Francisco Marcos: 'The impatient train left a long time ago'

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https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/77036/francisco-marcos-the-impatient-train-left-a-long.html

Francisco Marcos: 'The impatient train left a long time ago'

Few people can offer a better appraisal of how far American soccer has come -- and how far it has yet to go -- than Francisco Marcos. By the same token, there are few people who can speak as well about both American sports and soccer, as it is played internationally, than the Portuguese-born Marcos.

Fifty years ago, Marcos graduated from Hartwick College. He aspired to get a master’s degree and work at the United Nations as a translator. But he was hit by the soccer bug at Hartwick, where he played soccer, and when the soccer team went on tour of Europe in the spring of his senior year in 1968, well ... Soon after he graduated, he started organizing soccer tours for Americans interested in traveling to Europe.

By then, he was already heavily involved in selling a sport that was just starting, tentatively, at the pro level. He did local radio and served as the away-games correspondent covering the Hartwick matches he played in for the Oneonta Star. While at Hartwick, he started his first league — the Empire State Soccer League — with teams across upstate New York. Oneonta United, which went on to compete in U.S. Open and Amateur Cups, was Marcos’ team, drawing, he says, “three dogs, a cat and half a dozen girlfriends" to watch the best Hartwick and Oneonta State players of the day.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Hartwick was just starting to make a name for itself as a soccer power, attracting other players who like Marcos would spend their lives in soccer: Timo Liekoski, Terry Fisher and Alec Papadakis.

Marcos started Soccer Monthly magazine and got his first full-time job in the NASL in 1975, doing p.r. for the Tampa Bay Rowdies, who won the Soccer Bowl in their first season. Connections he made on his trips to Liverpool helped fill the roster of the 1973 NASL champion Philadelphia Atoms, coached by his mentor and Hartwick coach Al Miller. Players recruited from the Merseyside area would form a core of Hartwick's 1977 NCAA Division I championship team. Hartwick, which just announced plans to downgrade men's soccer to a Division III sport, is still the smallest school that has ever won an NCAA Division I title in any sport.

Marcos, the founder of the United Soccer Leagues, now lives most of the year in Portugal with his wife Beverly, and most weekends they can be found following Sporting Lisbon home and away. He was awarded the Werner Fricker Builder Award in 2007 and is a U.S. Soccer life member. As a life member, he had a vote in the recent presidential election in Orlando.

Marcos had been to games in his native Portugal, but the experience of traveling around Europe in 1968 with Hartwick opened up an entirely new view of the Old World.

"We went 17 days, played 14 games, had first and second teams, so to speak," he says. "It was a fantastic experience. We went to Liverpool, Chelsea, the first games I ever saw in Europe outside Portugal. We went to Holland and played Ajax's reserves. One of the players on the other team was a skinny kid named Johan. We lost, 1-0. We went to Berlin, to Cologne, where the famous German coaching school began, and to Copenhagen. A whirlwind deal, and I got so enamored by the whole thing. It was my first trip back to Europe since I left Portugal at the age of 16 in 1961."

Within a week of graduation, Marcos organized a tour of young players from Washingtonville, New York, where a former Hartwick star, Tony Martelli, was coaching.

"I organized a tour of England, Spain and Portugal," he says. "Just retracing my steps on the Hartwick tour, adding Portugal and Spain because that made sense for me. I used a lot of the connections I made on the Hartwick tour. Things stuck in my mind. I started to take down names and telephone numbers and all that. And that's how I began American International Soccer Exchange, which I did for seven years.

"We did the same steps: keep it simple, stupid. I'd find connections in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Amsterdam. I found representatives. I'd go to the hotel desk and find a fan and go from there. When I got to Barcelona and checked into the Hotel Oriente, I met the desk guy and told him why I was there, trying to find some games and watch. The guy says he's a Barcelona member and has some connections, so I signed him up as a rep. I'd pay that guy a dollar a day per person on the tour. I had six or seven guys like this. The guy in Barcelona does it for two or three years. In 2000, he was elected president of Barcelona: Joan Gaspart, my first rep in Barcelona. I couldn't believe it. You can't make this stuff up."

