Just got this press release Kansas City Wizards to Face CSD Municipal of Guatemala in Inaugural New Mexico Cup May 31 (May 22, 2008) – The Kansas City Wizards will participate in the first-ever New Mexico Cup Saturday, May 31 at the University of New Mexico Football Stadium in Albuquerque. Kansas City will face Guatemalan power Club Social y Deportivo Municipal at 8 p.m. CT in the first-ever meeting between the clubs. Municipal has played four other MLS teams. Tickets for the event put on by 3 Star Sports and Entertainment Management are available online here. Fore more information, visit http://soccerinalbuquerque.com/3starsportscalendar.html. “We are very happy to take part in the first-ever New Mexico Cup,” Wizards Technical Director Peter Vermes said. “Our selection to play in this match against CSD Municipal says a lot about the direction of our club. Many in the U.S. soccer community are realizing the strides we have taken since OnGoal took over in 2006, and playing matches like these will helps us reach our goal of becoming an internationally recognizable brand.” Club Social y Deportivo Municipal (CSD Municipal) commonly referred to as simply Municipal or Los Rojos (the Reds) was founded in 1936 in the Guatemala City. Municipal has won their national championship an extraordinary 25 times. The crown jewel of their trophy case is the silverware obtained by winning the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup in 1974, as the Reds are the only Guatemalan team to have ever done so. The logo of Municipal is a variation of the coat of arms of the city of Santiago de Los Caballeros de Guatemala, with the image of Santiago (Saint James) over the scenery of the region. The Reds are referred to as “El equipo del pueblo” by their fans. This translates to “The People’s Team,” and Municipal is widely considered to be the most popular club in all of Guatemala. The event will coincide with a weekend of soccer activity that includes The New Mexico Street Cup, a 2-v-2 freestyle soccer tournament Friday night in downtown Albuquerque. Masters of the Game, a group based in Amsterdam, Holland that features former Ajax players, highlight the four-team event during a round-robin tournament.
I would like to know when we are going to play Atlas. We formed a partnership but it appears that nothing has come of it thus far. I was hoping for more interaction with the club such as friendlies and player development.
Oh that's awesome! I live within walking distance of UNM Football stadium so Ill be there for sure thanks for info;I didn't even hear about haha. Should be a good weekend. GO KC WIZARDS!
thanks for cross posting on the Lobos thread. We'll try to get some folks there. You know we have an eye on and support the KCW because of our Lance Watson. Wondering aloud- is there any chance Lance's recovery is coming along in time enough for him to see any action?
He's still listed as out on the injury report for this weekends game, so I'd say that it's unfortunately unlikely at this point, but who knows, I don't know how much longer he's supposed to be out.
who are the other clubs playing in this and why should we care? i'm not trying to be flippant, i'm just not sure i see the point in this. it's nothing more than a glorified friendly halfway across the country in the middle of our season with basically nothing to gain from it. maybe if we only field a reserve side for it, then it might be of some value, but i'll be damned if one of our key players gets injured in these meaningless games.
I don't think there are any other teams, this is the only game in the cup. Like the Saturn Cup, it's just a one off game.
snore. if this was preseason, i'd say go for it. we should've passed on the invitation... unless we do intend to play only our reserves and let our starting 11 not even travel.
At least it happens during a week off...assuming that's why we agreed to play. Hopefully nobody really important plays or gets hurt. What type of playing surface do they have?
the kicker is that i will be in Albuquerque on May 31st however after spending the week there I have an appointment in Denver at 2pm on that day sad sad turn of events or I would obviously have gone to the match
I agree. This is stupid. It seems that MLS is trying the form an alliance/history with every single other club in the world. It's like some dweeb on myspace who has 11,000 friends just so they can say, "I have 11,000 friends." I don't mind the occasional friendly, but let's not do it mid-season.
Looking at the schedule, I'm wondering why they didn't have Chicago play it. They're off next weekend as well and have Blanco, that'd seem like the better draw.
You make it sound like we're a sucker for accepting to play this match. We have an off week, a chance to play a quality side and give Coach a chance to possibly ticker and watch his team play in a competitive match without it counting against our MLS record. I'm encouraged by this, and it sounds like some New Mexico fans are too.
Municipal is not a bad club at all. Sucks to have the extra game in terms of fatigue, but our form suggests we need the practice. If it gives a reserve a chance to shine and push someone who's been getting time, all the better.
Actually it looks like they had a friendly scheduled for next Saturday already, against Jagiellonia Bialystok. That friendly has now been canceled. But they did play Wednesday in a friendly against Wisla Krakow. Got this info from Du Nord
I'm pretty sure I'm doing the Ronald Reagan simulcast. Not sure how to replicate the sound of a slide tackle yet.
Just don't forget the little yelp/embellished rolling around oh-god-i'm-dying sound effect if it's studs up.
According to the Wizards weekly update, Hillcrest Road will be running commentary for this game, like the Saturn Cup.