No Era Penal

Legends

Formations

Eight Figures

noerapenal the Greatest

Analysis of Formations

Highest Paid

December 2015

Player Chemistry

Ribéry and Robben Page 16

Transfers

Summer 2015 Page 18

Evolution of El Clásico

Barcelona - Real Madrid Page 14

Kits and Cleats What We Wear Page 34

Austin Aztex

What Happened?

Page 24

Local Clubs Texas Page 20

Predictions

Premier League, Liga BBVA, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, UEFA Champions League, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia Page 6

Table of Contents No Era Penal December 2015 Volume 1 No. 1

Features

Other Articles

6 Finishing Spots

16 Chemistry

Our predictions on how the five major leagues in Europe, The World Cup and the UCL will finish the season.

11 Formations

A graphic on the relationships between the top players on a team who seem to play the best while on the pitch.

18 Transfers Photos by: Wikipedia user, Reubentg

An analysis on formations and how and why they are picked by teams.

14 Evolution of El Clรกsico

An examination of the history and passion of the longstanding rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

20 Club Going Up

An graphic list of the biggest relocations of the past transfer season in the summer of 2015.

28 Timeline of the Greatest

A timeline of the the Photo by: FootyVector best players to ever play the beautiful game.

An in-depth examination of the four major youth soccer clubs in Austin.

32 Highest Paid

24 What Happened to Our Aztex?

34 Top 5 Cleats and Kits

A graphic on the highest paid players.

A combined list of the top selling cleats and jerseys of the past year.

A breakdown of what went wrong and what went right for the Austin Aztex in their first season in the USL. Photo by: George Guckenberger

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Photo by: Wikipedia user, KanFootball

Letter From the Editors no era penal December 2015 Robert Yam

We created this magazine to share the news of soccer with everyone. Soccer is a culture in which we create debates, compare statistics, and discuss the news and rumors. The majority of us have certain expectations for our supported clubs and teams. I sincerely believe that soccer is the only sport that everyone can play and enjoy. Though the sport has different names across the globe, soccer is a simple sport that only requires a ball. Every time I check my Instagram, I see the love that people have for the sport and the respect for the people who play a variation of the sport, either it be futsal or a Paralympic setting.

I also see where and how other people around the world play soccer as balls can be made or string and newspaper and is played on beaches, mud, asphalt, and the traditional green pitch. I particularly like this issue as my group members and I have the chance to compare players’ statistics to those of last season’s.

December is a time to prepare for league predictions and transfer rumors. I must thank the other group members for leading me to contribute to this issue.

Christian Salinas

O

jogo bonito, the sport that has captured the heart of millions, has captured ours too. Whether you call it futbol, football, soccer, futsal or any variation of the word, it grabs hold of your heart and never lets go. From the lows of the club soccer world to the highs of professional soccer world, there is no doubt the game is beautiful. The boys involved in the creation of this magazine were extraordinary in their work rate, dedication to the game, and coorperation.

We overcame all difficulties to get this done, just like a professional team ignores all distractions to take home the title. We didn’t let our personal club differences bother us from working as a team. Soccer really is the beautiful game, and every team involved is mes que un club, the motto of last year’s treble winners: FC Barcelona. I could not be more proud of my contributors.

No Era Penal-Letter from the Editors-3

Our Contributors Christian Salinas: Co-Chief Editor Christian Salinas was introduced to soccer rather late, but he was quick to catch up. He’s not one to take things slowly in life or on the field. Since he started playing soccer in 6th grade, he has been named captain of a prestigious Super 2 soccer team. His signature speed comes from his love of his track. Christian has a personal affinity for Real Madrid.

Robert Yam: Co-Chief Editor Perhaps the most passionate of our entire group, Robert Yam might be the biggest Futhead user in the world. Robert loves all teams, his favorite being Juventus and Bayern Munich. More than anything else, Robert idolizes Franck Ribery and aspires to be a great left-winger for his school soccer team.

Besides soccer, Robert plays the cello, oboe, and loves to eat Mexican food.

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Jeffery Kovar Jeffrey Kovar was born into a family with little soccer history. Despite this obstacle Jeffrey overcame, going from a “Michelin Man� to a lean and strong athlete, all thanks to soccer. He still plays soccer today, and is also an avid Chelsea supporter. In his free time he plays the bass guitar.

Andy DeGrasse Born in Austin, Andy DeGrasse has been playing soccer for the past ten years. He has always been a big fan of the beautiful game, and has supported Orlando City FC since before he could walk. He also enjoys basketball and making art with his guitar.

Marcel Lopez Reed Marcel Lopez Reed is a student at Liberal Arts and Science Academy. He plays at River City Rangers Soccer Club with fellow contributor Jeffery Kovar.

Marcel is a lifelong fan of FC Barcelona. He is also a fan of local Texas club FC Dallas. Marcel has been playing soccer for 11 years. He also plays the clarinet.

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The Finishing Spots

Predictions of The World’s Biggest League’s by the end of the Season Photo by Agência Brasil

By Marcel Lopez Reed

W

ith the 2015-16 season kicking off, Europe’sbiggest leagues will be exploding with excitement. Now the question is; who will win each of these leagues?

In world soccer, there are five leagues, these leagues are considere d the “best leagues.” These leagues contain the world’s best players and teams.

These leagues are: the Serie A (Italy), Ligue 1 (France), the Bundesliga (Germany), the Barclays Premier League (England), and La Liga BBVA (Spain). This article is predicting the top four of the five leagues, as well as the Champions League and the World Cup. Bundesliga

Let’s start with the German Bundesliga. This league consists of 18 teams in total. The German Bundesliga is full of several prominent players like Arjen Robben, Marco Reus, Robert Lewandowski, and more. As well as several prominent teams such as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Many expect Bayern Munich to keep their title spot, with Borussia Dortmund coming back to second, Wolfsburg in third, and Borussia Monchengladbach in fourth.

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Brazilian International right winger, Hulk, sprinting down the wing in a World Cup 2014 game against Croatia.

After being asked about the German Bundesliga’s best club, Dan Busch, a soccer coach at River City Rangers Soccer Club, replied with, “Bayern Munich. Isn’t there really only one answer there?” Bayern has been full of injuries this season . Even with those injuries they have several world class players as backups. Many would agree Bayern’s squad is the most well balanced squad in soccer today. Full of players like Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben, Jerome Boateng, Manuel Neuer, and more; Bayern has the strongest team in the Bundesliga by far.

Borussia Dortmund contains some of the Bundesliga’s top scorers and assisters such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus. Also, with a defense of Mats Hummels and Sokratis, Dortmund’s squad look promising.

Dortmund will also be out with their guns blazing after last seasons terrible turnout.

Last season Wolfsburg finished second, but this season without their star layer, Kevin De Bruyne, Wolfsburg won’t have as much pep in their step. Even without De Bruyne, Wolfsburg will keep on fighting with players such as Naldo, Rodriguez, and Schurrle.

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Bayern Munich Borussia Dortmund

VFL Wolfsburg

Borussia Monchengladbach

The fourth place spot belongs to Borussia Monchengladbach. This team finished last season in fourth place, and will be looking once again to finish in a Champions League qualifying spot.

Serie A

The second major league is the Serie A, based in Italy. This league consists of 20 teams in total. Experts expect Juventus to win once again, with Inter Milan, A.S. Roma, and Napoli following that order.

