I'm not really shocked she went there. She has the same agent as Shek, they probably offered her bigger money than any place else and her and Shek would know each other well so less assimilation (into the team anyway) time. Plus I don't think many WPS coaches were too high on her for a variety of reasons. Out of curiousity, mace, what have the players you've talked to said about Perm? What is the laughable part? Just curious.
Lensois, Thanks for the update on the former FCI ladies. I knew about a couple of them like Leyva and Del Rio, but I had not heard about Ocampo in ATL (they got themselves a good one there), and Shannon Lynn. I hope she gets that opportunity in Scottland with the SWNT. I think she is incredibly tallented. I was truely worried when we had to replace Luckenbill last year but Shannon came in and we didn't miss a beat. I'm still trying to find out where a few of the other girls have landed. If anyone has info on where Misho Sackaguchi, Erika Prado, or Corrie Moore ended up I'd like to know. As far as those one or two people in the organization they must of kept them well hidden. During last season with the exception of the young girl taking tickets at the games at Kuntz Stadium and the lady taking tickets during the playoffs at Lafayette Jeff H.S (both of whom were very friendly) everyone else I tried to talk to was either a total ass or just didn't want to be bothered, and with the excetion of Shek and a couple of the former players I've kept in touch with I have still never gotten a reply to any e-mail from these people. I would have helped out for nothing and told them so many times. I also provided them with a number of contacts in the media including one of the local sports radio stations and one of the hispanic radio stations who where eager to help and they NEVER attempted to contacted either of them, but as we can see these a$$clowns had all the answers didn't they. I also offered to set something up with some local youth soccer organizations and schools who where eager to have them put on clinics and again it was I guess beneath them as an organization to WORK at building a fan base. They had one of the premier club teams in the world before WPS and one that could have been competitive in WPS last year and didn't have clue one as to what to do with it and how to promote it. And when people who could have helped in that area with it costing them nothing or next to nothing they just blew them off. They did, however, prove they knew how to destroy a great team faster than I have ever seen it done before. I do have to give credit where credit is due. In 2009 they took ineptitude to levels I never thought posible. I've had ladies who have played here in the past tell me off the record that while it was a great team from an on the pitch standpoint it was incrediblie poorly run on business end. At this point I think that goes without saying.
I talked to a couple of the European based players. Basically, they know Russia and they are happy where they are currently at, therefore the "I don't think so" laugh. The reason I'm surprised with Leyva is that there always seemed to be a tight circle with the Spanish speaking players and I thought that is why some of them stayed as long as they did with FCI... because they enjoyed playing with each other. So, Perm, Russia, is not where I imagined Leyva going. But, it maybe it is an adventure for her! Mace
It is just a shame that it came to this. When I had read that Shek was leaving (again), and they had named a new coach this time, I doubted the rest of the organization could manage. I always assumed Skek was the one bringing in the talent and not sure anyone else there had connections to do so. With that being said I was still hoping for some type of team to watch and support just so my girls had some players to look up to. I know we have Purdue just up the road but during the school year it is harder to make plans for a match. I guess we will check out the Carmel WPSL club this summer and see how that goes. Just disappointed.
This is from Shek's blog http://shekborkowski.com/2009/11/about-zvezda/ and I think that all of you have to stop speculating about conditions in Russia. From Shek's comments here we can see that the situation is no laughable at all. I heart from some male players base in Perm that the women’s team is very professional and the financial and accommodation conditions are one of the best in the world of the women soccer.
I'm with you on that one Twinssoccerdad. Disappointed, infuriated, and more angry than I've ever been at a mis-managed organization that managed to run a really good thing into the ground at warp speed. They could easily have continued to opperate FCI by going back to the WPSL and opperating as an amateur club again with all the talent available from the local universities and been quite competitive. With the low opperating cost and cost for entry fee into WPSL they could have done very well drawing a few hundred people a game which isn't hard to do at all if you get management to put a LITTLE / ANY effort into marketing and some grass root envolvement in the community. Anyway me and my girls look forward to seeing you and your girls at the Carmel United games in 2010.
Good luck with Carmel United. The lowest score ever that FC Indiana beat them was 5:0. Your girls do not deserve to be punish like this, after seen FC Indiana Pro-level playing standard.
My girls won't feel like they are being punished. They just love the game and the experience of going to the game, and FCI didn't exactly leave us with an option locally did they. As long as the Carmel United girls work hard, work together, and are acessable to the kids and provide a positive example for young ladies to aspire to I'm not overly concerned with the drop off in level of play. Maybe the level from top to bottom in the WPSL will be a liitle more balanced.( not that I didn't enjoy watching FCI beat people by 6 or 7 goals every game) My girls are 10, 8 and 5 so I'm sure the adjustment will be much harder for me than for them. We will also make a couple of trips to Chicago to see the RedStars play. My only hope is that Carmel United management cares a little more about the fans they have than FCI did. I'm pretty sure it would be imposible to be less fan friendly or less professionaly run from a business standpoint than FCI was last year. Never in my life have a seen an organization do so little with so much, and ruin a good thing so quickly. I feel bad for the girls who played for FCI because they were all first class and greatful to the fans. They were always good to me and my girls. For the people in the management of this club I had the misfortune of meeting and trying to talk to and help out, never have a group of people more richly deserved to go out of business.
I have managed to track down almost all the ladies who played for FCI the last few years and continue to keep in touch with many of them. I have, however, been unable to locate Mizho Sackaguchi or Erika Prado. If anyone knows where they might be playing this year please let me know. Thanks.
