Week # 14
The Weekly Spurs Report
Upcoming Competitions:
This weekend the Spurs have 8 teams competing in the Jackrabbit Friendlies at SDSU. Good luck Spurs!
The Brookings Home Team powered by Century 21 Krogman & Co Player Spotlight
The March Brookings Home Team SuperShot Player Spotlights are Hayden Minor and Cruz Stanley!
Hayden is 11 years old and she is a member of the 2012 Girls team. Her favorite thing about playing with the Spurs is competing in games. When she grows up she would like to be an aviator. Congratulations Hayden!
Cruz is 10 years old and he is a member of the 2012 Boys team. His favorite thing about playing with the Spurs is seeing his friends at training. He would like to be a professional soccer player when he grows up. Congratulations Cruz!
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!
MLS Ticket Raffle:
Raffle Prizes
5 tickets to a Home Sporting KC game of your choice + Sporting KC jersey
5 tickets to a Home Minnesota United game of your choice + Minnesota United jersey
1 ticket - $20
6 tickets - $100
Tickets are also available in Trivia Night Package and in person at Trivia Night on March 30th
Winners will be drawn March 30th at Trivia Night.
Trivia Night Fundraiser:
Come out for a fun night of trivia to support the SoDak Spurs Soccer Club! We will draw the winners of the MLS Raffles following Trivia.
There are only 50 tickets available. Deadline to purchase tickets is March 25th!
What: Trivia Night Fundraiser
Where: Wooden Legs Brewing Company
When: March 30th, 6-9pm
We have multiple ticket options available for purchase.
Ticket #1 - Pizza, 1 drink, & trivia entry - $30
Ticket #2 - Pizza, 2 drinks, & trivia entry - $40
Ticket #3 - Pizza, 3 drinks, & trivia entry - $50
Spurs Supporter Package - Pizza, 3 drinks, trivia entry, & 3 MLS Raffle Tickets - $100
Trivia Night Rules:
Must purchase a ticket to participate in trivia. Teams are allowed.
Cash Prizes
1st Place - $100
2nd Place - $50
3rd Place - $25
Buy Tickets Here:
https://www.sodakspurs.com/trivia-night-raffle-tickets/p/wooden-legs-trivia-night-ticket
Raise Right Fundraising:
We have partnered with Raise Right Fundraising! Use the SoDak Spurs Enrollment Code to purchase eGift Cards for your everyday purchases. Each purchased gift card gives a percentage of earnings back to our fundraising account.
Example: Purchase a $100 eGift Card to GAP at 14% earnings. Your $100 eGift Card is delivered to your online wallet for instant or future use. You earned $14 for our Fundraising Account! The earnings come from the brand, so no extra money out of your pocket.
There are over 200 brands to choose from for eGift Cards! Including Starbucks, Walmart, Buffalo Wild Wings, Lowes, and many more!
When placing an order, select Add and pay with a credit card. DO NOT select Pay Coordinator Directly. There will be a 2.6% credit card fee for each transaction.
Get Started Here! https://www.raiseright.com/shop
SoDak Spurs Enrollment Code: PYQGPNWS462S
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:
Liverpool vs. Bournemouth - Saturday, 6:30am on USA
Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace - Saturday, 11:30am on USA
Arsenal vs. Fulham - Sunday, 9:00am on Peacock
Manchester United vs. Southampton, 9:00am on Peacock
Champions League:
Manchester City vs. Red Bull Leipzig - Tuesday, 3:00pm on Paramount+
FC Porto vs. Inter Milan - Tuesday, 3:00pm on Paramount+
Real Madrid vs. Liverpool - Wednesday, 3:00pm on Paramount+
Napoli vs. Frankfurt - Wednesday, 3:00pm on Paramount+
Ajax - Written by Jake Weber
While European soccer tends to focus on the top five leagues, England, Spain, Germany, France, and Italy, it is important to remember that there are historically great clubs in other nations. Probably the sixth greatest league in Europe and the world is the Dutch Eredivisie which is home to one of the most historically significant clubs in the world: Ajax.
Located in Amsterdam, Ajax is the most dominant team in Netherlands soccer history. They have won the top division in the Netherlands on 36 occasions, including the last two seasons. This is 12 more titles than the next closest team. They have also won the Domestic cup of the Netherlands on 20 occasions which is seven more times than the next closest team. Ajax has also found great success outside of the Netherlands, having won 4 Champions League titles with their most recent coming in 1995. While it is true that Ajax and the Eredivisie have fallen behind the five top leagues in Europe due to money and popularity, the Dutch giants still manage to put in great performances in Europe. Their best run in the competition in recent years came in the 2018/19 season.
They started their run with an incredible 5-3 aggregate win against the back-to-back-to-back defending champions Real Madrid. This round of 16 matchup included a 4-1 win for Ajax in the second leg after they went down 1-2 to the Spanish giants in the first leg. Ajax then went on to beat Italian champions Juventus 3-2 on aggregate before finally falling to eventual runners-up Tottenham in dramatic fashion in the semi-final. So, while Ajax has a proud history of winning both domestically and in Europe, they are perhaps most well-known for producing some of the greatest young talents in the world.
One of the most important and historic figures in Ajax’s history is the legendary Johann Cruyff. Cruyff was a part of the Ajax team that won three Champions leagues in the 70s. Cruyff went on to become a manager after his playing days were over and was key in developing the style of play at both Barcelona and Ajax. He also emphasized the importance of developing players through the club’s youth system and purchasing young foreign players to develop in the clubs’ academies. Some notable and historic players who began their careers or broke onto the scene at Ajax include Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Suarez, Frank Rijkaard, Dennis Bergkamp, Edwin Van Der Sar, Christian Eriksen, and Wesley Sneijder. Some young players around the world that came from Ajax and are starting to emerge as top talents include Frenkie De Jong, Matthijs De Ligt, Antony, and Lisandro Martinez. The latter two currently play for Manchester United in part due to former Ajax manager Erik Ten Hag currently being in charge of the Red Devils.