It’s not all dribble, good soccer players use their head - Bolaji (1986)
TSIVO F.C. plays in the highly competitive Fox Soccer League on San Fernando and Macon in Elysian Park, north-east of L.A. The league is dominated by aspirants to club level soccer. With team names like Atletico Madrid, Club Chivas, P.S.V., and A.C. Milan, entertaining soccer is guaranteed every Sunday.
Team captain and coordinator, Steve Nersesyan, invited Bolaji early in September to coach and manage the team. Bolaji has been on the sideline since but formally took over Sunday Oct. 12 to see TSIVO get a 2-1 come-from-behind win.
Bolaji continues to push his philosophy of smart soccer and positive attitude with this group of highly skilled players. Among the biggest challenges is the need to stay cool in the face of the frequent bad calls and no calls by the officials. The October 12 game was videotaped and it clearly documented two uncalled handballs in the unobstructed view of the ref.
After a 0-1 first half, TSIVO tied it up in the 9th minute with Julio’s aggressive follow-up on a long range shot by Henrik. The smart soccer was kept up and the ref had no choice but to call the handball in the box when a defender got his hand in the way of Cesar’s serve. Henrik’s cool pk sent the goalie the wrong way.
Bolaji (2008)
Bottom row left to right - Steve, Ricardo, Koko, Gus, Jose, Henrik, Cesar, Labib
Top row left to right - Julio, Mike, Henrik, Bedros, Hagop, Robbie, David, Bolaji
Click image to see details of the team’s performances
Click image to see details of the team’s performances