When Real Maryland F.C. opens the 2008 United Soccer League Second Division season on April 20, at Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, it won’t just be playing its first regular-season soccer match in team history. It will show just how much can be done in a year of preparation.
The idea for the new professional soccer team in Montgomery County came to fruition almost by accident. It started in November of 2006 when team president Victor Moran grew tired of running an amateur soccer club. For four years, he managed Club España in the Northern Virginia Soccer League, until he had decided he was through.
He needed something a little more professional, more ‘‘real,” so to speak.
‘‘Something that happens in these amateur leagues is that somehow, players get paid,” said Moran. ‘‘Some of them can end up playing three of four different games on a Sunday. If he’s playing a game for you and it’s his third game of the day, obviously he’s not going to do too well. It was just very difficult to have professionalism. That’s when I came to Silvino [Gonzalo] with my frustrations.”
At the time, Gonzalo was coaching the Northern Virginia Royals, who were in the midst of moving from the USL Second Division to the USL Premier Development League.
The two had much in common. Aside from their soccer affiliations in Northern Virginia, both had worked in the D.C. area for well over a decade. Gonzalo, who now has coached soccer for nearly 25 years, has been at the helm for teams such as the Washington Diplomats (1988-1990) of the American Professional Soccer League and the Royals (1998-2006), as well as two NVSL Champions Amateur Cup-winning squads (Club España in 1985, Iberia Soccer Club in 1996). Moran has been President and Chief Operating Officer of Total Quality Building Services, which provides janitorial services to property management companies located in the D.C. area for 22 years.
Both have strong ties to the local Hispanic community, and knew of each other when they were introduced by a mutual associate over a year ago, though not nearly as well as they do now.
‘‘Victor had an amateur team and asked me to coach them, and I said ‘You know these players aren’t really serious,’” said Gonzalo. ‘‘I said ‘Listen, if you want to spend that money, let’s go to the USL. It’s a pro league and it’s the future of soccer in the U.S. Immediately, he looked into it and talked to the vice president of the league, and asked me if I would want to coach. I said ‘OK, when can I start.’”
The business pitch Moran gave to the USL Second Division – created in 1995 when the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues Pro Soccer League split into one professional and one amateur league – centered around the need for affordable sport entertainment in D.C. They discussed how a new soccer team could provide a good product at a family-level price, one more reasonable than the Redskins, the Wizards, the Nationals, or even Major League Soccer’s D.C. United.
‘‘I spent 60 bucks at a D.C. United game,” said Moran. ‘‘Some people make nine, 10 bucks an hour. I want them to be able to have a good time, too.”
With the plan approved and a head coach in tow, the team began to take shape. Gonzalo, a respected soccer figure in the community, was entrusted to find the players, while former Olney Soccer Club head coach Roger Fernando was hired to coach Real Maryland’s U-20 club team.
Moran turned his attention to the business end of the team. Last July, he hired Bienvenido Martinez, who worked for six years in the D.C. United marketing department, to become the team’s general manager, performing duties such as international clearances for player contract negotiations and discussing salaries – according to Moran, Real (pronounced ree-al, not reel) players make anywhere from $1,000-10,000 per month during the five-to-six-month season.
Last December, Moran also hired newly retired lawyer Ron Kronthal to join the staff. Kronthal had practiced law for 28 years, and had worked with Moran for roughly five years, giving him ‘‘advice that really helped me out down the line.” He handles much of the behind-the-scenes work for the Monarchs (Real’s nickname), including acquiring telecommunication equipment, setting transportation schedules and finding team sponsorships.
‘‘I’ve always thought Victor was one of the smartest guys I ever met, and safe to say he thought I was one of the more honest lawyers he’d ever ran into,” said Kronthal. ‘‘I was considering coming back to work in law, but Victor said, ‘Hey, if you’re going back to work, why don’t you come work for me?’”
Real Maryland now had everything it needed – player personnel, coaching staff, and both business and marketing teams in place. what the fans, Moran expects at least 4,000 in attendance for Saturday opener, don’t see. But they’re the ones responsible for getting professional soccer in Montgomery County underway.
Finally.
Real deal
Real Maryland 2008 schedule
April 20 — Western Mass Pioneers, 4 p.m.April 26 — Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 7:30 p.m.May 3 — at Western Mass Pioneers, 7:30 p.m.May 10 — at Cleveland City Stars, 7 p.m.May 17 — Cleveland City Stars, 7:30 p.m.May 24 — Wilmington Hammerheads, 7:30 p.m.May 31 — at Harrisburg City Islanders, 7:05 p.m.June 7 — Cleveland City Stars, 7:30 p.m.June 14 — at Harrisburg City Islanders, 7:05 p.m.June 21 — vs. Charlotte Eagles, 7:30 p.m.June 29 — Crystal Palace Baltimore, 4 p.m.July 4 — Richmond Kickers, 4 p.m.July 6 — Harrisburg City Islanders, 4 p.m.July 11 — at Bermuda Hogges, 6 p.m.July 18 — at Wilmington Hammerheads, 7:30 p.m.July 19 — at Charlotte Eagles, 7 p.m.July 23 — Bermuda Hogges, 8 p.m.July 26 — at Richmond Kickers, 7 p.m.July 31 — at Crystal Palace Baltimore, 7:30 p.m.Aug. 9 — at Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 7:05 p.m.
2007 USL Division 2 final standings
Team RecordRichmond 12-3-5Cleveland 10-1-9*Harrisburg 11-4-5Charlotte 11-7-2Crystal Palace Baltimore 9-6-5Western Massachusetts 7-7-6Wilmington 4-9-7Cincinnati 4-11-5New Hampshire 3-12-5Bermuda Hogges 3-14-3
*Harrisburg City won the 2007 USL-2 title with a 1-1 (8-7 on penalty kicks) victory over Richmond in the league’s championship game.
USL Division 2 players to watch(all stats listed are from 2007 season)
Bermuda: F Stephen Astwood (team-high 4 goals), M Jason Damon Ming (team-high 4 assists)
Charlotte: F Robert Ssejjemba (13 points for Richmond), M Jeff Bilyk (former MLS player, Miami Fusion)
Cleveland: M Godfrey Tenoff (2007 USL-1 player, Minnesota Thunder), GK Richard Hunter Gilstrap (0.50 goals against average)
Crystal Palace: F Gary Brooks (seven goals in only nine games), D Shintaro Harada (team-high in minutes)
Harrisburg: M Mo Odour (six goals), M Brian Ombiji (13 points)
Pittsburgh: D Jason Kutney (former USL-1 player, Charleston Battery), F Thabiso ‘‘Boyzzz” Khumalo (former USL-1 player, draft pick of MLS Chicago Fire)
Richmond: M Michael Burke (tied for team-high 15 points), M⁄F David Bulow (five goals)
Western Massachusetts: F Jeff Deren (team-high 16 points), F Omar McFarlane (five goals)
Wilmington: F Jamie Holmes (tied for team-high nine points), D Landy Mattison (team-high 1681 minutes)
