Detroit Footballer

DETROIT, Mich., May 14, 2013 – Through a partnership between A.C. Milan Soccer School Detroit and Waza F.C., the new A.C. Milan Detroit Waza soccer club will offer youth soccer players competitive training and game opportunities with the potential for international soccer experiences at the highest levels. 

The new AC Milan Detroit Waza club will include boys and girls teams in age groups ranging from 8 years through 18 years. Waza F.C. is known for its elite technical training which will be amplified by A.C. Milan’s technical, tactical and athletic curriculum. Additionally A.C. Milan technical directors and coaching staff will be in Detroit working with players on a daily basis. 

For the most advanced teams and players, there will be team opportunities for international tournaments and individual player opportunities to train and be selected to top A.C. Milan teams in Italy.

“This partnership gives soccer players a chance to dream big”, said Francesco Cilano, A.C. Milan Soccer School Detroit. “We have already sent players from Detroit to Milan to train with A.C. Milan’s youth teams. This partnership expands the potential for many more to join them.”

Players selected to the new A.C. Milan Detroit Waza teams will be able to participate in the MilanLab to maximize their individual athletic performance. The MilanLab provides an important innovative contribution to the development and well being of the soccer players by maximizing all areas of athletic development and injury prevention through testing, athletic curriculum, and nutritional programs. 

“We are extremely excited to partner with A.C. Milan Soccer School Detroit,” said Gronthik Chatterjee, director Waza F.C. “This will change the way soccer is played in this state by providing our players with top technical training, the most competitive leagues, the best facilities in the country and international opportunities at one of the most successful soccer clubs in the world for our highest performing individuals and teams.”

Try-outs for the new A.C. Milan Detroit Waza teams will be held at four metro Detroit locations 

on Saturday, June 15 and Sunday, June 16. Visit www.WAZAFC.com for the try-outs 

schedules and to register for try-outs. 

 A.C. Milan Detroit Waza East 

o Saturday, June 15: Oakland University Lower Fields, 2200 N. Squirrel Road, Rochester 

o Sunday, June 16: Ultimate Soccer Arenas, 867 South Blvd, Pontiac

 A.C. Milan Detroit Waza North 

o Rick Hartker Soccer Complex, 5203 E. Maple Avenue, Grand Blanc (June 15 & 16)

 A.C. Milan Detroit Waza South 

o St. Alfred’s Catholic Church, 9500 Banner Street, off of Telegraph Road, Taylor (June 15 & 16)

 A.C. Milan Detroit Waza West 

o Bicentennial Park, 35400 Seven Mile Road, Livonia (June 15 & 16)

the night began with  packed fields, all small side, filled with parents and youngsters playing soccer. playing soccer on the meetup.com scene can be spotty sometimes, as soccer pitches become a hot commodity as the weather turns.

after arriving at a potential second spot, which was also occupied, a few of us decided to use the part of the field that FC Sparta Michigan wasn’t. seven of us had arrived for the meetup but were invited to join the Sparta practice. a couple of them joined our side, and we were off.

the Sparta passing game is crisp. they maintain excellent space and can move the ball around nicely. mind you, my group of players weren’t terrible, not even close, but the precision the FC Sparta played with was very impressive and hard to stop.

in preparation for the Detroit City Futbol League season, my brother, Stephen, and i have been trying to get some run in. it was fortunate for us to get to play with guys that are a higher skill level, confidence wise and cardiovascularly. 

i may not support Sparta, but i do respect them. they will be competitive this season.

getting hundreds and maybe thousands of your closest friends to join in one voice, a good way to do it is by rewording a tune you all know. this post will only concentrate on English-speaking chants, since it’s my strongest language. also, i don’t want to embarrass myself trying to translate German chants.

so i’d like point out some gems for you today. nothing to analyze, but a ton to relish.

first, the Sex Pistols inspired chant from FC United of Manchester is perfect for a non-league side with rabid fans.

props to @NorthernCanary for the link.

the rise of the “Just Can’t Get Enough” song for Luis Suarez isn’t surprising. what i’ll never understand is the copy-catting of other fans switching the words around.

my personal preference is for Oldies. stalwarts like “You’ll Never Walk Alone” will never get old. in a related note, that’s the one song i sing at karaoke. Manchester City has “Blue Moon” and West Ham United plays “Forever Blowing Bubbles” to start games. and this leads me to my main point.

for my fellow Americans, we have a vast reservoir of pop music at our disposal. Nineties boy bands, rock anthems, and the untapped wealth of Motown chants are all waiting and we are dropping the ball. some of us may even have come up with chants to the tune of the school yard classic “Diarrhea” while disparaging famous retired soccer GMs form Michigan. and maybe, perhaps, a second to the tune of “I Want It That Way.”

there are always avenues for creativity in the terrace, on the pitch, and in the bar before and after the game. do you thang, don’t be scurred.

