Chicago & Evanston, IL, USA
Monday March 22, 2010
The Soccer Times

Hello my fellow soccer fans! I am excited to be back behind the typewriter again and tell you all about our favorite soccer team: Joga Bonito! But first, anybody excited about other teams and leagues?

How about that Messi? The guy must be from another planet for real! How can he do all that stuff? He takes on opponents like if they were little children! La Liga is getting exciting! Well, I mean the fight between Barcelona and Real Madrid, because the other teams are so far behind that no one really talks about them anyway.

And how about that Rooney? He is on fire! Will he be the best player this year? What do you think? And what happened to Chelsea? Cant take care of Blackburn? Come on!

And what the heck happened with Milan? The make me so angry! Inter dropped 2 points and this was the weekend where Milan could take the lead and they blew it! I think Ronaldinho did his part. He is playing excellent. The other guys have to step up!

And dont even ask what happened to my beloved hometown Atletico Junior from Barranquilla, Colombia. It was humiliation at home against Real Cartagena. I dont even want to talk about it anymore. Teofilo come back please!

Anyway, enough talk about uimportant leagues, lets discuss about the best league in the universe: the YMCA indoor soccer league!

Joga Bonito vs Chupacabras game review
We were very excited to see that Joga Bonito TV hired the amazing and beautiful Alicia Quintero to video record the game! She did an amazing job and you can see some of her talent on my Facebook page.

Honduras international super star Rolando Paz was out of town. We missed some of Rolando's amazing skills but JB took care of business even without Rolando!

We were sad to find out that US international soccer super star Emily Shand was out of town for the week. Fortunately, Emily Lovejoy's friend Carly came to help us out and she did a outstanding job!

We received the shocking news that Colombian international super star goalkeeper Mauricio Pumarejo was not in town either. What is going on? However, never fear, Captain Carlos Quintero is always here! Carlos grabbed his goalie gloves and protected the goal like his life depended on it!

JB had most of the posession in the game as always. Yet, they had a hard time scoring. We must admit that Chupacabras had some good defense and goalkeeping. Fortunately, Peruvian international super star Anthony Gamboa found a nice assist by Colombian international super star Pablo David and JB found the net! Tony found scored again before half time and JB looked very nice. The second half started rough as Chupacabras found the net very early in a very strange corner kick where the ball was bouncing all over the place. Finally, Pablo made another beautiful assist and Keith scored on an empty net. JB won 3-1!!! Congrats!

Man of the Match: Anthony Gamboa
This guy does everything! He defends, he scores, he assists. What doesnt he do? He keeps amazing us every game and yesterday he showed his top form scoring 2 goals. Outstanding!

Standings
1 Joga Bonito 15
2 Warriors 12
3 YMCA 10
4 Buckeyballs 10
5 Chupacabra 10
6 Fish Keg 6
7 Rotary United 3
8 Team Lee 4
9 Peoples Rep 0


Last Results
Sixth week - March 21
Time
4pm Buckeyballs 4 vs Fish Keg United 1
5pm Joga Bonito 3 vs Chupacabra 1
6pm People's Rep 1 vs Team Lee 5
7pm Rotary United 3 vs YMCA 5
Bye - Chupacabra

Next fixture
Seventh week - March 28
Time
4pm Chupacabra vs Fish Keg United
5pm Joga Bonito vs Team Lee
6pm Peoples Rep vs YMCA
7pm Buckeyballs vs Willard Warriors
Bye - Rotary United

JB Top Scorers
Scorers Regular
Rolando 10
Tony 5
Antonio 4
Ernesto 3
Carlos 2
Keith 2
Lovejoy 2
Pablo 1
Shand 1
Byron 1
Total 31

Next Game: JB vs Team Lee Sunday March 28 at 5pm
This is going to be a very good game because Team Lee is fighting relegation! I'm just kidding. There is no relegation at the YMCA. But anyway, Team Leed doesnt look very good on paper but who knows, hopefully they will surprise us!

