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

Joga Bonito 2010 YMCA Indoor Soccer Champs!

Chicago & Evanston. Monday April 26, 2010

The Soccer Times

Hello soccer fans!

Amazing soccer weekend, wasnt it? I promise that today is all about the YMCA indoor soccer league! No news from other leagues. Although, did you see Manchester United vs Totteham final minutes? Sorry. Couldnt hold it in!

Anyways, I gave you an update about the quarter finals before. The only one missing was the one between Chupacabras vs YMCA. Now, this YMCA team looked promising with a couple of very good players but it looks like they lacked the leadership that will keep them organized. They didnt even show up for the quarter finals! Chupacabras won by forfeit because YMCA didnt have enough players. Chupacabras moves on to meet Willard Warriors in the semi final. It was an entertaining game but I must say that the Warriors dominated the game. Second place in regular season standings Willard Warriors defeats Chupacabras 3-0!

Semi Final Review: Joga Bonito vs Fish Keg United
So the first semi final was Joga Bonito vs Fish Keg United. The score during the regular season was 7-1 in Joga Bonito's favor but there is always a big difference about a regular season game and a playoff game even if it is with the same teams. We knew this was not going to be that easy for JB. Goalie Mauricio, Pablo and Ernesto were a little late to the game. Anthony was sick and Antonio was injured. Coach Carlos had to call help from the Joga Bonito reserve team and they sent non other than Alicinha to step in for a few minutes! She did a great job! Captain Carlos had to goalkeep for a few minutes too until Mauricio arrived.

Joga Bonito started the game well with their signature passing. However, it was taking JB some time to find the net. Finally 10 minutes before the end of the first half, Rolando intercepted a bad pass from FKU, dribbled around a defender and scored! JB wins 1-0. Two minutes later, Ernesto scores for JB in a beautiful play involving Ernesto intercepting a ball giving it to Pablo who gave it to Rolando who gave it back to Ernesto. It was a nice goal! JB wins 2-0. Just 3 minutes before half time, Keith recovers a ball from the opponent, gives it to Ernesto who gives a one touch pass to Carlos. The Captain takes a hard shot that the goalie saves but cannot control and fortunately Ernesto is close enough to complete the finish! Half time score: JB 3 vs FKU 0.

The second half was very rough with no goals for most of it. Almost 6 minutes before the end of the game, Mauricio throws the ball to Rolando who is in the center of the court. Rolando sees he has a lot of pressure from the opponent and gives a one touch pass back to Keith to relief that pressure. Keith sees Captain Carlos on the left wing unmarked and gives him a beautiful pass. Carlos controls the ball and sees Rolando running on the other side calling him. Captain Carlos rolls a nice horizontal through pass to Rolando who finishes in an amazing one time shot! JB 4 vs FKU 0! Finally, almost 30 seconds before the end of the game, the ball is bouncing all over the place in JB's PK area and it accidentally touches Shand's hand. The ref calls a PK! That's a harsh call in my opinion! Shand never intended to touch the ball with the hand, the ball just bounced on her had. She had her arm down all the time! Anyway, Fish Keg's goalie takes the PK and succeeds. Final score: JB 4 vs Fish Keg 1! Wow! What a semi final!

2010 Indoor Soccer YMCA FINAL GAME: Joga Bonito vs Willard Warriors Review
In the first few minuted, WW showed that they were not going to be dominated by JB. WW had a couple of chances showing that they are just as good. However, Captain Carlos shocked them in 4th minuted when he took a shot from the left side that finished in the net and scored the first goal of the game. JB wins 1-0. Apparently, WW were not expecting that and were a little discouraged because 2 minutes later, Rolando takes another shot and scores! JB wins 2-0. After these quick goals, everyone thought that this was going to be a piece of cake for JB. Wrong! One minuted after JB's second goal, WW takes a shot which Mauricio saves, but then the WW striker takes the rebound which hits Mauricio in the mouth!

