Game 5, Barcelona, and the Trip Home

After Paul told us another fifteen minutes, after the fifteen minute warning had been given fifteen minutes prior to that, the boys were anxious to exit the bus and hit the pitch running.  We had climbed a mountain on a winding road somewhere between Lloret de Mar and Barcelona to a remote resort. Needless to say, there were a couple setbacks along the way.  We encountered a bit of construction blocking our exit from the highway, and someone (Jack) forgot their computer at the hotel which required us to back track twenty minutes after our departure.  Travel to the match against the Norwegian side was a bit more than brief however, we were able to take in some of the beauty that the Spanish country-side provided.
Our performance against Reus did not produce the result that the squad desired; we were ready to finish on a good note.  We arrived at the pitch behind schedule pushing us into an abbreviated warm-up.  Even with all the distractions the boys' came out with a fire and produced quality opportunities from the start.  Big Ben Maurey put in a magnificent 90 minutes, while his defensive counterpart Giant Eric Robertson helped SKS to his first shut out of the trip.  Kevin Gavey and Daniel Taylor emerged as two rising stars over the course of the trip and continued that trend till' the final whistle.
This match was the most comparable to a collegiate competition that we had played.  It was physical, filled with battles for head balls, hard tackling, and through balls to the corners of the pitch.  But in short moments we were able to settle the game and play our style with relative ease.  Big Ben was able to make his print on the game putting us up 1.  From that point on the game became even more physical and less appealing to watch, however the boys' rose to the challenge and finished the game.  We left the pitch with our heads held high putting an exclamation point on the playing portion of our trip.
The guys' were so excited to get back to Barcelona they respectfully declined a shower and immediately boarded the bus willing to leave behind anyone (Pepe) who was not moving fast enough.  So there we were, Brown Men's Soccer in Spain, sweaty, stinky, but no one cared because we were going to see the current club champions tonight...Barce!

We arrived at the hotel in Barcelona shortly.  As a staff we checked rooms to make sure no computers were left behind.  Some needed more help than others...Matt Culp being one of them.  After the bag check we were off to roam Las Ramblas.  Andy and I were fortunate enough to take a detour out to the Sacred Heart Church.  It was the most amazing piece of architecture and art I have ever laid eyes upon; something I will never forget.  Last minute shopping was completed, we grabbed some authentic Spanish grub, and were ready for the match.

The Boys' were ecstatic.  The atmosphere was electrifying.  100,000 fans crammed into a beautiful stadium to see Barcelona and recognize Messi for becoming the top scorer in club history.  The opponent: Biblao, not to shabby either.  The team couldn't stop smiling.  Seeing Messi and co. play was unbelievable.  In a game that is always hard to predict they simply dominate.  The feeling of experiencing everything that we did over the course of ten days is indescribable.

The Morning of departure came quickly.  All of a sudden the trip was over and it was time to get back to reality, classes, studying, fitness, weight lifting sessions and practice.   No more siestas or delectable chocolate-filled croissants for breakfast.  The travel day went without issue.

To those of you who made this trip possible, we cannot thank you enough.  We had an unforgettable experience.  THANK YOU.

Game 4

Don't ever get your laundry done in Europe.  No matter how long your trip is, bring enough clean clothes.  Prepare to do your laundry in the bath tub, wear your clothes in the shower, or make frequent trips to the pool.  Avoid european laundry mats at all costs.
After returning from the laundry mat with our arms full of clothes, and our wallets drained of euros we ecstatically boarded the bus for a trip across the country side.

Most of the guys took this opportunity as a Siesta.  Bodies were sprawled out covering all of the seats and most of the floor.  J-Baum summoned a sleep mask from somewhere in his gear bag and was out before the bus left the curb.  Two hours later it was time for the patented BMS Spain Trip Wake Up Call in which the closest person to the snorers shook them until they arose from their slumber.   A quick snack and the boys' were ready to rock n' roll.  Our fourth game was against C.F. Reus, a Spanish Second B Division team.  We arrived and were pleasantly surprised with a professional welcome, a great locker room, and a fantastic pitch.
As the kick-off approached a local crowd gathered in the stadium.  The field was sprayed and the water gave even more pace to an already flat and fast pitch.  Another moment for the super-seniors to shine, and what an opportunity it was...Some of them with professional aspirations, what better place to get a feel for the pro-game?
From the whistle we knew we were in for a real challenge.  However the group that was victorious against an Atletico side earlier in the week had no fear and stepped up confidently.  For the first twenty we had our moments, moving the ball well and finding a few opportunities on frame.   Rosa made his prescence known early on in the match narrowly missing the near post after beating the keeper.  A make shift back line battled valiantly throughout the first half to be down by only a goal in the closing minutes.  Josh "Weindog" Weiner made three top-class saves keeping us in the game.    However a miscommunication lead to a goal just before the half and we entered the locker room down 2-0.
The second half proved to be much like the first.  Reus was moving the ball quite well and switching it from side to side.  Manella lead the group and kept them organized through communicating the entire match but it just wasn't enough.  In the highlight of the second half: Mandel and Pops combined for a magnificent moment at the top of the box but the post turned the finishing shot aside.  By the end of the match the group was shattered, but also proud to put up a 90 minute fight against a full pro team.

