournament gave Marcello the opportunity to play against teams like FC Den Bosch (1-0 win), Roda JC Kerkrade (0-0), and Zeeland U-13 provincial team (0-0) in their opening group games.

As a result, Polisi and his teammates took second place in their group and moved on to join Ajax U-12/U-13 B combination, and the U-13 sides of Fortuna Sittard, Zeeland province, UNION, and Sparta Rotterdam in the next stage.

The Whitecaps went on to beat UNION 1-0 and tied Fortuna Sittard 0-0 to finish second in the stage and moved on to the 3rd place game versus Zeeland province where they dropped a 2-0 decision to finish fourth.

Fortuna Sittard, meanwhile, took the title in a penalty shootout versus Ajax U-12/U-13 B combination.

It was a great experience for Marcello and something that he will call upon when he tackles the new and difficult Barça season ahead! Well done Chema!

Barça Moved up to Select 'B'

After 3 months of research, conversation, discussion (heated at times), and lots of thought & reflection, Alfredo Valente (CMFSC head coach), Peter Price (CMFSC Director of select boys and President of Lower Mainland Select League), Ken Roughead (Westminster District 5 District representative), and the Barça coaching staff have decided to move our Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC Barca ‘96 team up into the U14 Select ‘B’ division that will participate in the second tier of U14 Select or "Metro" level. We firmly believe that this is the right level that will challenge our team to meet their potential now and in the future.

Barça was to stay in their own age group for the first time but with other '96 teams hoping to catch up with Barça developmental theology and taking advantage of pulling players up and down from the A and B divisions, it would be detrimental to play in the U13 Gold division with the strongest '96 teams playing up.

Barça will be one of three Coquitlam Metro-Ford teams representing the Westminster District in the U14 Select divisions. Coquitlam Metro-Ford Sparta '95 is the top team and play in the Select 'A' division while Barça '96 and Bayern '95 will both play in the Select 'B' division. Sparta '95 can pull players from both Bayern '95 and Barça to help fill their team roster throughout the season.

Barça will play in the U14 Select 'A' division next year as the representative from the Westminster District and compete for the chance to represent BC at the Canadian National.

CMF Barça's Jones Win's Gold, De Luca Wins Silver at BC Summer Games

Three players from the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club recently participated in the BC Summer Games, representing the Fraser Valley district and the Vancouver - Squamish district and came away with the gold and silver medals.

After an extensive tryout that looked at hundreds of top players from an area stretching from Port Moody to Hope, two and a half months of training and three days of competition in 30 degree heat in Kelowna, the Fraser Valley boys soccer team came out as Champions of the 2008 B.C. Summer Games. Going into the games, Fraser Valley were the reigning champions having won gold at the 2006 games in Kamloops. Having the unenviable position of being the 'team to beat', Fraser Valley had to keep grounded and focused while other squads were eyeing the big target on their backs. Nothing new for our Coquitlam Metro-Ford boys, Michael North (Sparta) and Kyle Jones (Barca), who deal with this burden week in/week out playing for such a prestigious club as CMFSC.

Anthony De Luca (Barca) was selected from a huge Vancouver- Squamish district and played extremely well earning the place as the starting striker for the district. Again, the experiences provided by the club allowed Anthony to overcome the obstacle to showcase his talent.

As both the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Squamish teams were the crème de la crème of the tournament when it came to talent, all three boys played outstanding soccer and proved without a shadow of a doubt that they are some of the best players in their age group in the province and ones to keep an eye on in the future.

With North's speed, power and determination combined with Jones' tenacity, distribution and ferocity, there was little chance that the Fraser Valley team was going to come away from the tournament with nothing less than gold. Both boys had to adjust to the 8-aside game from the 11-aside they normally play, combined with the superb coaching they get on a regular basis from the club and academies they attend, they were able to take the challenge and use their experiences and skills to meet this outstanding goal.

Anthony De Luca proved to be invaluable for his Vancouver/Squamish team scoring some big goals down the stretch run to the finals while playing the entire tournament with a very sore ankle. Like a warrior, De Luca never asked to come off and toughed it out, even taking a penalty for his team in the shootout final.

Well done to Kyle Jones (Barca), Anthony De Luca (Barca), Michael North (Sparta) and coach Dan Jones (Barca) for doing us proud!

Results:

Group A:

Fraser Valley 4-0 Vancouver Island – Central Coast 'A'
Thompson Okanagan 0-7 Fraser Valley
Fraser Valley 7-0 North West

Group B:
Vancouver - Squamish 6-0 Vancouver Island - Central Coast 'B'
Fraser River Delta 0-1 Vancouver - Squamish
Vancouver - Squamish 5-0 Kootneys

Semi Finals
Fraser Valley 4-1 Fraser River Delta

Vancouver - Squamish 4-0 Thompson Okanagan

Finals

Vancouver Squamish 1-1 Fraser Valley (Fraser Valley wins 3-1 on PK’s).

2008/09 Coquitlam Metro-Ford Barça '96 Squad Announced

The 2008-2009 version of the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Barça '96 squad has been announce for the upcoming season with only one addition to the squad.

With 70 players trying out from around the Tri-city area as well as cities further away, the coaching staff and CMF staff coaches decided to make only one addition to the standout under aged squad that made the semi-finals of the U13 Conference Cup and the semifinals of the U12 Coastal Cup a year previously.

The squad is as follows:

1. Jake Sundar (goalkeeper)

3. Anthony McKave (defender)

4. Matteo Gallaccio (defender)

5. Giordano Baldonero (midfielder) - assistant captain

7. James Lynn (defender)

8. Ryan Mobilio (midfielder)

9. Anthony Martin (defender)

10. Michael Mobilio (forward)

11. Kyle Jones (midfielder) - assistant captain

12. Paul Serres (defender)

13. Rashaun Rivers (forward)

14. Anthony De Luca (forward)

15. Marcello Polisi (midfielder)

16. Trevor Hallam (midfielder) - captain

17. Krsto Lulic (midfielder)

Best soccer goal ever (indoor)