Marcos' work took him to the NASL, where he worked for the Rowdies, making $12,000 a year in his first job, and then moved to the Dallas Tornado and Calgary Boomers, where he worked with Miller. With the Rowdies, he set up a partnership with Sao Paulo, which later led to the signing of Tatu. Marcos became Tatu's agent when the Brazilian played indoors in Dallas and that led to the formation of the Southwest Indoor Soccer League, which Marcos started. He had a team in Austin, the Sockadillos, coached by Portuguese great Tony Simoes and assisted by Wolfgang Suhnholz.

In the next decade, Marcos' league changed names five times, from the Southwest Indoor Soccer League to Southwest Independent Soccer League, Sunbelt Independent Soccer League, United States Interregional Soccer League, United States International Soccer League and United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues. In 1999, it finally became United Soccer Leagues. Hundreds of amateur and pro teams started in the USL, including four current MLS teams from Marcos' days as USL president.

Marcos says he had no ambitions of turning the USL into a Division 1 league, but it played a critical role in the launch of Major League Soccer. Its vote for incumbent Alan Rothenberg, who was working to get MLS off the ground, swung the 1994 U.S. Soccer presidential election.

"I suppose anyone can say they cast the decisive vote." says Marcos. "Alan Rothenberg won the election by a minimal difference [2 percent on the first ballot, 7.2 percent on the second ballot over Richard Groff] thanks to the 7 point-something percent the USL had vs. the APSL on the other side. Richard Groff would become the commissioner of the APSL, the A-League shortly after that. He was a friend. He became a closer friend later on.

"Alan Rothenberg headed the World Cup but there was no relationship there. But I believed the future of the pro game was MLS. It was not going to be the A-League with a new logo and new colors. It was not going to be League One America. Conceptually, it was quite strong, with shopping centers, but I didn't think Jim Paglia had the wherewithal to get all the connections.

"Richard begged -- I don't want to say that negatively -- that I give him half of my vote because he had calculated correctly -- he's very good with numbers -- that half of the vote would be enough to flip it and win. It was tough. There was an almost two-year interruption in our relationship. We didn't speak for two years. Sunil [Gulati] was a little bit in the same boat. Sunil was very close because of the national team [which Groff and Gulati worked on together]. I believe I did the right thing. I needed to be on the right side of history. And I believed it would get to the level it is at today."
But Marcos is critical of U.S. Soccer for not filling the vacuum in terms of producing leaders -- coaches and administrators -- who will take the game to the next level. Just like players move abroad, Marcos says coaches should pack up and move abroad to learn from the inside at foreign clubs, not just spend a week or two as a guest or as part of a licensing course. In the same way, he adds, former players must be trained to be the next generation of leaders, like Bayern Munich did with Franz Beckenbauer, Uli Hoeness and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

American isolationism.

"Coaches pick their buddies as assistants, former players that are not going to challenge them, that don't know as much as they do. It's like me not knowing computers going to pick as my chief technology officer someone who knows even less than me. I need for him to be my mentor, I need him to teach me. I can't be embarrassed by that. I think a lot of American coaches have that problem. They don't want to be shown up. They should welcome being shown up.

"American national team candidates at all levels should have to go elsewhere to do their sabbatical, do a master's, their junior year abroad, whatever we want to call it. They should go live in a different environment. If players are doing that, why shouldn't  coaches? If the players come back and they're listening to a coach who doesn't have any of that in their baggage or in terms of experience, they're going to say, 'You're all wet. You don't know what you're talking about.' That becomes a problem with the American isolationism. The federation should mandate that. And I know a lot of technical guys have resisted that concept. I'd make them go. The language is something that can be overcome. There are half a dozen countries in Europe, three or four in South America. We need to develop relationships with those federations and clubs, which these days should be a piece of cake for our federation and MLS to get people to agree."

Revolution needed of the entire process.

"We have to bring in ex-players and literally test them. Some of them have no clue and never will. Some are born organizers and leaders. The federation needs to set up a quasi-course, a political course, and put people on real committees, technical committees, marketing committees. In addition, they should work with state associations. This is something that has to happen so when they come [to the AGM] they are not associated as an ex-player, they are associated as vice president, say, of Cal South. They need to be thought of as working in the grassroots as opposed to on the Athlete Council, which comes here once a year, they've been in a couple of meetings, sometimes on the phone, that's all there is and it's easy to do. That's just not good enough.

