Defying Belief

Lionel Messi according to ESPN. 

Sooner or later, we all stop and gaze in wonderment at the marvels of the world. The Great Wall of China. How was that constructed? Stonehenge, Mount Rushmore or the Taj Mahal. How is it possible that mankind managed to create something so jaw-droppingly astonishing?

In soccer terms, so it is with Lionel Andres Messi.

This season, with one rather special match still to come, he has scored 72 times for his club, FC Barcelona, five times for his country and twice in friendly matches.

All those goals, plus 27 assists, meaning that his fingerprints are on more than 100 goals for club and country this term. It is a feat of such magnificence that, for the moment, it's hard to comprehend. The record Messi broke, that of Gerd Muller at Bayern Munich (68 goals), had stood for four decades and those on the list that Muller himself superseded mostly played 30-40 years before that.

Messi's 14 goals in the Champions League this season matched a record set by Jose Altafini with Milan in 1963 -- the Argentine is achieving what no other player has been able to in the modern era while these records lay untouched.

Already, at 24, He is Barcelona's all-time top scorer.

What is most attractive of all is his instinct for the big game. This isn't a predator athlete who inflates his statistics simply by grazing on the weak and the slow.

Thus far Barca has won three trophies this season. The Spanish Supercup against Real Madrid was an absolute epic -- Messi scored three times and created another. The European Supercup against a thuggish Porto side was a brutal test, and Messi scored one and made one. Then, the World Club Cup final was an absolute exhibition of a performance, worthy of applause from all around the planet -- Messi scored two, made two and won man of the match.

This summer he'll turn 25, a significant staging point.

Mature and no longer a kid, maybe, but with at least seven or eight major years still ahead of him, the junction he's reached is an intriguing one.

He's about to work under Tito Vilanova, only the third coach of his reign in the Barcelona senior team. Vilanova is one of the coaches who was in charge of Messi during his formative youth football years and has been instrumental in the flowering of the South American's genius over the past few seasons.

However, the world will be watching, hawkishly, to discover how Vilanova handles what is now an absolute megastar. In how he behaves, reacts, trains, plays and scores, Messi can help that process greatly. Bigger than that: the task ahead for Vilanova and Barcelona to try to overhaul an impressive Real Madrid outfit.

Like the Great Wall, Mount Rushmore, the Taj Mahal or Stonehenge, Leo Messi defies belief. 

Carlo Mosso

When He was just six years old, Carlo Mosso started to play soccer. He was born in the sunny state of Florida and his first team was the Strikers. Now at eleven years old, Carlo is continuing to learn and is playing soccer with the Florida Crushers.  He likes the Crushers a lot. “They’re a great team! Both Flavio and Marcio have taught me a lot.”

 Carlo loves soccer and to  him it is “a fun sport for whoever wants try it.”  Carlo’s favorite team is Brasil, but His true inspiration is “my dad. Because he’s kind of the pushy one.” 

With his father as his inspiration, Carlo wants to follow in the footsteps of his favorite soccer player, Ronaldinho, and become a professional soccer player. When his dream of becoming a pro soccer player comes true He wants to be known as one word, “Awesome!” As he is now. 

O competiam... El torneo... The tournament.

Go Crushers!!!  On Saturday May 12th the Crusher's teams will be playing in a tournament. While playing against some of the hardest teams in our community, they need YOU to cheer them on. Bring your bells, drums, and vuvuzelas to motivate and encourage our boys. See you there! Below is some information...

THERE IS AN ENTRANCE FEE OF $1.50 PER PERSON TO GO IN THE PARK.

11:30 PM-Fld2C Florida Crushers vs Broward Beast
1:00 PM-Fld2D Florida Crushers vs Casla Inc.
3:00 PM-Fld2E South Florida United vs Florida Crushers 
4:30 PM-Fld2B Semi Final 1 (Best Record vs 4th Best Record) 
4:30 PM-Fld2B Semi Final 2 (2nd Best Record vs 3rd Best Record)
5:30 PM-Fld2B 3rd Place Match (Semi Final #1 Losing Team vs Semi Final #2 Losing Team)
5:30 PM-Fld2C Championship (Semi Final #1 Winner vs Semi Final #2 Winner)


ADDRESS:
16801 MIRAMAR PKWY, MIRAMAR FL 33027

  

~COME AND CHEER THEM ON!~

Mariel Margaret Hamm

On March 17, 1972 in Selma, Alabama, a great soccer player was born. Mariel Margaret Hamm. Largely considered the best female soccer player in history, Hamm played with the United States women's national soccer team for 17 years, building one of the biggest fan bases of any American ahtlete. She was named FIFA World Player of the Year in both 2001 and 2002.

As the daughter of an Air Force pilot, Hamm moved often with her family throughout her childhood. She credits her brother, Garrett, for encouraging her in sports. At age 15, she was the youngest soccer player ever to play for the national team. Hamm attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she helped take the team to four consecutive NCAA women's championships.

In 1991, at age 19, she was the youngest teammember in history to win the World Cup. Five years later, Hamm and her teammates, including Michelle Akers, Brandi Chastain and Kristine Lilly, secured the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Athens, Georgia. They would return to win gold again in 2004.

Other accolades include being elected Soccer USA's female athlete of the year five years in a row (1994-1998), MVP of the Women's Cup in 1995 and the winner of three ESPY awards, including Soccer Player of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year. In 2004, she and teammate Michelle Akers were put on FIFA’s list of the 125 greatest living soccer players, the only two women and only two Americans to be named.

In 1999, she founded the Mia Hamm Foundation, which is dedicated to bone marrow research after her brother, Garrett, died of the disease shortly after the 1996 Olympics. Hamm was married to her college sweetheart, Christiaan Corry, from 1994 to 2001. Corry was a professional baseball player Nomar Garciaparra in 2003. Soon after helping her team win gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Hamm retired to start a family.