Thank you for reading! Please send me your comments or I might think you are just ignoring me! Check out the video and pics on my Facebook page and blog.

Here is the YMCA link for schedule and standings:

http://www.mcgawymca.org/index.cfm?fa=prog.type&id=830

Follow my blog at:

http://carlosjquintero.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading!

Carlos Quintero
Joga Bonito Owner
El Presidente
Manager
Captain
Second Goalkeeper
Chauffer
Soccer Times Reporter
Water Boy
and even Camera Man!

Joga Bonito vs Fish Keg United review

Chicago and Evanston, IL
Monday, March 8, 2010
The Soccer Times

Joga Bonito vs Fish Keg United review
Amazing game yestersday Joga Bonito! First half was very tough again for JB. They had most of possesion but could not finish. Captain Carlos Quintero seemed very frustrated by his wide or saved shots. Indeed, JB had some mean powerful shots by Rolando, Pablo, Antonio, Carlos and Tony that were all blocked by the keeper. JB was able to score a couple of goals before half time but Fish Keg never gave up and score one themselves. Half time score: 2-1 in favor of JB. Again, the second half was a completely different story with complete possesion from JB. Final score: 7-1 in favor of JB!

Apparently, JB always gets in the groove during the second half. We saw some amazing passing abilities by all the players. We must congratulate Emily Shand because her game was outstanding and she gave JB the relief of the third goal. Again, Carlos & Pablo's shots were all blocked by the keeper. They both looked very frustrated!

We were able to catch Captain Carlos for comment, "Yeah, I must admit that I was and am very frustrated because it seems that I cannot find the net as much as I want to. I also feel bad for my teammate Pablo who works so hard to score for the team. Scoring is his blood so it must be a little discouraging for him not to find the net. However, he is an amazing player and very important for this team. We both need to be patient and keep helping the team succeed. Goals will come eventually."

It was an odd game yesterday because most of the goal scorers like Carlos, Pablo, Ernesto and didnt score. Most of the goals came from the defenders Antonio, Tony, Emily Lovejoy and Emily Shand! We think this shows how JB is such an amazing and balanced team. All the players have fascinating talent!



Man of the Match: Antonio Escalante!
Colombia international Antonio Escalante gave us some beautiful soccer yesterday! It seems that he was inspired by an unexpected guest yesterday: his girlfriend! He scored 2 amazing goals which solidified JB's victory plus he participated in many important plays. Felicidades!



Standings
1 Joga Bonito 12pts
2 Willard Warriors 9
3 Buckeyballs 7
4 Chupacabra 7
5 YMCA 4
6 Fish Keg United 3
7 Rotary United 3
8 Team Lee 1
9 Peoples Republic 0


Last results

Fourth week - Sunday March 7
4pm YMCA 8 vs Chupacabra 2
5pm Rotary United 3 vs Buckeyballs 7
6pm Peoples Republic 1 vs Willard Warriors 6
7pm Joga Bonito 7 vs Fish Keg United 1
Bye - Team Lee



Next fixtures

Fifth week - Sunday March 14
4pm Peoples Republic vs Fish Keg United
5pm Rotary United vs Willard Warriors
6pm YMCA vs Buckeyballs
7pm Team Lee vs Chuapacabra
Bye - Joga Bonito

Sixth week - Sunday March 21
4pm Buckeyballs vs Fish Keg United
5pm Joga Bonito vs Chupacabra
6pm People's Republic vs Team Lee
7pm Rotary United vs YMCA



Joga Bonito's next game: Sunday March 21 5pm against Chupacabra
Unfortunately, we will not be able to see Joga Bonito this coming weekend since they have a bye weekend. We will have to wait until Sunday March 21 at 5pm to see them again. But the wait will be worth it because they are facing non other than last season's runner's up: Chupacabra! If you remember from the final last season, Chupacabra gave JB some decent competition. The final score was 5-2 in favor of JB obviously since they are the defending champs. We are looking forward to this game. The shocking result this past weekend was to see Chupacabra humiliated by Team YMCA 8-2. I was able to speak with Chupacabra's key player Hans and he said the following, "We seemed very sure of the win and the opponent took us by surprise. Also, they recruited better players that I have never seen before!" If this is true, then we are looking forward to see JB play against Team YMCA! It will be a fantastic game!



