On my club soccer team in Des Moines, Iowa, I play with a kid named Elvir Ibisevic. He's a sophomore at Johnston High School in Des Moines, and it's no surprise that he is amazing at soccer. His cousin, Vedad Ibisevic, is a professional soccer player in Germany, where he plays for the Bundesliga team VFB Stuttgart. His background story is amazing and teaches us all that we shouldn't take things for granted, because there are many people that start from nothing, and still make it to farther places than many of us.
Vedad started out his life in Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the time of the Bosnian War. At the age of five he was made to flee his hometown and country because of the mass genocide that was occurring. He traveled around with his family, but one thing remained constant where ever he went; he always found soccer as a way to distract himself from the pain. His family went to Switzerland, where he joined a small pro team there. When he was 15 his family decided to head to the United States. They settled in St. Louis, which is a major hub of Bosnian refugees. He played high school soccer in St. Louis, before he went to play college at the University of St. Louis. He attended college with hardly any english speaking ability, but still managed to make a year at the university work. After a year he was named the Rookie of the Year for the NCAA, and that was when his career took off. He was spotted by a Bosnian scout for the club Paris St. Germaine in France, and signed a contract with them at the age of 19. From there he was loaned out to a French second division team and then joined Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. At the age of 23 he had the season of his life, scoring 18 goals with 7 assists in only 17 games. Then tragedy struck and he tore his ACL that winter in a training game during the season break. He returned the next season, but never got the amazing form back. He then transferred to VFB Stuttgart where he currently continues to play at the age of 29. His story is amazing, coming out of Bosnia as a war refugee, and having the strength and determination to become what he always what he wanted to be.
Everyone can learn something from this amazing story of perseverance and hard work. It also shows how much we take for granted in our middle class lifestyle that we live these days. It really makes you realize that even though we think we have struggles in our lives, whether it be dealing with a girlfriend, or plagiarizing blogs when you really should have written them in the first place, we never have truly experienced hardship of the like that Vedad Ibisevic has.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Monday, May 12, 2014
Sporting Iowa
In recent years of youth soccer there has been a huge uprising of a new type of club soccer. Before there was always all the regular soccer clubs. These are pretty much in every city and town in the United States and its just a local team that you play with from kids around the area. The next big thing to happen in youth soccer was the establishment of a program called ODP. This stands for Olympic Development Program, and basically it is a soccer program in every state of the country, and kids from within that state try out for their respective ODP teams. At the state level you can make your ODP state team, and from there go play against other states from within your region. From that state ODP team you can make a Regional ODP team comprised of the best players from the Midwest region for example. Then from the Regional team the players have the chance to make a National ODP team which, as you can probably guess, is the best players in the country. Now after the ODP fad faded, youth soccer ushered in a new era of the game. This new era is known as the Academy Programs. These have been introduced into states across the country recently, and they are an elite level of soccer. They are club soccer teams on steroids, where the tryouts are extremely selective and the teams are prestigious. They play in their very own league and they only take the best of the best players.
The reason this is important, is because since the start of the academy system there hasn't been a single academy in the state of Iowa. But that has just recently changed. The club that I play at, in Des Moines, just recently signed a partnership deal with an academy team from Kansas City, called Sporting KC. This is a big deal because not only is my club team linked with an academy team, but we're linked with one of the biggest academies in the country. We're supposedly an academy affiliate, which means the club will go by the name of Sporting Iowa, and fall under the control of the Sporting KC Academy program. Me, and the rest of my teammates will all have the opportunity to participate in this academy program, something we would never had been able to do in Iowa before.
This is a huge step forward for Iowa soccer, and now hopefully players have a much closer option if they ever want to try to take that step to the academy level of soccer. This should help to improve the soccer quality in the state immensely and I can't wait to see what the future holds for the future of the program.
The reason this is important, is because since the start of the academy system there hasn't been a single academy in the state of Iowa. But that has just recently changed. The club that I play at, in Des Moines, just recently signed a partnership deal with an academy team from Kansas City, called Sporting KC. This is a big deal because not only is my club team linked with an academy team, but we're linked with one of the biggest academies in the country. We're supposedly an academy affiliate, which means the club will go by the name of Sporting Iowa, and fall under the control of the Sporting KC Academy program. Me, and the rest of my teammates will all have the opportunity to participate in this academy program, something we would never had been able to do in Iowa before.
This is a huge step forward for Iowa soccer, and now hopefully players have a much closer option if they ever want to try to take that step to the academy level of soccer. This should help to improve the soccer quality in the state immensely and I can't wait to see what the future holds for the future of the program.