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Juventus Inter Milan A.S. Roma Napoli

Like the Bundesliga, the Serie A is very much a “one team” league, with one team being much better than the rest. Juventus may have lost Tevez, Pirlo, and Vidal, but Paul Pogba, Buffon, Chiellini, and the very in form Morata, Juventus will be able to pull off the league title once again.

With Inter Milan’s inclusions of Miranda, Ivan Perisic, Kondogbia, and Jovetic, Inter will be out surprising all teams in the Serie A. After finishing eighth last season, Inter will be looking to improve.

Having finished second last season, Roma will be expecting to finish in a similar position. Roma has several class players such as Radja Nainggolan, Miralem Pjanic, Manolas, De Rossi, and more.

Napoli has several great attacking players like Higuain and Hamsik, as well as some great defenders such as Albiol, and Koulibaly. Even though Napoli’s squad may be extremely complete, Napoli is always unable to finish in a high spot.

Ligue 1 Next is The French Ligue 1. This league consists of 20

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Paris SaintGermain

Olympique Lyon A.S. Monaco Marseille

teams in total. Several expect PSG to win the league, with Olympique Lyon, A.S. Monaco, and Marseille following that order.

Much like the two leagues before, this league is also a “one team league.” Paris Saint Germain is the team in this league that dominates all. After receiving a lot of money a few years ago, PSG has gotten incredible players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, and Angel Di Maria onto it’s team. A big soccer enthusiast, Cyrus Reed, said, “Well PSG is still the strongest. I don’t think they have the greatest team chemistry but with the players they have, they’re a really solid team.”

After finishing second last season, Olympique Lyon will be expected to do well once again. With the deadly duo of Nabil Fekir and Alexandre Lacazette, and the inclusion of new players such as Yanga M’Biwa and Valbuena, Lyon will be going all out this season.

Monaco has always been a power in the French League, and this year will be no different. With players such as Moutinho, Toulalan, El Shaarawy, and Coentrao, Monaco will be looking for a spot in the Champion’s League this year.

After finishing fourth last season, Marseille will once again be grasping for the fourth place spot. Reed said, “The team I like there that’s doing pretty well is Marseille. They’ve been an exciting team, they’ve scored a bunch of goals and they play an attacking style.” Marseille has some good No Era Penal-The Finishing Spots-7

players such as Nkoulou, Cabella, and Isla.

Barclay’s Premier League

This League consists of 20 different teams. Unlike

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Manchester City Arsenal Manchester United Chelsea F.C.

the past 3 leagues, the finishing spots of the teams are much more debatable. Many of the clubs are very similar in level, and contain many of the world’s biggest stars. Fans and sports writers predict Manchester City will rise to the top, with Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea trailing in that order.

Manchester City already has one of the world’s best: strikers (Aguero), Attacking Midfielders (David Silva), center midfielders (Toure), and defenders (Kompany); but with the inclusion of the former Bundesliga Player of the Year, Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City will be that much more dangerous.

Arsenal will be a very hard team to beat with one of the world’s best players, Alexis Sanchez leading the team as well as players like Koscielny, Mertesacker, and Ozil, Arsenal will have a few tricks up their sleeves.

After the inclusion of Schweinsteiger, one of the best midfielders in the world, and the inclusion of the two young talents: Anthony Martial and Memphis Depay; Jimmy Stanton, a coach at River City Rangers, said shortly and sweetly, “Top four in the league, 3rd.” Manchester United will be electric this season with goals, as well as saves from one of the greatest keepers in world soccer today.

Even though Chelsea won last season, their team has been off to a horrible start. Chelsea will be able to pick it up just barely enough to get the Champions League spot, but not enough to get anywhere higher than that.

La Liga BBVA

La Liga BBVA consists of 20 different teams from Spain and Catalonia. This league is arguably the best in the world right now, with 5 teams in the Champions League (the most teams in the Champions League from the same league ever). This league contains the world’s biggest superstars, as well as some of the best players of all time.

Experts Believe Barcelona to finish first, with Real Madrid, 8-The Finishing Spots-No Era Penal

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Barcelona Real Madrid Atletico Madrid Villareal

Atletico Madrid, and Villarreal trailing in that order.

After an incredible last Barcelona players Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernndez arguing with the referee and Real Madrid Player Pepe during El Clasico.

season, winning La Liga BBVA, the spanish domestic cup (Copa Del Rey), and winning the Champion’s League, Barcelona will be Photo by Wikipedia user Muhaidib expected to win at least one cup in hand this year. Both last year and this year, Barca had it’s famous “Trident” of the three players: Messi, Suarez, and Neymar. Messi is arguably the best player in the world, Suarez is arguably the best striker in the world, and Neymar is arguably the best young talent in the world. The race to the top will be very close, but with the recovery of Lionel Messi, it will prove to be difficult.

Both Barcelona and Real Madrid always end up extremely close to each other, usually one ending up in first and the other in second or with one in second and the other in third. This season will be no different. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have incredible teams. But this year, Real might have to settle for second.

Real Madrid this year has the other player who is considered the world’s best: Cristiano Ronaldo. Along with him, they have Karim Benzema, one of the world’s best strikers; Sergio Ramos, one of the world’s best defenders; and the midfield of Isco, James, Modric and Toni Kroos.

With a team like this, They will get a high finishing spot for sure.

Atletico Madrid this year has been big trouble for both Barcelona and Real Madrid. This team mostly consists of players who aren’t great (With the exceptions of Griezmann, Godin, and Martinez) , but are definitely good. Also, with one of the best coaches in the world, Diego Simeone, Atletico’s style of hard working and pressuring is extremely

hard for any team to beat.

Talking about Villarreal, Reed said, “I think Villarreal has a real solid team. They’re not flashy but they play a real team way. They pass the ball around, they have good defenders and goalie. They might get in the top four.”

Villarreal has quality players such as Ruiz, Musacchio, and Bruno.

Champions League

The Champions League can be argued as the most challenging competition in the world of soccer. This tournament has all the world’s best teams competing for

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Bayern Munich Real Madrid Barcelona Juventus Robert Lewandowski, a world renowned striker, training with his club; Bayern Munich.

the title of Europe. The Champion’s League contains 32 teams.

First there are group stages, with eight groups and four teams per group. These groups go in a round robin style, each team playing each other twice. The top two teams in each group (by points) go to the round of 16. In this, there are no more groups. It’s now like a traditional tournament, with Photo by Wikipedia user Rufus46. eight pairings of teams to face off. The teams play twice, once at home and once away.

The team with more goals after the two games passes on to the next round. After the round of sixteen, it goes to the last eight, then to the semi-finals, and lastly the finals. Many predict Bayern Munich to win, with Real Madrid in second, and Juventus & Barcelona reaching the semi-finals.

Every player in Bayern Munich’s starting 11 and subs are good enough to play in a game like this. And, with their star duo, Robben and Ribery, both coming back from injury, Bayern will be unstoppable. Bayern also has one of the best center backs (Boateng), strikers (Lewandowski), midfielders (Vidal), the best left back and right back in the

world (Alaba and Lahm), and the best goalkeeper in the world (Neuer). Add this, with one of the best coaches of all time, Pep Guardiola, and Bayern has a humongous chance at the title.