The bus ride back was silent, a mixture of disappointment, shock, and exhaustion.  At dinner we showed our usual signs of bouncing back, it was a delicious meal of steak or chicken, the boys' dined like kings and were off to bed.

Hola! again from Spain,

I hope everyone is doing well back in the US or wherever you are reading this blog. Kevin and I want to start off by telling everyone that we are safe in a beach town called Lloret de Mar, away from all of the riots and violence sweeping the major cities of espana. 

Yesterday, Wednesday the 28th, we woke up early in Madrid. The team felt great after a good win against Atletico Madrid and a fun night watching Real Madrid destroy APOEL. The bus was scheduled to depart at 730 however we didn't leave until 745 because Jack Kuntz thought it would be a good idea to take his hotel key as a souvenir. The bus ride was 7 hours with many people sleeping but a select few "crazies" using it as a time to bond, view the sites, and try to keep others awake. Can't say I wasn't one of those people...Upon arrival in Barca, we had a 30 second turn around before we found ourselves at a training facility nestled in the suburbs of Barca. After an hour session, we were once again showering quickly so we could make dinner at Las Ramblas, a long strip of shops and restaurants downtown. 

We ate dinner as a team at a local buffet, consuming the best soft serve ice cream known to man. After being excused from the buffet, we split up in different directions to shop, eat tapas, watch Barcelona on TV, and enjoy the smells and culture of Spain. After a quick three hours of this, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest. 8 hours later, we were up and at em' again...

The next day, Thursday the 29th, we ate yet another fabulous breakfast full of meats, cheeses, bread, pastries, and peach juice. At 10am we departed for the beautiful beach town of Lloret de Mar as mentioned earlier. For all of you California folks, Austin 'raaandy' Mandel likened the last part of the bus ride to driving through the canyons of Los Angeles. Once at the beach, we ate lunch and Jack Kuntz(he seems to be mentioned a lot in this blog) ordered the grandest paella dish filled with live shrimp, crab, and scallops. He ate for about two hours and after we all waited for him to finish, we departed for our match against a physical team from Sweden. 

The pitch was small but the game was a lot like those hard fought battles we all remember at Stevenson Field. After going behind twice, 1-0 and 2-1, Tom Mac dribbled their entire midfield and back line to bang home a nice lefty shot from just inside the 18. The little man from Westchester, NY also scored the first goal on a penalty drawn by big Ben Maurey, who played fantastically all day. Coach praised our effort but we all knew we should have won the game...

That night we were able to explore the small but lively beach town, but many people turned in early to get some shut eye before an early morning of laying on the beach and shopping. More from Friday and the rest of our trip to come...Can't believe it's almost over!

Until next time,

SKS and KPG

Today was a very exciting day for the Brown Mens soccer here in Spain. We kicked the day off by eating a great breakfast in Hotel Embasadores. The breakfasts at the hotel are amazing. They offer all types of fruits, fresh squeezed orange juice and all different types of cheeses and breads. After breakfast, we headed to our match against Atletico Madrid. The team was extremely excited to get to the game and compete against such a storied soccer club.

We arrived at the Spanish National Team’s training ground and got the game under way a few minutes late. After a slow start, we were able to match the level of play of the Spaniards. During the first half, senior midfielder Taylor Gorman aka “Sweet Lewww” thumped home an absolutely stunning strike to put Brown up 1-0 on the Spaniards. The second half was a battle, but with 20 minutes to play, coach Pat Laughlin brought in subs Tom Arns and me (Voltaire Escalona), which proved to be a good decision. Just minutes after being subbed into the match, Arns made a dashing run down the right wing and was able to cut the ball back to Voltaire who crashed the net and slotted the ball in the back of the net for the second score of the match. The game would end 2-0 in favor of Brown and we left the field confident and happy with the result. From the field, we went straight to the Spanish Museum of soccer.

In the museum, we were fortunate enough to walk see and read all about Spain’s rich soccer history. We saw trophies like the Spanish Cup and the World Cup. Getting pictures with the actual world cup was a very great moment for me and I will remember that for the rest of my life. 