"There has to be a revolution of the entire process to make people more accountable for what they do and who they support and what they do on these committees, and I think the federation needs to take a leadership role. Otherwise, we are going to continue to do things without really knowing much. I don't mean it as a criticism, but [presidential candidate] Michael Winograd was asked how many national team games he saw. You can't become the president of a country and hire the national team coach and say you've seen the national team once in the last year. He may know all about it, but I don't know he does and have no proof. I know I could become the president of the Portuguese national federation or the national team's manager tomorrow because I could speak about all the team needs to do. I see every single game. If I haven't seen all the away games, I have seen them on TV."

Soccer culture is not there yet.

"We are not yet there as a soccer culture. It isn't an automatic. The Italians [at the AGM] are all lined up watching Juventus-Fiorentina. I'm sitting in another place watching Portugal play Spain in futsal in Slovenia. I don't see too many other people do that. I don't want any medals for that. But that process -- we're still not there yet. The culturalization process is a long way from being achieved."

***

Marcos also says it should be a given that a soccer person follows his or her local MLS club and not treat it as the enemy. In that regard, he says soccer should be closest to American college sports in how fans follow teams automatically.

"It has to be what you aspire to, playing-wise and what you want to root for every day," he says. "And never mind the Eagles or Packers. I don't want to see soccer people talking about how great it was the Eagles won their first championship since 1960. Who do you follow? I follow one team, everything else is secondary."

***

Marcos has been waiting 50 years for that passion to take hold. The rub is, soccer has advanced farther than he ever imagined.

"I was asked 45 years ago where do I see soccer going," he says, "and I said that I just want soccer to grow up and be somebody. Well, we're so far past that point of being something we're saying we're the kings of the hill. I don't know about that. And we don't need to be the No. 1 preeminent sport in the country and we may never be. We just want to be one of the big boys and we're getting close. But I'm not impatient. The impatient train left a long time ago."

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http://www.insideworldfootball.com/2018/03/08/united-2026-bid-reshuffles-executive-pack-gulati-stepping-back-cordeiro-forward/

United 2026 bid reshuffles executive pack with Gulati stepping back and Cordeiro forward

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https://www.local10.com/sports/beckham-and-company-considering-golf-course-for-soccer-stadium-site

Beckham and company considering golf course for soccer stadium site

Original Overtown site may be too small, backer Jorge Mas says

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http://georgetownvoice.com/2018/03/07/las-new-team/

LA’s New Team

There’s a new wave coming through Los Angeles.

The ground broke at Exposition Park, right next door to the LA Coliseum, during August 2016, and on April 29, Banc of California Stadium will open. The 22,000 seat stadium is set for its inaugural season of use for its brand new tenants, who made a splash with their announcement with a star-studded ownership ground that includes former Lakers star Magic Johnson, former Dodger Nomar Garciaparra, USWNT legend Mia Hamm, and Will Ferrell. I am, of course, referring to the newest team in town, MLS expansion club Los Angeles FC.

Malaysian businessman Vincent Tan is also part of the ownership group and brings his experience of owning a soccer club to the table. Tan has experience with Bosnian club FK Saravejo, Belgian club KV Kortrijk, and Welsh club Cardiff City, who played in the Premier League for a season during Tan’s ownership. His fourth club set a challenge to the established power of the city, the LA Galaxy.

When the club was announced, the Galaxy was on its way to a third MLS Cup in four years, but play a few miles south of LA in Carson at the StubHub Center, where the Chargers are playing their home games until the new stadium is built. LAFC sent a statement from the start that they would create their own identity, unlike the now defunct Chivas USA franchise that shared the Home Depot Center with their city neighbors.

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http://www.bunkered.co.uk/golf-news/pro-blasts-david-beckham-over-miami-mls-project

Pro blasts David Beckham over Miami MLS project

Pro golfer Erik Compton has hit out at David Beckham after it emerged that a public golf course could be bulldozed to make way for the ex-footballer’s Miami MLS project.

Melreese Golf Course, which is near Miami International Airport, has been earmarked as a possible site for the franchise’s 25,000-seater stadium and youth academy after concerns that the previously mooted location in the Overtown neighbourhood is too small.

For Compton, who finished second at the 2014 US Open, and two-time women’s major winner Cristie Kerr, Melreese was where they played much of their golf growing up and, as you can probably expect, they’re far from impressed with developments.

Compton took to Twitter, asking Beckham if it was ‘a joke’, before saying it was a ‘terrible idea’ and that he should go ‘some place else’.