Real Madrid has many of the world’s best players, as well as the (very debatable) best player in the world: Cristiano Ronaldo. Madrid will be able to beat every team except for Bayern, simply because Bayern’s squad is just better. Madrid still has an incredible team, with the trio of Bale, Benzema, and Ronaldo, along with Modric, Kroos, Ramos, Marcelo, James, and Isco.

The two teams that won’t quite reach the finals are Barcelona and Juventus. Both these teams were finalists in last year’s Champions League, with Barcelona winning to complete the legendary act of winning the treble.

Barcelona’s team has: the “trident” of Messi, Neymar, and Suarez; as well as goalkeeper Ter Stegen; midfielders Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; and defenders Pique, Mascherano, Alba, and Alves.

Juventus has: attackers Morata, Mandzukic, Cuadrado, and dybala; midfielders Pogba, Marchisio, and Khedira; defenders Chiellini, Barzagli, Bonucci, Sandro, and Lichtsteiner.

Both Barca and Juventus are currently in pretty good Champions League form, and are expected to pick it up as the season goes on.

World Cup

The World Cup is a month long tournament that only occurs every four years. This tournament, lie the Champions League, has 32 teams, starting with group stages, and then to the knockout rounds. But, unlike the Champions League, The pairs of teams only play once in the knockout rounds. This tournament pits the world’s best international teams together to see who the best soccer country is. The next World Cup will be held in Russia in 2018.

The winners of this tournament :Argentina. Last World Cup, Argentina made it to the finals, but lost. When talking about who he believes the next winner of the World Cup will be, Reed responded with,

“...Argentina. They got really close the last time.

Photo by Danilo Borges Rodrigo Palacio attempting to Chip Manuel Neuer with Jerome Boateng watching in the 2010 World Cup Final.

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Argentina France Belgium Netherlands

It’ll be probably Messi’s last World Cup so he’ll be very motivated, as will some of their other [players], [like] Aguero, [and] some of their others. Usually South American teams don’t really do well in Europe, but I think they’ll (Argentina) be really motivated to win the World Cup.”

Argentina’s failure will be their main drive for the upcoming tournament. This team consists of several world class players such as Lionel Messi, Aguero, Di Maria, Mascherano, Pastore, Otamendi, and Garay.

The second place team: France. France already has a good team with the players they have right now.

They’re team consists of players like Benzema, Pogba,

Matuidi, and Koscielny. France currently has an impressive team, but in with all the young talent France has, in three years time France will be dominant. France already has 22 year old Paul Pogba, one of the best players in the world.

France also has other incredible, young players in their squad: Antoine Griezmann, Alexandre Lacazette, Schneiderlin, Zouma and Martial. All of these players are destined to improve within the next three years.

In third: Belgium. Much like France, Belgium has a lot of young players that are already playing at top level.

These players are: Benteke, Lukaku, Tielemans, and De Bruyne. Belgium also has some of the world’s best players like Kompany and Hazard. Belgium is good, but not good enough to get to the finals or win.

In fourth: the Netherlands. When talking about a possible winning team, Busch said, “I think the dutch may have a chance at it. The reason being is that they are absolutely, utterly, miserable right now. They’re not qualifying for the 2016 Championships in France. So I think they’ll be completely rebuilding. They’ll be very passionate about their game. I think it’s gonna be demanded that they get it together and they get it right.” Even though the Netherlands is currently doing poorly, they have some rising stars such as: Willems, Depay, and De Vrij.

Of course, no one can see the future, but one can predict it. After reading this, who do you think will win each tournament? Compare with friends, and peers.

Borussia Dortmund fans in the famous “yellow wall,” celebrating during a game against Schalke 04.

Photo by Pixabay user, Suesun

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Formations

An in-depth analysis of how coaches choose a formationan and four popular formations

By Robert Yam

Is there a perfect formation? Ever wonder why your coach didn’t pick your favorite formation? The decision behind choosing a formation as a coach is a hard one. Formations will always have an effect on the game physically and mentally as they are the structure of a team’s style and play. Though some formations have a better reputation than others, it all comes down to the team’s personnel.

Fulmore Middle School soccer coach Sean Murray said that “formations are really important because they give your players a starting point and kind of a guide for where they need to be for the rest of the game.”

Most new players will start in a defensive position, a role that is simple and easy to understand. New players usually won’t have much skill with the ball and as they improve their technique, they may move up toward the midfield and forward positions. Fulmore soccer coach Ryan Mackenzie says “they (the player) just need the basic concept of being able to clear the ball out of danger.” Sometimes during a game, coaches may change the formation depending on their situation in the game. As a result, certain players may have to switch position to accommodate this change. Switching positions can be a burden on the player especially if the new formation is not similar to the one used before it. The style of play is reflected upon the formation and its execution. Head soccer coach of Monroe College’s team, Marcus DiBernardo, says “anything with four in the back and five at midfield” is considered a defensive formation.Though there are several formations and style of play to choose from, the players are the ones who are directly involved in this decision.

“Formations are important because they give your players a starting point and kind of a guide for where they need to be for the rest of the game.”

4-3-3

Professional club FC Barcelona recently used the 4-3-3 against Juventus in the Champions League Final in June 2015 utilizing Neymar on the left and Lionel Messi on the right, along with Luis Suarez as the striker. In this formation, the two wingers would receive the ball then move up the side to kick it back towards the middle area in front of the goal. The 4-3-3 also demands a talented midfield which can cover a wide range of space which may be a burden on the midfield players. Barcelona started Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic in this game as central midfielders and Sergio Busquets as a defensive midfielder. The role of Busquets is to receive the ball and start the attacking phase in which he would pass or cross the ball up to the forwards or playmaker. The main playmaker on this team would be Iniesta who is experienced as he has filled this role for a number of years. The defense included Dani Alves and Jordi Alba as wingbacks and Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano as the central defenders. Alves and Alba often moved up during an attack to lineupbuilder.com support the forwards.

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4-4-2

The most basic and well taught formation would be the 4-4-2, which is also similar to the 4-4-1-1 and the 4-2-4.

This formation utilizes two strikers, four midfielders, and four defenders.

There are several variations which all include rearrangements of the midfield. The more famous variation is the 4-1-2-1-2 setup which depicts a diamond shaped midfield. This variation can be wide and/or thin as the middle two midfielders can be spread out to be used as wingers or be moved in to make a more centralized midfield. The traditional 4-4-2 has the midfield line up in a straight line. One downside to its simplicity is its simplicity itself. Opponents can find spaces between the lines of players especially when they are flexible in moving around. Finishing third place at the end of the 2014/15 la Liga season, Atletico Madrid, has used the traditional 4-4-2 successfully.

lineupbuilder.com

“A 4-2-3-1 can be a 3-3-1-3 in attack and a

4-5-1 while defending” 4-2-3-1 Another rising formation is the 4-2-3-1. Used by the World Cup Champion, Germany, in 2014, the 4-2-3-1 is now extensively used in the top flight.

