Joga Bonito vs Mitad del Mundo game review

El Periodico del Futbol
Chicago and Evanston, Monday February 28, 2010

Joga Bonito vs Mitad del Mundo game review

Hi there my fellow soccer lovers! Don’t know about you but it was a fun soccer weekend for me. Saturday, my Latin America team won the intercontinental tournament trashing the European team 6-1 in the final! These tournaments are a lot of fun. If you are interested in participating let me know.

Barcelona won 3-0 and is on track to the championship again since Madrid tied 0-0. Did anyone see Messi’s header goal? Lots of fun!

Some shocking results, West Ham United which is in relegation danger schooled Liverpool at home 3-1. And also, Arsenal lost the Carling Cup final against Birmingham which is also in relegation danger. Did anyone see Birmingham’s second goal that gave them the trophy? I feel so bad for the center back Koscielny who made a brutal mistake.

Anyhow, let’s talk about Joga Bonito! The bad news is that JB’s medical team has announced that international Colombian super star defender Antonio Escalante needs more time to recover from his knee so he will be missing in action for a few weeks. The good news is that just before the transfer season was over Joga Bonito was able to negotiate with FC Barcelona for a return of Tony “El Destructor” Gamboa on a temporary loan. Tony will cover for Antonio when he cannot play.

JB had a rough first half as Rolando was the only one who was able to score during the first half of the game against Mitad del Mundo. However, JB had most of the ball possession and everyone could see that JB just needed to finish to complete the job. Manager Quintero encouraged during half time asking the team to be patient and to keep passing the ball. The goals will eventually come. And he was right! Two minutes into the second half, there was a beautiful combination between Rolando, Carlos and Tony was able to finish with a second goal. JB wins 2-0. But that was not all. Two minutes later. Keith receives a ball from Carlos and gives it to Rolando who puts it in the net. JB wins 3-0. At this point of the game, I think the ref made a bad call. There was a handball inside the goalie area in favor of JB. It should have been a penalty kick but the ref called it outside. Half way through the second half, again Rolando gives a nice pass to Carlos who squeezes the ball inside the goal. JB wins 4-0. At around the 20th minute of the second half, the ball clearly hits Keith’s stomach but the ref calls a penalty against JB. Where do they get these refs? Anyway, never fear Mauricio “La Muralla” Pumarejo is here! The amazing Mauricio stretches and dives to his right and hits that ball outside his net. You can see the guys just loves clean sheets. Finally, Tony makes a run and assists Rolando who does not hesitates and rockets the ball pass the goalie. Final score: JB wins 5-0! This was not one of JB’s prettiest games but they got the job done. I was able to catch up with Captain Carlos for comments:

“Yeah, we had a rough first half when the ball did not want to go in. We just needed to make some adjustments. Distribute the ball more to the sides. Patience was key. We have some work to do if we want to beat the better teams but for today we got the job done and I am grateful to my team.”

Player of the match: Rolando Paz
Rolando “El Demoledor de Arcos” is back! I must confess that I was missing that guy who scored 28 goals last season. Well he was on fire yesterday scoring 3 masterpieces that helped JB win 5-0. It is truly amazing that this guy is 41 years old and with an injured knee still scores so many goals. JB is very fortunate to have him in the squad.

JB has next weekend off. Next game will be on Sunday March 13th at 6pm again against the infamous Fish Keg United.

Thanks for reading. I am still waiting for comments from all my fans!

And remember… love the game and the game will love you back!


Carlos Quintero
Journalist Wannabe
El Peridico del Futbol

Joga Bonito got some competition!

El Periodico del Futbol
Chicago and Evanston, Monday February 21, 2010

Joga Bonito got some competition!

Hi there my fellow soccer lovers! I know some of you are busy so I will make this short and painless.

