Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009; it is scheduled to join the new North American Soccer League in 2010.
The team played its home games at Tropical Park Stadium in nearby Olympia Heights, Florida until 2009. Currently all homes games rotate between FIU Stadium in Miami, Florida and Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The team's colors are tropical blue and white. Their current head coach is Brazilian Zinho.
History
Miami FC is owned by Traffic Sports USA, the American branch of Traffic Group, which owns and organizes South American club tournaments such as the Copa America and Copa Sudamericana.
South Florida was most recently home to the Fort Lauderdale-based Miami Fusion of Major League Soccer. The Fusion folded in 2002, and Miami have inherited a portion of their fanbase, leaving some to see them as a semi-continuation of the Fusion.
On April 16, 2006, the team played its first home game at Tropical Park Stadium. Mario "El Loco" Rodríguez, a Guatemalan national team midfielder, scored the team's first goal in the 77th minute. He was assisted by Zinho, a starter on Brazil's 1994 World Cup champion team. The lone goal was enough to defeat Jamaican champion Portmore United.
Brazilian World Cup winner Romario was signed to the club March 30, 2006. Though injuries left him unable to play in the April 16, 2006 opener, Miami FC gave the famed striker the honor of the ceremonial first kick. Romario left the club to sign a short term contract with Australian league premier team Adelaide United in Australia's premier football competition the Hyundai A-League, for a 4-game "guest" stint, and recently returned to Brazil to play for Vasco da Gama. He scored his 1000th career goal against Sport from Recife on May 20, 2007.
In 2007, the team held a contest through public schools in the greater Miami-Dade area for a nickname and mascot. Shia Moreno, an elementary school student won for her nickname "Blues". Daniel Townsend, a senior at Robert Morgan Educational Center won for his mascot creation "Hotshot", a flaming Sonic-the-Hedgehog-like character.
In November 2009 Miami announced their intent to leave the USL First Division to become the co-founders of a new North American Soccer League, which would begin play in 2010. The league, which has yet to be sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation or the Canadian Soccer Association, would also comprise the Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina RailHawks, Crystal Palace Baltimore, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Vancouver Whitecaps and a brand new team led by St. Louis Soccer United.[1]
Players
Current roster
as of October 22, 2009[2]
Notable former players
Year-By-Year
| Year |
Division |
League |
Reg. Season |
Playoffs |
Open Cup |
Avg. Attendance |
| 2006 |
2 |
USL First Division |
5th |
Quarterfinals |
2nd round |
|
| 2007 |
2 |
USL First Division |
9th |
Did not qualify |
1st Round |
|
| 2008 |
2 |
USL First Division |
9th |
Did not qualify |
3rd Round |
|
| 2009 |
2 |
USL First Division |
9th |
Did not qualify |
2nd Round |
|
Head coaches
Chiquinho de Assis (2006-2007)- Zinho (2008-present)
Stadia
Supporter's Group
From left: Miami FC Manager Luiz Muzzi, "Newtbomb89", Marcos Ommatti, Victor Palkaninec, and "pb9000". Photo by ChisGreen
Victor Palkaninec (pictured) and ChrisGreen photograph each other as "pb9000" interviews Miami FC manager Luiz Muzzi
In 2007, the Miami FC supporter's group was officially founded by avid fan and photographer Victor Palkaninec. The group began a website, www.miamifc2.com. Victor covers all the home games as photo press. The site uses updates and game recaps provided by Miami FC's media relation's manager, Marcos Ommatti. On June 9, 2007, the group held its first ever tailgating party before the game against the Puerto Rico Islanders. Victor, as well as members Chris Green (Robert Morgan High School WRMN8 News, iPatchNews.com), pb9000 ("Random Thoughts" podcast creator), and Newtbomb89 (YouTube video poster) had the chance to meet and greet Miami FC manager Luiz Muzzi and player Chris "Big Smooth" Williams.
Affiliated Clubs
References
External links
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South Florida metropolitan area |
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| Major Cities |
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Cities and towns
100k-250k |
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Cities and towns
25k-99k |
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Cities and towns
10k-25k |
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| A list of cities under 10,000 is available here. |
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Aaron Davidson
