Puerto Rico Islanders FC » FIFA

FIFA: Giant strides for Islanders. A year to remember…

BoriQa — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 02:00:02 +0000

FIFA: 2008 was unquestionably a historic year for Puerto Rican football! The Islanders made it all the way to the USL title-decider after topping the regular season standings and setting a host of league records along the way. Unsurprisingly, their remarkable campaign had fans flocking to their home games at the Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel in Bayamon to lend their support. The only disappointment for the Caribbean side was their inability to crown their great season with a title, Vancouver Whitecaps denying them the league championship with a 2-1 win in the decider.

If that were not impressive enough, the Islanders also made their debut in the region’s premier club competition, the CONCACAF Champions League. And nor were they there just to make up the numbers. After eliminating Trinidad and Tobago’s San Juan Jabloteh, the Puerto Ricans were handed a preliminary-round draw against Costa Rican powerhouses Alajuelense for a place in the group stage.

Against all the odds, the Tropa Naranja drew the away leg and completed the job on home soil with two late goals, securing a Group D berth alongside Mexican champions Santos Laguna and established outfits Tauro of Panama and Municipal of Guatemala.

Those who predicted the Caribbean side would be just cannon fodder for their section rivals were once again left with egg on their faces. After recording an extraordinary 3-1 home win against the Mexicans, a hitherto unimaginable place in the knockout stages became a realistic goal, which they duly secured in Panama after a memorable 2-2 draw with Tauro.

Mission Accomplished!!!

BoriQa — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:47:08 +0000

¡Misión Cumplida! was the headline in the Spanish newspapper El Vocero covering the thriumphant return of the Puerto Rico Islanders to the island from Panama after the 2-2 tie on the road that allowed the Islanders to advance to the quarter final round of the CONCACAF Champions League, as one of the best 8 teams in the region.

“It was a happy ending for the Islanders” was the headline in Primera Hora, another of the local Spanish news sites. “Unlike the sadness displayed in their faces when the Islanders fell defeated to the Vancouver Whitecaps in the USL Championship game earlier in the month, yesterday their faces were adorned by huge smiles upon returning to the island after obtaining a quarter finals spot in the Champions League” Primera Hora wrote.

“This puts a final touch to a long season which we may now say was successfull… we did what we had to do, which was to advance to the next stage” told midfielder Jonathan Steele, and USL Most Valuable Player, to El Nuevo Dia, the main Spanish newspaper in the island.

“After so many highs and lows in the tournament, it was incredible to go to Panama and accomplish the goal of advancing. It’s an incredible period for the club, the island and for Puertorican football” told the USL Goalie of the Year Bill Gaudette to the same newspaper.

“Walking down these corridors we now feel like true champions… we had the opportunity to recover, and we did it!” said defenseman John Krausse.

FIFA called the Islanders surprise story of reaching the quarter finals stage of the CONCACAF tournament “A Puerto Rican fairy tale“.