Taipei City FC are on the verge of making a little bit of history as they prepare for a game which, should they win, could see them become the first expat team to claim the Businessmen's Soccer League (BML) title for 16 years.
The feat would be all the more remarkable as the side are in their first season, and their initial campaign started unpromisingly, as joint club captain Ross Conlon recalls.
"After our first four games we only had four points, but we haven't dropped a point since," says Conlon, a 26-year-old Irishman from Ennis, County Clare.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSS CONLON
The teething problems came from trying to get a new group of players to gel and from searching for the right playing formation.
"We started out with 4-4-2 but it was too defensive," says 31-year-old Englishman Dan Calvert, the other club captain. "Most of our players are good going forward, so we switched to 3-5-2."
Taipei City have their roots in long-standing expat side Taipei Animals, who both Conlon and Calvert played for.
"There were some differences of opinion -- over tactics, the way forward," Calvert recalls. "We decided to set up our own side but we still have good relations."
The Animals play in the Tavern Premier League (TPL), composed almost exclusively of expat teams, while City stayed in the BML, which, apart from City and one other side, is made up of all-Taiwanese teams.
"The standard of play in the BML is better overall than in the TPL," Conlon says. "There is a fair amount of overlap though, as most of our players also play for TPL sides."
"There are eight expat teams playing in the TPL, so the talent pool is diluted between the clubs, but many of the best players in the league play for us too," Calvert says.
Part of the reason for the split was a desire by Conlon and Calvert to be as competitive as possible and play at the highest standard they could.
"We aspire to be one of the best teams in Taiwan, not just the best expat team," Conlon says.
The BML is one level below the top tier of Taiwanese soccer but still includes clubs able to field former Taiwanese internationals and, indeed, proficient expat players like Calvert, once on the books of English professional side Peterborough United, and Conlon, who played for highly rated Irish junior side Avenue United.
The style of play is another thing that marks the leagues apart.
"Teams in the BML tend to keep the ball on the floor, they pass and move," Conlon says. "Expat teams tend to play more of a long-ball game and the TPL is probably slightly more physical."
The BML is a national league, although all matches are played in the Taipei area because of superior facilities and the fact that it's where most of its clubs are based.
Taipei City's final game of the season on Sunday week is a winner-take-all clash against league leaders Fritz FC. Fritz are firm favorites to win their penultimate game this weekend, which would leave them three points clear at the top of the table.
Should City beat Fritz the title could come down to goal difference. As things stand, City have the edge on this score so things couldn't be poised more tantalizingly.
Win, lose or draw, City have good cause to be pleased with the way things have gone in their first season. Even so, there is no chance of them resting on their laurels.
Although they lack Taiwanese players at present, it's a situation City hope to remedy. Probably the most encouraging avenue for progress is young players.
Calvert coaches local children and hopes that some will eventually strengthen City's ranks.
He is cautiously optimistic about the future of soccer in Taiwan, having been impressed by the standard of the kids he has worked with, but believes the game needs a higher profile before it can compete on a more equal footing with basketball and baseball.
City's final game of the season against Fritz FC takes place at Bai Lin Bridge in Shilin, Taipei, on March 23. Kick off is at 4pm.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS