Shanghai Premier League

First of: if you haven't done so yet, better check your schedule for the Santa Cup in the article below this one...

We had fairly good weather this weekend and for some teams it was already round 7 of the season !

Dulwich – Super 48 5-0 
Unfortunately we got a late call on Saturday that Super 48 was not able to field a team. Ps keep in mind that this is not good for the opponent who had been looking forward to play a competitive game on Sunday and now suddenly had no game…..!

Lions – Bulls 4-2
Fair game with a fair result. The bulls were trailing and couldn’t close the gap despite their hard efforts. The lions were capitalizing on a few defensive errors of the Bulls and continued their unbeaten run this season 7 games 21 points !

Hawks – Japan 1-2
Top game of our League interesting to see that Japan had only one team this time and it prooved to be all their youngsters. No wonder this was a midfield battle and the pace was fast. First half ended in a 1-1 draw but the second half Japan had most of the possession. A quick taken free-kick surprised the Hawks goalie Buffon who was still busy organizing the Chinese Wall in front of the goal, prooved to be deadly as it gave Japan all three points !


The weather outlook for this coming Sunday is good with clear skies and 12 degrees ! We have three interesting games on the menu so please come out and support your teams !

11.00 Bulls – Japan
I am sure the Bulls want to catch up with the leaders so nothing better than a win over Japan !

13.00 ERS – Galacticos
Both teams need points to get out of the bottom, expect a lot of goals !

15.00 Dulwich – Flamenkos
I can bet you that this will NOT be 0-0 !

Enjoy the SPL Games / Enjoy your life / Cheers Freek / SPL President on behalf of the SPL Committee

PS : check your schedule for the Santa Cup in the article below...

Amigo’s and Amiga’s,

Last year we had the highest SPL Cup draw in the world. So it was not easy to find an original way of doing the draw, but we thought the best way was to do it far away from Shanghai . After 14 hours of flight I ended up in Indore in the middle of India . I was looking for players and referees, but all I could find were cricket players and umpires so that didn’t work out. For the draw I got the cooperation of very friendly people, like the “banana” man, the “cow farmer”, the “lucky taxi driver number” man, the “flower lady”, the “horse” man, the “wedding band” and the “priest", he gave his final blessing to the Santa Cup 2009.

The Santa Cup is getting its second edition with 10 teams battling it out in a freezing cold Shanghai . The idea is that the Santa Cup is “Ice Cold but good Spirited” The friendship among our teams will make sure it’s a day of fun and entertaining games at the Greencity Dulwich Fields on December the 13th. After the Final there will be a party for all the participants in the new Latina outlet in Lu Jia Zhui and this is The Occasion to wish every body a fantastic Christmas Holiday and Happy and Sportive New Year !

Santa here we come !! / Cheers Freek SPL President / on behalf of the SPL Committee !

For the results of the draw, check the file below!
(I suggest you click 'view in full screen')

Amigo’s and Amiga’s,

After the horrific weather of last week we were treated with perfect weather on Sunday ! It was a great weekend and some nerve wrecking results !

Dulwich – Super 48 6-0 
Think both teams were happy with the result. Dulwich to keep a clean sheet and Super bringing down the score every week. Hopefully this will lead to their first points soon !

Lions – Hawks 3-2
Absolute a big game for both teams. There was a massive crowd of bookmakers around the field and it seemed there was some serious betting going on. The Lions took an early lead but the Hawks equalized quickly through their top scorer Romilson. The Hawks were unlucky to concede an own goal in a fairly even game. The second half the Lions decide to sit it out but the Hawks pressure appeared to be too big with one goal and another header right on the cross bar. However a rare goal of the SPL president……who came on as a substitute in last 5 minutes gave all three points to the Lions !

Galacticos – Flamenkos 6-5 
This will be a historic game of the SPL which all people who were there will not forget anymore ! Mama Mia not for the faint hearted……Flamenkos started strong and took a comfortable 0-2 lead however they forgot to add more goals and Glacticos well known for their fighting spirit came back to a for them comfortable 4-2 lead. This itself was already a joy to watch but wait a moment 5 minutes before the end of this game the score was 4-4 !