British Premier League title holder Chelsea FC has used this formation very well. Their defense consists of Cesar Azpilicueta, captain John Terry, Gary Cahill, and Branislav Ivanovic. The two defensive midfielders are Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas who both share features of a midfielder and defender. This Chelsea team at times could look like a 6-3-1. The interpretation that is used by Chelsea includes the use of wingers; Eden Hazard and Willian. These two wingers are fast as well as great dribblers. The lone attacking midfielder on this team is Oscar and the striker would be Diego Costa. This formation is also very flexible in terms of attacking and defending. DiBernardo says “a 4-2-3-1 can be a 3-3-1-3 in attack and a 4-5-1 while defending.”

lineupbuilder.com

Photo by Wikipedia user Stemoc

Photo by Wikipedia user Dudek1337

Eden Hazard

Germany celebrates after winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazail 12-Formations-No Era Penal

Though losing to FC Barcelona in the Champions League Final in June 2015, Juventus FC, finished the Serie A season as the winners. Their ideal formation is the 4-3-1-2, which they still use currently. Their goalkeeper at this time is Gianluigi Buffon who is currently 37 years old. The defense is very experienced as it includes players such as Patrice Evra, Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, and Stephan Lichtsteiner. Though key midfield players such as Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo left during the transfer window, Juventus signed Sami Khedira from Real Madrid. Their three midfielders include the rising Paul Pogba, Sami Khedira, as well as Claudio Marchisio. The attacking midfielder here is Roberto Pereyra who also has some defensive responsibilities. The best strikers for Juventus are Mario Mandzukic and Alvaro Morata. When attacking with this formation, the fullbacks often move up the pitch in order to support the midfield. These fullbacks are essential as they provide width along the field. Unlike the 4-4-2 and 4-3-3, the 4-3-1-2 utilizes the strengths of both formations because of its strong midfield presence and two striker system.

4-3-1-2

Photo by Wikipedia user Schalke

lineupbuilder.com

“Football is played with your head. Your feet are just the tools” - Andrea Pirlo

“Players that can problem solve and have a high soccer IQ can make any formation great”

“I can play in the 11 positions because a good player can play anywhere on the pitch” -Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Photo by Nazionale Calcio

Though the use of formations are needed in the game, there will never be a perfect one. One team could use a 4-4-2 one season, but switch to a 3-4-3 the next season. Coaches choose formations based on their players at the time and only change to help the team. DiBernardo said a “perfect” formation doesn’t exist and “players that can problem solve and have a high soccer IQ can make any formation great” Andrea Pirlo

Zlatan Ibrahimovic No Era Penal-Formations-13

THE EVOLUTION OF EL CLáSICO An Examination of the 100 Year Rivalry

By Andy DeGrasse

Photo by wikipedia user addesolan

O

n March 26, 1916, two relatively new Spanish soccer teams squared off for the first time.

The score remained close all game, and tensions ran high with the fans going as far as to throw rocks at the opposing teams. Nearly a century later, Barcelona and Real Madrid still play each other, and although the rivalry has changed, it’s still just as strong.

One of the things that makes this rivalry so strong is fans’ pride in their own team, and their feelings toward the rival team.

“I am a Madridista to the bone, I love Real Madrid for their style of play. I do not have negative feelings towards Barcelona. I respect their success, I love our team given our core values, history and success.” Wolfenson, the leader of the Real Madrid fan club said. But not all fans are so kind and forgiving. “So there is no ambiguity in my thoughts towards the capital city’s

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Lionel Messi of Barcelona evades a tackle

club, I HATE Real Madrid! I have zero respect for the organization; as far as I’m concerned they are pond scum!”

David Goude, the leader of the Barcelona fan club, said.

Goude and Wolfenson have both been fans of their respective teams of their entire lives, and now they both run U.S.-based fan clubs for each of their of teams.

Barcelona and Real Madrid’s rivalry, called El Clasico, has been well documented over the last 100 years and is very competitive. The two teams are both based in Spain and at times there has even been political aspects in the rivalry, especially during the Spanish Civil War. Both teams are perennially at the top of the league, and they often face off in the Copa del Rey, their league championship.

Because of their prodigious rivalry, they both have international fan bases.

The last century holds countless

unforgettable memories for fans on both sides. You could feel the passion and excitement in the writing of both of my interviewees, as they reminisced on some of their club’s greatest moments.

“It was a glorious sight in the 80th minutes watching all the fans leaving the stadium before the game had ended.

You could see it in their body language that the season was over and Barca was going to easily win La Liga.” David Goude said, as he spoke about a 6-2 defeat of Real Madrid that led to Barcelona winning La Liga.

Beyond just these two teams, the rivalry extends to their two host cities. It began when General Francisco Franco took control of Madrid and Spain. Because Barcelona vehemently opposed Franco’s policies, he did his best to stamp out Barcelona’s culture, even making them change their name to Club de Futbol Barcelona. Many people in Catalonia started supporting

Barcelona as a political statement.

They started referring to it as more than a club.

“You could probably write an entire book on the question of why the Clasico has endured for so long,” said Goude, speaking of the political aspects of this rivalry.

The simple short version is that it’s more than a game for the two cities, it represents differing ideologies of society as a whole, economics, freedom, and oh yes, two differing styles of futbol.”

The second big event that helped progress the El Clasico rivalry was the competition to sign star player Alfredo Di Stefano in 1953. Both teams discovered him around the same time, and clammered to sign him immediately. Eventually FIFA ruled that Barcelona could sign him. However, the Spanish government stepped in and banned signing foreign players in Spain, allowing Real Madrid to swoop in and sign Di Stefano.

Eventually the compromise of Di Stefano playing two years for each team was decided, but the whole ordeal had increased the ill will between the two teams.An abundance of good players has also made the rivalry stronger. “The fact that 20 of the 22 best players in the world play for either team does help!” said Wolfenson, when asked about why the rivalry has stayed strong. Most recently, Madrid’s Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Messi have made the rivalry stronger.

Both Wolfenson and Goude had trouble answering when asked who they they thought was better. Goude made

It’s obvious that the rivalry between the two teams has been very strong for a very long time, and when Both Wolfenson and Goude thought the rivalry was just as strong today as in the past when asked. Goude described his personal experience at one of the recent matches.

“On game day you can feel the atmosphere change, it is a palpable difference in the way people interact.

Around 8:00a.m. I went out for a coffee and you could sense the tension, there is a feeling of high energy on the streets, the Catalan and Barca flags are hanging out of thousands of windows and you get the sense that the entire city could run a marathon without breaking a sweat. It is one of the greatest experiences in all of sports to be able to watch a Clasico live in Barcelona, and if Barca wins, hop on the subway and make it to La Rambla because the party is about to begin!” Goude said.

Wolfenson thought the rivalry has been helped the most by social media in recent Messi has more titles than Ronaldo is years. “The social media revolution is making the game accessible to because he’s more of a team player everyone” Wolfenson said. Wolfenson whereas Ronaldo at times seems to and Goude have both benefited from be more interested in his own persocial media, as they have been able sonal achievements. That has been to connect people through online fan witnessed on the pitch a few times clubs. Wolfenson and Goude’s success when a Real Madrid player scored a goal but Ronaldo and CR7 was upset in creating communities that support a that he wasn’t given the ball to score.” team thousands of miles away is a tesBoth experts agreed that Ronaldo and tament to the evolution of El Clasico.

As soccer fandom has grown in AmerMessi were the best in the game, but ica, fans like True Pham, a student at their bias towards the player on their LASA who has never set foot in Spain, own team was evident. are able to experience the same passion that people who live in Barcelona can. “Technology has allowed me to be a fan of a team a thousand miles away from me,” said True. Throughout the entire interview the love for his own team was tangible, as was his hate for Barcelona.

