Atlanta Soccer » Atlanta Silverbacks

Atlanta Beat and WPS Suspend 2012 Season

Scott — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:45:34 +0000

In what was shaping up the be one of the most promising seasons and competitive teams the Beat had put on the field in recent years everything crashed to a grinding halt. On Monday, January 30th 2012 the league issued a statement to suspend the 2012 season citing the pending legal issues with former magicJack team owner Dan Borislow. If you are unfamiliar with the situation you can find out more by reading Beau Dure’s piece at espnW here.

Borislow was seen by many, including himself, to be the savior to the struggling league when at the 11th hour he stepped in and committed to field a team for the 2011 season. Perhaps it was in this haste that the other team owners and league officials didn’t realize the type of person they were dealing with in Borislow. They soon found out as the narcissistic owner didn’t comply with several league requirements and even had a grievance filed by players and the WPS Players Union to the league for violations of the Standard Player Contract Provision, the FIFA Code of Ethics, WPS Media Policy and U.S. Soccer Federation Coaching Requirements.

It’s unfortunate that the situation has reached this point but perhaps the WPS can settle these matters and use this time to strengthen the league and seek out additional owners for the 2013 season. However, if things go against the owners in the legal matters I would imagine the WPS will fold and possibly see the teams join other leagues or create a new league, perhaps with a single entity plan similar to Major League Soccer. Many potential owners have backed away from investing in the league because of it’s current structure.

The only solace fans can take is that with the USWNT winning the CONCACAF qualifying tournament they will be a part of the 2012 London Summer Olympics which will run between July 25th and August 9th. Because of the Olympics and the reduction in number of teams to 5 the 2012 WPS season was going to be shortest season thus far. With pre-olympic camps the USWNT players would likely only have played 9 or 10 games this season with their club teams. If you want to see women’s soccer in person you can still check out the 2011 USL W-League champion Atlanta Silverbacks. In addition to the men’s team they also field a women’s team that consistently is in contention for the championship. Their season traditionally runs from May through July.

WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL SOCCER SUSPENDS PLAY FOR 2012 SEASON

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (January 30, 2012) – Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) announced today that its Board of Governors has voted to suspend the 2012 season to permit the League to focus on the resolution of certain pending legal issues and the challenges that now face the League as a result of its ongoing dispute with a former owner.

“We are proud of what the League has accomplished in the first three seasons, but we do recognize the necessity to resolve our existing legal and operational issues so that we can continue to support and grow WPS the right way,” said Sky Blue FC Owner Thomas Hofstetter. “This was a very difficult decision, but one we as owners feel is the best business decision for the League at this time.”

The Board voted on Monday morning to suspend the 2012 season. Over the last year the league has faced significant challenges, including a lengthy and expensive legal battle with a former owner. The litigation has diverted resources from investment in the league and has forced the Board to take action, suspending the 2012 season in order to address the legal issues head‐on before moving forward with competition.

“We firmly believe there is a place in the global sports landscape for Women’s Professional Soccer,” said WPS CEO Jennifer O’Sullivan. “Making the decision to suspend the 2012 season was a difficult and painful one, but it is necessary to take the time to address current issues and solidify our business in order to provide appropriate support needed to achieve the League’s long‐term goals. Those that take part in our League ‐ players, partners and fans ‐ deserve the best, and that is what we are taking the time to ensure we deliver when we resume play in 2013 and beyond.”

WPS has established its plans to return to play in 2013, and all five owners of the League’s existing teams ‐ Atlanta Beat, Boston Breakers, Philadelphia Independence, Sky Blue FC and Western New York Flash ‐ will remain active with the CEO, Jennifer O’Sullivan, in the governance of WPS throughout the current year.

“We are deeply grateful to our fans and partners for the tremendous support they have shown for WPS, our players and the sport,” added O’Sullivan. “With our supporters and athletes in mind, we are committed to complete the hard work necessary to resume play in 2013 and reestablish WPS as the premiere women’s professional soccer league in the world.”