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http://www.ktsa.com/columbus-crew-owner-mls-review-ohio-suit-over-possible-move/

Columbus Crew owner, MLS review Ohio suit over possible move

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http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2018/03/07/columbus-crew-owner-mls-review-lawsuit-over-possible-texas-move/

Columbus Crew Owner, MLS Review Lawsuit Over Possible Texas Move

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http://radio.wosu.org/post/crew-owner-pushes-back-against-lawsuit-keep-team-columbus#stream/0

Crew Owner Pushes Back Against Lawsuit To Keep Team In Columbus

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https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/03/07/crew-sc-owner-mls-disagree-with-lawsuit-that-aims.html

Crew SC owner, MLS disagree with lawsuit that aims to keep team in Columbus

No surprise here, but Precourt Sports Ventures and Major League Soccer released a statement disagreeing with the lawsuit the city of Columbus and the state filed to keep the Crew SC from moving to Austin.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/90minutes/mls/ct-90mins-mls-precourt-reviewing-ohio-lawsuit-over-columbus-crew-move-20180307-story.html

MLS, Precourt 'reviewing' Ohio lawsuit over Columbus Crew move

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https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/blogs/daugherty-blog/2018/03/07/daugherty-while-mls-dawdles-and-fc-cincinnati-begs-and-muddles-how-important-pro-soccer-really/402753002/

Daugherty: While MLS dawdles and FC Cincinnati begs and muddles, how important is pro soccer, really?

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https://www.prosoccerusa.com/columbus-crew-sc/mls-strongly-disagree-with-ohios-lawsuit-to-keep-crew-sc/

MLS, Precourt: ‘Strongly disagree’ with Ohio’s lawsuit to keep Crew SC

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Homegrown players, TAM helping MLS clubs build depth to challenge Liga MX

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http://www.sportingnews.com/soccer/news/columbus-crew-owner-and-mls-disagree-with-interpretation-of-art-modell-law-in-lawsuit-against-them/1uupgacxwijl01iqacfm9j7myy

Columbus Crew owner and MLS disagree with interpretation of 'Art Modell Law' in lawsuit

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http://www.espn.com/soccer/concacaf-champions-league/0/blog/post/3410209/mind-the-gap-a-single-win-doesnt-put-mls-on-liga-mxs-level

Mind the gap: A single win doesn't put MLS on Liga MX's level

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https://www.courthousenews.com/ohio-goes-on-offense-to-keep-soccer-team-in-columbus/

Ohio Goes on Offense to Keep Soccer Team in Columbus

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https://www.sfgate.com/collegesports/article/MLS-boss-tells-Stanford-conference-U-S-missing-12735928.php
    
MLS boss tells Stanford conference: US missing World Cup was a big setback for league

Earlier Wednesday, another keynote speaker, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, said his league took a big hit when the U.S. men failed to make this summer’s World Cup in Russia.

“We miss the opportunity of having our sport be the center of conversation in the summertime,” he said. “If we miss it again, it will be catastrophic.”

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https://www.mystatesman.com/sports/soccer/ohio-suit-could-latest-roadblock-effort-move-crew-austin/iLCAXGKwfGKTmwOVUQjeHP/

Ohio suit could be latest roadblock in effort to move Crew to Austin

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http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2018/03/county_approves_dan_gilberts_j.html

County reaches deal with Dan Gilbert for new jail, fail jail site

Gilbert originally sought the downtown site for a soccer stadium, but he's since reached a deal with Ford Field should Detroit be chosen for an expansion pro futbol team.

Gilbert submitted a bid to Major League Soccer (MLS) to bring a team to Detroit. A decision has yet to be made by the league.

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http://www.wsmv.com/story/37674445/councilman-questions-use-of-fairgrounds-money-for-mls-projects-at-special-meeting

Councilman questions use of Fairgrounds money for MLS projects at special meeting

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -

What's being built at the Fairgrounds? Your tax dollars are paying for it, but who approved the project?

News4 I-Team Reporter Nancy Amons is asking tough questions about money used to design the city's controversial new soccer stadium that was set aside for upgrades to the existing Fairgrounds

"Did you know this was going on?" Amons asked District 12 Councilman Steve Glover.

"No!" Glover said. "When you bring this to me, it drives me crazy!"