Goalkeeper Mau is down and is asking for medical attention, but the ref does not stop the game! Everyone can hear Captain Carlos yelling at the ref that the goalie is down, but the ref ignores him and continues the game. It was very quick and another WW striker takes the shot while Mau is down and scores! I think this was a harsh call by the ref! Anyway, the score is now 2-1 in JB's favor. But that is not the bad news, the bad news is that Mauricio is out holding his lip and saying that his braces got inside his lip! Mauricio could not goalkeep anymore! You can see how Coach Carlos was not expecting that at all! The medical staff had to take Mau off the stadium and to the hospital! Fortunately, Mau is better now, but sadly he could not finish the game.

Captain Carlos has no other options but to suit up and put his gloves on. You can see he doesnt like that at all but he is willing to sacrifice for his team. The game becomes intense with this 2-1 score for the next several minutes. Fortunately, 12 minutes before the end of the the first half, second goalie Carlos saves an easy shot and then throws the ball to Rolando who receives in the midfield. Rolando tries to elude an opponent and barely gives a nice pass to Keith who returns the ball to Rolando in a nice triangular one touch pass. Then, Rolando gives back the ball to Keith in another triangular one touch pass and Keith slides sending the ball to Ernesto who scores! In my opinion this was one of the most beautiful goals of the tournament! Very nice passing! First half is over and the score is 3-1 in favor of Joga Bonito.

The second half was a different story where JB had to defend like crazy! Willard Warriors were determined to tie the game. Five minutes into the second half, WW is able to get the ball in the area and in a moment of confusion scored their second goal! The score is now 3-2 and the game turns intense again! About ten minutes before the end of the game, Ernesto finds the net again and put JB at 4-2! Five minutes before the end, WW takes a shot low and right which Captain Carlos dives and saves! JB thought that WW would give up in the last couple of minutes, but they didnt. One minute and a half before the end, WW's striker hustles and is able to sneak in the ball pass Keith and Carlos! The score is now 4-3 with 1 minute left!. JB is desperately trying to defend and kill time. They are able to run down the clock and win the final 4-3!!! Wow! INTENSE FINAL! Congrats to JB!

We caught up with Captain Carlos and Coach Carlos (who by the way there are rumors that they are the same person!), "This is the happiest day of my career! I am very proud of all my players! They gave an outstanding performance! This trophy belongs to them!"

Captain Carlos was nearly in tears when US international super star Keith gave him a gift from the entire team: an ADIDAS AdiPure black and white ball signed by the entire crew plus the stats of the tournament!

From all our huge staff in The Soccer Times, we want to deeply congratulate Joga Bonito for an amazing tournament and FINAL. We cannot wait to see them next season 2011!!!

JB Top Scorers

Rolando 21 (Regular) + 7 (Playoffs) = 28
Ernesto 9 (Regular) + 5 (Playoffs) = 14
Tony 6 (Reg) + 3 (Playoffs) = 9
Antonio 8 (Reg)
Carlos 5 (Reg) + 3 (Playoffs) = 8
Keith 4
Pablo 4
Lovejoy 3
Alex 2
Shand 1
Byron 1
Own 1
Total 62 (Regular) + 21 (Plyaoffs) = 83!!!

2010 Award Ceremony
Friday April 30 at 8pm
Lou Malanati's
6649 North Lincoln Avenue
Lincolnwood, IL‎ - (847) 673-0800‎
Pizza and drinks sponsored by The Soccer Times!

Come and join us to celebrate with Joga Bonito!

Interesting Statistics
- Let's start with the only bad news, JB allowed more goals than last season. In 2009, they allowed 6 goals. In 2010, they allowed 16.

- Now, lets' move to the good and amazing news, I am excited to announce that Joga Bonito has won 22 YMCA indoor soccer official games in a row! JB is unstoppable!.

- JB has broken their own record for most goals scored in the YMCA tournament. In 2009, they scored 77 goals. In 2010, they scored 83! The second team in the league that scored most goals was YMCA and they scored only 34 goals! Can you believe it?