So what are your thoughts concerning the 2012 season being suspended? Do you think the WPS will be back in 2013?

Silverbacks say adiós to Pérez, welcome Nationally Ranked Conor

CMartz — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 16:38:11 +0000

On Thursday the Atlanta Silverbacks made the news official that Mexican midfielder Mario Pérez would be leaving the team and returning to the Mexican Primera Division. Wednesday night, during the Silverbacks’ 2-1 victory over Montreal, the annual free-for-all known as the Primera Division draft was taking place in Playa del Carmen, just south of Cancun.

Pérez’s rights were transferred from Necaxa to Estudiantes Tecos, a team located in the Guadalajara suburb of Zapopan. Pérez will be returning to Mexico where he has not played in a league match since suiting up for Atlas on March 20, 2010.

The Mexican defender started the 2011 season with the Silverbacks and made an immediate impact. As one of the more experienced players on a young team, Pérez brought stability to the back line and his forays forward were one of the team’s best attacking options. His three assists lead Atlanta this season, and Pérez also contributed a goal in the Silverbacks’ 2-1 loss to Fort Lauderdale on April 23.

Pérez will be unavailable for Sunday’s match against FC Tampa Bay, as he has already left the team to return to Mexico and sort out the details of his transfer.

To help combat the loss of Pérez, the Atlanta front office announced on Friday the signing of Real Salt Lake forward and Star Kick spokesman Conor Chinn.

Chinn had not played for Real Salt Lake this season but did play in nine games for the New York Red Bulls in 2010, five in MLS play and four in the U.S. Open Cup, where he scored three goals.

He will also be rejoining his former college teammate, Silverbacks defender Tyler Ruthven. The two played together at the Univesity of San Francisco in 2006.

Chinn is well-known to many viewers of Fox Soccer Channel as “Nationally Ranked Conor” in a commercial for Star Kick. Chinn has also used the alias of “Amateur Player Guillermo Ortiz” in a Spanish-language version of the commercial.

The newest Atlanta Silverback will not be joining the team in time for Sunday’s game at FC Tampa Bay but looks to be ready to hit the field for his new team before the head to Puerto Rico on June 19.

Silverbacks Defeat Impact 2-1 For First Win Of Season

CMartz — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 10:58:32 +0000

It was a long time coming, but the Atlanta Silverbacks finally won their first game of the season Wednesday night, defeating the Montreal Impact 2-1 in front of 2,880 at Atlanta Silverbacks Park.

The home side took the lead in the 13th minute when Mario Perez found himself along the end line to the left of Montreal goalkeeper Bill Gaudette. Perez played the ball back to Raphael Cox at the top of the box who coolly slotted his shot past the veteran goalkeeper to put Atlanta up 1-0 early.

Cox’s goal snapped a goalless streak for the Silverbacks that ended at 508 minutes of play. In addition, it gave Atlanta their first lead at any point of any game this season, a lead they would double just over 20 minutes later.

Jordan Davis, Raphael Cox and Matt Horth celebrate with Silverbacks fans after Cox's 13th-minute goal on Wednesday night.

In the 34th minute, Gaudette received a back pass from a defender and attempted to clear the ball. Raphael Cox, however, was pressuring the Montreal keeper and forced him into an error. Cox deflected the ball towards the end line and managed to keep it in play. As he dribbled in along the end line and with Gaudette guarding his near post, Cox crossed the ball along the ground across the mouth of the goal to a streaking Matt Horth who merely had to tap the ball into the empty net for his second goal of the season.

After scoring just three goals in their first nine games, Atlanta found themselves with a two-goal advantage a little more than a third of the way into the game, sending the fans into a wild celebration.

Montreal would strike back just before halftime. Impact midfielder Idriss Ech Chergui sent in a cross from the right side. The cross found the head of Mignane Diouf inside the six-yard box and the Montreal forward headed it off the underside of the crossbar and into the net, cutting the lead to 2-1.

Both teams struggled the put many shots on goal in the second half until late. Zurab Tsiskaridze attempted a shot in the 85th minute that floated over Atlanta goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer and glanced off the crossbar and out of play.