The FIFA 14 Market Crash
Just like the stock market in the real world can experience crashes and drastic drops, the EA Sports FIFA 14 Ultimate Team Market has experienced a drastic crash with the release of TOTS starting just two weeks ago. This crash has been extremely annoying on side, but also extremely helpful on the other. It all depends on how you want to perceive it.
Before I talk about how I've perceived the market crash, I want to look at just how exactly it happened. Now basically with the release of TOTS, a bunch of amazing cards were being released out to Ultimate Team for only a week at a time. During that week people were spamming packs in order to try to acquire one of these rare blue cards. With the opening of so many packs, the market was bombed with millions of players being put up on the transfer market because people want as many coins as possible in order to open as many packs as possible. Because people are spending all their money on packs, they aren't worrying about buying players off of the transfer market. Due to this rise in players on the transfer market, and the shortage of people buying these players, there has been a substantial drop in players prices, resulting in extremely cheap players that can be bought.
Now, for me this has been glorious. The drop of player prices means that I can get some extremely good deals on really good players, that I wouldn't be able to get deals on normally. For example, one of the best players in the game Lionel Messi, usually goes for around 1.2 or 1.4 million coins on Ultimate team, which is a heck of a lot, but because of this huge market crash, I was able to find one on the transfer market for less than 800k. This is a price drop between 400-600 thousand coins, which is crazy in a game like Ultimate Team. Players that were previously going for 50k or 60k are now going for 10k or 20k. It allows the people who aren't sidetracked by opening packs to get some extremely good deals on players and make some amazing teams.
Another thing that EA has done to make this TOTS time even more beneficial to some, is they have made the card weight of the TOTS players a lot lower than in previous years. Basically what this means is that these rare blue cards, although hard to get, are a lot easier than in previous years to get. Due to this more people are getting more of these cards, and that means there are more of them to buy which means their prices will go down.
All in all this is a great time for me in FIFA. I can spend my coins, not on packs, but on really good players that I may not have had the chance to buy before the market crash, but because of the price drops I can now afford these amazing players!
Before I talk about how I've perceived the market crash, I want to look at just how exactly it happened. Now basically with the release of TOTS, a bunch of amazing cards were being released out to Ultimate Team for only a week at a time. During that week people were spamming packs in order to try to acquire one of these rare blue cards. With the opening of so many packs, the market was bombed with millions of players being put up on the transfer market because people want as many coins as possible in order to open as many packs as possible. Because people are spending all their money on packs, they aren't worrying about buying players off of the transfer market. Due to this rise in players on the transfer market, and the shortage of people buying these players, there has been a substantial drop in players prices, resulting in extremely cheap players that can be bought.
Now, for me this has been glorious. The drop of player prices means that I can get some extremely good deals on really good players, that I wouldn't be able to get deals on normally. For example, one of the best players in the game Lionel Messi, usually goes for around 1.2 or 1.4 million coins on Ultimate team, which is a heck of a lot, but because of this huge market crash, I was able to find one on the transfer market for less than 800k. This is a price drop between 400-600 thousand coins, which is crazy in a game like Ultimate Team. Players that were previously going for 50k or 60k are now going for 10k or 20k. It allows the people who aren't sidetracked by opening packs to get some extremely good deals on players and make some amazing teams.
Another thing that EA has done to make this TOTS time even more beneficial to some, is they have made the card weight of the TOTS players a lot lower than in previous years. Basically what this means is that these rare blue cards, although hard to get, are a lot easier than in previous years to get. Due to this more people are getting more of these cards, and that means there are more of them to buy which means their prices will go down.
All in all this is a great time for me in FIFA. I can spend my coins, not on packs, but on really good players that I may not have had the chance to buy before the market crash, but because of the price drops I can now afford these amazing players!
Thursday, May 1, 2014
FIFA 14: TOTS
It's finally that coveted time of the year in FIFA Ultimate Team. It's the time when millions of people from all across the globe spend loads of money trying to get those coveted blue cards that come with the numerous Team of the Season player releases. Basically what TOTS (Team of the Season) is, is its a special release of upgraded players at the end of all the leagues throughout Europe and the world. Starting a week before the beginning of May, the first TOTS is released. The first one is usually a team called the "Most Consistent". This means that the team will be comprised the best players in the world that didn't get an inform card through out the year in FIFA. Some of the players that highlighted this years team were Wayne Rooney of Manchester United, Danny of Zenit, and De Rossi of Roma. These player cards are highly sought after due to the massive upgrades that the cards get and because of how rare they are. I'm going to break down the rest of TOTS and how it works.
