No surprise that Fort Lauderdale Strikers are on life support

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http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mls/article103982006.html

September 24, 2016 5:32 PM

No surprise that Fort Lauderdale Strikers are on life support

By Michelle Kaufman

Once again, one of the nation’s most passionate soccer markets may lose another professional team, largely because of mismanagement.

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers are on life support after their Brazilian ownership group ceased funding the team on Sept. 1, asking the North American Soccer League for a loan. Unless they find a buyer, the team’s future is in jeopardy (and word is they are throwing around a $7 million price tag, which seems awful steep).

As the Miami Herald reported on Thursday, players’ paychecks have bounced, third-party vendors are owed money, and attendance has dipped to a league-low 1,400, which is not helping the revenue flow. According to Raleigh, North Carolina, TV station WRAL, which covers the Carolina RailHawks, league owners have been asked to cover unpaid Strikers expenses totaling between $1.25 million and $1.75 million.
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This mess hardly comes as a surprise to South Florida soccer insiders, who had a pretty good idea that the Strikers’ newest Brazilian ownership group was ill-prepared and misguided when they bought the club two years ago.

They assumed, as many newcomers to the area do, that South Florida is a melting pot of soccer-loving immigrants, so they could just plop a team here and — voila! — fans would show up.

They assumed that by parading Brazilian legend Ronaldo at a news conference and declaring him a minority owner that fans here and in Brazil would all of a sudden become passionate about the team. They assumed they could put anyone with a Brazilian name on the roster and locals would be impressed. They assumed the legacy of the Strikers’ yellow-and-red-striped shirts would be rekindled with little effort.

Wrong.

The fans in this market are too savvy to be bamboozled. They know the real deal when they see it. As longtime South Florida soccer promoter Eddie Rodger said: “This is not the Strikers I know. This is a fake. It’s like going to the Swap Shop and getting a fake Rolex. They have taken a respected brand and run it into the gutter. … It’s disgraceful.”

The owners, led by Paulo Cesso, should have listened to Rodger and Tony Correa, whose KICS International company ran operations for the club until this season. They should have listened to, rather than drive away, former presidents Tim Robbie and Tom Mulroy — two of the most respected figures in the South Florida soccer community.

Instead, they slashed the staff, lost touch with the grassroots soccer community and relied on the Strikers’ brand and their connection with Ronaldo.

.  .  .

On Friday, Paris Saint-Germain Academy Florida — FC Miami City Group, a local youth club and minor-league PDL team affiliated with France’s top club, announced its interest in investing in the Strikers.

Ravy Truchot, the PSG-Florida president, said: “This opportunity comes at the right time for our club to put our foot in the professional soccer in the United States. We are confident that both the NASL and the current management of the Strikers will see in our Group the right partner to reestablish the financial and operational conditions this team and local community deserves to excel in this prestigious league. We have already taken steps to connect with the current management and we look forward to contributing to this amazing project.”

Memo to Truchot: Before you do anything, be sure to talk to Rodger, Correa, Mulroy and Robbie.