- International Honduran super star Roland Paz has broken his own record for scoring the most goals! In 2009, he scored 25 goals. In 2010, he scored 28 goals and he did it with his injured knee!!! This guy is a monster! He scored about 34% of Joga Bonito's goals.

- Finally, it is interesting to point out that this was the first YMCA tournament where the referee decided to use the official FUTSAL ball. Joga Bonito was loving it! They are forever grateful to the YMCA and the referee from bringing the balls from Brazil!


Conclusion
Thanks for reading! Send me your comments or I will think you just delete all my articles! Dont forget to check my blog and my facebook page!

http://carlosjquintero.blogspot.com/


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

Joga Bonito!

Chicago & Evanston IL USA
Monday April 19, 2010

The Soccer Times

Hello my fellow soccer fans!

Tons of soccer fun this weekend! Weather was beautiful outside. I played saturday outside and didnt want to stop playing!

Spanish La Liga is getting exciting again. Barcelona tied 0-0 away at neighbors Espaniol. Very rough game for Guardiola's boys. Madrid played a sloppy game at home against Valencia but they pulled the 2-0 win. So this 2 horse race is a 1 point difference now! What do you think? 5 games more to go. I dont know. Anything can happen! Is Higuain with 23 goals going to catch up to Messi 26 goals?

The premier league is on fire! Man United won the derby away to Man City 1-0. With a Scholes goal on the 92nd minute! Can you believe it? And Tottenham at home defeated the mighty Chelsea 2-0. Arsenal did a major "D'oh!" against Wigan. They were winning 2-0 and lost 3-2! Say what?! So it looks like this is a 2 horse race now with a 1 point difference too. Only 3 games to go! Do you think Drogba will catch up to Rooney as top scorer? Drogba has 25 and Rooney has 26!

Seria A is also coming to an intense finale! Inter defeated Juve 2-0 at home but Roma also won away 2-1 against Lazio! So Roma is back as leader but Inter is only 1 point behind. Milan lost away against Sampdoria in the last minute! So disappointing! Oh well, it looks like also a 2 horse race. Only 4 games to go!

Junior Tu Papa defeated Santa Fe at home 2-0! As of now they are in the plaoffs, they need to keep winning and remain in the top 4 to get in!

But who cares, right? Let's talk about the best league in the universe: the YMCA indoor soccer league!

JB vs People's Republic Game Review
We all were expecting a boring game between the best and the worst, right? Wrong! People's Republic showed that they cannot be underestimated! They showed that they have a heart to fight all the way! They gave JB some nice competition and this was a fun game to watch! I must say that their goalkeeper is probably one of the best in the tournament. This guy saved like 30 shots yesterday! And these were no easy shots! I mean, JB threw everything at this guy, and he was saving everything! Well, not everything.

JB started slow and they thought this was going to be an easy game. The score board was 0-0 for the first 15 mins. Finally, Pablo had a nice assist to Rolando which opened the score and gave JB a nice relief. Rolando scored once again before the first half and the score was 2-0 at half time. Coach Carlos asked everyone to calm down and encouraged everyone to remain patient and organized.

PR shocked everyone when they scored their first goal and put the board at 1-2. I think PR was even more surprised that JB. JB remained patient and kept most of the ball posession. Finally, Keith broke the silence with an amazing third goal for JB! The score was 3-1 now. Later on, Captain Carlos snuck the fourth and gave an extra relief to the team: 4-1. Yet, PR will not give up! Their attack was underestimated by JB and the squeezed their second goal: 2-4! Captain Carlos asked everyone to remain calm. It is amazing how JB never panic. They always recover most of the ball posession and keep trying to score more. Carlos, Rolando, Antonio, Pablo and Ernesto had some amazing shots that their goalie stopped. Finally, one of Pablo's amazing shots ended in the net giving JB the 5-2. Perhaps the most amazing goal was the next one where I think every single player in JB touched the ball. It was a combination of short triangular passes and Captain Carlos just pushed it in giving JB the 6-2. Lastly, Rolando scored a couple of more that gave JB the final 8-2! Congrats!

