Rongen Gongen

So last week, former Striker player and manager Thomas Rongen was sacked by US Soccer after failing to qualify for this summer's U-20 FIFA World Cup. Tis a shame, but it was a long time coming for some and now we are left to wonder; will Rongen return to the Strikers to resurrect his coaching career?

On a real Striker tip, another tie on this road trip and another almost win ripped out from underneath us in the final minutes. Good thing is we are not losing these games and we are up by one with only minutes left. Chemistry and cohesion will be the fix, but the real problem is in the fact that all our goals are coming from the penalty spot.

Kudos to Chacho Coudet for being spot on from the penalty spot, but someone's gotta step up!

Wednesday night game this week against a surging Carolina, 7pm, hopefully the web feed will work this time around.

Thomas Rongen, Thanks for the Memories

It cannot be disputed that Thomas Rongen will always remain a legendary figure in the hearts of Striker Likers. He spanned two generations of Likers by playing here in Fort Lauderdale during the NASL days, then staying through to see the Strikers win their only championship in 1989 with the ASL/APSL version of the team.

Recently, his actions are a bit disappointing. In case you missed it the U-20 US Men's National Team fell 1-2 to Guatemala last night and were eliminated from qualification for the U-20 World Cup. Thomas Rongen is the coach of the U-20 US Men's National Team.

Not acceptable.

Thomas, we love you as a Striker, but please, this is embarrassing.

If Michael Jackson was a Fulham fan, Then So Am I

News reports today state that Fulham FC will be putting up a statue of Michael Jackson just outside Craven Cottage, Fulham's stadium.

Nothing to do with the Strikers here, but I love Michael Jackson as much as I love the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, so there.

Also, for any fans of soccer nostalgia, check out this wickedly awesome music video for the 1990 US Men's National Team right before they headed off the World Cup in Italy.

Look Ma! I'm a Winner!

Should we be bitter? Yes.

We give FIFA too much power.

Congratu...This Hurts!

Winning the World Cup is an amazing achievement. Mix in the factors that only a few nations have ever won the tournament and the fact that it is played only once every four years and the odds are rarely in anyone's favor (unless your German or Brazilian).

In any case, a new country joined the list this time around and Spain, after a bleak start to the tournament), silenced doubters and hoisted the cup. But it definitely hurt to get there.

Know what else hurts? Having to wait until April to see the Strikers play. When are we seeing uniforms?

We are so easy to please.

Making An Ass of Yourself

This is why they call it the beautiful game.

It's Called Karma

As a Striker Liker its hard to put the Germans in their place. They were half of the star power that brought the Strikers to prominence, along with the Dutch in the late 70's. But I'm more of a fan of the late 80's Strikers, with their Argentine Three Amigos, so when I'm asked for sympathy for the Germans, I turn the other way.

So as Michael Ballack has his World Cup dreams destroyed by a non-sensical tackle in the FA Cup by a Ghanian international, I have no tears. So what you missed your shot at the final when you collected too many yellow cards in '02 to play the last game and you watched on the sidelines helpless as Ronaldo and Brazil had field day.

This is all just pay back for that ugly handball non call that would have given the US a chance to tie their quarterfinal game with the Germans in South Korea/Japan. Oh what a difference that would have made.

But back to the story, time will only tell if the Ballack-less Germans can make their way through a not-so-easy group against Australia, Serbia, and Ghana. They might be making Prince Boateng a king.

I heard Thierry Henry is coming to MLS too.

Look Again, It's Not What You Think

No, it's not a professional soccer game in South Florida, actually the attendance here might exceed that of some Miami FC games. No, this is the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. This pic is from the Italy vs. Paraguay match. I wonder how South Florida would fare in staging this game. Sellout crowd at FIU perhaps?

Ah, to dream. September officially marks the end of Miami FCs season, so live professional soccer is now in the closet with the moth balls as we get our soccer fix through espn360, justin.tv, foxsoccer, setanta, etc., etc., etc.

But in an offseason there are always 'talks'. What these 'talks' will lead to no one can really tell. Let's hope they don't end up with the, "let's fold the team" scenario. If that be the case, then maybe this Striker Liker will move to Seattle and deal with the winter.

But for now, the middle of October is the finishing line for World Cup Qualifiers, who will fill out the draw and which heavyweight will watch South Africa 2010 from the comfort of their couch?

20 Years, Can You Believe It?

It's been 20 somewhat interesting years since the Fort Lauderdale Strikers have won a championship. It was actually their only championship, but it was a championship none the less. For a franchise that could call George Best and Nene Cubillas their own, it was the scrappy hardworking Strikers from 1989 that did the business, besting the San Diego Nomads in a cross country final.

Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of that championship and although there were no ticker tape or parades, we did have an enormous amount of soccer being played around the world and emotions were either bolstered or utterly destroyed.

I'd like to thank FIFA for their Match Centre (pictured above) for keeping me up to the minute while I was at work. Cameroon's victory early in the day started it all off and by 2pm I had the luxury of a little espn360 for some interesting European matches.

Into the night came the games most important to me, although I must say Bahrain's 94th minute equalizer at Saudi Arabia might have been the most intriguing moment of the day - silencing King Fahd International Stadium and sending Bahrain to their second straight play-off to make the world cup. This time out they face New Zealand.

In any case, the Americas had plenty of action as USA and Mexico kept winning to stay atop their group and hopefully avoid a play-off of their own against South America's 5th ranked team.

In South America, Maradona continued to soil whatever he had left of his reputation by putting Argentina in more peril than ever before. Brazil and Paraguay stay atop the standings.

With two games to go, the pure excitement of World Cup Soccer is reaching the ever so famous 'fever pitch'. Small sidenote, the USA and South Africa are leading in ticket sales for the World Cup, we must have some soccer fans in this country.

But back to the Strikers. Sorry we couldn't raise a glass to commemorate you. Instead, we watched soccer from around the world unfold. In a week or so's time, a former Striker will take the US -20 to Egypt for the Youth World Cup. Good luck Thomas Rongen.

Here's to you 1989 Fort Lauderdale Strikers - we love you dearly.

Get On With Your Bad Self

Yeah, that's right. President Obama is a soccer fan. Blame it on those early days in Jakarta or having to raise two young girls in America. Either way you chalk it up, the Big Chief wants the World Cup back in the States, where it belongs.

Currently the USA bid for the tournament contains a few Florida destinations such as Dolphin Stadium, so this could be huge. The last World Cup game played in Florida, I believe, was the Ireland-Holland second round game at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. I was their, Patrick "Packie" Bonner had a howler and later that day the USA bowed out of the competition with a 1-0 loss to Brazil and a hospital visit for Tab Ramos. Oh, those were the days.

Also of note, let us not forget that Lockhart Stadium is being dusted off for another soccer game this weekend when the Miami FC call it home in its USL-1 season opener Saturday. Some say this is more of a test between county fans, but seriously are we Striker Likers supposed to lay down our arms and support a team that thinks if you put Miami in the title it makes all the difference?