JB Top Scorers
1. Rolando 10
2. Antonio 4
3. Tony 3
4. Ernesto 3
5. Lovejoy 2
6. Carlos 2
7. Pablo 1
8. Shand 1
9. Keith 1

Here is the YMCA link for schedule and standings:

http://www.mcgawymca.org/index.cfm?fa=prog.type&id=830

Follow my blog at:

http://carlosjquintero.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading!

Carlos Quintero
Joga Bonito Owner
El Presidente
Manager
Captain
Second Goalkeeper
Chauffer
Soccer Times Reporter
Water Boy
and even Camera Man!

Joga Bonito vs Rotary United review

Chicago and Evanston, IL
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Soccer Times

Sorry for the delay on my article my fellow soccer followers. After watching Joga Bonito's game I had to fly out of town. Just came back from Milan, Italy. I was interviewing Ronaldinho and asking him about the possibility of coming to play for Joga Bonito. He said that there are too many talented players in Joga Bonito and he doesnt want to sit on the bench!

Joga Bonito vs Rotary United review:
If you remember from last season, Joga Bonito had a field day with Rotary United. This was the only game that JB was able to play with the futsal ball last season. And they had fun! They humiliated Rotary United 16-1 last season. JB loves that futsal ball.

The first half of the match this season was very surprising for JB. They began the game well scoring and leading 1-0. However, Rotary United's keyplayer was able to get a breakaway and tie the game with a beautiful shot. The game was tied 1-1 for a while and you could see JB frustrated. Finally, JB was able to score: 2-1. Rotary United fought tooth and nail and JB was not able to find the net anymore for the first half. The score remained 2-1 at half time! Coach Carlos Quintero was very frustrated. He asked his players to organize themselves and give accurate passes. He told them that the goal will come when they had possession. JB players received the message well.

The second half was a completely different story. You can see how it takes some time for JB to connect but when they do, they are mortal! JB dominated the second half. Rotary United began to show their weakness. And the party began. Emily Lovejoy scored the goal of the match giving JB the 3-1 lead. Everyone jumped and celebrated with her because it was such a relief. The 4-1 came later. Then 5-1 and 6-1. Everyone start having so much fun: 7-1, 8-1, 9-1. At this point it was just a practice game for them: 10-1, 11-1 and could have been even more. I think JB held back out of respect for Rotary United! Most of the team scored: Rolando 2, Ernesto 2, Antonio 2, Carlos 2, Pablo 1, Keith 1 and Emily 1!

After the match, Coach Carlos Quintero reactions, "It was a rough first half. But I knew that we were the better team. We just needed to organize ourselves and keep possession. My players are fantastic! Emily's goal was delightful! It was so beautiful because it was a collective effort."

Man of the Match: Emily Lovejoy

It was very difficul to select the "Man of the Match" this week because everyone was playing extremely well especially in the second half. I want to select the beautiful and talented USA international Emily Lovejoy because her score that put Joga Bonito 3-1 was arguably the most exciting part of the game! The opponent was holding Joga Bonito 2-1 for a while and JB was very frustrated. Emily's goal gave JB players that extra relief that they could overcome this opponent if they connect. Besides, the goal was a beautiful display of passing from several players. I must say that some of the credit goes to Colombian international Antonio Escalante for leading the practice of this play that lead to the goal!

