Week #10
The Weekly Spurs Report
Past Competitions:
Last weekend the Spurs took 5 teams to the DASC Girls Winter Games in Sioux Falls. The 2009 Girls finished as Finalists, and the 2006 Girls finished as Champions. Congratulations Girls!
The Brookings Home Team powered by Century 21 Krogman & Co Player Spotlight
The February Brookings Home Team SuperShot Player Spotlights are Bristol Jones and Jaxon Fedeler!
Bristol is 9 years old and she is a member of the 2012/13 Girls team. Her favorite thing about playing with the Spurs is her teammates and coaches. When she grows up she would like to play soccer for SDSU and be a teacher. Congratulations Bristol!
Jaxon is 9 years old and he is a member of the 2013 Boys team. His favorite thing about playing with the Spurs is playing with his teammates. He would like to be a professional soccer player when he grows up. Congratulations Jaxon!
Both players will receive a $25 gift card to Dunhams. Thank you to Brookings Home Team and Nate Harrington of Dunham’s for providing the prizes!
SoDak Spurs Food Drive:
The Details:
Competition Start Date: Monday, January 30th
Competition End Date: Wednesday, February 15th
Who it Benefits: Brookings Food Pantry
What to Bring:
Canned Fruits
Peanut Butter
Mac n Cheese
Canned Pastas
Spaghetti O's
Ravioli
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Laundry Soap
Hygiene Products
No Diapers
Potatoes - Bag, NOT Instant
Canned Soup/Stews
Beef Stew
Vegetable Beef Soup
Sugar
Where to Bring: Upstairs at the FIT. Place in tote for your competitive team.
Winning team gets Pizza Party!
Let's come together to make a difference for the Brookings community!
Open Registrations:
Registration for Spring Grassroots, Madison Grassroots, and Dell Rapids Grassroots are all open!
https://www.sodakspurs.com/grassroots-spring-2023
https://www.sodakspurs.com/sodak-spurs-madison
https://www.sodakspurs.com/sodak-spurs-dell-rapids
This Week in Soccer:
The Premier League is on this weekend! Notable games are:
Arsenal vs. Brentford - Saturday, 9:00am on Peacock
Manchester City vs. Aston Villa - Sunday, 10:30am on USA
Liverpool vs. Everton - Monday, 2:00pm on USA
The Champions League - written by Jake Weber
The Champions League is the most prestigious competition in all of club soccer. The 32-team European competition began as a 16-team tournament held during off days of the league season. The teams in the tournament were comprised of the winners from the top leagues around Europe. Known as the European Cup in its early days, it eventually was granted its new title as the Champion’s League in 1991. The format of the competition is like that of the World Cup. 32 teams are drawn into eight groups of four. During the first half of the competition, each team in a group will play the other three teams in their group twice, once at home, and once away. After six games, the top two teams in each group advance to the round of 16. Meanwhile, the third-placed team in each group is relegated to the knockout stages of Europe’s second continental competition, The Europa League. The knockout rounds are played over two games at each team’s home stadium. The winner over both legs moves on to the next round. This goes on until the final which is one match held at a previously determined neutral location.
The way teams qualify for the Champions League is based on their position in their league table from the previous year. Each league gets more spots in the Champions League based on their UEFA coefficients, UEFA being the governing body of European Club soccer like FIFA for international soccer. For example, England currently has the highest rating, meaning they get four teams in the Champions League and seven across all three different European competitions. The top four teams in England qualify for the Champions League. However, in smaller nations like Scotland, only two teams qualify. The rating changes based on teams from those nations’ performances in European competitions. So, if both teams in the Champions League Scotland made the final, then Scotland’s rating would go up.
So far over the history of the Champion’s League, there have been 22 winners from nine different countries. Real Madrid currently holds the most titles with 14, having won their 14th in a 1-0 victory over Liverpool this last year. Liverpool has won more Champions Leagues than any other English team with six. They won their sixth against Tottenham in 2019. While most Champions League winners are household names like Barcelona, AC Milan, and Bayern Munich, there have been winners from the past who now find themselves struggling to even play in their country’s top division. Most notable is Nottingham Forest from England. Forest won back-to-back Champions Leagues in the late seventies. However, they now find themselves battling against relegation from the Premier League in their first season back in the competition since 1999.
The Champions League this year is beginning its knockout stages this next week with games next Tuesday and Wednesday. Some notable matchups to look out for include, French giants PSG taking on German champions Bayern Munich, or Italian champions AC Milan facing English side Tottenham Hotspur. The round of 16 will be played over the two legs as previously mentioned with the last of the games being played on March 15th.