From the museum we went to the Santiago Bernabeu (the Stadium of Real Madrid) and we got a tour of the stadium. We got to walk all around to different sections of the stadium including the bench and even the locker rooms! It was really cool to see the stadium and learn about the history of Real Madrid.

After touring the Bernabeu, we went to our teammate Pepe Salama’s house where his family was nice enough to offer us soft drinks and food. They were excellent hosts and the team truly enjoyed hanging out in their beautiful home.

Some of the team then went shopping and went out to different areas of Madrid to explore, while others rested up.   We all had a great time in Madrid and were ready to head off for Barcelona.

- Voltaire Escalona

BMS en Espana dia 3

Day 3 of the Brown Men’s Soccer trip to Spain was certainly one to remember. There could not be a better way to start off the day than feasting on Hotel Ambassador’s breakfast spread: deliciously ripened fruit, a variety of juice, several types of bread and pastries, over easy eggs, scrambled eggs, sausage, veggies, bacon, you name it-they had it! The boys were ready to start a long day with full bellies and high spirits.

At 10 am, about two thirds of the group went to the Prado Museum. The other third were still feeling a bit jet lagged and stayed at the hotel to catch up on some more sleep. The Prado Museum allowed students to enter for free and our tour guide, Paul, was able to get the coaches in for free as well. Needless to say, it was worth every penny! The museum was two floors and contained mostly Spanish paintings ranging from 12^th century Romanesque mural paintings to 19^th century works by Goya. The Goya collection was most plentiful, including more than one hundred of his paintings with his most recognizable one’s being The Second of May, The Third of May, and Saturn Devouring his Child. We left the museum more “cultured” especially with the help of Mike Manella (art history major) and his vast knowledge of the paintings.

We were given free/down time for the rest of the day before our first game against Rayo Vallecano at 8pm. Most of us walked to El Plaza Mayor, which was a large square that attracted a lot of tourists. There were restaurants and ‘cervecerias’ lining the outskirts of the square, but we chose to eat at El Mercado de San Miguel. El Mercado de San Miguel was a very cool glass structure with several different vendors selling fruits, sweets, seafood, and a variety of tapas, which are delicious Spanish appetizers that are fairly cheap. In anticipation of the game, we walked back to the hotel around 2-3pm in order to rest our legs and experience the legendary Spanish “Siesta!” Here is a hilarious quote from Kevin Gavey that sums up our siesta knowledge: “I think people take siestas because they’re still on American time, so they’re always tired and need to nap.”

Finally, the time had come for BMS to compete in its’ first international match versus Rayo Vallecano. The soccer facility was beautiful and had 4-5 fields that were being used by all sorts of age groups for training when we arrived. We were all excited to play and felt grateful for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Rayo Vallecano was a very talented team and possessed the ball well for the first 10 minutes of the game. We settled into the speed of the game and created several dangerous opportunities through the run of play and set pieces, but were unable to finish in the first half. Coach Laughlin made a few substitutes at halftime and a couple more at the 60 minute mark, totaling 17 different BMS players throughout the game. Rayo Vallecano struck first in the second half finishing a cross from the right side. However, we responded quickly from a Tom McNamara driven free kick. Crossed in from the right side, Captain Eric Robertson calmly received the ball with his back to goal, and found Dylan Remick with a splitting pass at the penalty spot who slotted it back post in the side netting! The match ended in a 1-1 draw and although we played well for our first game together since the fall season, Eric Robertson firmly reminded us that we should not be satisfied with a draw no matter what opponent we face.

BMS capped the long day off with a much-appreciated 4-course dinner at Hotel Ambassador. After the first two courses, spaghetti with tomato sauce and an eggplant dish stuffed with sausage, we thought the meal was over. However, the servers brought out meat and potatoes capped off with a piece of layer cake. If there is one thing that we learned about Spanish meals, it is that the dessert will never be disappointing! By the time dinner concluded, it was 11:30 pm and time for a much-needed night’s rest. We hit the sack with wake-up calls set around 8 am for breakfast, and our second game versus Atletico Madrid to be played at the Spanish National Team’s facilities at 11:45 am!

Til' Next Time,

Ya Boy Bobby Belair

Our first few days in Madrid - by Pepe'

Hello to all our followers and Brown supporters. We are having an absolutely amazing day today in Madrid. Let me tell all of you the details of our stay at Madrid so far. After having a good night sleep tonight, necessary for our recovery after such a long flight, we woke up today at 9 am and headed to breakfast. We had a delicious looking spanish-style breakfast awaiting us, a variety of fruit, natural juices, yogurts, croissants, eggs, and typical spanish foods such as jamon serrano, lomo, churros(further details on its flavor ask jay hayward, he had about 10) and pan tumaca, my personal favorite, consisting of jamon serrano in a toast with tomato and olive oil dressing.

