The Greatest Gift of Life is to Know Love

The soccer community on Bainbridge Island is one of the best you could ask for as a coach, a player, and a member of a soccer family (all of which I have been at one point or another). In sports, for every tragedy there are thousands of success stories. Every goal is a reason to cheer without inhibitions, every victory is a reason to smile, accomplishing your goals, getting scholarships, growing as people and as athletes; those are all things are celebrated within our tight and strong soccer community. 

It's been a little while since I posted anything, so as I make my first post in over a month, I want it to be meaningful. 

BIFC Hosts NSCAA Coaching Clinic

Thank You Fans!

Some incredible effort has gone into producing the fantastic atmosphere I enjoy every week at Puma matches. Orchestrated cheering, handmade commemorative pins, understanding ears to listen to my constant moaning and groaning about poor plays, wasted set pieces, a heavy telephoto lens or poor lighting conditions and most of all tons and tons of love have made the weekly matches a key part of my life. I also want to acknowledge the amount of effort that went into Man of the Match and Player of the Month awards last night (thank you for packing gift bags, making commemorative certificates, and collecting votes)- no other club in the PDL has a set of fans as fantastic as these fans at the Kitsap Pumas!

Kitsap Pumas 0-0 Portland Timbers U23s

After a hard start to the season with five games on the road, the Kitsap Pumas fully kicked off the 2013 campaign with their first home game at Gordon Field.

Small Club, Big Heart

In Pictures: The Little Moments That Make Our Club Special

Dedicated support of a small football club is no easy task. It takes dedication, it takes commitment and it requires you to pour your heart and soul into a group of players that are practically strangers for four months and hope and pray for all of you that the season ends on a high note. Why undergo this stressful operation year in, year out? Because in those short, chaotic and emotional four months, some of the best moments the beautiful game has to offer are born.

Chelsea 2-1 Benfica

Heartbreak in the Amsterdam Arena

Chelsea lift the Europa League trophy after Branislav Ivanovic finds the back of the net with a splendid header in the closing moments of the 2013 final in Amsterdam.

The End of an Era?

Ladies and gentleman, I am quite sure that at this point you are all sick of my metaphorical analysis and gentle opinions. Soccer Boss is not known for getting down and dirty with the tough stuff so I have brought in Victor Green, a very dear friend of mine who is a die-hard Manchester United supporter (yes, amazingly we are still friends as long as United and Basel aren't battling it out on the European stage) to voice his opinions on the current situation at Manchester United. The topic of Sir Alex Ferguson and his inevitable expiration date at the Red Devils is a bit touchy, it's one that football writers (mostly critics) either want to dig their claws into and tear to shreds or one that many of us, like myself, prefer to dance around out of respect for the man and all that he has done. Hearing these words coming from a United supporter mean so much more than when they come from a spectator, analyst or journalist. Here's Vic's take on Sir Alex's decision making and what it means for the club he loves.

Soccer Unites

Bento juggling in front of
a Hawaii sunset

Upon returning to the island of Kauai this spring after spending some time there last year I was thrilled to observe a thriving soccer community on what seems like an isolated jungle on a rock in the middle of the pacific.

Why Your Soccer Club Crush Should Be BVB

"Now anyone who has recently looked at a Bundesliga table is going 'Wait, hey Madi they're trailing Bayern Munich by an inhumane number of points and have sort of flopped domestically...' so what? That doesn't mean they can't play soccer that is sexier than Cristiano Ronaldo's Armani ads."

FC Basel 3-0 FC Sion

blick.ch

FC Basel came out of the winter break swinging as they look to close the gap between themselves, the reigning champions, and first place Grasshoppers FC. 

Murat Yakin's men put on a confident and solid display in front of the home fans at St. Jakob-Park coming out of the long winter break. Despite their failure to dazzle in a series of friendlies both at their training camp in Spain and following their return back to Switzerland, the FC Basel that was on the pitch today looked like the defensively sound and highly organized team that the fans know and love.

The Beautiful Bundesliga

Round 21 of the Bundesliga was full of excitement, goals and the occasional sissy fight. 

Rangers FC 1-1 Montrose

A stunning equalizer from David Gray in the 89th minute of play secured Montrose a hard-fought point at the Ibrox against Rangers FC. 

Kitsap Pumas Fall To A Strong South Sound Shock

The Kitsap Pumas put in all on the line in the closing quarter of their match up against the South Sound Shock but were unfortunately defeated 7-4 after nearly managing to level the scoreline. 

At kickoff only goal difference separated the two sides with the Pumas in the lead but now Kitsap are going to have to play hard for good results and hope that South Sound encounter a defeat in the last remaining fixtures of the 2012/2013 PASL season. The Shock are now at the top of the table with a three point lead.

FA Cup Action

Demba Ba: one of the signings in the January Transfer Window
mirror.co.uk

The first fixtures of the third round of the FA Cup kick off with some upsets and some predictable victories as teams get new January signings acquainted with their new clubs.