Glover is reacting to what the News4 I-Team uncovered -- that some of the money set aside for improvements to the Fairgrounds is instead being spent on a Major League Soccer stadium, a project yet to be approved by Metro Council.

"That's not what the money was for," Glover said. "It was supposed to be for improvements for the Fairgrounds."

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https://mlsmultiplex.com/2018/03/07/mls-thrives-usmnt-withers-dichotomy/

MLS thrives; USMNT withers: The dichotomy of American soccer

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http://newburghgazette.com/2018/03/08/columbus-crew-owner-mls-review-lawsuit-over-possible-texas/

Columbus Crew Owner, MLS Review Lawsuit Over Possible Texas Move Newburgh Gazette

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http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baltimore-sports-blog/bs-sp-columbus-crew-modell-law-move-mls-20180307-story.html

Decades after Browns left for Baltimore, 'Modell Law' could keep soccer team in Ohio

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http://www.thedaisycutter.co.uk/2018/03/american-interest-european-football-continues-climb/

American Interest In European Football Continues To Climb

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Paul Daugherty: Major League Soccer will be great. FC Cincinnati ownership banking on it.

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https://sports.yahoo.com/2018-setting-historic-mls-concacaf-203538970.html

2018 setting up to be historic for MLS in CONCACAF Champions League

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https://www.massivereport.com/2018/3/8/17095646/save-the-crew-looks-to-fill-mapfre-stadium-with-a-new-group-columbus-crew-sc-mls-2018

Save The Crew looks to fill MAPFRE Stadium with a new group

The grassroots movement aims to give Crew SC the best home field advantage in Major League Soccer.

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https://www.wcpo.com/sports/broo-view-fc-cincinnati-soccer-stadium-will-go-where-the-money-leads-it

Broo View: FC Cincinnati soccer stadium will go where the money leads it

It's all about business, not soccer

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https://www.statesman.com/sports/soccer/precourt-focus-mckalla-place-potential-mls-stadium-site/GVu1VDW43oNLyeYF29hzbL/

Precourt to focus on McKalla Place as potential MLS stadium site

In statement released on Thursday, it seems that the focus of a potential stadium site for a relocated MLS team will now be city-owned land near The Domain in North Austin.

“We continue to believe Major League Soccer can integrate into the heart and soul of the Austin community. We’ve heard the concerns about a possible site for a stadium. Soccer is inclusive and celebratory, so we want to shift the focus onto the long-term benefits of a location that works for everybody. We’re impressed with the potential at McKalla Place and believe we could create a privately funded, world-class soccer stadium there. We’re looking forward to working together with the city as we continue to assess the viability of this site. One of the most exciting things we’ll do is to share with the community a detailed list of benefits Major League Soccer could bring to Austin, especially to young people. I just read an article in the Austin American-Statesman that illuminated challenges kids who live in East Austin face when trying to find good access to soccer. We want to help with that and a number of other important issues in this wonderful city.”

-Anthony Precourt, CEO, Precourt Sports Ventures

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http://www.espn.co.uk/football/club/new-york-red-bulls/190/blog/post/3411059/soccer-thrives-in-the-big-apple

Soccer thrives in the Big Apple thanks to a dozen pro teams

NEW YORK -- With more than 8.5 million inhabitants, this metropolis is the most populated city in the country. Each one of its five boroughs host stories of discipline and perseverance. And there are soccer stories to be told.

One of these begins with the very first Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise, the Empire Soccer Club, founded in November 1994 and which later changed its name to the MetroStars. Uruguayan Tab Ramos was the first signing.

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https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2018/03/08/columbus-crew-owner-embraces-north-austin-site-for.html

Columbus Crew owner embraces North Austin site for potential pro soccer stadium

Precourt Sports Ventures said Thursday afternoon it would focus on McKalla Place, off Burnet Road near the Domain, as a possible soccer stadium site.

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http://readchelsea.com/2018/03/08/joe-cole-wants-manage-chelsea-future/

Joe Cole wants to manage Chelsea in the future

The 36-year-old hasn’t hung up his boots just yet as he is still playing in America for the Tampa Bay Rowdies, but speaking to FourFourTwo, he said he’d already begun working on his coaching badges.