In the 88th minute galacticos surely thought they scored the winner 5-4, but one minute later the Flamenkos equalized which they thought would give them a point, nothing more than the truth was that the Galacticos got a penalty awarded in the sizzling heat of the game in the 90th minute only to find Ned Kelly to take all the glory for their team 6-5. It is said that Ned has been missing ever since celebrating this historic game!

After the game both teams gave a hearty round of applause to each other. Because for all of us - winners or unfortunate losers - it was a real joy to be in this game. And this sportsmanship and love of the game is at the heart of our SPL.


This weekend we have another BIG game so pls come out and watch the games. Please also take note that according to the rules of the school there are no dogs allowed on the Soccer Field. Would like to thank the Captains for the league fee arrangements all was set and done !

11.00 Dulwich – Super 48 
They played each other last week so lets see which team will do better !

13.00 Lions  - Bulls
Always an attractive game with lots of goals bcs of the attacking football of both sides !

15.00 Japan – Hawks 
The BIG game as both teams need to catch up with the Lions who are 6 points clear right now !

Hope to see you all this Sunday / Cheers Freek / SPL President on behalf of the SPL Committee ! 

Amigo’s and Amiga’s,

Well what a difference one week can make ! One Sunday we play in the heat and next Sunday we play in the storm and freezing cold but whatever it is the games are all played in high spirit ! We are back to three games per Sunday as after five o’clock its dark in Green City !

ERS – Lions 1-3 
The Lions started really bad and were lucky that the damage was not bigger than 1-0. However the scoring opportunities started to appear for the Lions and after a few misses in front of an open goal the Lions scored thru Charles twice in five minutes. Two good saves from Nicolas the Lions keeper and a second half goal from Jeff was enough to give the Lions the three points.

Dulwich – Bulls 2-1
Typical SPL game with open and attacking football a few words left and right, good refereeing by Kevin and a few cards. First half the business was done already but the second half was interesting to watch as the Bulls had to push forward. They got their reward 5 minutes before time when Kevin saw a foul which most of the people didn’t see and pointed at the penalty spot ! Aydin who has scored more goals in his life than Ronaldo and Kaka together, stood up to tie the game but the penalty was stopped by the outstanding Argentine Goalkeeper Max of Dulwich. It left Bilgin fuming but when the Bulls fume you better watch out !

Hawks – Super 48 9-1 
There was some confusion about the final score as Andrea lost count or fell asleep. He counted 7 goals whereas the referee reported 9 goals ! Good to see improvement for Super 48 as the counter stopped below 10 if they continue this trend of “every week one goal less conceded”  they will tie a game soon !

This Sunday it will be cold but with a blue sky which is always nice to see in Shanghai !

11.00 AM Super 48 – Dulwich
Lets see whether Super 48 can reduce the damage or even get some points this time !

13.00 PM Hawks – Lions
For football fans this is the game to watch. Both teams are strong this season and are possible champion contenders !

15.00 Galacticos – Flamenkos 
The Galacticos will look for their first win this season and the Flamenkos want to proof that their victory over the Hawks wasn’t a one off win !

Enjoy the games and the cool weather ! See you all on Sunday / Cheers Freek / SPL President on behalf of the SPL Committee !

Amiga’s and Amigo’s,

We experienced a massive drop of temperatures in Shanghai last Sunday and especially Monday from 27 degrees down to 12. However the cold front from the North didn’t stop the SPL teams from scoring goals as scoring goals is what they are good at. I have spend this weekend in Jeju island with my parents and when you are away on a Sunday you start to realize how much you miss the smell of grass, having fun with your friends, scoring goals, shouting at referees and having a beer after the game !

Lions – Super 48 10-0 
I got a call from the guard at 7.30 AM that there was an invasion of Japanese players at the gate and they asked me what was going on ! Super 48 tried their best but unfortunately this time they couldn’t score a goal. Lions only had eleven players on the pitch as Halloween the night before took its toll on their team !

