Fantasy Football
Eleven men, one Hollywood dream - to win the LA Premier League
They came, they scored, they won the league. LA Vale, Robbie's crack goal-scoring footie squadron began the assault on the LA Premier league as little more than a pub team. They finished six months later on top. OK, it's not Major League Soccer or anything - these are 30-something part-timers who play on a high school field. But make no mistake, when the whistle blows and the first kick is placed - there's just as much adrenalin, passion and spirit flowing around the ground as there is at any professional match.
So how did LA Vale do it? The team that Robbie fashioned from mates and expats who enjoyed evening kickabouts in his back garden have now, on their debut playing season, won the league with an unbeaten run. It's not been a walk-over, in fact last year's champs Avanti have been at their boots all season. But the Vale have done it in their very first season. Yet six months ago, they were mere rookies. In fact when they lined up pre-season, things weren't looking pretty at all.
Before the leagues kicked off in earnest, LA Vale travelled to Iowa to take on the Des Moines Menace, a lower league professional squad who whipped Robbie's XI by six goals. It was an inauspicious start but, as it turned out, not a prophetic one. A month later, the Vale lined up for their debut in the LA Premier League - against Avanti. It was, said Robbie, no coincidence.
Holding the reigning League champions to a 1-1 draw, the Vale could hold their heads high. From then on, the floodgates opened and a deluge of goals began. Inspired by the fact that they hadn't lost, the team - robust, enthusiastic, fired up by Robbie's clear passion - went out against Coyotes. Player/coach Dean Jacobs got the lads in a winning mind-frame, and before long the Vale had fired in four goals to Coyotes' two. It was the start of a winning run that would have almost lasted all season, if it wasn't for a tough two-all draw with FC 90 in June. In fact they only drew once more, in September against Coyotes, eager to settle a score.
Scorelines don't always tell the full story - but read LA Vale's brilliant unbeaten run and the tale is the same match after match: 7-2 (versus Matador), 6-0 (versus Penmar), 7-0 (versus Cloverfield), 5-0 (versus Sunset Hammers) - the results speak volumes. LA Vale weren't just a team of drinking buddies -they had talent, passion and they brought it home week after week.
The squad - a mixed bag of locals and expats - aren't just the bunch of mates they might look like, warming up on the touchline, or bantering on the team bus. Between them, they've an impressive catalogue of experience. Dean Jacobs played professionally in the UK for Luton and Cambridge, Glen Burton for Sunderland and Bournemouth and Jamie Donovan for Exeter and Swindon. Americans Seth Modersohn and Kevin Eagleston were both US soccer pros, while Nick Emmerson and Simon Toselli have played professionally in Spain and France respectively. Most of the others have played consistently in US amateur and university leagues. "We've got a very handy side," said Robbie. And so it's proved.
The team have rocketed up the league, banging in the goals and keeping their nearest rivals, Avanti, at bay. To their credit, the experienced former champions have had a similarly successful season, matching LA Vale point-for-point at times. But the Vale's spirited performances have succeeded in the team bagging many more goals, and it's that that's secured the Vale their deserved winning spot atop the LA Premier League.
Robbie's and the lads' winning season has been made even more impressive by the fact that the team also play in another LA soccer league, the Super Metro League. At the time of writing, the Vale are on top of that too. The SML ends on November 18 - by which time the Premier League celebrations will be a distant memory as the business of getting out on the field and hammering home the goals takes precedence.
It's been a brilliant, exhausting season - but an eventful and ultimately successful one for LA Vale. If you've missed any of the action, check out the LA Vale site for match reports, video clips, player history and more.