Overall it is fair to say that El Clasico is one of the strongest and most legendary rivalries in all of soccer, and will continue to evolve and change in the future, which will make it even stronger than it was when it first began. a convincing argument for Messi when he said, “Both Messi and Ronaldo are without doubt the two best players in the world. They play a different style than one another and I believe it’s impossible to say one is better than the other because it depends on what the team is in need of. Messi is certainly a more versatile player and is more creative in the box while Ronaldo is more of a direct attacking player. If you had to pick one as the “better” player then I would suppose the only determining factor would be who has more silverware and that would go to Messi.

You could also argue that the reason

“The simple short version is that it’s more than a game for the two cities, it represents differing ideologies of society as a whole, economics, freedom, and oh yes, two differing styles of futbol.”-David Goude

Photo by David Goude

Photo by Stewart Wolfenson

Stewart Wolfenson, leader of the Real Madrid Fan Club

David Goude, leader of the Barcelona Fan club

No Era Penal-Evolution of El Clasico-15

PLAYERS WITH THE BEST CHEMISTRY

OUR PICKS FOR THE PLAYERS WHO WORK BEST TOGETHER

BY ANDY DEGRASSE

A soccer team can’t succeed unless its players are always on the same page. Here is our list of the players whose chemistry is the best.

28 goals and 15 assists in 2015 /c

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Photo courtesy of Paul Blank Photo courtesy of Wikipedia user Christophe95

16-Evolution of El Clasico-No Era Penal

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Neymar, LW

stats courtesy of ESPN

No Era Penal-Evolution of El Clasico-17

THE 11 MOST the 11 most expensive players EXPENSIVE TRANSFERS 2015 Summer Transfer Window (in Euros) 2015 summer transfer window (in Euros)

Atletico Madrid to FC Barcelona

VfL Wolfsburg to Manchester City FC

Arda Turan

Kevin De Bruyne

7075-- 80 80 million million

37 million

Christian Benteke 46 million

AS Monaco FC to Manchester United FC

Anthony Martial 48.7 million

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34 million

Aston Villa FC to Liverpool FC

Juventus FC to FC Bayern Munich

Arturo Vidal

by Robert Yam

Transfer Information retrieved from the following sites: www.bbc.com www.skysports.com www.espnfc.com

Mancheter United FC to Paris Saint-Germain FC

ﾃ］gel Di Marﾃｭa 63 million

AS Monaco FC to Inter Milan

Geoffrey Kondogbia 35 million

Southampton FC to Manchester United FC

FC Porto to Atletico Madrid

Jackson Martinez

Morgan Schneiderlin

33 million

35 million

Liverpool FC to Manchester City FC TSG 1899 Hoffenheim to Liverpool FC

Roberto Firmino

39.8 million

Raheem Sterling

70 million

No Era Penal-Transfers-19

1

Inside View on Austin’s four superclubs Feature by Christian Salinas

A

Photo credited to @AustinTexans

pproximately club soccer involves 246,863 kids throughout the state of Texas. Most boys play club soccer to get experience and year-round playing time. In Austin, four major clubs stand out: the North Austin Soccer Alliance, the Lonestar Soccer Club, the River City Rangers Soccer Club, and the Austin Texans Soccer Club.

“I do not have a favorite, and I think they all serve a purpose in our community,” said Brad O’Kelley, Austin Sports Academy executive director. “All the clubs are a different size and have a different philosophy. I think it is healthy for families to have choices about where their children are going to play.”

Austin and the surrounding areas are home to four major clubs. The lesser known club being NASA, a recreational club in North Austin ideal for beginners or those with other interests. In stark contrast will be Lonestar, the famous powerhouse club in Austin that charges the highest bill and consumes the most time. First challengers to the Lonestar dictatorship, Rangers, represent Central Austin and consistently offers up teams of the highest quality. A branch of the strong Dallas Texans club soccer organization are the Austin Texans, a team focusing on skill and competitiveness and base themselves around the outskirts Austin.

Of course club soccer is all relative to the person.

For certain players, it’s having being with friends that matters the most. “[My daughter] is with Lonestar because that is where are friends are, I think that is very important for young players,” said O’Kelley, father of two youth club soccer players. O’Kelley is co-owner and director at the Austin Sports Academy, an independent organization focusing on developing youth soccer players outside of club activities.

“I feel like we do a great job in developing players away from their team,” commented O’Kelley. “Club coaches sometimes have 15 to 20 players they are responsible for in a practice. It is tough for them to individualize their session for every player in the session. I feel like with our small numbers we are able to maximize the repetition and the coaching points to get the most out of each technical session.” Almost all players in their training play club and are looking for the extra training needed to be an elite player.

North Austin Soccer Alliance

One club is of a different cloth than the others. The North Austin Soccer Alliance(NASA) is a non-profit soccer club. NASA has no one that draws a salary at the club. The mind set is quite different from that of these other three superclubs. They don’t turn away kids yet still play at a high level.

20-Club Going Up-No Era Penal

1. Ranger’s 01G Orange Team photo follow.

2. The Austin Texans get off a plane after arriving in Washington Dulles International Aiport, before they take a connecting flight to nationals.

2

Photo credited to rivercityrangers.com

Club going up:

“Probably, Lonestar.” Lonestar U-19 star player Oran Lopez-Reed on the topic of the best club in Austin.

“Just because, [they have] the best facilities, the biggest number of teams, and the biggest number of players. They just have a greater reach than any other club and usually a higher level of play than most other teams. The only other team that I think comes close is the Texans.” What this insightful quote gives us is a our first peek at the true super club of Austin. Lonestar gathers the most deals in

Photo taken by Desidario Kovar

Lonestar Soccer Club

terms of advertising and sponsors.

With by far the most divisions, teams, and players, Lonestar has the greatest reach of any club. Jobs are generated and opportunities are handed out all over the club. Lonestar is the big fish in the small pond of Austin club soccer. With buyouts of East Austin Dragon teams being used to expand to Lonestar East, their influence is only increasing by the day.

The biggest setback that prevents total domination is the prices. Should Lonestar find a way to cut these high prices, they would grow larger still. To compare with other clubs, Lonestar charges $335.50 per uniform set which consists of two game jerseys, two game shorts, two pairs of game socks, one practice kit, a backpack and a warm-up outfit. For a division one team, Lonestar charges $1962.00 for the full season. For full comparison across all

Photo Credit: @KathyLonestar

“NASA is kind of a different breed from the other clubs because no one is making money off of this, at all,” said NASA board member and manager of two club teams, Alison Guckenberger. “It’s passion for helping children. The NASA structure is to get as many children regardless of their ability, regardless of their level of experience playing soccer.”

NASA is considered recreational and has few teams that play at a high level. One such team is the ‘01 Red Wings team that plays in the super two division. As a volunteer-based club, NASA is able to keep prices down at a marginal price of other clubs. On average, a super two season will cost around $250 not including transportation or uniforms. Speaking of uniforms, the average uniform will set back a player around $55. These prices simply can’t be beat and without a doubt a big plus for this organization.

