Week #8
The Weekly Spurs Report
Past Competitions:
Last weekend we hosted the Cubby’s Winter Classic Boys Weekend presented by Brookings Home Team. The 2012 and 2011 Boys finished as Champions. The 2007 and 2005 Boys finished as Finalists.
Future Competitions:
This upcoming weekend the Spurs are taking 9 teams to the DASC Jr. Winter Games in Sioux Falls. Good Luck Spurs!
Open Registrations:
Registration for Winter JR Spurs, Spring Grassroots, Madison Grassroots, and Dell Rapids Grassroots are all open!
https://www.sodakspurs.com/jr-spurs-winter
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 English FA Cup is on this weekened. Notable games are:
Manchester City vs. Arsenal - Friday, 2:00pm on ESPN+
Fulham vs. Sunderland - Saturday, 9:00am on ESPN+
Brighton vs. Liverpool - Sunday, 7:30am on ESPN+
Real Madrid - Written by Jake Weber
Real Madrid is probably the biggest and most successful club in soccer history. The Spanish giants have won a record 35 league titles, 19 domestic cups, and a record 14 Champions League titles. Their history of success tracks back to their beginnings. In 1920, 18 years after its founding, the club was given the prefix Real, meaning royal, and its logo was given its crown by the king of Spain at the time. This regal history has made Real Madrid one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. Their success on the field only cemented this feeling.
In the early 2000s, under new club president Florentino Perez, Real Madrid began a new recruitment strategy that would seek to purchase the highest-profile names in the sport to gain as much commercial income as possible. This was to help erase some of the debt the club had built over the previous decades. Players like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario, and David Beckham were brought in and with them a new club nickname, The Galacticos. While this strategy did help Real Madrid with its finances, on the field, the emergence of Lionel Messi and Barcelona’s golden age of Tiki Taka football meant that over the next ten years, Madrid won 4 league titles, while Barcelona won 5.
Madrid would bring in a new generation of star players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, and Toni Kroos who would help them win the 10th,11th,12th,13th, and 14th Champions League Titles. However, as this new age of Galacticos reaches its twilight Real Madrid has adopted a new recruitment strategy. Their new midfield three, set to replace the long-standing trio of Casemiro, Modric, and Kroos, are all under the age of 25. Perhaps more interesting is their recruitment of young Brazilian talent.
Possibly inspired by Barcelona’s purchase of Neymar from Santos in 2013, Madrid has recently been buying up some of the brightest and youngest talents from Brazil. First was Vinicius Junior. Brought from Flamengo in 2017, the exciting winger has gone on to make over 130 appearances for the club and scored 22 goals for Madrid last year, the second most on the team. After Vinicius was Rodrygo, another product of the Santos academy, Rodrygo has yet to earn a starting spot with Madrid, but has made 89 appearances since arriving in 2019. While Vinicius and Rodrygo were both highly sought-after talents, neither of them has matched the hype of Real Madrid’s most recent Brazilian wonder kid, the 16-year-old Endrick. While Madrid has agreed to purchase the player for upwards of $60 million from Palmeiras, they must wait until the teen reaches legal age in July of 2024. Endrick has already gained comparisons to the likes of Ronaldo Nazario, and in only 7 appearances for Palmeiras’ senior squad, he already has 3 goals. If Real Madrid’s success with Vinicius and Rodrygo is anything to go by, then Endrick could end up being a great talent.