Well as I posted before, i could not understand what became of Sakaguchi, who only played 4 games last year for the team. It is a bit easier to understand now, that quite simply the team could not afford the payroll. She since seems to have vanished from contention from the Japanese NT, which is worse, as she seemed so promising. But I just saw this link, it is by her original club in Japan and appears to state that she has just committed to - well, FC Indiana. Put this into google/translate for a very crude translation. http://www.albirex.co.jp/tools/page_store/news_2081.html Talk about a marginal existence !
Mizo tore her ACL 4 games into the season last year which explains her disappearance from FCI on the field as well as with the Japanese National Team.
Thanks skoergal, I know she was tore her ACL last season. I was just wondering how her rehab had gone and if she had been picked up by another club. FCI management last season was like trying to get info from the witness protection program. No one there knew how to update a website, answer a phone, return an email, or where interested in talking to folks who wanted to help them, and it wasn't like they where so busy doing unimportant stuff like marketing the incredibly good soccer club they had on the pitch, getting involved with the youth soccer programs in the area, or taking advantage of willing help who wanted nothing more than to be involved and see women's soccer thrive in Indy. If these morons had tried some of that they would still be in business. They just ran their stealth opperation, opened the gates and wondered why nobody showed up. The scariest part of the entire mess last season is the fact that they honestly DON"T KNOW WHY NOBODY SHOWED UP.
Ahhh - so that's it. May I ask how did you get this information ? I looked at past FCI game reports and they said nothing on any such injury. Also my news report from Japan, probably now I am reading it wrong and instead it is saying that she is re-joining her old team back there.
Just spoke to Mizuho Sackaguchi yesterday and she told me she has signed with Albirex Niigata in Japan and has fully recoved from her knee injury. She said she missed the friends she made with FCI but was looking forward to returning to playing after missing almost all of last year.
Wow - she can speak English (I assume you dont speak Japanese) - well can you tell her that I look forward to seeing her playing on her NT again before too long - and to hopefully see her in the World Cup next year. TiA !
Actually her english is quite good. I can't say the same for my Japanese but I'm working on it. Next time I get to talk to her I'll pass on that message.
Actually Philadelphia should have sought her out. She would surely be a better investment than Maruyama, who they actually signed, as I believe Mizuho started for all 6 games at the Olympics. But probably she never got approached by any WPS team; as the injury meant her form was unknown.
You'll notice a familiar name in the squad here: http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=273&newsCategoryID=6&newsID=5507
Thanks Lensois. Great to see Shannon getting this opportunity. I'm sure like most of the other former FCI ladies playing elsewhere she will work hard, do a good job, and make the most of this chance. To bad all the success these ladies are having has to happen on teams throughout the world when it could have happened here, but that's what happens when you let idiots run something. No matter how good it is they will find a way to run it into the ground. While I'm really going to miss all these girls this spring I am so glad most of them are getting a chance to play for organizations that are well run. I have recently gotten on facebook and have reconected with almost every girls who played for FCI the last 3 years and they have been great as far as keeping in touch and updating how they are and where they are playing. It is a shame the class and professionalism these ladies have didn't trickle up to the idiots running the team. BTW just head from Lisa-Marie Woods yesterday. She will be playing for the Norwegian NT in an upcoming tournament and for Stabak FC in Oslo this year. Christie Shaner plans to play for the Pali Blues in the W-League. She said she felt after her injury that it would be hard to get a good look from any WPS team until she got to prove herself fit and ready to play. She hoped by seasons end if all goes well with Pali to get another shot with a WPS club.
Of course Perm women's soccer is well funded. How else does a 5 year old team get to the Champion's League Final???? No one said Perm women's soccer is laughable. FC Indiana Women's soccer was founded in 2000 and is now disbanded (at least for now). So, one of the best women's soccer team in the USA had a very short life. Hopefully Perm will do better. Look at LA Sol. Made it to the WPS final, had the best woman player in the world (Marta) and they are now gone. 1 year and out. Such is the fate of some teams installed by corporate money with no real fan base. Mace Mace
The problem with FCI was they NEVER made ANY attempt to build a fan base. Hard to build a fan base if even soccer fans never knew the club existed.
Hi, I remembered this post, and two things - 1. First, this weekend Japan qualified for the 2011 World Cup by finishing 3rd in the Asian Cup (details, discussions and videos etc elsewhere on bigsoccer !). 2. Second, just hours ago, this touching video was posted on youtube - [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSg7dgSYJJE"]YouTube- 2008?11?23?[/ame] It "seems" (because I dont have a word of Japanese! - I put the links into googe-translate to get a crude impression) to describe the last days of Takasi Perule in 2008, for whom Sakaguchi used to play. As you can see there is a moment where she discusses her future with the coach. Of course it did not lead anywhere in a straight line Well i thought you might find this interesting. If you talk to her again, tell her to raise her game to former levels for next year
Check out the other FC Indiana thread. Apparently they are fielding a team in 2011 and playing in Indy now. Shek is back as head coach with the Castro brothers as assistants. It seems the money is coming from Eric Green http://www.bmcbco.com/personnel.html or at least why else would this guy be The new website for FCI is fcindiana.us. I wonder what was wrong with the .com address? Mace
The more amateur women's soccer leagues we can get up and running (and staying around), I think, the better. I was speaking with my father on this subject, he played college and pro in the 70s and has since coached a college team. He mentioned how difficult it is for coaches to find places for their players to compete and develop in the summer. Whereas back in the day there were plenty of amateur teams to join. Also, college women competing in summer leagues creates a win, win. They stay fit and come back stronger for fall season, as well as open their eyes to the dream of playing professionally. The Dayton Dutch Lions FC are also starting a USL W-League team this summer. Tryouts are Feb 5th - check it out! http://www.dutchlionsfc.com/cms/index.php/register-all-try-outs-dutch-lions-fc