We were able to catch up with Coach Carlos for comment: "I am very proud of my players. They remained calm and kep playing their game. They knew that the goals would come eventually. We had most of the posession. We made a couple of mistakes in the back. We need to tighten the mark when we are on defense for the playoffs. Overall, I thought we did outstanding!"

Man of the Match: Keith Veneziano!
Keith always shows up when the team needs him the most. And his goal yesterday gave JB such a relief because JB was only winning by 2-1 when Keith scored the third one. He is always giving his best in the back defending but once in a while you will hear him yell: YES! YES! YES! And that means that he is ready for his teammates to give him THE pass to kill. Congrats to Keith for an amazing game!

We are excited to announce that JB has completed an 8 game winning streak against every single team in the YMCA! If you add the 11 games that they won last season this means that JB has a total of 19 games undefeated!!! That is very impressive! However, JB should not relax because the YMCA playoffs are this coming weekend. JB will play against the winner between the 8th and 9th place on saturday April 24 at 6pm. If they win, then they will play Sunday the semi final at 5pm. If they win, then the final will be at 7pm. We wish JB all the best!

Standings:
Po Team Played Won Draw Loss GF GA GD Pts
1 Joga Bonito 8 8 0 0 62 12 50 24
2 Warriors 8 5 2 1 21 11 10 17
3 Buckeyballs 8 4 2 2 20 13 7 14
4 YMCA 8 4 1 3 34 23 11 13
5 Chupacabra 8 3 3 2 25 22 3 12
6 Fish Keg 8 3 2 3 21 25 -4 11
7 Rotary United 8 2 1 5 24 46 -22 7
8 Team Lee 8 1 1 6 19 43 -24 4
9 Peoples Rep 8 0 0 8 7 39 -32 0

Last Results:
Ninth week - April 18
Time Team 1 Score Team 2 Score
4pm Team Lee 0 Buckeyballs 1 Lee forfeits
5pm YMCA 0 Willard Warriors 1 YMCA forfeits
6pm Rotary United 6 Fish Keg United 6
7pm Joga Bonito 8 People's Republic 2
Bye - Chupacabra

Next Fixtures
Playoffs - Saturday April 24

Time Team 1 Score Team 2 Score Match

1 3pm Team Lee (8) People's Republic (9) Pre

2 4pm Buckyballs (3) Fish Keg United (6) Quarter
3 5pm Warriors (2) Rotary United (7) Quarter
4 6pm Joga Bonito (1) Winner 1 Quarter

Playoffs - Sunday April 25

5 4pm YMCA (4) Chupacabra (5) Quarter

6 5pm Winner 2 Winner 4 Semi
7 6pm Winner 3 Winner 5 Semi

8 7pm Winner 6 Winner 7 Final


JB Top Scorers:
Scorers Regular
Rolando 21
Ernesto 9
Antonio 8
Tony 6
Carlos 5
Keith 4
Pablo 4
Lovejoy 3
Shand 1
Byron 1
Total 62


Next game for JB: Quarter Final Saturday April 24 at 6pm
Joga Bonito will have to play the quarter final against the winner between the 8th place which is Team Lee and the 9th place which is People's Republic. On paper, this should be an easy game for JB. However, we know that some of the super stars like Pablo and Keith will not be there. Still, JB has enough talent to win this game and move on to the semi final on Sunday.

We wish Joga Bonito the best of the best!

Interesting Stats

- Rolando has already broken his own record of most goals for the regular season. Last 2009 season he scored 18 goals before the playoffs and 25 total for the tournament. This season 2010 he has scored 21 just before the playoffs! This guy is unstoppable! Do you think he will break his 25 goal record?

