Time to say “Goodbye 2014”
Lions & friends. It’s time to say goodbye 2014 and welcome this new year 2015. First of all, I would like to standstill by the tragedy which took place in Shanghai on New Year Eve… What intended to be a happy celebration of the new year ended into the loss of lives of innocent young people.
We all know the bund and we all know that it is a place for friendship and a place to admire the old and new buildings. Everyday people from all over the world come to take a picture or to have a walk. This evening disaster struck when the amount of people were too big to manage and by the lack of security people or police force. The lives of 36 innocent people were taken away and our thoughts are with their families and may the victims rest in peace.
You can ask yourself whether China is not growing too fast and whether the latest tallest tower is not too tall or the light show on the tower is not too bright ? The answers will not be given by us but by the government people… If you ask me, a slow down for a while will not be that bad for everybody in the long run.
Now, let’s get back to the Lions and lets start with our youth team. What stood out for our youth players was their commitment to the trainings. Several players didn’t miss a single training so far. We always had a group of 20 players to work with which is great. The games against the senior or veteran Lions were very good and many were surprised by the skills & speed of the young Lions. We are very pleased to have entered a league for U17 on Saturdays and hope the Young Lions will do well.
On Saturday, our first team is doing well. If you play at the top level in any kind of form it are the small details which will make the difference between winning and loosing. Luck is important as well as you will need that to become champion. After clinching the SIFL title 2 years in a row, we are now working hard to get our third title. Of course its getting harder and harder as teams are giving everything they have when they play the Lions. We managed to end 2014 unbeaten in the league and will try to extend that record as long as we can. On January 17th we will play the Shooters and we will be ready to fight for the win.
On Sunday, our second team finds themselves in new territory. After many years of dominating the SPL we are now in the mid-table. The reason is a combination of factors such a several top players left Shanghai and we couldn’t replace them so easily. Also, we were without goalie at the start of the season. Lastly, the level of the other SPL teams has also improved a lot. The interesting point about being in this situation is that I cannot get worse so we can only improve from here. We will need to fight hard for every points and we will give playing time for our young Lions as well. Hopefully a few senior and experienced players can help to carry the team out of the mid-table and get us back in the top!
The veteran team is our fastest growing segment of the club and had an incredible successful season. They won three tournaments, the Masters (for the third time) ,the old boy tournament and the Super 48 organised over 40 tournament called Masters as well. On top they won the veteran league. There is a great team spirit within the veteran teams partly due to the fact that they realise that they still can play football and win games and tournament just like in the old Lions days. On top, we already have a few over 50 Lions still playing… So for the “Youngsters” of 35 just joining the legends there a great future ahead of you!
We are looking forward to an exciting new Football Year for the Lions. Lets enjoy our life in Shanghai and write some history while we’re here. Now, it’s time to say “Goodbye 2014”!
Cheers
Freek
