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- LAFC’s Stature on the National and International Scene Continues Growing
- Earlier this month, the club was the talk of the 2010 Dallas Cup, arguably the most prestigious boys’ tournament in the U.S. Three of the club’s five entries reached the championship game with two winning titles and two other teams making it to the semifinals. LAFC’s boys program already ranks first in California and sixth nationally, but given the size and quality of the Dallas Cup field, it was a remarkable performance - unmatched by other participants.
- Dallas Cup has drawn teams from more than 60 countries in age groups from U-13 to U-19 and averages approximately 160,000 spectators annually. This year’s event included club and national squads from Germany, China, South Africa, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Mexico and Brazil. “This was the year for California and LAFC did very well,” said Gordon Jago, the Dallas Cup’s executive director.
- In the U-13 division, LAFC made history, becoming the first club in the tournament’s 31-year history to field both finalists as LAFC defeated LAFC Black. LAFC U-13 has ranked first in different age groups for much of the past two years. It wasted little time in demonstrating its class, routing three teams in group play by a combined 27-0. It won its semifinal game over England’s Crewe Alexandra FC 8-0.
- “The margins of victory in such a challenging competition demonstrate yet again how our U-13 team has separated itself from the pack,” said Ted Chronopoulos, LAFC’s vice president of soccer operations. “The team possesses a rare combination of athleticism, technical skill and tenacity, and the players conduct themselves in a manner that reflects well on them and our club. I would be remiss in not also mentioning the superb run of the Black team, which fought its way to the final - no small achievement - and plays stylish, ball control soccer.”
- LAFC’s U-14 team emerged undefeated from a 32-team draw, the tournament’s largest. It surrendered just two goals in defeating teams from Arizona, South Carolina and Mexico in group play, Texas clubs in the quarter - and semifinals and Southern California rival West Coast FC in the final 1-0. “This team showed tremendous willpower and discipline,” Chronopoulos said. “It is always an achievement going undefeated.”
- The U-15 team won its group, topping a development squad for Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire and the Dallas Texans Red before tying FCB Escola Monterrey, one of Mexico’s best clubs. It defeated Fram CQ Vipers of California in the quarterfinals before losing unluckily to Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt, whose professional team competes in the Bundesliga.
- In the U-19 division, LAFC captured its group by besting Archbishop Tutu’s Ikapa United from South Africa (named for the country’s Nobel Prize winner) and the Eclipse Black from Texas and won its quarterfinal over a development team for the MSL’s Houston Dynamo. LAFC fell 1-0 in the semis to Shattuck St. Mary’s SA from Minnesota. “This was a difficult draw with several academy and development teams and to reach the semifinals was an outstanding effort,” Chronopoulos said.
