#41 Chivas USA (Home, 2008/2009)



Chivas USA is probably one of the best examples when it comes to the differences between soccer in the States and football pretty much elsewhere. Imagine you own one of the most successful clubs in Mexico... Next step? To put it also in the Major League Soccer! No promotion needed, you're straight into the main league. Nice move, I guess.

So that's what happenned. Jorge Madrigal, Chivas Guadalajara owner, thought it'd be a great idea to invest in the growing american league, so he started Chivas USA, based in Los Angeles. The team never got brilliant results (yet), but one can say they're a decent side in the MLS.


Funny thing is that Chivas USA actually do not have a single mexican player this season. It'd be predictable they'd not only look for some mexican talent to send there, but also would loan some younger players from Guadalajara to the USA outfit. They never did, and actually there never seems to be a connection between both clubs apart from the name, the colours and the owners. They do have (and had) some talented players with them: Juan Pablo Angel, Francisco Palencia, Bornstein or Claudio Suarez. And they once were coached by Bob Bradley, surely a good manager.

They were also blessed with the talent of Zach Thornton, a huge goalkeeper that spent a few months with Benfica but failed to make any appearence. Crazy times.


CD Chivas USA obviously shares the crest of Chivas Guadalajara.



They use this cool red-and-white striped kit, which is the same as the mexican and original Chivas:


The USA one actually has a cool design, nice job by Adidas. I think they still sponsor every single team in the MLS, and actually sometimes you do find some quite cool kits in american soccer. Mine was a nice eBay finding, it was used but in almost mint condition, and also great price. I've been trying to get more american clubs kits, but they're either quite expensive or the shipping is absurdly overpriced. Unfortunetly quite normal these days on eBay.



They are not doing really well this season, but eh, who cares? They won't be relegated anyway. That's a really unfair systeam over there if you ask me. I guess it makes sense in the USA, but it's hard to imagine a league where your failure has no consequences at all.

Axel Torres once said football has to be democratic, and stated:

In football it has to be possible that if a team wins every single game in the next 6 or 7 years, they'll be crowned as champions in the top league.

Makes sense indeed. Something that does not happen in the MLS or the A-League, for example. Hope that changes soon.
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#40 Farense (Home, 1998/1999)


I do not own many shirts from Portuguese clubs, but I had to buy this Farense shirt. It does not look great I guess, but it's definitly a rare item, and I do like Farense a lot.

A part of my family comes from Faro, a sunny city down in Algarve. When I was younger I used to spend a few weeks there with my cousins and aunts. My grandmother and my great-aunt were both born there, and moved to Porto when they were adults already. I still have a lot of cousins in Algarve, and another great-aunt and a great-uncle still live there.

When I was only 2 or 3, I was already into football. As I was too young to pick a club, I'd usually say my club was Farense, because I had a close relationship with my grandma and she supported them. It made sense back then, even though Faro is around 600km or 700km away from here. Not that later I started supporting my local club, Boavista.

But I always had this connection with Farense. I actually went to see at least one match in Faro, late in August. I was really young, but I remember being there.


Like many other portuguese clubs, after a period of great success in the 90's, Farense had to face years of financial problems. The situation was so severe that the club decided to start from scratch, from the lowest league in portuguese football, the 6th tier. They were quickly promoted to III Division (4th tier), where they remained for a couple of years. Farense was then promoted to II Division (3rd tier), but was relegated after only one season, only to be promoted right after. That means they're playing in the 3rd tier this season, actually with a pretty decent squad.

Before this lower-league-nightmare, Farense was definitly an interesting club for the Portuguese League. They'd usually fight to avoid relegation, but it was always a tough mission to beat them in their ground. They also had a quite loyal fan-base, and the atmosphere was pretty decent. They were a yo-yo club for quite a few decades, winning the 2nd League quite often, but in the 90's they finally established themselves as a 1st league club. In 1989, they reached the Portuguese Cup Final, but lost to Estrela da Amadora (another club that is now competing in the lower leagues).

"Faro Lions"
Farense played in Europe once, in 95, losing to Lyon in the 1st Round. Back then, they really had a good squad, and were managed by former Barcelona player Paco Fortes, an iconic coach with an iconic moustache.

FC Moustache
Some of their key players will definitly bring back some memories to portuguese football fans. Some stars we'll never forget:

Hassan Nader!


Moroccan striker, league top-scorer in 1994/1995. Top class strike, he moved to Benfica but failed to have much impact, and was then signed by Farense once again.

Peter Rufai anyone?


A typical african goalie, was either brilliant or a total disaster, spent 3 seasons in Faro before moving to Spain (Hercules and Deportivo Coruna). Was the number one choice for Nigeria in the 98 World Cup, still remember him playing against Spain - when Nigeria won 3-2. Good day that was.

Hajry, another african pearl.


I actually don't remember much of him playing. He was with Farense for many years, and he was the Ace in the card collection, so he was definitly very good.

Carlos Costa


He spent most of his career in Faro, had a brilliant haircut and kept with them even in the lower leagues. Retired in 2005.

So, even though Farense was never a brilliant team, they had some decent players that most football fans in Portugal still remember.