“I think the overall philosophy of the organization and the team allows them to have other interests besides just soccer” said Guckenberger, mother of LASA freshman George Guckenberger. “[On the topic of other clubs]Based on what I’ve heard I mean I’ve never had that experience myself but you have to make not only a significant financial commitment to the team. You have to make a “I’m putting soccer first” and that’s not something that we require with the Red Wings.” NASA is for the kids who have several interests and aren’t willing to compromise all of those for soccer. The teams are surrounded with the atmosphere of multi-talented kids who always strive to improve.

Often confused with the space program based in across the United States, the club often might find itself struggling with marketing and Alison commented on that when asked what responsibilities on the board look like, “We have meetings to discuss the coaches and what’s going on and recruitment and all of that. Right now there are a lot of other organizations that are trying to, private organizations like I9, that are trying to move into our area.

We want to make sure we retain presence at all of these schools. We don’t want to get edged out, not that we are looking to expand necessarily but we just want to maintain our presence. So we talk a lot about advertising and T-shirt sales.”

NASA is the most mindful of their community out of the four clubs. NASA is based in northern Austin and has forged close relationships with Summit, Pillow, Lucy Reed, Highland Park, Doss and Burnet schools. This club’s mind set of giving back to the community most certainly earns them style points.

boards, the cost for a super two season ends up to around $1404.00.

“They have a lot of resources, I think they make a lot of money,” commented Lopez-Reed. “I mean they charge a pretty big bill to pay for them but I mean they have really great coaches. My coach was the old youth coordinator for the US National Team, so I know I am playing who really knows what they are talking about.” Lonestar consistently finds coaches of the highest quality to match their high costs. All around Lonestar is the place to be for

Top: Lonestar’s U16 USSDA club during a tournament in Houston Bottom: Photo of 01B Rangers mid-game versus Gurus.

River City Rangers Soccer Club

The other super club in Austin would be the

“ Their players seem to play for each other. It’s impressive, even if sometimes they are not the most desirable people to be around”- Oran Lopez Reed

Rangers. Based entirely in central Austin, their program is for inner-city players who have the skills and quality to play with the best of the best. Very similar to Lonestar in structure and pricing, Rangers offer an alternative. Rangers play very attractive football and are not afraid to push the other guys over.

Rivercity offers numerous scholarships to their players, allowing those with less money to not be held back for their circumstances. On average, they have two players on scholarship per team.

Always competitive, the River City club beats Lonestar with cheaper pricing. Rangers manage to only charge $1450 for a division one season. When it comes to super two, Rangers cut costs to $1050. River City demands a great profusion from their players yet allow for other interests. In terms of uniforms, Ranger will charge you around $200.

“Rangers, my brother plays for Rangers and he seems to be enjoying it,” Lopez-Reed had to say, mentioning his younger brother: LASA Freshman Marcel Lopez-Reed, “I have gone to a couple of camps of theirs and they seem to have good teams. Maybe not quite to the level of Texans in terms of play but they have good facilities and good coaches and their players seem to really enjoy themselves.”

Austin Texans Soccer Club

“Whenever I play [Texan] teams, all of their players are really good, very skilled.” Lopez-Reed said on his experiences with Texan teams, “Also the most unsportsmanlike actually, they can be like really nasty and cause a lot of fights but they also have a very winning mentality. Their players seem to play for each other. It’s impressive even if sometimes they are not the most desirable people to be around.”

22-Club Going Up-No Era Penal

Texans are based almost entirely in Hutto with the exception of two youth girls teams in South Austin. This allows them to have a firm hold on the north Austin outskirts.

However, Texans claim their roots to the Dallas Texas Soccer Club, their parent club. Other divisions exist in San Antonio, the Gulf Coast, Rio Grande Valley, and Waco.

For comparison, players in the Texans soccer club will pay $1400 for a super two season. These prices are very similar to that of Rangers as both of these clubs are quality organizations that offer cheaper pricing compared to Lonestar but can’t match the exposure to scouts and the quality of coaching and facilities Lonestar offers. For a division one season, Texans will charge an amount in the region of $1725, once again very similar to Rangers.

Texans offers numerous scholarships to their players, allowing those with less money to not be held back for their circumstances. On average, they have two players on scholarship per team.

Austin’s four clubs influence club players everyday and are often an outlet with which they can relax and put their worries to the side. Lonestar provides the sponsorship and big name deals with businesses in their area for the most exposure and scouts. Rangers provide the biggest competitor teams, pushing Lonestar along. Texans continues to organize itself brilliantly and branches out all over Texas. NASA keeps up with the other clubs while still holding the ideals of a recreational club and certainly the prices of one.

1. Last years, Lonestar U14 USSDA team following an uplifting win in the USSDA showcase.

1 Photo credit to @KathyLonestar

those looking to take the next step in south, north, and occasionally central Austin.

Lonestar offers numerous scholarships to their players, allowing those with less money to not be held back for their circumstances. On average, they have two players on scholarship per team.

Lonestar offers multiple camps to those not in their clubs. This is part of their efforts to give back to their community. Also they were involved with breast cancer awareness month, naming it “Pink the Pitch!” Lonestar continues to involve their community holding them in shining light.

Photo taken from @KathyLonestar

“I have gone to a couple

1

camps of theirs and they seem to have good teams. Maybe not the level of Texans in terms of play but they have good facilities and good coaches and their players seem to really enjoy

”

1. Lonestar’s U16/U18 Academy team, a model for success and stability.

2. Lonestar’s U16 Academy team, one of the best teams in their age group, during a night practice

2

Photo taken from @KathyLonestar

themselves - Oran Lopez-Reed.

No Era Penal-Club Going Up-23

What Happened to our Aztex?

A breakdown of what went wrong for the Austin Aztex in their first season as a professional club in the USL.

By Jeffrey Kovar Photos by Carlos Barron

The Austin Aztex starting eleven players for their disappointing 2-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo in the US Open Cup.

The smell of freshly cut grass, the cheers of thousands, and the goals and high hopes for the season greeted the Austin Aztex when they stepped into House Park for the start of the season. With a positive attitude and the Aztex looking strong, the season looked like a promising one. Much to the surprise of the fans and players alike, the season did not go as planned.

“Underwhelmed, a little disappointed, you know as far as results go,” said Ben Crawley, an assistant coach for 24-What Happened to Our Aztex?-No Era Penal

the Aztex. “But I think the style of play was nice, the talent level was there, I think it was just a little bit of inexperience.

It was the small differences that maybe we didn’t have the experience.”

The Aztex season started bright. With wins over the Houston Dynamo, University of Incarnate World, Southwestern University, St. Edward’s University and Houston Baptist in the preseason, hopes were they could carry their success to the regular season. That, of course,

was not the case. The Aztex ended up losing 15 games, and finished in eighth place out of 12 in the Western Conference of the USL.

The Aztex came into the season with high hopes.

They were in consideration to be one of the expansion teams, due to a strong following of soccer in Austin. Austin had the fifth highest viewership of any city for the Women’s World Cup Final, only behind Kansas City, St. Louis, San Diego, and Denver. Three of these four cities already have a Major League Soccer (MLS) team in them.

“I think there is a pretty good fan base,” said Crawley. “[The fans are] still rather quiet. They are still kinda amateur as far as their fan hood. As far as being fanatical, they are a little on the conservative side.”

The other key in securing an MLS team is securing wins, which the Aztex did not do. They missed the playoffs for the United Soccer League (USL) and scored only 32 goals, third to last out of all 24 teams in the USL. According to Drew Yates, a center forward for the Aztex, their bad spell was due to fatigue.