Now after the first TOTS is released it stays around for a week before leaving, and when the TOTS is gone, that means no one can get those players in packs ever again. This is why people madly rush in order to try to open packs during this time in order to snag one of these rare blue cards. So, after the first TOTS, they release another one, and now you start getting into the leagues. The first league to be released is the BPL TOTS, and this is the one that just came out yesterday. In it this year are player like 95 rated Luis Suarez, 94 rated Eden Hazard, and 93 rated Sergio Aguero, and that's not all the players. A lot of these big league players go for over a million coins, maybe even two and that is why so many people want them, on top of the fact that they are just amazing players. I was actually pretty happy when just last night I was able to get 87 rated TOTS Daniel Sturridge in a pack. He sells for 550k which is a lot of money in FIFA.
After the BPL team of the season is there for a week, it will go away and another league will take its spot as you're probably seeing the trend. The other leagues that are usually covered are the Bundesliga, Liga BBVA, Ligue 1, Serie A, and the Eredivise. There could also be a few more that EA have decided to release this year, but we will just have to wait and see on that. As a big FIFA player myself I am extremely excited to see the release of these players and I hope I can spoil myself with a few blue cards in the weeks to come :)
Now after the first TOTS is released it stays around for a week before leaving, and when the TOTS is gone, that means no one can get those players in packs ever again. This is why people madly rush in order to try to open packs during this time in order to snag one of these rare blue cards. So, after the first TOTS, they release another one, and now you start getting into the leagues. The first league to be released is the BPL TOTS, and this is the one that just came out yesterday. In it this year are player like 95 rated Luis Suarez, 94 rated Eden Hazard, and 93 rated Sergio Aguero, and that's not all the players. A lot of these big league players go for over a million coins, maybe even two and that is why so many people want them, on top of the fact that they are just amazing players. I was actually pretty happy when just last night I was able to get 87 rated TOTS Daniel Sturridge in a pack. He sells for 550k which is a lot of money in FIFA.
After the BPL team of the season is there for a week, it will go away and another league will take its spot as you're probably seeing the trend. The other leagues that are usually covered are the Bundesliga, Liga BBVA, Ligue 1, Serie A, and the Eredivise. There could also be a few more that EA have decided to release this year, but we will just have to wait and see on that. As a big FIFA player myself I am extremely excited to see the release of these players and I hope I can spoil myself with a few blue cards in the weeks to come :)
Thursday, April 10, 2014
After the First Leg....
The Champions League Semi-finals wrapped up their first leg yesterday in what has been some very good soccer. I wanted to look at the games and break them down individually and take a look at which teams have the advantage going into the second leg of games next week.
In the first game on Tuesday, Chelsea took on the top team recently in Athletico Madrid. Athletico has been streaking have scored in all their Champions league games thus far, and currently at the top of the Liga BBVA. They have been led by quality players in Koke, Diego Godin, Diego Costa, and Arda Turan. The team has looked extremely dangerous, having knocked off Barcelona in the previous stage. Chelsea on the other hand have been stumbling. They recently all but scratched their title hopes, by losing at home to Sunderland in a crushing BPL game. It was Jose Mourinho's first lose at home and he had a 77 game unbeaten streak snapped by a team that was at the bottom of the standings. The game was in Athleticos favor, as they were the home team. Chelsea came in and did what they are very famous for doing. They "parked the bus" which means they sat pretty much there entire team behind the ball and defended the entire game, in what ended as a 0-0 draw. This definitely favorites Chelsea now going into the second leg. They are in a prime position to make it to the Champions League Final for the 2nd time in 3 years. The one thing that is very worrisome is the fact that if Athletico gets one goal at Chelsea, that means they can move on with a draw, because they would have the away goal. It will be a very tense contest next week when these two teams meet in the second leg of the semi-finals.
The second game was the match up of the two world power houses, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Both teams are playing better soccer right now then any other team in the world. Bayern won the champions league last year and are looking to make it a second, while Real Madrid search for their first in 7 years. It was at the Santiago Bernebeau, the home of Real Madrid, and it was Real Madrid who managed to sneak away with the 1-0 victory. Bayern dominated the game and had more scoring chances and much more possession, but in the end the attacking force of Cristiano Ronaldo came through in the clutch for Real Madrid as he has done many times before.
