5/2/2010: Dutch Lion News From The Weekend

Some stories from the Global United weekend, written by Dayton Daily News's Kyle Nagel:

**Dayton Dutch Lions Head Coach Sonny Silooy had a Global United uniform at the ready (underneath his Dutch Lion warmup) just in case there were a few injuries on the Global United squad. As despite being star-studded with the likes of Marco Etcheverry, Thomas Dooley, Marcelo Balboa, Fredi Bobic, Tony Sanneh, etc., the Global United squad had a few players that had to back out last second (such as Fernando Couto, Sa Pinto, and Yaw Preko because of other engagements/travel arrangements leaving their squad at 14 players total). Silooy would have fit into the Former World Star roster nicely with his 25 Dutch caps and lengthy experience at Ajax. Story here.

Dutch Lions opening game sets good tone, much better then some other franchise debuts in region, story and words below by Kyle Nagel:

We’ve had our share of professional franchise debuts in the Miami Valley in the past few years.
The most entertaining one belonged to the Dayton Warbirds (indoor football) in April 2005. The opponent, the Beaumont (Texas) Drillers, arrived 3 hours and 48 minutes late after flight mechanical problems, a missed bus in Cincinnati and multiple taxi rides from the Queen City. After a daylight-saving time change, the first game ended at the Nutter Center at 3:27 a.m.

The Warbirds lasted two seasons in the area, and that first game certainly didn’t set a strong tone.

Things were different on Friday, April 30, for the Dayton Dutch Lions.

The Dutch Lions, a group made up of eight Dutch and nine American players in the Premier Development League, played their first home game at Bellbrook High School against a visiting all-star squad.

The home stands were mostly filled, and the crowd was estimated at about 2,800.

The opponents’ star power might’ve helped that, but many in the crowd were already wearing the Dutch Lions’ orange in the stands.

Dayton Dutch Lions midfielder Julius Wille discusses the Global United game and the upcoming league match with Soccer News Netherlands:

"It was really fun to play Global United. Many players had cancelled, that was a shame, but there were still big names. The game was a success, nearly 3,000 people, which came to watch the match" he tells Soccernews.nl

Upcoming this week is the start of the league for Dayton Dutch Lions Wille who is confident. "For us it is still getting used to each other in terms of soccer, the matches take place yet as we want, but we still have a week before the competition so it'll be fine I think."