“It was a tough season for sure,” said Yates. “I think that we started off very good. We kinda had a good system, good comradery, but as the season went on we kinda tired out. Results didn’t go our way at times, for whatever reason.

The team kinda started fracturing because we weren’t all going together as a unit towards the end. It just kind caught up with us. I think we were fatigued mentally and physically

“It showed in our results where we would give up a goal, we couldn’t hold a lead, or even at the very not playing defense and to take the tie which sometimes is not a bad result away from home.”- Ben Crawley as the season went on.”

The fans had a more upbeat feel. Camilo Auyero, an avid fan and regular attendee of their games, was optimistic with the result.

“The Aztex had some spells of bad form during the season and they also couldn’t find a place to play for the last couple of games, said Auyero. “I imagine that they overcame the bad spells of form by training harder and concentrating more and still haven’t found a place to play yet, but I imagine that they’ll find a solution in the near future.”

Among the Aztex problems during the season, playing

The Austin Aztex players hi fiving the fans after a preseaon game against the Houston Dynamo.

well at home is another to add to the list. The Aztex lost their home field, House Park, for most of the season due to flooding, causing them to relocate to Reeves Field in Northwest Austin. After relocating to Reeves field, they recorded a 3-2-3 record. Reeves had a lot of upside according to Crawley. It is right across the street from the apartments where many of the players reside during the season. Reeves is also where the Aztex train during the season.

Problems about finding a stadium continue to plague the Aztex. They suspended their play for the 2016 season because as an organization, they want to find their own permanent stadium according to an official statement released by the Aztex. House park is no longer an adequate stadium for them. The Aztex would like to sell alcoholic beverages in their stadium which is not permitted inside House Park by the Austin Independent School District (AISD), the owner of House Park. Ideally, the Aztex would want a stadium near downtown with its sole purpose to be for soccer.

“We have a very difficult task ahead of us on finding a stadium,” said Crawley. “The league doesn’t want us playing in football stadiums, and they want us to be able

Aztex players celebrating after a goal against the Colorado Switchbacks in a promising 2-0 win.

No Era Penal-What Happened to Our Aztex?-25

Forward Trevin Caeser taking a shot against the Houston Dynamo in the US Open Cup. Captain and star center back Lance Rozenboom winning ball from an opposing player for the Houston Dynamo.

to have alcohol sales, and that’s not something that can happen in an AISD field. So, a hundred million dollars to build a stadium; that’s gonna be our hardest thing in the next couple of years.”

The fan base is also staying positive. On the official facebook page for the Aztex, positive messages about the team are posted, as well as a lot of support backing the Aztex season and their choice of suspending play. Auyero shares very similar feelings to much of the fanbase.

“I’m a little disappointed that they can’t play in 2016 but I understand that they need to find a stadium, Auyero said. “It is for the good of the club and I’m looking forward to what they can do.”

The Aztex have lost some key players. Already they have lost the fan favorite, Kris Tyrpak to the NASL (North American Soccer League) San Antonio Scorpions,

“You just have to show up and do your job. I think that’s the biggest thing, just everyone playing their roles and understanding that we are a team, and you need to play for the good of the team.”

- Drew Yates 26-What Happened to Our Aztex?-No Era Penal

another club hopeful to make it up to the MLS one day. Many of the coaches for the Aztex also have other jobs as well.

Crawley is not only an assistant coach for the Aztex, but also the Director of Coaching for the River City Rangers youth soccer club in Austin and the owner of the Austin Sports Academy, an independent organization focused on developing youth soccer players outside of club soccer. For him, a change to the MLS doesn’t seem possible for him and many others within the organization. Of course playing in the MLS would be ideal, but for a realistic chance, the team would need at least five years to prepare.

“It will all depends on what level they get to,” said Crawley. “They are at a high level for what they want to spend and unless they go MLS. Depending if Paul stays on as coach, or if they get a new coach, I don’t know.”

Despite all of their problems, the Aztex still have high hopes for their 2017 season. The team fields a team with an average age of just under 25 years. Most MLS and USL teams average around 28 years, meaning the Aztex are one of the youngest professional teams in the country.

Defender Fernando Timbo winning the ball against multiple players for the Tulsa Roughnecks in a hard fought 1-0 loss at home.

The Austin Aztex fans aka Eberley’s Army cheering on the team during the US Open Cup against the Houston Dynamo.

Inexperience played a very large factor for the team.

Fielding a young squad where most players are just out of high school and college, struggles should be suspected.

“It’s very difficult because our average age is twenty three and those top teams are like twenty eighttwenty nine and I think if [our players] had a lot more experience and a lot more quality, we would do a lot better,” said Crawley.

Playing with a young, undeveloped squad has also led to changes in the training sessions. Head Coach Paul Dalglish was the head coach for the Aztex two years ago, back when they were in the Premier Development League (PDL). He left before last season to coach the MLS Real Salt Lake, and then came back to the Aztex for their most recent season. With his return, Daglish also brought back a professional attitude and a new focus in training.

“I think he was a little different with his organization, from practices,” said Crawley. “When he was there before, we would all kinda get to practice and we would go over about a half hour before what we were going to do, and then we’d go out and as the guys were warming up we would set things up. But when he came back from Salt Lake, we were there an hour before practice and we had all the cones and everything laid down for the session, before the players even showed up. It was always a size. We went from a smaller size to a bigger sizes. We had to become organized and all the balls put in the right places. Overall, a lot more organized of a practice so it could run smoothly and there’s

“The atmosphere in the stadium is always amazing and the games are always fun to go to.”- Camilo Auyero

Forward Trevin Caeser beating a Portland Timberwolves 2 in a tough 2-0 loss. not a lot of down time. When we roll from one session, one thing to the next, there’s no more than a minute transition in between.”

Fatigue from traveling during the season also affected the Aztex. The Aztex went on large spells of travel during the season, at one point playing five games away from home. Those games were in Sacramento, Seattle, Houston, Oklahoma, and Los Angeles; quite a journey for an organization that has never traveled farther than out of state for most of the their play before.

“I think there is a lot of organizational issues here because it’s an expansion team,” Yates said. “Learning how to travel and to take players. It’s just very hard to make the jump from PDL to professional and also to bring in all the players and to get them to jell together as a unit.”

At this point, the future is all in the Aztex hands and the hands of the city. With their nearest season in almost two years, the club has a lot of time to figure out where they stand as an organization. If they decide to stay in USL, or make the jump to the MLS, the club will have the backing from its fan base, coaches, and players.

No Era Penal-What Happened to Our Aztex?-27

http://worldsoccer.about.com/od/players/a/Ballon-D-Wouldor-Winners.htm http://www.futhead.com/16/clubs/legends/ http://listverse.com/2008/12/11/top-20-football-players-of-all-time/

The Greats Here is a timeline of the best players from each decade, from 1950 to 2000.