- Joga Bonito scored 61 goals before the playoffs last 2009 season and 77 total for the tournament. Rolando and Pablo scored 60% of those 77 goals last season. This 2010 season Joga Bonito has already broken their own record. They have scored 62 goals before the playoffs. However, Pablo has only scored 4 so far. Yet probably he has the most assists for Joga Bonito. This means that other players like Ernesto, Antonio, Tony, Keith, Lovejoy and Shand have stepped up to score goals to help Joga Bonito break the goals in favor record! Will they surpass their 77 record for the tournament?

- Unfortunately, Joga Bonito has not been very impressive defensively as last season. However, I dont think that JB's defense is weaker. I think that their opponents have improved. Last season 2009, Joga Bonito only allowed 4 goals in the regular season before the playoffs. This season 2010, they have already allowed 12 goals! We talked to Coach Carlos for comment: "Yes, it is true that we have been sloppy defensively at times. I think that the correct way to approach this problem is for every single player including the attackers to understand that when we dont have the ball we must recover it right away. Sometimes attackers think that they dont have to defend because it is not in their title. This is far from the truth! When we dont have the ball, it means that we are ALL in defensive mode!"

- Finally, as mentioned before, JB continues their winning streak with 19 undefeated games! Amazing!

Conclusion

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.

Also, you can catch the Joga Bonito vs Chupacabras 10 min video on YouTube. Just go to the YouTube website and type: joga bonito ymca. It should be the first one on the list.

You should also see some video footage of JB vs People's Republic on my FaceBook page!

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!

Chicago & Evanston, IL, USA
Tuesday April 13, 2010
The Soccer Times

Hello my fellow soccer fans!

Amazing soccer weekend! Sorry for the delay. Just came back from Barcelona. Got a change to hang out with my buddy Leo. You might know him better by the name of MESSI! I was asking him if he would be interested in playing for Joga Bonito. He told me that he is dying to play for Joga Bonito but at the moment it seems impossible since Joga Bonito has so many talented players! He doesnt want to sit on the bench!

Doesn't Barcelona FC just blow your mind? What an incredible performance against Real Madrid!

Oh boy! Man United dropped the ball this weekend! I dont see them recovering, do you? Very tough without Rooney! Looks like Chelsea will win the FA Cup and the Premier League after all. Well, at least something, after that disappointing early exit from Champions.

I dont even want to talk about my beloved Milan. They make me so ANGRY! Inter dropped 2 points against Fiore! And Milan couldnt defeat Catania! AAArgggh! Well, at least they came back to tie the game 2-2 after a rough first half loosing 0-2 at home. Roma won and is leader for the first time in years! I am just sick of watching Inter take the scudetto, aren't you?

Junior Tu Papa is fighting to get in the playoffs!

Anyhow, who cares? Right? Let's talk about the most important game of the weekend: Joga Bonito vs YMCA!!!

Joga Bonito vs YMCA game review
Remember, how I said that this was going to be the game of the season? Well, I was wrong. I was looking forward to see the good players from YMCA that I talked about and they never showed up! So disapppointing. It could have been an amazing game. Well, at least it was an amazing game from JB! They took care of business winning 9-2!

JB's manager Carlos Quintero was a little nervous at the beginning since he found out from the medical staff that a couple of key players were not fit to play. Colombia international super star goalie was not feeling well, so Manager Carlos asked Captain Carlos to goalkeep for the game. "Carlos had some real nice saves," Coach Carlos said, "I am very proud of him!"

Also, Peru international super star Anthony Gamboa was unavailable due to a foot injury. There was a rumor that Pablo and Antonio were a little late to the game due to sleeping in just like Jozy Altidore at Hull City! We assumed that they will face serious consequences from Coach Carlos. However, it was clarified that Coach Carlos allowed them to come late due to family reasons. Later we found out that it was Pablo's birthday and the boys were partying like it was 1999!

So, no boys, no problem. The girls took care of business! Dynamic Duo Emily Shand and Emily Lovejoy had an amazing game and defended like there was no tomorrow! Rolando and Ernesto were deadly in the front scoring several goals. Rolando scored a couple of goals. Ernie had a hat trick! Amazing! JB had a couple of mistakes allowing a the goals but other than that, they played a great game scoring tons of goals! Defenders Antonio and Keith played very well too and even scored some goals! Congrats!