Bulls-E-Rouge 1-1
I can quote Kevin the excellent referee from England his comment on the game. “fairly even game which was reflected in the final score”  There was a bit of diving going on but Kevin was not impressed, he referred to culprits to the Beijing Olympics !

Japan – Dulwich 4-1 
Dulwich took the early lead which is not bad against Japan but according to some insiders the wind in the second half turned into a typhoon and the Dulwich defense was simply overblown by Japan .

Hawks – Flamenkos 3-4
The surprise result of the weekend. Flamenkos would argue that it was normal for them but on the other hand it was not normal for the Hawks to find them trailing 0-3 at half time. Second half was a battle of life and death and the Hawks came all the way back to 3-3. However Alex the quick Spanish striker scored his fourth goal of the game which give the Flamenkos the three points and Alex a phone call from Liverpool coach Benitez !

This weekend we will have no games because a lot of players will try their luck in Manila at the Nomad Tournament / Hopefully a Shanghai team can win this time, but usually it’s the home team who wins the Cup because the don’t go out and party anyway we wish everybody good luck and “safe” travel and “safe” s……!

Weather prediction sofar is calling for a blue sky but cold temperatures 6 degrees ! We reduced the games to three per Sunday due to the Winter kicking in so please note the different starting times !


11.00 AM Lions – E-Rouge 
The French will remember their sweet victory over the Lions last season, but hopefully for the Lions there will be no dead Lion picture on ERS webpage !


13.00 PM Bulls – Dulwich 
I can guarantee a lot of goals !


15.00 PM Hawks – Super 48 
Goals, goals,goals !

Stay Fit during the Break ! Cheers Freek SPL President / on behalf of the SPL Committee !

Amigo’s and Amiga’s,

Another beautiful day in October but for some of the goalkeepers a day to forget quickly of course. Most important was that all the games were played in fair spirit and good friendship. It seems that three teams are making their way to the top and all are unbeaten this Season and other teams are struggling to get in form but I am sure that’s part of the strategy as they will peak later in the season !

Bulls – Super 48 14-1
Maybe not so “Super” this time as the Bulls proven too strong for the debutant and the usual scorers were happy to add goals to their tally, esp Aydin stood out with 5 goals ! On a positive note Super 48 managed to score in each of their games !

Japan – E-Rouge 6-2
First half was even 3-2 it was interesting to see that Japan had only 15 players, don’t know where the other 15 players were, most likely still in the Karaoke. It didn’t help the French Friends as they were running out of gasoline at the later part of the second half and the  “Quick Feeted” Japanese sealed their third victory this season.

Hawks – Galacticos 10-1
It looked like the Chinese national team was on the pitch and of course they were fast too fast for the Galacticos defense. Not sure whether Galacticos tactic change to put Ned Kelly as last defender worked well for them. Looking at the score line think its better to put him upfront again.

Lions – Flamenkos 4-2 
There is a clear sign of improvement at the former Vlis team with their Spanish Blood inside the team. Allthough the Lions dominated the first half with a solid 4-0. They lost the second half 0—2, by wasting a lot of chances and poor defending.  

We will have one more outstanding weather weekend on the 1st of November, blue sky and 22 degrees is the forecast !

9.30 AM  Lions – Super 48  
well we can expect a lot of goals !

11.30 PM Bulls – ERS 
important game for both sides as it will give them an indication of their current form  !

13.30 PM Japan – Dulwich
Japan would like to continue their unbeaten run and Dulwich will go all out to block them !

15.30 PM Hawks – Flamenkos 
Both animals can fly so lets see who will be the” high” flyers on Sunday !
(note fm webmaster: don't mix Flamenkos and flamingos though... Flamenkos is spanif for Flemish, former VLIS being a Flemish/Belgium team)
 

Please enjoy the games and the great weather and don’t forget the ice cold beer after the games !

 

Cheers Freek SPL President on behalf of the SPL Committee ! 

Amigo’s and Amiga’s,

We love October’s in Shanghai ! What a great Football Weather we had 23 degrees and a blue sky ! This was one of the reasons that every team went all out in attacking mode resulting in our new SPL record of 25 goals on the weekend. We feel a bit sorry for the goalkeepers and noticed that most of the teams are struggling to find real goalies, it seems this rare species is disappearing like the melting south-pole. Maybe we should start a campaign to attract them ! Don’t know what exactly would be a pull factor for a real goalie but we can think about it !