In the first game on Tuesday, Chelsea took on the top team recently in Athletico Madrid. Athletico has been streaking have scored in all their Champions league games thus far, and currently at the top of the Liga BBVA. They have been led by quality players in Koke, Diego Godin, Diego Costa, and Arda Turan. The team has looked extremely dangerous, having knocked off Barcelona in the previous stage. Chelsea on the other hand have been stumbling. They recently all but scratched their title hopes, by losing at home to Sunderland in a crushing BPL game. It was Jose Mourinho's first lose at home and he had a 77 game unbeaten streak snapped by a team that was at the bottom of the standings. The game was in Athleticos favor, as they were the home team. Chelsea came in and did what they are very famous for doing. They "parked the bus" which means they sat pretty much there entire team behind the ball and defended the entire game, in what ended as a 0-0 draw. This definitely favorites Chelsea now going into the second leg. They are in a prime position to make it to the Champions League Final for the 2nd time in 3 years. The one thing that is very worrisome is the fact that if Athletico gets one goal at Chelsea, that means they can move on with a draw, because they would have the away goal. It will be a very tense contest next week when these two teams meet in the second leg of the semi-finals.
The second game was the match up of the two world power houses, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Both teams are playing better soccer right now then any other team in the world. Bayern won the champions league last year and are looking to make it a second, while Real Madrid search for their first in 7 years. It was at the Santiago Bernebeau, the home of Real Madrid, and it was Real Madrid who managed to sneak away with the 1-0 victory. Bayern dominated the game and had more scoring chances and much more possession, but in the end the attacking force of Cristiano Ronaldo came through in the clutch for Real Madrid as he has done many times before.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Oldie But Goodie
The age old striker Dimitar Berbitav was at his old tricks again this past weekend. The former Manchester United and Fulham striker, who now plays for Monaco in the Ligue 1 in France, bagged the only goal of a 1-0 win. This win sealed a champion’s league spot for Monaco meet year. Berbitav made it look easy, just as he does on numerous amounts of goals. The striker in this instense had taken the ball from over the top and was a little outside the far right side of the six yard box. Berbitav brought the ball down and let it bounce, and with a cool and calm composure, he chipped it up and over the keeper and into the far post netting. The keeper could do nothing but swing at air as the Monaco fans watched in jubilation as the ball went in. Monaco continued to dominate the rest of the game and it was a shock to many that the game only ended 1-0 because there were so many chances that could have been put in the back of net. After the match Berbitav wanted to remind everyone out there who had written him off and forgotten about him that he was still around and just as sly and great a striker as ever.
Not only was this a great day for the individual player, but it was a great day for Monaco itself. Just a year removed from being promoted to the Ligue 1 from Ligue 2, the big French club made some major signings in the summer and has seen them pay dividends as the team has now clinched a spot in the 2014/2015 UEFA Champions league for the first time in over a decade. Not only that but they have risen to 2nd in the Ligue 1 behind only the power house team of Paris Saint Germaine. This is an amazing story of just what having a lot of money in soccer can do for you as the club was able to rise from the bottom thanks in part to huge sponsorship deals that left a lot of money to be spent on much needed players. Key signings in the summer included former Athletico striker Falcao, as well as midfielder James Rodriguez. A big congrats to Monaco, and I'm very excited to see the commotion they can create in next year’s champions league. It's something very exciting to look forward to.
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Team Review: Belgium
As the Fifa World Cup is fast approaching this coming June, I really wanted to start breaking down some of the national teams that will be seen on the big stage. Not only breaking down, but predicting the starting lineups before they are released for good at the end of May. When it came to picking a team for this first review I didn't have to rack my brain for too long. I decided to take a closer look at the country of Belgium. They are a very young team, and many people believe they are the dark horses of this years World Cup. We should all be looking for them to surprise a fair amount of us when it comes time for the tournament to kick off.
Now when we look deeper into the roster of the team the first thing you notice is how young it is. Every position is extremely young and talented meaning this won't be Belgium's last World Cup run for awhile. As for the personnel that they possess, they have some of the worlds top class young players. In goal, they have Simone Mignolet and Thebuis Courteius. Both keepers have led their respective teams Liverpool and Athletico Madrid to the top of their leagues and they are phenomenal keepers. In the backline Belgium possess from very solid defenders. Vertonghen, Vermaelan, and Kompany make up the core of this Belgium defense. The midfield and attack is even better than the defense. Players to note are Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard a 23 year old rising star who has been compared to both Messi and Ronaldo. They also have Axel Witsel, and Naingollen to finish up the midfield, and then up top the deadly duo of the young prodigies Benteke and Lukaku finishes up the team. This team is deep all the way through. They lack a little bit of depth that some of the other teams have, like the Spain's and Germanys of the world, but what they lack in depth they make up in a skill and young talent.
This is a team that may like the experience that older teams possess, but what they lack in experience is more than made up for in the talent of this squad. Like I said early I look for them to do big things at the upcoming World Cup and I can't wait to sit back and watch the young talent go to work.
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