Hanging out with Jozy Altidore in South Florida.

As the United States men's national team gets ready for their showdown with Honduras this Saturday 8th at 6 PM (Tickets still available!) South Florida American Outlaws and all fans of the beautiful game (including the Miami Ultras) were honored to spend some time with forward Jozy Altidore, a one time South Florida resident. It was at Mickey Byrne's in Hollywood. 

Jozy was down to Earth and humble answering question and even playing FIFA11 versus a fan (Jozy won 3-0). He even answered a question previously asked by Burrito the blogging dog to Landon Donovan (See video HERE). If the Devil told you to play for Mexico or burn in Hell for eternity... what would you do? He answered "Oh, I'd sizzle!".
It was a great experience for all present and it was a good start to what will be an exciting soccer weekend in South Florida.

Following is a video where you can hear Uncle Ed ask the question (minute 1:06) followed by fan pictures:

For more information about the game be sure to scroll down to the previous blog entry.
For more details go to Total Futbol
BTW if anyone can contact  Jozy Altidore (Tweet @JozyAltidore )  tell him to join us this Monday at 10 PM on Miami Ultras Alive. We will review the USA vs Honduras game and the Strikers playoff game #1 versus the Puerto Rico Islanders.
Pictures by Pabony Rivera and Uncle Ed
Video by AKtothehouse

Strikers make player movements. Zach Kirby Retires, Gerson Mayen loaned from Chivas

Strikers defender and 2009 player of the year Zach Kirby has announced he will retire from soccer today after multiple injuries which have kept him out of many games in his career. Known to the fans as "Beowulf", Zach was one of the best players on the team and considered by many too good to be playing 2nd division soccer.
Kirby went to school at Boston University. His final season he was the 2006 All-America East Conference Defender of the Year, College Soccer News All-American, among other honors. This bought him to the attention of Alexi Lalas and he was drafted by the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007. Zach became the answer to a trivia question as he was released to free up a roster spot for David Beckham. He finished out the year playing for the USL Wilmington Hammerheads. 2008 saw him return home to play for the Atlanta Silverbacks where he was named the player of the year by fans. With Atlanta sitting out the 2009 season Zach traveled south and became a member of the Miami FC Blues. In 2009 he was named by the fans the player of the year (as you can see in the picture).
Back in March of 2010 we were able to interview him for this blog. Here is a portion of the interview made by Robert Scorca:

RS: You had a successful college career and were drafted by the L.A. Galaxy. Even though your stay was brief are there any memories you care to share?
ZK: Yes. I remember it like it was yesterday. Defending Landon Donovan was one of the many highlights.

Read more of the interview HERE
For more be sure to check out the Strikers website.

Incoming

In other news the Strikers recently signed 23 year old Colombian Midfielder Walter Restrepo who most notably has played with Colombian team Boyaca Chico.

“We are excited to add Walter to our group,” said head coach Daryl Shore. “He will be an exciting, attacking option for our team.”

For more on Walter Restrepo go HERE

Chivas USA midfielder Gerson Mayen has been sent on loan to the Strikers according to ESPN
Gerson is already in South Florida and started his first practice today. Mayen is no stranger to South Florida as he played for Miami FC briefly last year and showed great promise being part of the group that gave the team an extended win streak. You can read more about Gerson in a report we made last year.
Go HERE 

Rumor
One of our readers sent us an email stating that he heard Paulo Henrique Le Petit was on trial with the L.A. Galaxy.
We have surfed the net for any confirmation but have come up empty handed thus far. We will confirm asap.

Miami Soccer Fan
Be sure to check out Miami Soccer Fan as Former Afusionado President Andrew Hazelton has another great post about Strikers customer service.
Be sure to leave a comment. Go here: http://miamisoccerfan.com/ to read all about it.

Miami Ultras Alive 15

Don't forget to join Pieter Brown and Uncle Ed tonight and every Monday night at 10 pm as they host another episode of Miami Ultras Alive.
UPDATE:
Tonight's guests will be Ignacio Rodriguez currently with the Puerto Rico Islanders. As we talk about Wednesdays game versus the Strikers.
Next week for show number 16 we will have Gabriel Gabor, International Communications for Major League Soccer / Soccer United Marketing as we preview the Barcelona vs Chivas game to be held in Miami.
Be sure to sign on and join us on the live chat. Call in number is (323) 927-1455
Join us here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/miamiultras/2011/07/19/miami-ultras-alive-15

All Pictures by Robert Scorca.

