A TASTE OF BRAZIL; ELITE PLAYS `BEAUTIFUL GAME'.Byline: Ramona Shelburne Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Special to the Daily News In the world of soccer, the name Brazil is synonomous with success. It means more World Cup titles (four) than any other country, countless international stars with names such as Pele, Ronaldo or Bebeto, and a style of play known by aficionados as ``the beautiful game.'' Now that same rich soccer tradition has come to Calabasas in the forms of former Brazilian professional player Luis Dos Santos, who trains the 15-under California Stars Elite soccer club, and manager Caesar Silva. Formed only one year ago, Elite has quickly risen through the ranks of the tough El Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
``It's a big step to skip the Silver division,'' said Elite captain Aaron Nadel, who also plays for Agoura High. ``It shows that people recognize the talent this team has shown and the hard work we've put in over the last two months.'' And what a two-months period it has been for the team made up of players from El Camino Real, Westlake, Agoura and Crespi highs. This May, Elite won the first of its three tournament titles with a victory over the San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. Pumas at the Lancaster Ambush Premier Cup. Since that victory, Elite has gone 12-1-1 while outscoring its opponents 41-9 and winning the Camarillo Cool Classic and Anaheim Classic tournaments. ``To see a random bunch of guys A Bunch of Guys (BOGs), or Group of Guys (GOGs) are terms used by counter-terrorism officials to refer to small, self-organizing terrorist cells.[1] BOGs typically have little to no contact with global terrorist groups like al Qaeda, so they independently plan and come together so quickly and just win is amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. ,'' Nadel said. The secret behind Elite's seemingly overnight success? Word of mouth. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Silva, every victory brought new players, and soon Elite had a full, talented squad. That, and a little Brazilian savvy. ``We like to play simply,'' Dos Santos said. ``Not too fancy. Just put the ball down, look up and pass.'' In Brazilian soccer parlance Parlance - A concurrent language. ["Parallel Processing Structures: Languages, Schedules, and Performance Results", P.F. Reynolds, PhD Thesis, UT Austin 1979]. , this style is known as jogo bonito bonito: see mackerel. bonito Swift, predaceous schooling fishes (genus Sarda) of the mackerel family (Scombridae). Bonitos, found worldwide, have a striped back and silvery belly and grow to about 30 in. (75 cm) long. and it has frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: Brazil's opponents for years. Now the same thing is happening to teams that play against Elite. ``Brazil's style comes over in our training,'' Nadel said. ``It's a fluid motion from back to front. There's a lot of passing which makes it fun to watch. ``Playing in Las Virgenes before, it was just kick and run. Now you actually see people running around in circles. You have to anticipate what people are going to do and that comes from team chemistry.'' Besides the Brazilian influence of Dos Santos and Silva, Elite's top scorer, Leandro Martins, was born in Brazil and lived there until last year. The Agoura High striker A high striker, also known as a strength tester, or strongman game, is an attraction used in funfairs, fundraisers, and carnivals. It operates by utilizing the lever where one end holds a puck attached to the tower and the other end is struck by the person or came to America on vacation and Silva, his uncle, asked him to stay. ``It's a lot different in Brazil. There's a lot more skill,'' said Martins, who played for the 15-under team of Palmeiras - a top professional team - in Brazil. ``They practice every day because everyone enjoys the game and takes it seriously.'' With 81 goals in just 70 games this season, Martins has emerged as one of the top players in the area. ``Leandro is amazing. He's definitely the best player I've ever seen,'' Nadel said. ``I think that he'll be one of the top players in the world someday.'' High praise indeed, but according to most, well-deserved. So will Martins soon drop his surname SURNAME. A name which is added to the christian name, and which, in modern times, have become family names. 2. They are called surnames, because originally they were written over the name in judicial writings and contracts. and go simply by `Leandro' as is custom with Brazilian soccer stars? Not likely. Because Silva is applying to become Martins' legal guardian, his future in international competition lies in America. Maybe someday, Martins' Brazilian influence can help the American national team (last place in World Cup '98) as much as he has the Elite. AT A GLANCE The Calabasas-based California Stars Elite has had a good summer. Here's a look at some of their highlights: Coach: Caesar Silva Trainer: Luiz Dos Santos. An accomplished player in his own right, played professionally for Sao Paolo in Brazil. Studying to be a doctor at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . Future Star: Leandro Martins. The Brazil native has scored 78 goals in 66 games this season. Top finishes: 1999 Northridge Arena Soccer League (indoor) Champions; 1999 Ambush Premier Cup Champions; 1999 Anaheim Classic Champions; 1999 Camarillo Cool Classic Champions. To Find Out More: All of Elite's results are immediately posted on the internet at www.caesarphoto.com/elite. For tryouts, call Silva at (818) 718-0878 CAPTION(S): Photo, Box PHOTO (Color) Felipe Silva is a member of the 15-under California Stars Elite soccer club in Calabasas. Elite has won three of its last four tournaments. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer BOX: AT A GLANCE (see text) |
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