Last results:
Third week – February 28
4pm Joga Bonito 11 vs Rotary United 1
5pm YMCA 2 vs Fish Keg United 3
6pm Team Lee 0 vs Willard Warriors 6
7pm Chupacabra 2 vs Buckeyballs 2
Bye – Peoples Republic

Next fixtures:
Fourth week – March 7
4pm YMCA vs Chupacabra
5pm Rotary United vs Buckeyballs
6pm Peoples Republic vs Willard Warriors
7pm Joga Bonito vs Fish Keg United
Bye – Team Lee

Next game: Sunday March 7 at 7pm against Fish Keg United!
Fish Keg United is one of those new teams in this season. On paper, JB should dominate this game, but on the field who knows?! Fish Keg just won their last game 3-2 against YMCA so they might be inspired to give JB good competition. Unfortunately, we just found out that US international Keith Veneziano will not make the roster this coming Sunday because he was called for international duty against none other than the Netherlands this Wednesday! He will not make it back in time for the game. Regardless, JB should have plenty of talent to take care of business this Sunday!


Standings:
1. Joga Bonito 9pts
2. Chupacabra 7pts
3. Willard Warriors 6pts
4. Buckeyballs 4pts
5. Fish Keg United 3pts
6. Rotary United 3pts
7. YMCA 1pt
8. Team Lee 1pt
9.Peoples Republic 0pts

Top Scorers:
1. Rolando 8
2. Ernesto 3
3. Tony 2
4. Antonio 2
5. Carlos 2
6. Emily Lovejoy 1
7. Keith 1
8. Pablo 1 (What?)

http://www.mcgawymca.org/index.cfm?fa=prog.type&id=830

Follow my blog at:

http://carlosjquintero.blogspot.com/

Carlos Quintero
Joga Bonito Owner
El Presidente
Manager
Captain
Second Goalkeeper
Chauffer
Soccer Times Reporter
And even Water Boy!

Joga Bonito vs Rotary United Feb 28, 2010 4pm

Chicago and Evanston, IL

Monday, February 22, 2010

The Soccer Times

Joga Bonito's full squad was back!

Yes, we are very glad to announce that Joga Bonito's full squad was present yesterday! This is very rare! Some are still injured but were able to play and enjoy. We were very happy to see that Coach Carlos Quintero decided to include Captain Carlos Quintero back in the roster despite his rib injury. Carlos started on the bench but was able to enjoy some minutes playing. "I am feeling much better thanks," said an enthusiastic Captain Carlos who has not been able to play in 3 weeks, "I thought I was going to wait much longer, but the medical staff said I was ready to start playing a few minutes. I am so excited because I cannot live without playing soccer!"

Joga Bonito vs Buckeyballs

If you remember from previous seasons, Buckyballs has been one of the teams that gives good competition to Joga Bonito. I believe Buckyballs has defeated Joga Bonito twice in past seasons. Last season, was a different story. Joga Bonito dominated the game defeating them 5-1. With this history in mind, this was going to be a good game to watch. Joga Bonito struck first by the foot of Rolando assisted by Pablo. It seemed an easy game for them: 1-0. However, Buckyballs key player gave us a nice long shot that tied the game: 1-1. Just before half time, Pablo gave another nice pass to Rolando and he scores! 2-1. Coach Carlos Quintero was frustrated because he felt like we are working to hard and this was an easier game. Needed more accurate passing, more communication. Joga Bonito dominated most of the second half but could not find the net. Finally, Captain Carlos assisted Rolando again and he scores to make it 3-1. Shots from everyone were blocked by the keeper or went wide. Buckyballs had very few shots. Carlos made a nice pull and went around a defender and was able to find Rolando again. Rolando scores to make it 4-1. And the end Goalie Mauricio had a blooper that will surely end up on YouTube one of this days were he had an easy ball but then again he didnt: 4-2. We all made fun of our dear Mauricio and then gave him a pad on the back. No big deal. Game over. Joga Bonito wins 4-2!

Man of the match: Rolando

Rolando keeps impressing by scoring 4 more goals even with an injured knee. Captain Carlos & Pablo were able to make a couple of assists each. However, you could see both of them were very frustrated about not finding the net. We were very delighted to watch nice passing from the rest of the squad. Especially, we are very impressed by the ladies in the team. Emily Shand and Emily Lovejoy are the only two female players in the team. But dont be fool. On the field, they are mean outstanding soccer players!