Japan – Shanghai 48 10-1 
Of course our debutants would have thought to have a better start especially vs country rival Japan but it might take a few games to get used to the level of the SPL for new comers ! The field looked like Tokyo City Centre with all these Japanese people running back and forward. After hearing the score most SPL players were wondering whether Mikki scored or not ? Good point was the zero cards in this game.

Hawks – Dulwich 5-0
Well after Brasil got the World Cup Soccer and the Olympic Games it seemed that was not enough for Romilson as he scored 4 goals in this game and one of them a beautie ! Now just to set this straight the SPL record for most scored goals by a single player in a single match is in the hands of our notorious Ned Kelly, 9 goals in one game ! Dulwich will get better each week they play so no worries for them !

Lions – Galacticos 3-0
A repeat of the Cup Final so the Lions were looking for revenge. Fair game with no cards well lead by our new referee Kevin. To the disbelief of the galacticos players it was the oldest guy on the pitch (me) who scored the two final goals and of course that would put some questions on their defense…..!

Bulls – Flamenkos 3-3
Well the Spanish blood was clearly felt in the Flamenkos team as they scored a few quick goals 1-3 was the half time score, but once you give a challenge to the Bulls they start to fight harder and harder so 3-3 it ended leaving the Flamenkos a bit devastated and the Bulls quite satisfied !


The weather will remain super and again a full program on Sunday, question is can the record be broken ?

9.30 AM   Bulls – Shanghai 48
Good test for the new comers and expect a lot of goals here !

11.30 AM Japan – E-Rouge
Can ERS stop Japan ’s super start this season. Last season they beat Japan 5-0 lets see where they are this season !

13.30 Hawks – Galacticos
This will be a battle and a nice game to watch, don’t miss it !

15.30 Lions – Flamenkos 
Lions sofar have not conceded a goal and would like to keep it that way,lets see !

 

Happy to see the Fairplay was ruling last Sunday and I am sure we all can keep this Fairplay attitude throughout the season as that’s what makes our League Special !

 

Enjoy the games Enjoy the weather Enjoy the Beers after the games !

 

Cheers Freek / SPL President on behalf of the SPL Committee !

Amigo’s and Amiga’s,

We had a fantastic Sunday helped by the great weather and the good quality playing field ! As usual there were a lot of goals that’s what our league stands for entertaining open and attacking football, cannot remember when was the last time one of our games ended in a goal-less draw ! We got 21 goals in three games, impressive….! Poor Bilgin he couldn’t get his team ready do the Semi-Sunday working day imposed by the Chinese government due to the long October Holiday. I have written a letter to Hu Jin Tao to stop these working Sunday’s as its not helpful for the SPL !

 
Hawks – E-Rouge 6-3 W
ith Andrea in Italy there wasn’t much Italian flavour left on the Pitch. The Reds (the French in this case) were most of the time coming from behind, Hawks was more deadly in their finish and ERS missed more changes in front of the goal !


Dulwich – Lions 0-5
If there was a price for the best supporters on the day it would go to the Dulwich fans they came all out with family members and dogs to cheer their team ! Lions played solid with good passing so no surprise when they took the lead, however Dulwich managed to come close to scoring a few times but Nicolas the Lions goalie wouldn’t bend and made a few great saves !

 
Japan – Flamenkos 6-1
Before the game we counted 37 japanese players on the pitch. In the end they were too fast and too many for Vlis - sorry, Flamenkos.
 

This weekend we have a full program with 4 exciting games !


9.30-11.30 AM Japan – Super48 
Well this will be the debut of our new Japanese team Super 48 / On top our Japanese Players Counting Machine will break down / We can do a contest and you can guess how many Japanese players will be on the Pitch ? I am sure GreenCity will look like Tokyo in the morning !

11.30-13.30 AM Hawks – Dulwich
Will be difficult game for Dulwich but with their fighting spirit and their fan base they could cause an upset like last year !