Let’s get to the point, Joga Bonito got some competition! I knew that the BuckyBalls were a good competition for Joga Bonito but did not know that they would be so good. Yesterday’s game was amazing. It was the best game I have seen in a long time. Joga Bonito had some disadvantages as Pablo was missing, Rolando and Antonio are coming back from knee injuries and Carlos is coming back from the flu. Still, Joga Bonito squad was very strong yesterday and they showed tremendous character. Still I had to talk to Manager Carlos Quintero about his opinion on the game because obviously Joga Bonito were favorites to win. He shared the following comments:

“Listen, it is not a surprise that other teams are stronger than last year. Joga Bonito is not invincible. We are here to play well and my players gave an amazing performance yesterday. I am very proud of them. We welcome competition. I had a lot of fun yesterday. It was the best game I have seen in a while.”

I know, I know. You are dying to know what happened during the game. Ok, let me tell you. Bucky Balls immediately began attacking and showed Joga Bonito that they were not the same team from last season. They had a very good player who dribbled, shot and scored in the 5th minute. You could see that Joga Bonito was shocked. Joga Bonito began loosing 0-1. They realized that this game was not going to be easy and they would have to fight for a win. Carlos took a couple of strong shots that the goalie was able to save with some difficulty. Mauricio’s night was also very busy as he saved JB in various occasions. They became extra focused and in the 15th minute Joga Bonito’s #9 Ernie tied the game with a beautiful strong shot that the goalie could not hold. The half time buzzer went off and the game was 1-1. Manager Carlos shared a few words of encouragement as so did Rolando and Antonio. Joga Bonito was ready to back on the court. You could see that Captain Carlos was running out of air and fighting his congestion. Antonio and Rolando were trying to be careful with their knees as well.

The second half began tense. Neither team wanted to allow a goal. Defenders were extra focused. Keith, Alicinha, Antonio, Shand and Lovejoy were giving some of the best defending performance I have seen in a while. Both teams took great shots and both goalies saved again and again. Strikers were frustrated. Then, in the 7th minute, the Bucky Balls found the net again with a great shot. Joga Bonito was shocked again. Joga Bonito is loosing 1-2. But they did not give up. They fought and hustled. Finally, in the 12th minute, Rolando passed the ball to Keith who was near the corner kick. Keith was able to set Carlos for a shot. The captain drove that ball with everything in his power and the ball found the top right corner net! Joga Bonito ties the game again 2-2. Later, in the 16th minute, Joga Bonito’s #7 Rolando received the ball in the middle. He covered the ball well with his body and was able to turn, dribble a player, shoot and score! Joga Bonito is in the lead for the first time 3-2! The next 9 minutes probably felt like an eternity. I am sure JB wanted the game to end. However, BB was not done yet. Both teams began committing more fouls. They did not want to allow any goals. In the 22nd minute BB found a ball in the middle and was able to squeeze at the bottom right of the net. BB ties the game again 3-3. The next 3 minutes were beyond intense. You could see neither team wanted to loose. Both teams tightened their defense. Shots were taken unsuccessfully. The final buzzer went off and the game ended 3-3! Wow! What a game. I can see this season is going to be more exciting as Joga Bonito as more competition.

Player of the match: Mauricio Pumarejo
It was hard to select a most valuable player because I feel the entire team game all their might. However, I must say Mauricio had a busy night at the goal. Yes, he did receive 3 goals, but he saved many more than that. Every time he allowed a goal you could see he was beating the floor angry at himself for not been able to stop the ball. He is one of those few goalies who hates allowing a goal even if it is not his fault. Joga Bonito is very fortunate to have Mau as their goalie.

And remember… love the game and the game will love you back!

Carlos Quintero
Journalist Wannabe
El Peridico del Futbol

Joga Bonito is back!

El Periodico del Futbol

Chicago and Evanston, Monday February 14, 2010



Joga Bonito is back!



Hi there my fellow soccer lovers! Yes I am back! Your favorite soccer journalist is here to give you all the best soccer news you will ever get!



By the way, did everybody see Wayne Rooney’s goal this past weekend? If you haven’t, you have to see it! Sick! Best goal of 2011 hands down! In my opinion, there is nothing more beautiful than a bicycle kick on a top corner!