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https://the12thman.in/premier-league-legend-reveals-aspirations-managing-chelsea/

Premier League legend reveals aspirations of managing Chelsea

But despite joining Liverpool on a free transfer, the 36-year-old Joe Cole struggled to establish himself and find success like the way he did for Chelsea. However, that hasn’t stopped the former Chelsea man and he still plays for US side Tampa Bay Rowdies in the second tier of the US league and he has already started working on the future.

(Follow link for full article.)

http://www.mor-tv.com/article/tampa-bay-rowdies-season-preview-march-14th-on-mor/19153526

Rowdies Season Preview, March 14th on MOR

LET’S GET ROWDIE: 2018 TAMPA BAY ROWDIES PREVIEW

Wednesday, March 14 AT 8PM

MOR-TV - Digital 32.1 • Spectrum 1012 • Fios 512 • Comcast 437

After a 2017 USL Cup Championship near miss, and pending Move to Major League Soccer. The Tampa Bay Rowdies are poised to take professional soccer in Tampa Bay to the next level. This half hour special will take you up close to the team and their coaches and looks at their upcoming season matches, with Tampa Bay’s thisTV set to carry every home broadcast Plus, we’ll look at their new proposed stadium and the future impact on the St. Pete and Tampa Bay markets.

To get tickets to a live Rowdies game click below:

Catch all Home Rowdies Game on This TV Tampa Bay:

Digital 32.2 • Spectrum 630 • Fios 463 • Comcast 229

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https://www.hudsonriverblue.com/2018/3/7/17072232/the-great-left-back-debate-mata-vs-sweat-nycfc

The Great Left Back Debate: Mata vs. Sweat

Vieira flipped the script by starting Sweat in the season opener. So, who will get the lion’s share of playing time at left back this season?

But, something else very interesting also happened in the 2017 season. A 25-year-old left back with his MLS career in the balance joined City’s preseason roster as a trialist. Despite being taken in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft in 2014 by Columbus Crew SC, Ben Sweat had been unable to crack the first team, receiving very few minutes. After a loan stint in USL and a brief appearance in a U.S. Open Cup match, Columbus waived Sweat, who then found his way onto former NASL club (now USL) the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2015. Then in the winter of 2017, trying to find his way back into MLS, Sweat endured the preseason and was eventually signed to a contract, along with fellow trialist John Stertzer. And while Stertzer followed a pretty expected script in his time with the club last season, Sweat’s tenure played out much differently, and continues to do so.

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https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/894929?referrer_id=2349190

From the Pitch – "Episode XVIII"

Rowdies veteran Collins reflects on motivation entering 18th season

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https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/local/communities/collier-citizen/2018/03/07/east-naples-youngster-jonathan-nicacio-has-look-future-soccer-star/405453002/

East Naples youngster Jonathan Nicacio has the look of future soccer star

In the past two years, Jonathan Nicacio has transformed himself into one of the top young soccer players in Southwest Florida.

He’s a player that’s now getting widespread notice, through his dominant stretch with the Tampa Bay United Rowdies Soccer Club of the Elite Club National League (ECNL). On loan to that club for eight games recently, Nicacio scored an eye-popping 14 goals and four assists. He also recently led his East Naples Middle School team to a county championship, and has been a stellar performer for the Florida Fire Juniors club for several years now.

“Jonathan had been our radar for the last 12 months or so,” Tampa Bay United Rowdies director of soccer Kelvin Jones said. “Our coach has gone up against Jonathan a lot and kept telling me ‘Kelvin, you’ve got to see this kid, he’s a real game changer.’ We had him come guest with us as a designated player, and he immediately showed us what he was capable of.”

Nicacio showed he wasn’t just a goal scorer, a fact that impressed Jones even more than the scoring ability itself.

East Naples Middle School boys soccer team makes history

“He’s big, he’s strong and he’s fast,” Jones said. “Soccer is a game with a lot of work and a lot of running. He’s not just a talented kid, but he’s got a great work ethic and a great attitude. He hustles and defends, and when the other guys on the team see one of the guys up front defending like he does, it’s infectious. He’s a great goal scorer, no question, but he’s willing to do the work defensively, which is so important.”

Nicacio, 13, said he enjoys challenging himself against tougher competition, saying the teams he saw while playing in Tampa were a step above teams he’s seen in the past.

“Any time you play for a new team, it’s a new experience,” he said. “You’re playing around a new team and seeing teams from a different league. You have to adjust to that league’s play style, because every league is different. You want to see how you measure up to tougher teams. I truly believe I can play at a higher level, I just need more experience.”