13.30-15.30 PM Lions – Galacticos
Repeat of the Cup Final ! Guaranteed battle field with our new FA licenced referee Kevin in action !

15.30-17.30 PM Bulls – Flamenkos Goals Goals Goals ! Don’t miss this spectacle.

The weather is going to be fantastic blue sky and 23 degrees and a good pitch what else we want ! Enjoy the games and Enjoy the SPL / Cheers Freek / SPL President on behalf of the SPL Committee !

Amigo’s and Amiga’s,


Most of the SPL teams have been practicing in tournaments and friendlies and its good to see everybody getting in shape for the 2009/2010 season. We have a lot of news for you and please take a look at the schedule below!

The League Fee
We are happy to announce that the SPL Fee for the whole season will be 12000 rmb only with more games to play this season ! This is thanks to the good cooperation with Golden Bridge Company who developed the Green City Town and the
Dulwich College School who are leasing this field from the Local Government. So lets enjoy the great location of our field and have an ice cold beer or food after the games at the restaurants next to the field, especially in Latina of course our “Long Term Supporter”. The Fee Payment Deadline is set at 15 November latest otherwise you will be haunted by loan sharks.

The Pitch
You might have noticed that the pitch is in very good condition thanks to the hard work of Adam. It took him two years to get the Field in the current state and it goes without saying we like to keep it this way.


The  Teams 
 
1)      Hawks, The defending Champions will continue to find the best mix for football in Shanghai . They lost a few of their best players at the end of last season, but we know they are very active in the transfer market and who doesn’t want to play for the Champions ?

2)      Lions, One of their leading Icons will be leaving Shanghai , Big Michael is going back to Germany . Surely a big loss for the SPL but the Lions have a strong network of players and they finished last season strong and looks like they want the Cup and the Title back !

3)      Japan, Looks like they are unchanged which means a 50 players squad and highly disciplined. I have asked Dulwich to open the gates at 7AM during the winter as they need to do their warming up !

4)      Bulls, Bilgin the “Allmighty” told us they have a very strong team this season and no matter what playing against the Bulls is always dangerous that will never change……!

5)      ERS, New leadership will give them a fresh look. Each year they are edging higher and they will be able to cause some upsets during the season, they strongest point is their team spirit, which lead them to a historic win over Japan last Year 5-0 !

6)      Dulwich United, As well a leadership change. Jamie will take over from John but John is very quietly working at the background, his recruiting policy at the school for parents, students and teacher is very aggressive and one of the condition he put in the contract is that they can never play for another team in the SPL.  

7)      Galacticos, Cup winners so they will start the season with big confidence, rescheduling of the F1 will also work in their favour this year. Heard they are making hotel arrangement close to the field for the early games this season. Anyway the Galacticos will do better than Lewis Hamilton that’s for sure…….!

8)      Vlis, They have a complete make over. For them enough was enough finishing in the bottom of the league firstly of all they changed their name (smart move) into FC SH Flamenkos. Secondly after Spain won the European Championships they have recruited several Spanish players, so better be carefull when you play against them…….!

9)      Shanghai 48, Our new team the only thing we can disclose is that 48 doesn’t stand for their average age and that they are Japanese. The rest you will have to find it our yourself !


The Referee’s
We have send them for training to Urumuqi so they will be on top of every game. We got a request from a FA licenced referee Kevin to blow the whistle on Sunday’s which we happily accepted.


Registration
We will ask each player to register on line if you are not registered you cannot play. We will send you the link very soon

Scorer
We are looking for a replacement of Danny (difficult…) if anybody would be interested to keep track of the scores and standings, please stand up and contact us !

Sponsors
If you know companies who are interested to put sign board at the field ps contact us by raising money we can better maintain the field and upgrade the Clubhouse.

Friendly games
In case you want to play a friendly on the field please contact me.

Captains List
Will send you the list asap and will target a meeting before the season start !

 
Keep on training and we can start to place our bets on  “who will be the New SPL Champions 09/10 ?”

Cheers Freek / on behalf of the SPL Committee !