After Impact midfielder Antonio Ribeiro was sent off in the 89th minute for a second yellow card, Ciaran O’Brien and Moussa Toure both forced Gaudette into action with a couple of long-range shots that the Montreal keeper was able to push away.

The three points moved the Silverbacks to five on the season through 10 games. Montreal remains just ahead of Atlanta in the NASL standings with eight points from nine matches.

The win was the first for the Silverbacks since defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps in Atlanta on August 5, 2008. Atlanta now travels to Florida where they will face FC Tampa Bay at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night.

495 Minutes

CMartz — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 16:40:55 +0000

These kind of celebrations have been few and far between for Mario Perez (center) and the rest of the Atlanta Silverbacks this season.

495 minutes. Five and a half games. That’s how long it has been since the Atlanta Silverbacks scored a goal. Last night’s 2-0 loss at home to the NSC Minnesota Stars extended this streak into June, a streak that began in April and continued through all four games in May.

Not since Willie Hunt’s goal in first-half stoppage time on April 30 in Tampa have the Silverbacks hit the back of the net. Two goals from defenders, one from a forward. In total, three goals in nine games played this season.

It’s not surprising when one looks at the NASL table and sees Atlanta languishing at the bottom with just two points from nine games when you take this into account: The Atlanta Silverbacks have not led at any point of any game this season. Nine games, 810 minutes played, ZERO minutes leading a game.

One can point to the fact that Atlanta has also allowed the most goals of any team in the NASL, 15 in nine games. There have been points dropped due to goalkeeping errors, most notably in the first month of the season.

But none of these arguments can hold a candle to the simple fact that this team simply cannot put the ball in the back of the net. Imagine if the Silverbacks could get a lead. How confident would the players be and would the defense tighten knowing they’re not chasing the game as they have been all season?

As much credit as the Atlanta front office deserves for putting a team together in five months, the inaction shown this far into the season is bordering on criminal. It has been shown time and time again that the roster in its current shape and form is incapable of competing in the NASL this season.

It is one thing for the front office to preach patience and player development while at the same time asking fans to continue to shell out money in this economy to support a clearly inferior product.

Jose Manuel Abundis is in his first season as a professional head coach, these players have never played together, many of the players are lacking in professional experience, this roster was put together in a short period of time, Junior Sandoval’s injury took away the team’s best attacking option. The excuses are numerous and all have merit, but they are just that, excuses.

It has been made abundantly clear that the current roster isn’t capable of generating the goals to make this team competitive, and it is also clear that there will not be any big signings to come in and save the team. If the team is going to continue with their “player-development” mantra, they should look to the NPSL Southeast Division.

These players have already been playing for months, can be brought in for little money, and in some cases already have their international clearance. Tornubari Nyonebue of the Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves has already trained with the Silverbacks first team and could provide a different option up front, as his speedy, physical style of play is something Atlanta is lacking.

Other players of note that are in the immediate area and have stood out are Chris Ochieng of Chattanooga F.C. and Jamal Harewood of the Georgia Revolution. Both are big, athletic target forwards who have shown well for their teams in the NPSL.

One of the questions I raised at the news when the Silverbacks announced their return last November was whether the team would actually be competitive or if they were merely coming along for the ride to complete an eight-team league mandated by the United States Soccer Federation in order for the NASL to receive sanctioning.

Nine games into the season and it appears the latter to be the case. It has already been a frustrating season for both the Silverbacks and their supporters, and unless changes are made soon, it will continue to be an even longer season.

Video: Rebuilding the Silverbacks

Scott — Sat, 14 May 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Hopefully by now you’ve had a chance to take in a Silverbacks game. They’ve gotten off to a rough start but have been competitive in every game. Here’s a video created by Video Sportrait on the rebuilding of the Silverbacks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXpqUsV2580

If you haven’t had a chance to see the Silverbacks already you can take in their next game on Saturday, May 15th at 7:30. If you have been to a game what do you think of the team? How do you think they’ll do this year?