Florida Fire Juniors coach Edgar Roush has worked with Nicacio the last two seasons, and the difference in his game from then to now is striking.

“Confidence is one of the biggest things I’ve seen from when I first saw him,” Roush said. “He’s realized what he’s capable of. He’s a goal scorer and a game changer. The athleticism has always been there. He had his growth spurt and kept his quickness. He never had that awkward phase that some kids have. He does a lot of cross training, plays basketball on the side, things like that. He’s a real physical specimen for his age.”

Soccer: East Naples seventh grader quickly becoming a star

Jones and Roush both agreed Nicacio will benefit from playing better competition and gaining more exposure.

“When great players begin to dominate the competition, they often get bored,” Roush said. “I’d like him to play in competitive leagues where there are no ‘gimme’ games. You have to be at your best every time out.”

Jones said he’d love to see Nicacio play more for the Rowdies, but not for too long.

“Sure we’d love to have him play for us, but the main thing I want for him is to keep progressing with his soccer,” he said. “I think he’s the type of kid that could play for a national team someday. The skill is there, the work ethic is there. It’s hard to predict the future, but Jonathan is a special kind of player who should continue to get better.”

(Follow link for full article.)

https://www.local10.com/news/local/miami/golfers-could-compete-with-soccer-fans-for-use-of-public-park-in-miami

Golfers could compete with soccer fans for use of public park in Miami

Will taxpayers go into business with David Beckham?

(Follow link for full article.)

http://worldsoccertalk.com/2018/03/08/watched-soccer-games-us-tv-march-1-4-2018/

Most-watched soccer games on US TV for March 1-4, 2018

(Follow link for full article.)

https://uinterview.com/news/david-beckham-bella-hadid-attend-soccer-match-celebrities/

David Beckham & Bella Hadid Attend Soccer Match With Other Celebrities

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http://aroundtherings.com/site/A__62968/Title__New-Leadership-for-North-Americas-2026-World-Cup-Bid/292/Articles

New Leadership for North America's 2026 World Cup Bid

(Follow link for full article.)

http://www.wpxi.com/sports/carlos-cordeiro-elected-president-of-us-soccer-on-3rd-ballot/697657522

US Soccer reboots, elects Carlos Cordeiro president

(Follow link for full article.)

https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/concacaf-2026-world-cup-bid-reshuffles-leadership

CONCACAF 2026 World Cup bid reshuffles leadership

(Follow link for full article.)

http://www.jacksonville.com/sports/20180307/robert-palmer-armada-to-build-stadium-but-location-uncertain

Robert Palmer: Armada to build stadium, but location uncertain

The Jacksonville Armada is one step closer to building its planned stadium, but the club is still searching for the most important element of all: location.

Armada owner Robert Palmer announced at a Tuesday night meeting of the Armada Business Alliance that the proposed new venue for the soccer club would be called HomeValue.com Stadium. HomeValue.com is one of several real estate businesses operated under the Robert Palmer Companies umbrella.

Palmer said in a tweet Wednesday that he would build the stadium, with a capacity of 5,000 seats but expandable to 12,000, “with my own money.”

Preliminary design renderings, posted by Palmer on Twitter, show a horseshoe shape surrounding the field on three sides and open behind one end.

What isn’t yet determined, though, is the location of the proposed venue.

(Follow link for full article.)

https://www.statesman.com/sports/soccer/precourt-shines-spotlight-mckalla-city-help-explore/5tZKRj2M9pGoVlI8Eh5BoL/

Precourt shines spotlight on McKalla; city to help explore it

Precourt Sports Ventures announced Thursday that city-owned McKalla Place is now the focus of its stadium search, and Austin officials plan to work with the Major League Soccer owner to examine the site.

The North Austin property, located near the Domain, was one of five potential stadium locations city staff identified in December for Anthony Precourt, who aims to move Columbus Crew SC to Austin.

(Follow link for full article.)

https://www.prosoccerusa.com/columbus-crew-sc/crew-sc-owner-homes-in-on-austin-stadium-site/

Crew SC owner homes in on Austin stadium site

(Follow link for full article.)

http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/not-so-fast-miami-overtown-site-yet-another-stadium-delay.2081593/

News: Not So Fast, Miami Overtown Site? Yet Another Stadium Delay?