Other results:

Rotary United 6 vs Team Lee 4

People's Republic 2 vs Chupacabra 3

Joga Bonito 4 vs Buckeyballs 2

Willard Warriors 2 vs Fish Keg United 1

Bye - YMCA

Next game: Sunday Feb 28 at 4pm against Rotary United!

Not quite sure what to make this opponent just yet. They got humiliated the first game by Chupacabras 11-3. However, they won yesterday 6-4 against Team Lee. So who knows? They might be a good opponent for Joga Bonito. By the way, I was able to see Chupacabras game against Peoples Republic 3-2. I wanted to see Chupacabras because after destroying Rotary United 11-3, I thought that they recruited better players since last tournament. Remember that Chupacabras was defeated by Joga Bonito 5-2 in the final last season. However, from what I saw, it is the same team as last season. I didnt see any new faces that can make a difference. To be quite honest, I have seen most of the other teams. I just dont see the talent that Joga Bonito has. If Joga Bonito is connected, very few teams can give them a good competition. Hopefully, I am mistaken. I want to see good competition for Joga Bonito!

http://www.mcgawymca.org/index.cfm?fa=prog.type&id=830

Follow my blog at:

http://carlosjquintero.blogspot.com/

Carlos Quintero

Joga Bonito Owner

El Presidente

Manager or Coach

Captain

Second Goalkeeper

Chauffer

Soccer Times Reporter

And even Water Boy!

Joga Bonito's promising start!

Chicago and Evanston, IL
Monday, February 15, 2010
The Soccer Times

Joga Bonito's promising start!
Ladies and gentlemen, Joga Bonito is back! We were concern finding out just before the game that Honduras international striker Rolando Paz and USA international Keith Veneziano both had knee injuries and wore knee braces before the game.

The good news came when we all found out that the Brazilian referee brough brand new FUTSAL balls from Brazil! Joga Bonito's players, specially captain Carlos, were so happy! Coach Carlos had been asking the YMCA football federation to officially play with futsal balls only. It took 3 years but now it is a reality! Joga Bonito is much more comfortable with the official futsal balls. Truly, it is ridiculous to play indoor soccer with outdoor balls!

Joga Bonito had a rough start and all seemed surprised when Willard Warriors opened the score leading 1-0. However, it did not take long for Joga Bonito to tie the game and even turn it around 2-1. Just before half time Joga Bonito added a two goal cushion making it 3-1 with a beautiful goal from Peru international Anthony Gamboa. But due to a misunderstanding in a corner kick Willard Warriors scored their second goal! The game turned interesting 3-2 in favor of Joga Bonito. The second half was a completely different story. Joga Bonito organized themselves and began displaying their signature game. It was so much fun to watch Joga Bonito passing the ball just like Barcelona FC. Joga Bonito dominated the second half completely and scored 3 more goals finishing the game 6-2! We all stood in awe and applauding their beautiful game.

Manager Carlos Quintero gave praise to their players after the game, "I am so proud of all my players. This is probably one of the toughest teams in the tournament. My players played fantastic! They played as a team." We were very impressed with Colombia international Pablo David who could not score but set up many of the beautiful plays during the game. The man of the match was Peru international Anthony Gamboa who had a rocky start playing defense but slowly added himself to the attack and scoreed 2 fantastic goals. Number One Goalie Mauricio save some nice shots. The Shand sisters also played an outstanding game. Ernesto has become an important midfielder scoring 1 goal yesterday. Keith was solid rock on the back and added a nice surprise attack once in a while. Finally, Rolando as always, despite injury, very impressive holding the ball and functioning as a playmaker and even scoring 2 goals. Truly, this is a very promising team. Looking forward to the rest of the tournament!