Miami FC sign two players from MLS Chivas USA

Miami FC have signed midfielder Gerson Mayén and forward Chukwudi Chijindu from Chivas USA. The players will join Miami FC on loan.

Read more about this at the Chivas USA website

Gerson Mayen born February 9, 1989 in Los Angeles, California is of Salvadoran descent. Mayen was signed to a full professional contract by Chivas USA on March 27, 2008 after training with the club throughout preseason. He did not make an appearance with the first team in his rookie season, but made 12 appearances in the MLS Reserve Division, playing primarily as a defender and defensive midfielder. He made his professional debut on 29 March 2009, in Chivas's game against FC Dallas.

Chukwudi Chijindu was born February 20, 1986 in Upland, California is an American soccer who played as a forward with Chivas USA. Chijindu was signed to a developmental contract by Chivas USA on April 5, 2009 after training with the club throughout preseason. He made his professional debut on 11 April 2009, in Chivas's game against Los Angeles Galaxy, and scored his first professional goal on 18 April 2009 against Seattle Sounders FC.
He played college soccer at the University of Connecticut, leading his team in scoring in his freshman year, and finishing his college career with 26 goals in 86 career matches.

The Blues hope these new signings along with that of defender Aaron Hohlbein from the Kansas City Wizards, who debuted in the last game vs The Puerto Rico Islanders, will be enough to help them reach the playoffs. Read more about Aaron Hohlbein at MiamiSoccerFan

Miami FC's recent 2 game road trip has been succesful as they won 4 out of the 6 points. They defeated Crystal Palace Baltimore 1-0 with a Brian Shriver goal. Read more HERE
They also brought a point home from Puerto Rico as they tied the Islanders 1-1 with a goal from Abe Thompson. Read more about the game HERE

The Blues will be back at Fort Lauderdale to take on their most hated rival the Tampa Bay Rowdies this Saturday August 14th at Lockhart Stadium. The game starts at 7:30 PM with the Tailgate starting as early as 5 pm. Be sure to look for the Miami Ultras and join them for a drink. Live band will be A Beautiful Cage
Come out and support your Miami FC! Vamos Miami!

Blues win in Ft Myers, Season ticket ideas and Miami MLS hopes not dead?

Miami FC continues their pre-season; this time they beat Florida Gulf Coast University 1-0 in Fort Myers on Sunday. The goal came from Guatemalan Forward Edward Santeliz who flicked the ball in after Sean Cameron got a head on the ball which hit the post from a Bryan Perez corner-kick. This gives the Blues a 4-1 pre-season record so far with their only loss coming against the New York Red Bulls of the MLS. The Blues will play their last preseason game this Friday, April 2 at the Holiday Inn Soccer Complex in Sunrise at 5:00 p.m. For more information visit www.miamifc.com
Season Tickets
As some of you may know Miami FC has so far armed themselves with some strong talent for this coming 2010 season. The Blues will have players such as Christian Gómez, Lance Parker, Abe Thompson, Mike Randolph, Chris Gbandi, just to name a few that have Major League Soccer experience. We have a team that at least on paper looks pretty impressive. So on that note we ask people to get the word out and support South Florida's only professional soccer team by buying 2010 season tickets calling 305-728-2606!
Miami FC starts its season on Saturday, April 10 when they play against the Rochester Rhinos at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale at 7:30 p.m.
Talk about Season Tickets, check out this real cool video of Jonathan Bornstein of MLS's Chivas USA showing up to their season ticket holders homes to deliver the tickets! Imagine having Christian Gómez deliver your season tickets to your house?Miami MLS hopes not dead?
One of our own Miami Ultras recently sent a letter to MLS commissioner Don Garber asking him to not forget South Florida in their expansion. The Don himself responded saying they are working to get that done!
As most South Florida Soccer fans know; we twice got our hearts broken by MLS. The first when they pulled the plug on the Miami Fusion right when the attendance was increasing and after we had won the supporters shield for having the best record in the league in 2001. Then, just last year we saw another disappointment as a "shew in" bid by Marcelo Claure and Barcelona of Spain mysteriously fell apart. Many Soccer fans have placed comments all over this blog and that of fellow Miami bloggers voicing their opinions on how they will only support Soccer in this town if its MLS. If you want to be heard do as our Miami Ultras comrade did and write to Don Garber at DGarber@mlsnet.com and voice your opinions!
While we at FMB (Football in Miami and Beyond) would love to see MLS come back to South Florida we believe the only way that will ever happen is if you show up to Miami FC games. Why? Because then we can prove to MLS and the world that 1st Division soccer needs to come back to this part of the country. Where are those 11,000 fans that used to show up to Fusion games? I think we only need half of that to show up to Miami FC games to make Traffic think that this market could make the jump up to MLS.
On that note check out this video of the Sons of Ben on their trip to Seattle to support the Philadelphia Union (who incidentally lost to the Sounders 2-0). Watching this video makes me think of how it should have been the Miami Ultras filming this video and making the road trip. We have a long road ahead but we can start by organizing a road trip for the July 4th game versus the Tampa Bay Rowdies! Vamos Miami!