By Marcel Lopez Reed

Alfredo Di Stefano (FW) 411 Goals 1945-1966

Pele (FW) 727 Goals 1956-1977

Cruyff (FW) 323 Goals 1964-1974

Puskas (FW) 592 Goals 1943-1966

Garrincha (FW) 292 Goals 1953-1972

Beckenbauer (DF) 97 Goals 1964-1983

Lev Yashin (GK) 270 Clean Sheets 1950-1970

George Best (FW) 248 Goals 1963-1984

Gerd Muller (FW) 555 Goals 1963-1981

1950s

1960s

1970s

28-The Finishing Spots-No Era Penal

Maradona (FW) 306 Goals 1968-1976

Ronaldo Lima (FW) 320 Goals 1993-2011

Ronaldinho (FW) 484 Goals 1998-Present Day

Platini (MF) 269 Goals 1972-1994

Ruud Gullit (MF) 193 Goals 1979-1998

Zidane (MF) 127 Goals 1988-2006

Zico (MF) 240 Goals 1971-1994

Romario (FW) 364 Goals 1985-2009

Thierry Henry (FW) 335 Goals 1994-2012

1980s

1990s

2000s

No Era Penal-The Finishing Spots-29

Personal XI of Christian Salinas

Personal XI of Jeffrey Kovar

30-Personal XIs-No Era Penal

Personal XI of Andy DeGrasse

Personal XI of Marcel Lopez Reed

No Era Penal-Personal XIs-31

By: Christian Salinas Photos by @FootyVectors on Twitter

Here are the highest paid players in all of the footballing world.

Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid/Portugal $79.6 million/year ($27 million in endorsements)

Ronaldo is far and away the highest paid player in all of soccer. Winner of three FIFA Ballon d’Ors, Ronaldo remains one of only two players to ever win it with two teams.

Ronaldo’s current deal goes through 2018 and he continues to receive $52.6 a year. Real Madrid has a tendency to shell out big bucks for their “Galacticos.” Being the most valuable club in the world, Real Madrid can attract even the most loyal of players along with FC Barcelona, their Spanish rivals.

Ronaldo’s endorsements with Nike, Herbalife, Tag Heuer, Armani, Konami, Adidas, Castrol, Gucci, Forbes (and other magazines) and a personal brand of underwear labelled as CR7 have boosted his endorsement income to the highest in soccer.

Last season, Ronaldo scored 61 goals in 56 games.

Lionel Messi

FC Barcelona/Argentina $73.8 million/year ($22 million in endorsements)

Lionel Messi is arguably the best player in the world of soccer. Having been the only player in the world to ever win four FIFA Ballon d’Ors consecutively, Messi is certainly deserving of his $51.8 million/year salary.

Messi’s deal goes through 2018 and he will contine to earn nearly $51.8 in salary. FC Barcelona won the famous “treble” last year, being the only team in history to do so twice.

The Spanish treble consists of the Spanish La Liga BBVA title, the Spanish Copa del Rey, and the European Champions League.

Messi’s endorsements with Adidas, Herbalife, Samsung, Turkish Airlines, PepsiCo, Gillette, and Electronic Arts make up his $22 million in endorsements.

Last season, Messi scored 65 goals in 66 games.

32-Highest Paid Players-No Era Penal

Zlatan Ibrahimović Paris Saint-German/Sweden $39.1 million/year ($6 million in endorsements)

Zlatan has won Swedish player of the year 10 out of the last 11 years. Zlatan’s deal currently goes through 2016. He is mooted to make a move to possibly the MLS. Zlatan is nearing the end of his career at 34, so his next deal will not be so high.

He is the oldest player on the list. He is a Swedish legend.

Last season, Zlatan scored 31 goals in 38 games.

Gareth Bale

Sources: http://www.givemesport.com/417917-top-10-most-profitable-transfers-in-football-history/page/9 http://sporteology.com/top-10-highest-paid-soccer-players-2015/ http://www.businessinsider.com/lionel-messi-highest-paid-soccerplayer-footballer-2015-3

Real Madrid/Wales $35 million/year ($9.5 million in endorsements)

Gareth Bale is consider the future of Spanish superclub Real Madrid. He is entering his third year with the club and is the second highest player at the club. He is the face of his national team, Wales and singlehandly carried his team to Euro 16. A competition three athletes from this list are featured on(Zlatan and Ronaldo), expect to see some fireworks whenever he is on the field. Known for his outrageous pace and harkwork, Bale has to live up to his 100 million euro price tag that Real used to snap him up from Tottenham Hotspur.

Bale had a disappointing season in the 2014-2015 season, only netting 19 goals in 47 games while also grabbing 10 assists.

Neymar Santos Jr. FC Barcelona/Brazil $31 million/year ($17 million in endorsements)

Neymar da Silva Santos Junior is the hottest sensation in South America. The Brazil captian is second fiddle to Messi at Barcelona but is widely expected to succeed him at the Catalonian club.

The youngest player on this list, Neymar makes more through his endorsements then through his contract with the Barcelona-based superclub.

This is due to the fact he is basically a hero in his home country.

Neymar had a terrific 2014-2015 season in which FC Barcelona grabbed the treble. Neymar scored 51 goals in 60 games while also grabbing 10 assists.

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Here is Our Top Five Jerseys and Cleats of 2015.

By: Jeffrey Kovar

Though they are one of the newest cleat lines on the market, debuting in 2013, the Nike Hypervenom has catapulted up to the most popular cleats due to its unmatched feel and touch for the ball, and its sleek, modern design.

It’s no surprise that the team with debatably the largest fan base in the world would sell the most soccer jerseys for the year. And Manchester United has done just that, selling a whopping 1.4 million jerseys in the 20142015 season.

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Also selling 1.4 million jerseys: Real Madrid. The team with largest collection of worldwide talent, including Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, Modric, Sergio Ramos, and four time greatest player of the year winner; Cristiano Ronaldo, should be selling the most jersey.

The Nike Mercurials: one of Nike’s longest running cleat lines are the second most popular cleat of the year because of their new, innovative design that still stays true to the Mercurial name, and the quality precision it brings to its wearer’s game.

Coming in with 1.15 million jersey’s sold are the La Liga, Copa Del Rey, and Champions League champions: Barcelona, debatably the best team in the world right now.

Introduced only last year, the Nike Magista catapulted up the ranks for soccer players everywhere due to its futuristic look and its wide foot design that most cleat makers don’t appeal to.

Known as the “Powerhouse of The Bundesliga”, Bayern Munich have sold 880,000 jerseys due to their large cast of stars and success in recent years.

The only non-Nike shoe on this list, the Adidas Copa Mundials are renowned for their comfort and classic design that still works today.

Deemed “The De fender’s shoes” by many due to its popularity within the position, Nike Tiempos are some of the most comfortable cleats on the market in 2015 and that’s why they are number three on our list.

It’s expected that the winners of the most televised soccer league in the world, The British Premier League would be selling some of the most jersey’s in the world, and Chelsea has done just that, selling 910,000 Jerseys last year Liverpool has not had the recent success like many others on this list, but still have a large, dedicated fanbase that still managed to buy 810,000 jerseys.

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Our Heroes

Andy DeGrasse: 2) Pele, FW, Brazil, Santos

Photo by: nationalencyklopedin.org

Marcel Lopez-Reed: 1) Paul Pogba,MF, France, Juventus

Photo by: Muhammad Ashiq

Our editorial staff’s personal idols.

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Photo by: Rayand

Christian Salinas: 4) Rafael Marquez, DF, Mexico, Hellas Verona

Photo by: F. Vera

Jeffrey Kovar: 3) Frank Lampard, MF, England, NYCFC

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Photo by: Wiki user Lynchg

Robert Yam: 5) Franck Ribery, MF, France, Bayern Munich