So you might be asking, “Wait, what happened to The Soccer Times?” Well, I am not going to sugar coated. I got fired! Can you believe it? They said my articles stink! But who cares right? It’s their lost. I got a new job anyway. Now, this place is not as big as The Soccer Times, but it’s a job so I am happy. As you can see, I work for El Periodico del Futbol. I hope you enjoy it!



Sorry for my late article. Happy belated Dia de San Valentin. I’ve been sick. But now I am back to tell you everything about your favorite soccer team: Joga Bonito! Yes. The YMCA indoor soccer league began this past Sunday Feb 14. The tournament again has 9 teams. There were 4 games this past Sunday and one team rested.



Transfer Season

Joga bonito had to face a new team this past Sunday: Crazy Uncle Tony. Please don’t ask about the name. I feel the same you do. Anyway, Joga Bonito started with some bad news before the game. International Honduras superstar striker Rolando Paz was ruled out of the game for personal family reasons. Also, captain Carlos Quintero was hit by a severe flu and was questionable for the game. And finally, international Colombian superstar defender Antonio Escalante was also questionable due to knee injury recovery. The good news is that everyone else was there! Well, almost everyone. During the busy January transfer season, Joga Bonito received an undisclosed hefty offer for international Peruvian superstar Anthony Gamboa from non other than FC Barcelona! There are rumors that the fee was 100 million Euros! Anywho, Joga Bonito’s president Carlos Quintero had no choice but to take the money and run! The good news is that Joga Bonito did receive a replacement. Joga Bonito is always looking for new young talent. Manager Carlos Quintero has called this new player “The Next Marta”! She was transferred for a bargain fee of 5 million Euros from non other than infamous Brazilian multi champions Sao Paulo. Her name is Alicinha!



Joga Bonito vs Crazy Uncle Tony

Now, let’s talk about Joga Bonito’s first game. Manager Quintero did not know what to expect from this new team. Joga Bonito still stuck with his passing philosophy. Antonio, Carlos and Alicia began in the bench. The formation was Mau as goalie, Keith as center back, Shand as right back, Lovejoy as left back, Pablo and Ernie in the attack. Joga Bonito started a little rough but quickly adjusted and passed it very comfortable. Pablo and Ernie took some shots to test the goalie. Finally in the 10th minute, Pablo hustled the ball in the area and Ernie was able to push it in! In the 20th minute Pablo scores again and the game is in favor of JB 2-0 by half time. The manager encouraged the team telling them they are playing well and no need to get impatient with more goals. Indeed, JB was playing well, but I felt it was nothing compared to the machine I saw from last season. Obviously, their top scorer Rolando was missing so I was not expecting JB to demolish this team. However, I was mistaken.



The second half was a completely different story. JB began feeling more and more comfortable keeping most of the ball possession. Captain Carlos and Antonio was able to play more minutes. The talented ladies Alicinha, Shand and Lovejoy were defending beautifully. Keith was rock solid as center back. Crazy Uncle Tony made a huge mistake. They did not understand that JB was much better than them and they decided to attack instead of defend. JB stole the ball every single time and counter attacked finishing almost every time. Pablo, Ernie, Carlos and Antonio all scored. 3-0, 4-0, 5-0. JB made it look so easy. Crazy Uncle Tony could not believe it. 6-0, 7-0, 8-0, 9-0 and 10-0! Final score: 10-0! Yes, indeed, Joga Bonito is back! Now, they destroyed this team 10-0 and their top scorer Rolando was not even there!



Player of the match: Pablo!

I was truly impressed with Pablo during this game. Not just because he scored 5 goals. He created many opportunities and was truly a team player for Joga Bonito. Manager Carlos Quintero had this to say about his star player, “Pablo was key for our success. And I am not talking about his 5 goals. He was the motor of the team. He received the ball and distributed everywhere. I enjoyed watching him and Ernie playing attack.”



Next game will be against a familiar team: The Bucky Balls. Manager Carlos Quintero is well aware of this tough opponent. Bucky Balls defeated JB in earlier years of the tournament. But the last 2 years, JB has dominated this rivalry. Can BB give JB a good challenge this coming Sunday? You do not want to miss this game! Thanks for reading!



Carlos Quintero

El Periodico Del Futbol Journalist