Other results:
Buckyballs (Team Andres) 3 vs People's Republic 0
Rotary United 3 vs Chupacabra 11
Team YMCA 5 vs Team Lee 5
Bye - J Barney

Next game: Sunday Feb 21 at 6pm against Buckeyballs (Team Andres)!
Well, we were wrong! The Buckeyballs are back! They disguised themselves with the name Team Andres but now they are officially using their old name Buckeyballs. We were able to watch the entire game they played against People's Republic. It was interesting to see this game for two reasons. One, People's Republic is back with their entire army! I am not kidding and I am not exaggerating. They had like 15 subs!!! Two, the Buckeyballs had zero subs when they started. It seems that they were missing some key players. Still, they have 2 interesting players that Joga Bonito needs to neutralize. Joga Bonito vs Buckeyballs. You do not want to miss it!


Follow my blog at:

http://carlosjquintero.blogspot.com/

Carlos Quintero
Joga Bonito Owner
El Presidente
Manager
Captain
Second Goalkeeper
Chauffer
Soccer Times Reporter
And even Water Boy!

2010 YMCA Indoor Soccer Tournament starts this Sunday February 14: Joga Bonito, 2009 Champs, play Willard Warriors at 4pm!!!

Chicago and Evanston, IL
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Soccer Times

Finally the 2010 season has arrived!

We are excited to be back in action! The YMCA indoor soccer tournament is starting this Sunday February 12. Joga Bonito, 2009 Champions, will play the first game against Willard Warriors who finished third in the standings and who were eliminated by Joga Bonito in the semi finals last season.

Willard Warriors
If this team is as good as last season, Joga Bonito is going to have a rough game this sunday. Willard Warriors were the only team who could really defende Joga Bonito's fierce strikers. Joga Bonito defeated Willard Warriors during the regular 2009 season 1-0 only! Both teams met again during a fantastic semi final and Joga Bonito defeated them 2-0. This Warriors team has an amazing defense! They are composed by Northwestern students who have much experience in the game.

The Usual Suspects
The complete 2010 schedule has been attached to this article. It looks like we will see familiar faces during this season: People's Republic, Rotary United, Chupacabra, and Team YMCA. The new kids in town are Team Andres, Team Lee and J Barney. Strangely enough looks like Buckyballs or Celtic Knot did not sign up this time. Hopefully, we will see some good competition!

Joga Bonito
The 2009 Champs will play at 4pm this sunday Feb 14 with their previous Adidas royal blue France jersey. They will also bring a white away jersey just in case. We are excited to announce that all the former players will come back! There were rumors about big teams like Manchester United was interested in Colombian international Pablo David but both parties could not come to an agreement before the transfer window was shut. The bad news come when we find out the Colombian international Carlos Quintero has been rulled out this Sunday game due to a rib fracture injury. Joga Bonito's medical staff has declared that it might take at least 2 more weeks to recover. The good news comes when we see the rest of the impressive roster! Joga Bonito has enough talented players that can get the job done even when one of their key players is out.

Here is the roster:
Carlos Quintero #10 - Captain and Playmaker (Colombia)
Pablo David #11 - Striker (Colombia)
Rolando Paz - Striker (Honduras)
Emily Lovejoy - Defense (USA)
Ernesto Pumarejo #9 - Midfielder (Colombia)
Anthony Gamboa #7 - Defense (Peru)
Emily Shand - Defense (USA)
Antonio Escalante #8 - Defense (Colombia)
Keith Veneziano #2 - Defense (USA)
Mauricio Pumarejo #1 - Goalkeeper (Colombia)

Here is the schedule for Joga Bonito:
2/14 Willard Warriors 4pm
2/21 Team Andres 6pm
2/28 Rotary United 4pm
3/7 J Barney 7pm
3/14 Bye (No game)
3/21 Chupacabra 5pm
3/28 Team Lee 5pm
4/11 YMCA Team 6pm
4/18 People's Republic 7pm

Fox Soccer Channel and ESPN were fighting for the rights to transmit Joga Bonito games. But we, The Soccer News, are proud to announce that we have come to an agreement with Joga Bonito's management staff and you will be able to see all the news right here in your favorite media: The Soccer News! You can check each post on my blog.


Carlos Quintero
Joga Bonito Owner
El Presidente
Manager
Captain
Second Goalkeeper
Chauffer
Soccer Times Reporter
And even Water Boy