Preseason News

Scott — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:00:05 +0000

MLS Preseason

Have you gotten your tickets yet for the upcoming Atlanta Pro Soccer Challenge? This is Atlanta’s chance to see MLS teams play as the Columbus Crew, New England Revolution, and Houston Dynamo compete in a preseason tournament at the KSU Soccer Stadium in Kennesaw, GA. This should be a great tournament as teams will likely be putting their first 11 on the field as part of final preparations before the MLS season starts.

Atlanta won’t be the only southern city playing host to MLS teams. The WALT DISNEY WORLD® Pro Soccer Classic kicks off on February 24th and will feature FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo and Toronto FC, along with Orlando City of the USL. Teams have also been announced for the Carolina Challenge Cup. Toronto FC, DC United, and Chicago Fire will play a preseason round robin tournament with host Charleston Battery from March 5th through the 12th. Prior to their first match in Kennesaw will see the Crew and Revolution play a preseason game at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga on March 6th. Finley Stadium is home to Chattanooga FC of the National Premier Soccer League who’s average attendance last year was nearly 4,000.

Atlanta Silverbacks

Over the weekend we got word that the USSF has provisionally sanctioned NASL to operate a division 2 outdoors mens soccer league in the U.S. for the 2011 season. There is a conference call Monday at 3 pm in which U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati and NASL CEO Aaron Davidson will discuss the provisional sanctioning and likely the next steps which will be required before the 2012 season to have the “provisional” part dropped. On the list of things to change is likely to be the ownership situation in Atlanta. Specifically to remove Traffic USA from their partial ownership in the club.

To my knowledge no preseason plans or player acquisitions have been announced by the Silverbacks at this time. However Rodrigo Rios, Silverbacks Director of Soccer, discussed the upcoming season and recently announce coach Jose Manuel Abundis at the recent NASL combine. You can also see more about Assistant coach and former MLS MVP Alex Pineda Chacon who was recently featured on MLSSoccer.com’s “Where are they now?“.

Atlanta Beat

One of the Atlanta Beat’s 2011 signings, Carli Lloyd, will be heading off to Portugal soon with the U.S. Women’s National Team to compete in the Algrave Cup. The Beat recently announce their full 2011 Preseason Schedule and give you a chance to see the remade Beat and give them a chance to get to know each other as this is a completely different team then what was here at any point in time last year. More on that soon.

Sunday, March 6
Atlanta Beat vs. University of South Florida (KSU Soccer Stadium – Closed Door) 12:00PM

Wednesday, March 9
Atlanta Beat vs. Auburn University (Auburn University, Auburn, AL) 7:00PM

Saturday, March 12
Atlanta Beat vs. Clemson University (KSU Soccer Stadium – Closed Door) 1:00PM

Saturday, March 19
Atlanta Beat vs. UNC (KSU Soccer Stadium) 12:00PM

*If you buy a $15 ticket for the UNC match it includes a ticket to the home opener on April 9th against the Boston Breakers.

Sunday, March 20
Atlanta Beat vs. Florida State (Walden Soccer Complex, Columbus, GA) 4:00PM

Sunday, March 27
Atlanta Beat vs. Florida (KSU Soccer Stadium – Closed Door) 2:00PM

Tuesday, March 29
Atlanta Beat vs. Georgia (Turner Soccer Complex, Athens, GA) 7:00PM

Sunday, April 3
Atlanta Beat vs. Auburn University (Spain Park HS Stadium, Hoover, AL) 4:00PM

National Premier Soccer League (NPSL)

In the 4th division of soccer in the U.S. we see a few changes taking place. An announcement from the Atlanta Silverbacks indicated that they will be fielding a reserve division this year. Formerly known as Atlanta FC, the new Atlanta Silverback reserves will play their home matches at Silverback Park. One of their opponents will be the new Georgia Revolution who will play in Conyers, GA as part of the NPSL.

Are you as ready as I am to put the chaos of this off season behind us and start enjoying the game. What are you looking forward to most this upcoming season?