John Brown II

this idea can work, and work well.

admittedly, i want to doubt anything/everything that comes from UEFA brass. also, this is a revolutionary idea for a group that considers progress to be $6000 fines for racist chanting. once one gets past the initial shock, the speculation can be fun.

the thirteen cities chosen over different nations will spread the wealth of tourist euros across the continent (and Britain) as well as spread the cost. if the group stages are held in the same ground or nation, knock outs in another, altogether different ground, semis and finals in three other, separate grounds, that will create appointment travel. the short notice is the biggest problem i can see with this plan. if one has to fly from Moscow to Barcelona, for example, on three days notice, it can be prohibitive for the average fan. 

one suggestion i would make is to reward top qualifying teams by having most of their matches within short travel distances or in home stadia.very easy for Germany or Holland, not so much for Greece or Croatia.

i’m looking forward to how this will pan out.

Soccer chanting and singing has always been a source of entertainment and fascination for me. How they come to being, why fans use them, when they use them, and lyrical content are all quite varied. Part of the fascination comes from being an American observing far-off cultures enjoying something they’re passionate about. Part is also from being a musician/history nerd.

So, we’ll start as far back as possible. The Canaries of Norwich City FC have been singing “On The Ball, City” since the club’s inception in 1902. The song originated in the 1890s, and in all honesty, is amazing. For Michiganders, this is very similar to “The Victors” in heritage. The chant is obviously abbreviated from the original, but still just as enjoyable.

In Germany, the other country who’s soccering culture I follow, there are many traditional songs still used and Fangesaenger (crowd songs) like the “Beer Barrel Polka” for instance. My personal favorite is FC Schalke 04’s use of Das Steigerlied, the foreman’s song. This was a sung by miners wishing each other good luck during a hard days work. “Glueck auf,” equivalent to “good luck” in America, was an acknowledgement of the danger of their work. Schalke adopted this song to honor is coal mining heritage along with their nickname, Die Knappen. The club offical anthem, “Blau und Weiss, wie lieb ich dich” was adopted 1934 and originates from a song written in 1797!

next time, we’ll discuss pop culture favorites and chart toppers like “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “Blue Moon,” and this beauty from FC United of Manchester.

can one be an Ultra for a club they may never see?

because i say yes. i just want to hear some opinions.

good clean game. the referees let us play physically but it wasn’t dirty. the goal they scored was 100% my fault but i made up for it with an assist. my team plays well together already and we have an idea how to pass to each other.
good time, cool teammates.
oh, i went back out to the wing. do what you do, i guess.

my first game of the season is tonight. i’m still pretty out of shape. i ran two miles on Friday and i’m not sore. i gotta get into my @JermaineJunior mindset for 10pm. Stark Strikers FC v. Galactos in Wixom.

Hooligans for Heroes

Detroit Waza Flo plays Rio Grande Valley tonight.  Join the watch party tonight.

and don’t forget, the Michigan Bucks still exist. @MichiganBucks on Twitter.

happy Sunday everyone! i’m upstate with my fam.

i have a playing style that has developed in the past two summers that i kind of fell in to. as a younger player, high school and when i re-entered the game in my late twenties, i was an out and out winger. to coin a British term, i kept chalk on my boots. i relied on my speed and workrate to compete. too often i would just try to burn people and cross the ball in. my passing would be suspect at times, and heaven forbid i ever take a shot on goal.

as i’m now beginning to age (i turn 31 this May) i’ve began to use my other skill sets and my brain. while playing pickup soccer games when i moved back to the Detroit area, i noticed that the sidelines were crowded with people trying to use their individual skills against a singular opponent. no shade on any of those players, but i found that this made these games not very fun towards the end of sessions. slowly, and at first begrudgingly, i started to shift inside.

for the indoor season that’s about to start with my new team, Stark, our first few practices have shown me that i’ve made the full conversion mentally to an inside midfielder. i don’t have the ball skills to be a “number 10” player and never have. what i do have is a very defensive mindset, decent tackling technique, much improved one-touch passing, and an accurate left foot, while still retaining most of my speed.

what i find most important to play as a holding midfielder, the vogue position it seems these days, is a tough mentality and good sportsmanship.

i’m going to get stepped on. i’m going to get elbowed. i’m going to get tackled in the middle of the pitch. i’m going to get kicked.

but, regardless of my temper, i never play dirty.

i’ll help the opposing player off the ground if they’re not trying to hurt people. if i get beat on a play, i compliment them so long as they didn’t score. i’ll put my shoulder onto your’s, but never raise my elbows to jockey.

this upcoming season and for the rest of my playing decade i want to be the toughest, cleanest, most sportsman like ball-winner you’ll play against. the test starts on March 18

John Brown II