(Follow link for full article.)

https://twitter.com/TampaBayRowdies/status/971462698557952006

Tampa Bay Rowdies

‏Verified account

@TampaBayRowdies

Join us this Friday at Corbett Soccer Stadium on the campus of @USFAthletics, as your Rowdies play their final preseason match facing @USFMSOC.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

TIX: http://bit.ly/TBRvUSF

11:08 AM - 7 Mar 2018

(Follow link for full article.)

https://twitter.com/TampaBayRowdies/status/971776786127351808

Tampa Bay Rowdies

‏Verified account

@TampaBayRowdies

Final training session before we face @USFMSOC on Friday.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

TIX: http://bit.ly/TBRvUSF

7:56 AM - 8 Mar 2018

(Follow link for full article.)

https://twitter.com/CFlanaganFFT/status/971788331389476866

Chris Flanagan

‏Verified account

@CFlanaganFFT

Had a nice chat with Joe Cole for the new issue of @FourFourTwo about life at Tampa Bay, plus his plans to go into coaching or management. "I've got plenty of steps to take - but if you love football, you'd love to be manager of England, Chelsea or West Ham."

8:42 AM - 8 Mar 2018

(Follow link for full article.)

https://twitter.com/RisingStarRcng/status/971782592382033920

Rising Star Racing
‏
@RisingStarRcng

RSR will be hosting @TampaBayRowdies players @jackblake_18 and Marcel Schäfer this afternoon trackside @GPSTPETE. Jack and Marcel will have the opportunity to take a ride in the "fastest seat in sports," thanks to our friends @IndyCar and @IRE2seater. #letsgetrowdie #gpstpete

8:19 AM - 8 Mar 2018

(Follow link for full article.)

https://twitter.com/ECRIndy/status/971823229957562373

Ed Carpenter Racing
‏
@ECRIndy

Spencer’s favorite sport is soccer (other than racing, of course!), so today he’s teaching @TampaBayRowdies players @jackblake_18 & Marcel Schäfer a little about @IndyCar before their two-seater rides!

11:01 AM - 8 Mar 2018

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https://twitter.com/neillycollins3/status/971826966444814336

Neill Collins

‏Verified account

@neillycollins3

Neill Collins Retweeted USL

If you haven’t all ready please check out my latest blog for the @usl new feature #fromthepitch.

Neill Collins added,

USL

Verified account

@USL

"The feeling that courses through your body when these events take place is like no other. It is like a drug. Once you have had a taste, you are always chasing your next hit."…

11:16 AM - 8 Mar 2018 from St Petersburg, FL

(Follow link for full article.)

https://twitter.com/jackblake_18/status/971877624250359810

Jack Blake
‏
@jackblake_18

It was an honour to meet such a legend @MarioAndretti and thank you to @SpencerPigot for giving us the full tour of the pits👍🏼😁🏎

2:37 PM - 8 Mar 2018

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/82tris/from_the_pitch_episode_xviii_with_neill_collins/

From the Pitch – "Episode XVIII" with Neill Collins (uslsoccer.com)

(Follow link for full article.)

https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/894929

From the Pitch – "Episode XVIII"

Rowdies veteran Collins reflects on motivation entering 18th season

(Follow link for full article.)

https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/82uiyx/kartik_krishnaiyer_on_twitter_the_tampabayrowdies/

[Kartik Krishnaiyer on Twitter] The @TampaBayRowdies lawsuit against @naslofficial has been withdrawn w/ prejudice... (twitter.com)

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https://twitter.com/kkfla737/status/971384297490993153?s=21

Kartik Krishnaiyer
‏
@kkfla737

The @TampaBayRowdies lawsuit against @naslofficial has been withdrawn w/ prejudice. Takeaway from this w/o knowing specific terms of any settlement is that perhaps the ties between Traffic Sports & NASL that were the basis of the Rowdies filing weren't as substantial as thought?

5:57 AM - 7 Mar 2018 from Coral Springs, FL

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/82qxiy/rowdies_season_preview_march_14th_on_mor/

Rowdies Season Preview, March 14th on MOR (google.com)

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http://www.mor-tv.com/article/tampa-bay-rowdies-season-preview-march-14th-on-mor/19153526

Rowdies Season Preview, March 14th on MOR