NASL D2 Sanctioning in Question

Scott — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:26:14 +0000

The NASL is facing a major setback in their mission to become USSF Sanctioned for 2011. Word first started to come out early Friday (1/21) when Brian Quarstad, of Inside Minnesota Soccer (IMS), reported that the USSF was concerned with Sanctioning of D2 PRO Soccer for 2011. The NASL shortly after release a statement confirming the report that that USSF had indeed withdrawn their provisional sanctioning of NASL. In that statement they also emphasized their commitment to securing Division 2 status at the USSF Annual General Meeting held on February 11 – 12, 2011.

Aaron Davidson, CEO of the NASL, commented, “We have invested a lot of time, energy and resources over the past four years to establish a proper team-owned and governed professional second division soccer league and separate ourselves from the instability and annual team turnover of USL, the former second division. The USSF and the soccer community have realized that it’s time once and for all to launch a new second division with higher standards which finally ensure the stability, growth and prosperity of second division soccer in North America. We are prepared to respond to the USSF’s concerns and look forward to delivering on our commitments to our teams and fans to re-launch second division as the NASL in 2011.”

IMS later spoke with U.S. Soccer’s Neil Buethe late Friday afternoon. Buethe said there where issues regarding ownership and organizational details to make sure the league was prepared to start the season, which is less than 3 months away.

“The biggest hurdle was really some of the financial requirements. An unstable league or team can damage the market place and the sport overall if teams fold or have financial issues.” said Buethe.

The NASL is comprised of 8 teams that will play in 2011 including: Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina, FC Edmonton, FC Tampa Bay, Miami FC, Montreal Impact, NSC Minnesota Stars, and the Puerto Rico Islanders . Aaron Davidson, CEO of the NASL and president of Miami FC has worked with several struggling teams to ensure they have the financial capital necessary to operate this year under the more stringent USSF D2 Standards. You may remember reading a previous post when Traffic Sports announced they would take part ownership in the Atlanta Silverbacks. At the end of 2010 the NASL announced that the league would purchase the NSC Minnesota Stars while looking for a new long-term owner. Reports have also emerged that the previous owners of the Carolina Railhawks have dissolved their organization and either the NASL &/or Traffic Sports could be taking over as early as this week. However, those plans could be placed on hold in light of the recent developments.

The NASL continues to move forward and provide the USSF with what it believes are the necessary requirements. IMS quoted Davidson as saying,

“We’ve provided the federation with what we believe was the missing information. We feel we live up to the standards of second division as they were set forth in October. The Federation now have over $6 million in letters of credit that are joint and several for a league who runs budgets around $2 million a team. Traffic is involved with three of the teams, the league is involved with Minnesota and Montreal stands on its own. That means there are three teams left this season that don’t have Traffic or Montreal behind them. If all three teams were to default immediately, you would still have enough money amongst the collective group to run all three of those teams for an entire season.”

At the end of the day I personally think NASL will be sanctioned as Division 2 for 2011. The USSF stepped in for 2010 to make sure things worked out and that the games would be played. I believe the USSF needed to flex some muscle to show the NASL that they were serious and probably to resolve the finance issue to their liking.

Brian Quarstad at www.insidemnsoccer.com has done a fantastic job of breaking and following this story. You may remember him from the 2010 Best Blog nomination he received from US Soccer. If you’re looking for more detail then check out his site and follow him on twitter (@MinnesotaSoccer) for the latest on what’s happening.

What do you think will happen with NASL in 2011? Do you think attendance would change significantly for the Silverbacks if they were playing in D3 or unsanctioned?

Atlanta Online Soccer Summit

Scott — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:00:21 +0000

Join us back here Thursday, December 16th at 8PM for the Atlanta Online Soccer Summit.

The topic of discussion will be the return of the Atlanta Silverbacks and the North American Soccer League.

Atlanta Online Soccer Summit

For Popup version please Click Here

Sponsored by Atlanta Soccer blog and Soccer in the Streets. What questions do you have about the Silverbacks? Are their any players from the old club you’re hoping return?