Miami FC Sign Lance Parker and more...

Today Miami FC announced 4 more players starting with former Chivas USA keeper Lance Parker. fighting for that starting goalkeeper position will be Caleb Patterson while in midfield we get Sean Cameron and local product Gabriel Hoyos.

It's great to have these two quality goalkeepers on the team. They are both very young but have the necessary experience to come in and make an immediate impact. In the midfield, Sean has played with us before and we're glad to have him re-join Miami this year. Gabriel is an exciting young prospect with international experience under his belt. This is shaping up to be an exciting 2010 roster, " said General Manager Luiz Muzzi

For more on the players go HERE
The Blues are finally looking good!

Be on the lookout for more interviews by South Florida Soccer Guru Robert Scorca!
Picture by Victor Palkaninec, see more over at Striker's Supporters

Burrito Report: Balboa cuts hair, Clavijo on Telefutura, Miami FC plays today at 8pm

Hola South Florida Futbol Fans and peoples of the worlds! (Especialy all the hot mamacitas!) Burrito bring you mucho informations so put on seatbelts cause here we go:

Miami FC win game on Sunday vs los Aztex from Austin by 2-0. Burritos idol Diego Serna hit post on shot then miss penalty but later score when Austin Goalie make boo boo and give ball straight to Serna. Ay que pendejo! Diego say "Gracias amigo" and score goal like true macho man that he is! Then Connally Edozien score goal to make Aztex thier bitches for the nite! The Burrito player of the games and winner of the Golden Burrito go to Paulo Araujo Jr! He play with heart and huevos! Read more at Ultra's site here

Miami FC play today at 8 pm at Tropical Park versus The Charleston Battery. Game is FREE so everyone and their mami needs to go or Burrito hit you on head with quesadilla! Tailgate start at 6 pm! Vamos Miami!

Burrito watch USA vs Italy game on Telefutura yesterday and was sad to see that those pinches cheaters that make good espagetti win over USA by 3-1. Rico Clark get red and that pretty much end all hopes for USA. Burrito was happy to see his compadre Fernando Clavijo talking on halftime pero Fernando no mention Miami FC! Porque? He should have worn something on suit with Miami FC logo or something... maybe a Miami Ultra scarf? Come on Miami FC let's do somethings!

Talk abouts Miami FC not doing anything, Burrito take bus to Lockhart stadium and there is no sign on Commercial Blvd that say there is a game! Porque? Then they wonder why people don't go to games. How do people know there is a game if there are no signs? Burrito suggest they put those waving Soccer balls in front of stadium and not hidden in the back. Now we have games at FIU stadium, lets see if Miami FC do advertisements or something there.

Marcelo Balboa was 0n DA show 560 AM Saturday afternoon and Burrito hear on way to Lockhart. Balboa say he was watching some chingado hockey game and was bored. DA never mentioned the Miami FC game that was taking place in a few hours... he did mention his Soccer Clinic...? Either ways DA going to do soccer segment on Thursdays 9 or 10ish Burrito will let you vatos know the deal. Balboa was in town for the futbolito thingie and was on Univision in morning getting hair cutoff for charity. Check out video, sorry it's in Spanish but you see most of his hair go bye-bye!