Lastly, I am excited to announce that with this win JB has locked the first position! The first position is very important because it will give JB the opportunity to play against a weak team such as the 8th place for the first game in the playoff (quarter final). Also, it gives JB a nicer schedule since they dont have to play two games in a row. Dont forget PLAYOFFS are SUNDAY APRIL 25. Joga Bonito's schedule will probably be 5pm quarter final (against the 8th place), 7pm semi final (against 3rd place or 5th place) and 9pm final.

Man of the Match: Pablo David!
Pablo had a rough start in the tournament. He is finding a nice form just in time for the playoffs! He scored an amzing goal yesterday in the top right corner of the opponents goal! He celebrated his birthday with a couple of goals and 1 assist. Congrats!

Standings
1 Joga Bonito 21
2 Warriors 14
3 YMCA 13
4 Chupacabra 12
5 Buckeyballs 11
6 Fish Keg 10
7 Team Lee 4
8 Rotary 6
9 Peoples Rep 0

Last Results
Eigth week - April 11
4pm Chupacabra 1 vs Willard Warriors 1
5pm Team Lee 2 vs Fish Keg United 6
6pm Joga Bonito 9 vs YMCA 2
7pm Peoples Rep 0 vs Rotary United 1
Bye - Buckeyballs

Next fixtures
Ninth week - April 18
4pm Team Lee vs Buckeyballs
5pm YMCA vs Willard Warriors
6pm Rotary United vs Fish Keg United
7pm Joga Bonito vs People's Republic
Bye - Chupacabra

JB Top Scorers
Rolando 17
Ernesto 9
Antonio 8
Tony 6
Carlos 3
Lovejoy 3
Keith 3
Pablo 3
Shand 1
Byron 1
Total 54

Next game: JB vs People's Republic Sunday April 18 @ 7pm
Well, this is our last regular season game before the playoffs. I would like to say this People's Republic team will give JB an amazing game, but I would be lying. This team is probably the worst in the tournament. Sorry, I know that sounds cruel. But I am a journalist and journalists never lie, right? We are here to keep it real! People's Republic is an interesting team for a couple of reasons. One, they have like 20 people in their roster. That's not an exageration. They can easily make 2 or 3 teams with their roster. When teams sub out they usually replace 2 or 3 players max. When the captain of People's Republic yells "SUB!", the entire team is replaced! Well, ok, the goalie maybe stays, but everyone else is out! Two, their average age is probably like 40 years old. No, I am not exagerating. Maybe they have 1 or 2 guys under 30, but everyone else is way older! Anyway, I am not trying to make fun of this team. So please dont laugh. I am just writing facts. They have not won one single game. They have not even tied a game! Anyway, hopefully, JB will take it easy on them. And hopefully, we can find one team that will give JB a nice competition! As of now, I really dont see any team defeating JB. Maybe next season. Dont forget PLAYOFFS are SUNDAY APRIL 25. Joga Bonito's schedule will probably be 5pm quarter final, 7pm semi final and 9pm final.

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.

Also, you can catch the Joga Bonito vs Chupacabras 10 min video on YouTube. Just go to the YouTube website and type: joga bonito ymca. It should be the first one on the list.

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!

Chicago & Evanston, IL, USA
Monday March 29, 2010
The Soccer Times

Hello my fellow soccer fans! It was a very exciting soccer weekend for me! How about you?

Ibra scored again! About time! Barcelona struggled but they won! However, Real Madrid didnt stay back. They struggled too. They began loosing 1-0 against Atletico Madrid but were able to turn the game around and won 3-2. Standings are : Real madrid 74, Barcelona 74, Valencia 53.

Chelsea demolished Aston Villa 7-1! Can you believe it? Are these professional defenders for real? Manchester United took care of Bolton 4-0 and away from home! On the other hand, Arsenal dropped the ball at the last minute and let the opponents tie the game 1-1. Bummer for them! Standings are: Manchester United 72, Chelsea 71, Arsenal 68.

