Ronaldo Brazilian Soccer Player

Ronaldo was born in poor suburbs of Rio de Janeiro under the name Luis Nazario de Lima. Motivated by his childhood hero Zico, the youngster played football in his early life. When he was 12th, he started playing in Tennis Club Valqueire, a structured youth club. With Valqueire, he plays small-sided football with a small ball or “futebol de salão”. This is believed to be an important step in his growth since playing with a smaller ball is said to quickly increase skill. In the years that followed, he took part in different youth tournaments and begins to draw attention.

Later on, Cruzeiro di Belo Horizonte got the youngster on a $50,000 transfer. Young Luis gets his break when he was 17. He was called up by the senior national team of Brazil. He performs well and was selected for the country’s World Cup squad. Because of his age, Ronaldo is kept as an alternate and just watched while his team wins the 1994 World Cup.

Needham Soccer Tournament

The Needham Soccer Club is situated at 15 miles west of Boston.  It will host its 34th Annual Invitational Memorial Day Tournament and MPS College Showcase. This tournament is one of the oldest and highest ranked Memorial Day Tournaments in the country for premier and town teams.  The MPS College Showcase is a favorite destination for top rank teams from all over the Northeast United States and beyond.  The 2009’s tournament became another success.  The 33 years of experience and know how to run a professional, fun and seamless tournament.  

We focus on constantly making improvements for your total tournament experience.  New England is a breeding ground for Colleges, in 2008 we had our first MPS College Showcase which instantly became successful with over 100 top caliber club teams and it was attended by more than 70 college coaches.  In 2009 an expansion was made due to the 2008 success and accepted 150 Showcase teams and over 120 college coaches.

Massapequa Soccer Club

The Massapequa Soccer Club was prepared by two Massapequans, Hank Oustecky and Pat McComiskey in 1970 during the winter.  They invited the local community to attend a meeting where even prominent individuals were present.  The Massapequa Soccer Club held its first official registration in March 1971.  There were boys 6 through 18.  Over all it totaled 259 boys and 18 adults who responded. Soon the enthusiasm for soccer grew and girls in the community also wanted to join.  

Through the effort of Nellie Haire and Liza Gozley 40% of the club membership today is female.  Soccer started growing and by 1974, 1,000 children were playing. Also in 1974, the Massapequa Soccer Club introduced its first invitational intramural tournament with the participation of over 1,800 children and up to now it still exists.  In 1978, the Nassau County and M.S.C. presented the biggest indoor soccer tournament for youth travel teams and the venue was the Nassau Coliseum.  In 1980, the M.S.C. was the host of the first of its annual Memorial Day Travel Tournaments.

Sereno Soccer Club

Sereno Soccer Club is located in Phoenix, Arizona.  It is now on its 30th anniversary in 2009.  It is one of only 45 Nike Premier Clubs in the United States. It is perennially ranked number one for the youth soccer club in Arizona.  For 30 years, the Club has had great success on and off the field.  It has already produced a National Champion, 3 National Finalists,  9 Regional Champions, 80 Arizona State Champion Girls teams and 46 Arizona State Champion Boys teams. 

The Club is led today by David Robertson, the Director of  Coaching, Dave Simeon, the Director of Programming and the Board of Directors.  And all of the professional coaches and trainers work together with the age-level Division Directors to create the best training and programming available.  All players who are competitive are trained by an elite professional staff that includes nationally and internationally licensed coaches, former playing professionals and individuals who have coached at the highest levels in and out of the United States.

Spain Soccer Team

Spain is represented in International football by the Spanish national football team and it is controlled by the Real Federación Española de Fútbol.  Most of the major Spain’s matches are held at the stadiums in Valencia and Madrid.  The Spanish side is commonly referred to as The Red Fury or La Furia Roja.  Spain are the current European champions after winning the UEFA European Championship in 2008.  In 1964 they managed to win the European Nations’ Cup and got into the UEFA Euro 1984 Final.  Spain has been able to play for the FIFA World Cup twelve times and reached fourth place in the 1950 tournament.

In July 2008, Spain got to the top of the FIFA World Ranking for the first time since they joined and became the sixth nation they are also the first who has not won a World Cup, while ranking first.  From November 2006 to June 2009, Spain never lost a match for a record tying 35 consecutive matches.  This is a record shared with Brazil and also a 15-game winning streak record.

Penalty Kick

A penalty kick is a type of free kick that is taken from twelve yards or around eleven meters out from goal and with the defending goal keeper of the other team between the goal and the penalty taker.  Penalty kicks are done during normal play.  Similar kicks are made in a penalty shootout in other tournaments to decide who advance after a drawn match.  Although there is similarity in procedures, these are technically not penalty kicks and are regulated by somewhat different rules. 

In reality, penalties are transformed to goals most of the time, even against the best goalkeepers.  This indicates that penalty awards are often crucial, especially when the game is low scoring.  A penalty kick is taken 12 yards from the goal or the penalty mark.  The penalty kick taker, it does not mean that the player who was fouled should take the kick.  But it must be identified by the referee clearly.

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