There's actually not much to say about the shirt. It's still in mint condition, despite being more than 10 years old, and is pretty much a plain white shirt with black Lotto logos on the sleeves. Not much of a gem here, but it's classic Farense stuff. Their away kit used to be green. Pingo Doce, their sponsor back then, is still one of the biggest portuguese supermarket operators. They have shops all over Portugal, and also in some countries (with different names). In Poland, they own Biedronka, for example. Polish people will now Biedronka.

The shirt tag says L, but it is more like a XL. I used it once, when playing with my mates, and it was raining a lot, so it was definitly a poor choice, as I felt heavier than usual. I'm sure I scored a few goals anyway though.



This week, a friend sent me a Campomaiorense shirt - a great gift indeed. Campomaiorense is a small team from Alentejo (near Algarve), that reached the portuguese main league in the 90's, but then quickly dropped and stopped playing professional football. They're still in the regional leagues now. Like Campomaiorense and Farense, many other portuguese clubs who spent some time in the Primeira Liga back in the 80's and 90's, some with actually a bit of success, are now facing severe problems. Some examples:

Salgueiros: once quite popular in Porto, managed to play once in the UEFA Cup. Went bankrupt, and now are playing in the 4th Division with a differente name, Salgueiros 08.
Estrela da Amadora: won the Portuguese Cup once in 1989, but aren't playing anymore. They used to have decent squads, but lacked supporters. They were supposed to come back this season in the lowest division, but I think they didn't.
Leça: played in the top league a few seasons, and are now playing 4th tier football, with few chances of ever coming back.
Famalicão: won the 2nd league twice, and are now on the 3rd level after many seasons in the regional divisions.
Felgueiras: relegated in 1996, and now playing in the 4th Division under a new name after difficult seasons.
Chaves: usually a regular in the 1st or 2nd level, now in the 3rd tier.
Tirsense: had a few successful years in the 90's, but were quickly playing in the 4th tier.
Fafe: had a brief spell in the top level, but are now lost in the 3rd division, after even going down to the 4th level.

And probably a few more I can't remember now. Wicked.
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#39 FC Gütersloh (Home, 2010/2011)


Around one year ago, I had the chance to spend 15 days in Germany covering FC Porto's summer training camp in Marienfeld, a really small town near Bielefeld. It meant a lot of work, with daily reports and stuff, but it also meant a lot of fun.

I knew Porto had two friendly matches against local teams scheduled, so it was pretty much a golden oportunity to get some rare shirts (possibly for free).

As I wrote on the SC Verl entry, I was lucky enough to be helped by a portuguese emmigrant living in Germany. A great lad.


He was at the match, and as soon as I told him I was looking forward to get a FCG shirt, he was kind enough to tell someone at the club a portuguese journalist wanted one. An old man then came to me - I believe it was the kit room guy - with this green shirt on his hands, and gave it to me. Nice one! A really rare shirt for free is the kind of thing all of us usually look for.

On a side note, I ended up having lunch at this portuguese emmigrant house a few months later.


Porto easily defeated Gütersloh for 1-10, pretty much a beach football score, but something quite natural having in mind that the german outfit played in the 6th tier of deutsch football. But before being stuck in the local Verbandsliga Westfalen, Gütersloh had a brief period of success in the 90's. Despite the small fan base (only 96.000 people live in the area), it has two major german companies working there: media group Bertelsmann employs around 11.300 workers, and Miele employs 5000. No surprise these two companies started to invest in the local club, that was rapidly promoted from the 4th division to the Bundesliga 2.

According to locals, FCG was actually on the brink of promotion, finishing 4th. But, in 1999, after only 3 seasons playing 2nd tier football, Miele and Bertelsmann and other companies were quite tired of funding a club that kept spending not so wisely. With something like €10 Million in debts, the club went bankrupt and had to start all over again. Without financial support from local companies, Gütersloh 2000 struggled and is now still in Oberliga Westfalen, 5th level in the pyramid. Not brilliant.



I got the number 19, but I really don't know which player used the number. I'm not 100% about the exact season when FCG used this Jako shirt, but I did find a picture of a 2010/2011 season with some player wearing it, so I'm guessing 2010/2011.


The club seemed quite organized for 6th division standards. It's impressive how amateur clubs in Germany really have a better structure than most 2nd division sides in Portugal. Their stadium was also quite good.


The press area was a bit too small though, but I suspect there are not many journalists around at 6th Division games.

I actually enjoyed my stay in the city. I guess they're used to portuguese pressmen, as Portugal and FC Porto stayed in Marienfeld (the Training Center near Gütersloh) in the past. The city is quite small, but everything looks nice and clean. I was specially impressed with the Theatre building. My hotel was also only a few seconds away from the Lutheran Church, an impressive building too.  So here are some pictures of Gütersloh:

Theatre
Theatre again
Martin Luther Church
The local economy is also helped by the massive presence of british soldiers who live and work at a Military Base near the city. You could easily spot many soldiers around, and we'd pass the barracks everyday on our way between the hotel and Porto's training facilities. It's a pretty big base I think, built by the germans before World War II, but then captured by the americans and the english. I think RAF heavily used in the past, but people told me they were planning to shut it down in a few years, and therefore many soldiers are already moving to other bases. It's still a bit weird to see a British Army base in Germany, reminds us of how different things were just a few decades ago.