And I am not going to even talk about Milan. They make me so angry! Ronaldinho and Pirlo were out due to suspension. Pato is out due to injury. Inzaghi scored but they let Lazio tie the game! When are they going to win at home? And they needed a win since Roma defeated Inter 2-1 in Rome! Now Milan dropped third and Roma climbed second. It makes me sad :(
Standings are: Inter 63, Roma 62, Milan 60

Junior Tu Papa won 2-0. Woo Hoo! But Medellin killed Envigado 7-1 and Tolima won so Junior dropped to fourth :( Standings are: Real Cartagena 21, Medellin 18, Tolima 18 and Junio 18

But who cares anyway, right? Let's talk about Joga Bonito!

Joga Bonito vs Team Lee game review
I think this was the only game where JB just cruised from the very beginning. I think JB was winning 5-0 in the first 15 mins. JB did make a silly mistake and Team Lee found the net once. JB stepped it up and the first half was 8-1. The second half was like watching a Barcelona play against some kids. And Joga Bonito wasnt even playing up to their full potential. You could see that some of them where just having fun and passing the ball around. Well, Team Lee did not know what to do and they lost 1-14. Yikes! Poor guys. I think everyone scored except Mauricio, the goalkeeper! Everyone played amazing!

Man of the Match: Ernesto Pumarejo!
2008 Joga Bonito's MVP showed us yesterday why he is one of the best! Maybe he is more encouraged now that his girlfriend is coming to watch him! :)
He scored 3 of th 14 goals yesterday and he game some nice assists. Congratulations!

Standings
Position Team Played Won Draw Loss GF GA GD Points
1 Joga Bonito 6 6 0 0 45 8 37 18
3 YMCA 6 4 1 1 32 13 19 13
2 Warriors 6 4 1 1 19 10 9 13
4 Buckeyballs 7 3 2 2 19 13 6 11
5 Chupacabra 7 3 2 2 24 21 3 11
6 Fish Keg 6 2 1 3 9 17 -8 7
8 Team Lee 6 1 1 4 17 36 -19 4
7 Rotary Utd 6 1 0 5 17 40 -23 3
9 Republic 6 0 0 6 5 30 -25 0

Last Results
Seventh week - March 28
Time Team 1 Score Team 2 Score
4pm Chupacabra 1 Fish Keg United 1
5pm Joga Bonito 14 Team Lee 1
6pm Peoples Rep 0 YMCA 10
7pm Buckeyballs 1 Willard Warriors 1
Bye - Rotary United

Next fixtures
Eigth week - April 11

4pm Chupacabra vs Willard Warriors
5pm Team Lee vs Fish Keg United
6pm Joga Bonito vs YMCA
7pm Peoples Repup vs Rotary United
Bye - Buckeyballs



JB Top Scorers:
Rolando 15
Antonio 7
Tony 6
Ernesto 6
Carlos 3
Lovejoy 3
Keith 2
Pablo 1
Shand 1
Byron 1

Next Game: JB vs YMCA April 11 @ 6pm
Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe that the next game will be the match of the tournament! I was able to watch this YMCA team yesterday. It seems that they started the tournament with the wrong foot. But it looks like they have added a couple of guys who really know what they are doing. Their key player is a young thin guy who is fast and has a deadly left shot! Joga Bonito needs to be very careful about this guy. YMCA destroyed People's Republic 10-0 yesterday. I truly believe that this is THE GAME that you DO NOT want to miss. As you can see from the standings, YMCA has already climbed to the second position. I can safely say that my prediction for the YMCA final will be Joga Bonito vs YMCA. We are very excited to find a worthy opponent for Joga Bonito! Please remember that this coming Sunday is Easter so there are NO games!

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.

Also, you can catch the Joga Bonito vs Chupacabras 10 min video on YouTube. Just go to the YouTube website and type: joga bonito ymca. It should be the first one on the list.

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!