SD Prep Sports

World's game spoken here

Posted April 13, 2007

Soccer is organized a bit differently in other parts of the world but the pursuit of excellence remains the same wherever anyone kicks a ball. The Chula Vista United Rangers Soccer Club is definitely trying to set a high standard for the level of play in San Diego's South County region.

That includes playing top-level opponents such as those assembled for this past week's slate of friendly matches at Voyager Park . In successive matchups on Monday, two Rangers under-15 boys teams engaged the Baja California Select team and the Salford ( England ) All-Schools team in front of a large and enthusiastic gathering.

The Rangers tied the Baja team 1-1 while dropping a 7-0 decision against a very talented English side.

On Wednesday, Salford defeated Baja, 3-2, to finish its California tour unbeaten in five matches.

The Baja Select team is comprised of players in the Mexican national regional team player pool. The Salford team draws players from 14 high schools in that northern English city.

One of Salford 's more famous alumni is Ryan Giggs, who currently plays for Manchester United.

Enough said.

Ranger coaches Marco Meza and Victor Ibarra were diplomatic in their remarks following the loss to Salford , with Meza calling the loss “a good lesson for us.”

Translation: a team is only going to get better by playing better teams.

And the Rangers are fielding very good teams this season, Monday's international scoreboard aside.

The Rangers currently have six teams still active in the playoff rounds of this year's State Cup competition, including the aforementioned under-15 boys team that joins an under-14 boys team in second round competition, both coached by Meza. Under-16 boys and girls teams, both coached by Victor Melendez, are set to open first-round playoff competition this weekend. A boys under-18 team, coached by Robert Martinez, is involved in regional cup competition while a girls under-17 team, coached by Denis Vargas, is playing in the National Premier State Cup tournament.

The Rangers club fielded 27 teams last season from the under-8 to the under-19 levels, including a youth academy for children ages 4-7. The club is currently in the process of holding tryouts for the 2007-08 season. As many as 40 teams and 1,000 players could be registered, according to club president Israel Garza.

Obviously, the game at the youth level on this side of the Atlantic Ocean is quite healthy.

“It's been phenomenal how much this club has grown over the years,” Garza said.

The Rangers under-15 boys team that competed in this past week's international friendlies is comprised of players who attend Chula Vista, Southwest, Otay Ranch, San Ysidro, Bonita Vista, Eastlake and Morse high schools.

With so many teams and an increasingly diverse spread of players to instruct, the club's coaching staff has also had to grow in proportion and specialize. Martinez serves as the Rangers' director of younger girls teams while Eddie Fonbon serves in the same capacity in regard to the club's younger boys teams. Melendez is the director of the club's older boys and girls teams while Vargas serves as the director of development of the club's youth academy.

Vargas, a former professional player with the San Diego Gauchos, has been to Europe six times in pursuit of his soccer dream. The Rangers are in the process of expanding their soccer awareness around the globe as well.

Players and coaches are still talking about the Rangers' trip to Guadalajara last July. The Rangers under-15 boys team trained three times during its one-week stay in professional surroundings while also getting the chance to observe professional players train. The Rangers — 23 members strong — also got the opportunity to play games against both Chivas and Atlas' Fourth Division teams in a 10,000-seat stadium.

Efraim Flores, the director of player development for Chivas, also gave the Rangers an insider's view of building a successful organization. Mexico is the reigning under-17 world champion.

“It was special,” Ibarra said in reference to the one-of-a-kind soccer trip.

The same could be said for the red-clad Salford team.

This is the fourth year that the British team has visited Chula Vista . Following Monday's meeting, the British hold a 2-1-1 edge in the series, including a 4-0 win last year. The matchups have become so revered between the teams that a perpetual trophy has been bestowed on the winner. For the second consecutive year, that trophy will to be ticketed for baggage check back to England .

Following Wednesday's game, players from the three teams competing in the series of friendly matches — the Rangers, Salford and Baja — were treated to an awards dinner at the La Quinta Grill in downtown Chula Vista. Many of the English visitors — 18 players, six teachers and 12 parents altogether — had never tasted Mexican food before, thus making their experience even more eventful.

The Salford team has already set a trip to Australia next year during spring break (following exams), so the Rangers are contemplating a trip to England in late March to keep the series alive.

“It will be our duty, our mission to visit England next spring,” Vargas said at Wednesday's awards dinner. “We want to keep this tradition going. It's always exciting for our kids. It's time for us to see another part of the world.”

The Rangers under-15 boys team is comprised of players who attend Chula Vista , Southwest, Otay Ranch, San Ysidro, Bonita Vista, Eastlake and Morse high schools.

The Salford-Rangers matchups have drawn interest from this nation's governing body of the sport. Rene Miramontes, an official with U.S. Soccer, was present at Wednesday's awards dinner and elaborated further on what the aspect of international competition adds to the homegrown game.

“This is what soccer is all about — the blending of people, the blending of the game,” Miramontes said. “This is what keeps the game going and makes it so beautiful.”

While trips abroad usually focus on cultural and educational benefits, players on the Salford team are focusing mainly on soccer with exams behind them for the term. A particular emphasis is placed on matching up against different styles of play, according to Salford coaches Russ Carv and Mike Hilditch.

This particular Salford group, which is rounding out two years of representing the city, may be the most talented to engage the Rangers in the four years the clubs have been meeting. Salford won the championship title of the eight-team league in which it plays and will resume play at the semifinal stage in two cup competitions once it returns home. Three of the boys on the team play in professional team organizations: Andy Gamble (Burnsley FC in the English Championship League), Luke Smith (Oldham Athletic in the English League First Division) and Jordan Lee (Bury FC in the English League Second Division).

In Monday's game, Ben Beresford scored three goals while Michael Linney, Lee, Andy Hill and Tom Perkins each scored single goals.

Wednesday's goal-scorers for Salford included Andy Hill, Steve Seerey and Liam Dunbar.

Salford 's Lee and Baja's Maximilliano Culebro received Most Valuable Player awards at Wednesday's awards banquet. Eric Melendez was named the Rangers' Man of the Match against Baja. Gamble earned the same honor for Salford in its matchup against the Rangers.

Prior to the two games in Chula Vista, the Salford team played two games in Santa Ana and one in Corona en route to two days of sightseeing in Palm Springs (well, not every day on the April 2-12 tour was spent playing soccer). Nathan Bond tallied three times in a 5-3 win against the OC Kings on April 3 while Gamble earned Man of the Match awards in the Englanders' other two games.

While Salford players said they enjoyed getting the chance to play against different teams, what particularly impressed them (besides the exposure to new kinds of food) was American school facilities.

“The schools have better facilities here,” Beresford said.

“There's more technology in the classrooms,” Jenkins added.

Meza said it is the experience of matching up against a different style of play — one that is more aggressive and physical — that motivates his players to improve and what has made the rivalry between the teams so intense.

“The mentality of the English team is completely different from ours,” Meza said. “Every time I talk to my players, I like to explore the mentality of the other teams. My team moves the ball very well but the players need to be more aggressive, more into the game.”

The world's game.