Have a look at the Princess Royal Barracks:

Ver mapa maior


And some final pictures:
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#38 Hamilton Academical (Home, 2007/2008)

 

Haven't posted anything for quite a while now - I've been terribly busy. Work is really taking pretty much all of my time, more than ever.

Anyway, that doesn't mean I stopped buying shirts. Recent purchases include:

- United Arab Emirates
- Zaragoza Away
- Galicia "national" team
- Tottenham
- Ukraine 2008
- Lazio 2002/2003 (this one was picked by my brother actually)
- Bolivia (has yet to arrive)

That makes it around 80 now I guess, will have to count them again. 

Now, let me tell you about the shirt above. As you might have noticed if you're scottish, it's an amazing Hamilton Academical home shirt. I am really not sure when it was used, but according to shirt photo archive Old Football Shirts, it's the 2007/2008 version, when they went on to win the First Division.


I really have a thing for hooped british teams' shirts, so I didn't think twice when I saw a portuguese seller offering the shirt on eBay. It ended up being a bargain (around €10 I think), and despite being used, it's in perfect condition. It's long-sleeved (a bonus), so I'm quite happy with it.

I didn't know much about them, but from what I've read recently, they are still the only professional team that actually started as a school team (hence the Academical I'd say).

They're some kind of yo-yo club in Scotland, going up and down several times every decade. Now they're stuck in Second Division again, after a few seasons in the SPL. I've just checked their squad but I guess they're all unkown players to me. This season they seem to have a lot of young players brought up from the youth ranks, so I am afraid things won't be so easy for them in 2012/2013. Czech keeper Tomas Cerny moved to CSKA Sofia, and some guy named Redmond moved to Wigan. 



These are tough days in Scotland. Rangers are now playing 4th level football (I think), something that I think is a clear sign that things are going the wrong way in European football. It's quite worrying to see historic teams facing strong financial difficulties, and even if you don't like them, you'll end up thinking that something is horribly wrong. I did agree that the clubs voted their way out of the Football League though, as it'd be a dangerous position to be in. 

The next few seasons will probably be way too easy for Celtic. The good thing is that some smaller clubs might push for a Champions League or Europa League spot, but it's predictable that Celtic will keep winning the league in easy fashion.

I met some Aberdeen supporters a few months ago, amazing lads and great club. Hope to visit them and go for a game as soon as possible. Aberdeen and Boavista were founded in the very same day - 1st August 1903 - an interesting coincidence that was enough to build a strong friendship between the fans.



The Accies play in New Douglas Park, a typical british stadium.


It seems to have only two stands though. Or two big stands and a really small one.


Their website isn't brilliant, but it has a great photo archive. So here are some pictures from their 2007/2008 promotion campaign:





Oh, poor lad.
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#37 KV Kortijk (Home, 2009/2010)


I must say I really do not know much about KV Kortrijk. A friend of mine spent a few days in the club's home town and bought it for me for a reasonable price, and that's pretty much it. I've been trying to know more about them, but they seem quite a dull club.

Their shirt is also far from exciting, but it was cool that my friend spent a few hours trying to get me one, and he eventually got this match-worn shirt from the 2009/2010 season. It was probably lost in the kit room, so it was a good deal for them and a good deal for me. The new shirts were a lot more expensive.Thanks Peixotinho!

There's a 17 on the back, so I suppose it was worn by belgian defender Brecht Verbrugghe. He spent 6 seasons with KVK before moving to Mons. He's now in Tournai, Belgian 2nd Division.


And here's Brecht.
Kortrijk actually had a decent run this season, they managed to reach the Cup Final for the first time, eventually losing to Lokeren. They also finished 10th in the league, a good thing having in mind KVK usually fights to avoid relegations. They actually played 2nd level football for some time last decade, so it's cool to see things are changing for better.

Now, there's not much more to say about KVK. But here's a list of things I found out:

- The Mpenza brothers played for Kortrijk. Remember them? They were seen as future stars in Belgium, but never made it. Emile is now a free agent, after being released by Neftchi Baku from Azerbeijan (!), and Mbo retired in 2008 after a poor season with Larissa, in Greece. Emile used to play for Schalke and Standard Liege, and Mbo represented Sporting and Anderlecht.

Actually, the first years of their career were... the same. They both started in Kortrijk, then both moved to Mouscron, and then both moved again to Standard. It's a bit like the De Boer twins, then.

- They play in Guldensporen Stadium. Here's the picture:


It looks a lot like some english stadia.

- For some reason, Wikipedia says the club's supporters are also Swansea fans. I really have no idea why some lads in Belgium would support Swansea, but well, tha's ok.

- The club filled bankruptcy in 2001 and was relegated to the Third Division.





The shirt, as you can see, is also not really exciting. It matches the club, then. It's a basic Nike template, mostly red with some white details on it.

It does have quite a few sponsors though.



Well, that's it. I have nothing more to say about KVK.
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