English
JUAN ARANGO- Soccer has been an integral part o Juan's life. Rocked to sleep by tall tales of the Brazil 1970 side and learned to read in Spanish through old editions of El Gráfico that his cousins stashed away, his knowledge of the sport is vast both on and off the pitch. A Colombian-American that lived in Argentina and married and Argento-Italian. Juan has been involved in the media industry for the past six years in various functions. A graduate of Florida International University, he has been versatile in this industry and in constant metamorphosis. Juan worked at Gol TV as color analyst as well as on-camera talent for various productions. He also worked at ESPN International as he covered soccer and tennis there. He was part of the production crew in Bristol, Conn. that worked on the 2006 World Cup. Juan was the color analyst for the 2009 Gold Cup´s world feed. He has also been a guest on soccer shows such as Major League Soccer Talk, Inside the Six, The Third Half, and Inside Soccer. His experience is also wide having been the Sports Writer for the Bristol Observer and has done freelance work for national publications such as the Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald, The Middletown Press, as well as online publications such as Goal.com, La Liga Talk., Serie A Talk, The Barcelona Supporters Group- Miami, and Simply Fútbol. In addition to his work in television and writing; he is also press secretary for We Are Fútbol and runs GVJ Media & Publishing, the parent company of Mad About Fútbol.
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GEORGE METÉLLUS- George is a product of many different influences that have forged his love of football/soccer and life. It began with his Haitian upbringing, continued with his childhood in Miami, four-year service in the U.S. Air Force and a proud degree from The University of Miami. ITS ALL ABOUT THE U!. The interest in writing came via radio. At WVUM 90.5 FM, George & three friends created a talk show dedicated to soccer and it grew into a podcast called, Mad About Futbol. It strengthened as a board op/producer at WQAM 560 AM and led to position writing for Goal.com. He is also the public address announcer of UMiami soccer & track events. The Miami native continues to contribute to Simply Futbol.com and lists his favorite football/soccer clubs as: Miami Hurricane American football, FC Barcelona, FC Internazionale Milano, Brazilian & Haitian national teams. His favorite quote is from Yoda in Empire Strikes Back. “Do or do not, There is no try,”
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MIKE LÓPEZ- aka ‘El Pibe de Oro,’ was born in Miami, Florida. His love for the world’s game is traced back to day 1. With an Italian mother and an Argentine father, what else can you expect? Not only did he play the game of football most of my life, he's also just as passionate about going to the stadium to catch a match and living the experience of a game alongside the best crowds of any sporting event. He's seen it all, from the excitement of a Boca Juniors game for the Libertadores Cup in La Bombonera to witnessing Messi’s first career goal in a World Cup 20 rows away from where he scored. And how can he forget the day he saw Maradona being escorted out by the nurse in Foxboro in the 1994 World Cup. Point being, he brings to Simply Futbol all the ins and outs of the game, all its intricacies, from the stands to the playing field. After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Miami (Da U baby!), he began working for Gol TV. He currently calls matches for the Colombian and Brazilian leagues and also serve as an English host for the program La Liga 360. He had the opportunity to broadcast CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches as well. He also work for ESPN Deportes Radio where he host Espacio NBA, a two hour show covering the world’s best basketball league.
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LUCAS LUGO- Lucas is the newest addition to the Simply Futbol team. A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Lucas has been involved in the Beautiful Game since he was born. After years living in Spain and the United States, he decided to return to Argentina and is currently running the marketing end of We Are Futbol. His role at this company is to market the brand throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In this region, We Are Futbol is one of the fastest growing soccer development and marketing company in the region. One of the sharp up and coming soccer writers in English, Lucas brings a fresh perspective to the game and offers a unique take of various issues based on his professional and developmental background. Lucas used to play for PDL side Richmond Kickers and recently played for Argentine third division side Fenix.

Cruyff nombrado presidente honorario del Barca

Posted by Juan Arango Friday, March 26, 2010

Nuevo presidente honorario del Barcelona Johan Cruyff (Wikimedia)




El legendario jugador holandés Johan Cruyff fue nombrado presidente honorario del Fútbol Club Barcelona el viernes. La noticia no fue un shock a nivel mundial ya que se sabía que el jugador tenía su legado de en el club como jugador y entrenador asegurado.

Cruyff tomará el mismo rol que tiene el gran Alfredo Di Stefano ha tenido en el Real Madrid desde el 2000.

Cruyff, similar a Di Stefano, es el jugador símbolo del equipo Blaugrana. La ex-figura del Ajax Llegó al Barcelona en 1973 después de ganar la Copa Europea (antecesor a la Champiñones League) tres veces. En el primer año de “El Flaco”, ayudó sacar al Barça de lo más bajo de la tabla a ganar su primer título de la liga en 14 años. En el proceso le ganaron a Real Madrid 5-0 en el Santiago Bernabéu.

Jugó con el equipo catalán hasta en año 1978 cuando vino a jugar a los Estados Unidos por tres temporadas con Los Ángeles Aztecs y Washington Diplomats.

Además de ser jugador que hacía diferencias dentro de la cancha, los hizo en el frente sociopolítico. Se convirtió en el símbolo del anti-franquismo y también renunciaría a la selección holandesa para el mundial del 1978 en Argentina por diferencias con la federación y como protesta al regimen militar en el país austral.

Después de retirarse como jugador en 1984, siguió siendo el principal discípulo de su mentor Rinus Michels en la divulgación del Fútbol Total. En 1984, se convertiría en el director deportivo del Ajax donde se desarrollaría la cantera del club. En ese momento surgirían jugadores como Frank y Ronald De Boer, Edgar Davids, y Clarence Seedorf de las inferiores. Estos serían el núcleo fundamental para que el equipo ganase la Champiñones League en 1995 contra el poderoso AC Milan.

Aunque el club no tendría el éxito que tuvieron su acérrimos rivales, PSV Eindhoven, el futuro sería brillante para el equipo de Amsterdam. Él pudo ganar la Recopa y la Copa de Holanda durante su momento como entrenador del equipo que le vio nacer como jugador décadas antes.

En 1990, “El Salvador” volvería a Catalunya para dirigir al Barcelona y sería una de las épocas más exitosas del equipo culé. Con Barcelona ganaría la liga española cuatro veces además de la Copa Europea con su gran “Drama Team” que tenía a jugadores la talla de Romário, Hristo Stoichkov, Ronald Koeman, Txiki Beguiristain, Michael Laudrup, y Andoni Zubizarreta.

También hubo un jugador que marcaría una época en el fútbol español que sería el líder de la selección española en la obtención de la medalla de oro en las Olimpiadas que se celebraron en la Ciudad Condal. Éste jugador eventualmente se convertiría en técnico del Barcelona y sería uno de los discípulos más líricos y el más exitosos de las enseñanzas cruyffistas- Josep Guardiola.

Además de estar involucrado en el tema futbolístico y técnico del club también estuvo involucrado en el lado político. Fue parte fundamental en la postulación de Joan Laporta a la presidencia del club en 2003.

Cruyff se mantiene involucrado con obras caritativas que se enfocan en fomentar el deporte para lo niños con discapacidades através de la Fundación Cruyff.

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