After breakfast, we headed to the soccer fields in Las Rozas, where the Spanish National team trains when the team is in Madrid. We had a pretty intense morning session, agility, speed and strength drills followed by a short scrimmage in order to get our minds set for two difficult games on Monday, against Rayo Vallecano, and Tuesday, against Atletico de Madrid. After practice, we went back to the hotel, showered and got ready for lunch. We all went to a restaurant that was 2 minutes away from the hotel, very convenient as we were all a bit tired. To our surprise, all the food was ready and served to us at our arrival. Another great meal with all the teammates, and after that , time to get deep into the streets of Madrid. The Banditos(Juniors), some seniors, Voltaire, Josh and I went through the streets were many nice stores are located. Sam Bam wanted to buy a shirt in El Ganso, my personal favorite store for shirts. After that, we went to a street market, where vendors sold watches, sun glasses, bracelets and other items for relatively inexpensive prices. Gavey, Voltaire, Sam and I had a good time trying to bargain with the vendors and making good deals for their products. 

After a long walk through the streets of Madrid, we went back to the hotel ready for "siesta" time. We napped till 5 pm, and then got dressed in our Brown polos and khaki pants ready to go to the embassy and meet the ambassador of the US in Spain. Upon our arrival, we were warmly received by the ambassador in person and his wife, Susan. Mr and Mrs Salomont offered to give us a tour around the embassy, and asked all of us a lot of questions regarding our experience at Brown. After a very warm welcome, Mr Salomont gave us a short talk where he spoke about his experience in Spain after being appointed by President Obama in 2009. Voltaire, Bobby and a few others were brave enough to ask Mr Salomont about what it takes to be the ambassador, details on his daily life, and his most anecdotic experiences in Spain. He highlighted his audience with the King of Spain, Juan Carlos, to whom he refers as an affectuous and charismatic leader. Julen Lopetegui, currently the coach of Spain's U21 national team, came to the embassy and met the players. Julen also played for Barcelona, Madrid, and in the national team as a player.

At 7 pm we left the embassy and headed off to Rayo Vallecano's stadium. Rayo Vallecano, 8th in the Spanish league, played against Villarreal, a team that played in the European League this year. The game ended up 0-2 for the visiting team, but it was a very intense game where the local team never gave up and fought till the end. We were all amazed with the spectators, the stands were completely full and the viewers were very loud and supporting their team for the whole 90 minutes.

After the game, we went back to the hotel, then headed off to dinner and back to the hotel ready for a good night sleep. What a long day, we did so many things, and had so much fun. This is the city where I grew up, but it has never been so exciting to be back. It's just awesome to see how my teammates are enjoying the city and the experience, such a different lifestyle compared to the US but always positive to learn about other cultures.

This is all we have for today, we'll make another entry for tomorrow. Thank you all for supporting us in this great trip.

#BMStilldie,

Pepe 

BMS IN SPAIN 2012

Thanks to the support received from Alumni and Friends of Brown Men’s Soccer our dream trip to Spain has become reality.  A special thanks to the Salama’s: Parents of Jose’, who have helped plan the trip from Spain. 

The Team and Staff are ecstatic looking forward to our departure this tomorrow.  We have been preparing physically for four matches against formidable opponents over nine days.  Coach O’Neal and the rest of the strength & conditioning staff have done a tremendous job holding the Boys’ to a high standard in the weight room.  Combining that with our six man groups and the past two weeks of practice we feel ready to compete in Spain.  We are happy to say that the senior class has decided to join us. They have been working out secretly in super senior fashion with Coach Groves. 

We will depart from Logan International Airport on Friday evening after classes, make a short pit stop, and arrive in Madrid on Saturday.  We will begin our trip with a once in a lifetime experience: We have been offered the honor of sharing a meal with the U.S. Ambassador to Spain. 

We have scheduled matches in Madrid with two of the top clubs: Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid.  These will be fantastic challenges for our squad.  Our final day in Madrid will be spent sight seeing, touring a major stadium and attending a La Liga match.  The two possible matches we could attend are:  Real Madrid Vs Real Sociedad or Rayo Vallecano Vs Villareal, either of which would be incredible. 

On Wednesday we travel to Barcelona.  There we will have a match against either UE Llagastera or Reus UE. 

Friday and Saturday will be spent in Lloret De Mar, a beautiful coastal town bordering the Mediterranean.  There we will play the Norwegian Team Nesodden IF.

Four great matches, three very different areas of Spain, resulting in a one incredible trip.  We can’t wait to get started and we hope you’ll follow along.  The players will be posting here every other day while we are abroad with pictures and blog entries.  Thanks again to all of you who have helped create yet another chance of a lifetime for Brown Men’s Soccer.