Saint Louis Athletica - Women's Professional Soccer

[FreeKick]

St. Louis announces new women's professional team beginining April 2008.

Here is a link to the article in the Post. Jeff Cooper and the Alton crew appear to be behind it. Plans to play initially at the Soccer Park.

click here

[3v3]

I wonder if River Cities will become this Pro team, or if they will remain seperate.

I hope STL supports this team. I'm sure MLS will be watching!

[wisekeeper]

This is great for the girls/womans game in St. Louis and surrounding areas. I know my family will be out there supporting them. I, like 3 v 3, hope that MLS will watch this and see we can support big time soccer in St. Louis.

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Let the kids play

[bleedblue115]

very good news, a good idea to start out playing at the soccer park.

[Race Bannon]

Lets hope mls is not watching. My guess is it will not do well in St Louis. It will not be supported, will not catch on and will fail. Will it be as exciting as the WNBA? They could play naked with their hair on fire and nobody would notice.

[cek133]

I'll take notice!!

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"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do." -Pele

[sccrstl]

Wow, you should really change your handle to "Mr. Positive".

[Sport Billy]

While I don't agree with the view above, it does raise one question.
I hope this does not come off as being sexist, I really have wondered about this.

Do any men, who do not have daughters or sisters or wives playing soccer, have any interest in women's soccer?

I have always felt that most of the men with an interest in women's soccer are "interested" because they have family playing women's soccer.

I would love for this not to be the case, but I have feeling it is.

so, please, let me know.

[3v3]

The success of the WUSA early on was greatly due to players like Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy and others playing. Plus it came on the coat tails of the 1999 World Cup in the USA. So women's soccer in the US was already buzzing. Not to mention the fact that the US won it.

This new league is going to try the same approach, by forming shortly after this summer's World Cup. The major difference will be that the Cup will not be played in the US, so who knows if anyone will be watching. Plus with the big name players being retired, not as many people know today's players like Wambaugh, Wagner, Mitts, Chalupny, etc.

I would hope that the league would work with MLS and also get Hamm, Chastain, Foudy and others involved to help market the product. A television contract will need to be put in place also, and we all know how long it took for the MLS to get a decent one. Otherwise, it could have trouble.

[inounoino]

What about local St. Louis College and semi-pro players? Possibly like Steamers of 1980's... St Louis based players on a St Louis roster playing in a soccer stadium will attract local fans. I've paid to watch SLU women over the past years and would continue to do so as their best move up into a league like this.

This league also gives local players something to strive for beyond college and "semi-pro" soccer alone.

[upperV06]

In response to Sport Billy, I hate to be negative, but women's soccer is painful to watch. I would buy season tickets, then give them away to others who want to go. Sorry.

[HERTZ]

I have to say watching womens soccer can be frustrating at times...but what you have to remember is this womens league will feature the top female womens players in the world...so you are seeing the top level..I do not at this time think MLS has the top league or level of play in pro soccer and for certain the lions are a lower level of play than college soccer...IF it is marketed right ..it may work

[bleedblue115]

any news on this?

[LSI]

http://www.wsii.org

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[LSI]

"Olympic Lock-In Party" sponsored by St. Louis Soccer United's New Women's Pro Team (coming in '09).

Come spend the night with your friends and watch the Women’s Olympic Team in their quest for the GOLD!!!

The Lock-In event begins this week on August 8th at 10pm and ends at 8am on August 9th Please sign up asap if you are interested - only 200 spots available. For more information - click here.

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[ZZFan]

Great pick up by Cooper here.

By PETE HAYES
The Telegraph

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis franchise in the newly formed Women's Professional Soccer league has itself a coach.

Jorge Luiz Barcellos, the head coach of the Brazilian women's team, will be the coach of the St. Louis team. The official announcement is expected the second week of September, according to team chairman Jeff Cooper.

"We're very excited about Jorge coming to St. Louis, "Cooper said. "He brings a wealth of knowledge and was one of the most sought-after coaches out there."

The WPS is set to launch in April next year with seven teams. Besides St. Louis, franchises will play in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York/New Jersey, Boston, Washington, D.C., Dallas and Los Angeles. Cooper added that there is already an eye toward adding an eighth team.

The launch of the new league comes on the heels of a soccer gold-medal performance by the U.S. women at the just-concluded Beijing Olympics. In that gold medal match, the U.S. defeated Barcellos' Brazilian team 1-0 in extra time.

"(Barcellos) has been offered a ton of jobs," Cooper said Tuesday. "But when he came in and saw everything that we have going on in St. Louis, especially the youth club team element, he accepted the job on the spot.

"We're very fortunate to get a coach like him."

Cooper, an East Alton attorney, is also leading the quest for a St. Louis franchise in Major League Soccer, the U.S. men's pro league. Much of his attention has been on landing another investor for that potential franchise, which likely would lead to league approval for the St. Louis team.

Acquiring a men's team for MLS would lead to the construction of a soccer specific stadium near Collinsville. The new women's pro team would share that stadium with the men's team. But for now, the women will train at SIU Edwardsville.

St. Louis Soccer United, Cooper's group which is striving for an MLS team, has created a vertically-integrated youth academy beneath the professional teams. It is first of its kind in American soccer. Three clubs, Metro United, Scott Gallagher S.C. and the St. Louis Soccer Club (formerly Busch S.C.) are included the system, bringing with them more than 4,000 area players. A youth soccer complex to be constructed adjacent to the new stadium in Collinsville, will be home to weekly training and league games for these teams, as well as major regional tournaments, camps, and clinics.

Barcellos, 41, was also the head coach of the Brazil team that defeated the U.S. 1-0 in the semifinals of the 2007 World Cup before losing to Germany in the final.

Cooper indicated that Barcellos will bring a pair of his assistant coaches with him to St. Louis, one of whom acts as the head coach's unofficial translator.

Now that the head coach is in place, the team looks to stock its roster with players.

"We'll start getting players in mid-September," Cooper said. "The league will look to distribute players from the U.S. women's National team around the league and there will be a draft as well."

One of the players high on Cooper's list is native St. Louisan Lori Chalupny, who helped lead the U.S. to its recent gold medal in Beijing. A Nerinx Hall High School graduate, she played at the University of North Carolina and for the J.B. Marine Soccer Club of St. Louis.

"I'd say bringing in Lori Chalupny is our No. 1 priority now," Cooper said.

In the Olympics, Chalupny scored the winning goal in her team's 4-2 semifinal victory over Japan.

And while maintaining a local "St. Louis flavor" for the team would be nice, Cooper said "A lot depends on the particular player.

"There are a lot of other players with local ties, "he added, "but this is a world class league and we'll put together the strongest team possible."

[ZZFan]

From the Alton paper:

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis franchise in the newly formed Women's Professional Soccer league has itself a coach.
Jorge Luiz Barcellos, the head coach of the Brazilian women's team, will be the coach of the St. Louis team. The official announcement is expected the second week of September, according to team chairman Jeff Cooper.

"We're very excited about Jorge coming to St. Louis, "Cooper said. "He brings a wealth of knowledge and was one of the most sought-after coaches out there."

The WPS is set to launch in April next year with seven teams. Besides St. Louis, franchises will play in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York/New Jersey, Boston, Washington, D.C., Dallas and Los Angeles. Cooper added that there is already an eye toward adding an eighth team.

The launch of the new league comes on the heels of a soccer gold-medal performance by the U.S. women at the just-concluded Beijing Olympics. In that gold medal match, the U.S. defeated Barcellos' Brazilian team 1-0 in extra time.

"(Barcellos) has been offered a ton of jobs," Cooper said Tuesday. "But when he came in and saw everything that we have going on in St. Louis, especially the youth club team element, he accepted the job on the spot.

"We're very fortunate to get a coach like him."

Cooper, an East Alton attorney, is also leading the quest for a St. Louis franchise in Major League Soccer, the U.S. men's pro league. Much of his attention has been on landing another investor for that potential franchise, which likely would lead to league approval for the St. Louis team.

Acquiring a men's team for MLS would lead to the construction of a soccer specific stadium near Collinsville. The new women's pro team would share that stadium with the men's team. But for now, the women will train at SIU Edwardsville.

St. Louis Soccer United, Cooper's group which is striving for an MLS team, has created a vertically-integrated youth academy beneath the professional teams. It is first of its kind in American soccer. Three clubs, Metro United, Scott Gallagher S.C. and the St. Louis Soccer Club (formerly Busch S.C.) are included the system, bringing with them more than 4,000 area players. A youth soccer complex to be constructed adjacent to the new stadium in Collinsville, will be home to weekly training and league games for these teams, as well as major regional tournaments, camps, and clinics.

Barcellos, 41, was also the head coach of the Brazil team that defeated the U.S. 1-0 in the semifinals of the 2007 World Cup before losing to Germany in the final.

Cooper indicated that Barcellos will bring a pair of his assistant coaches with him to St. Louis, one of whom acts as the head coach's unofficial translator.

Now that the head coach is in place, the team looks to stock its roster with players.

"We'll start getting players in mid-September," Cooper said. "The league will look to distribute players from the U.S. women's National team around the league and there will be a draft as well."

One of the players high on Cooper's list is native St. Louisan Lori Chalupny, who helped lead the U.S. to its recent gold medal in Beijing. A Nerinx Hall High School graduate, she played at the University of North Carolina and for the J.B. Marine Soccer Club of St. Louis.

"I'd say bringing in Lori Chalupny is our No. 1 priority now," Cooper said.

In the Olympics, Chalupny scored the winning goal in her team's 4-2 semifinal victory over Japan.

And while maintaining a local "St. Louis flavor" for the team would be nice, Cooper said "A lot depends on the particular player.

"There are a lot of other players with local ties, "he added, "but this is a world class league and we'll put together the strongest team possible."

[WayWestKicker]

interesting here. this is pretty big time for Cooper's group. I wonder if this guy will come over to the MLS side of things over time.

[Money]

congrats! this should create some entertaining soccer. I hope we get some creative players that he can work with. Martha?

[LSI]

Tony Interviews Brandi Chastain - click here

Topics:
Olympic Team
Lori Chalupny
What is Brandi up to today?

Tomorrow - Saturday 8/30 - Catch the Saturday Soccer Report, noon on 1380 for a live interview with Lori Chalupny.

www.SaturdaySoccerReport.com

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Local Sports Info Is Our Goal!