Random Team of the Day

JOE PUBLIC FC

Country: Trinidad and Tabago

League: Professional Football League

Nickname: Eastern Lions

Championships: 1998, 2006

PORTLAND TIMBERS

League: United Soccer League First Division
City: Portland, Oregon, USA
Founded: 1975
League Champs: Never

Founded in 1975 as part of the NASL, the Portland Timbers quickly became a loved staple of Portland. In their first season, the team managed to get all the way to the NASL Championship, losing to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. However, like the rest of the NASL, including the original Seattle Sounders and the New York Cosmos, the team folded in 1982 because of phenomenally high salaries.

“Soccer City USA” got its second chance to be home of a team in 1985. The Timbers became a member of the Western Soccer Alliance and included recent University of Portland graduate goalie Kasey Keller. The team and the league only lasted until 1990, when it too folded.

In 2001, Portland was awarded a new team by the USL First Division and the love affair between the city and team was as strong as ever. Playing in PGE Park, the Timbers are supported by the Timbers Army, a supporters group of soccer crazed Portlanders. While many other supporter groups find them offensive and uncreative, Timbers Army is none-the-less a passionate fan base that creates a hostile environment for any visiting team. This passion is most evident when the team matches up with its most hated rival, the Seattle Sounders. The I-5 rivalry usually involves many cards, much blood, and no love.

The current team includes many past MLS players (Shaun Higgins and Chris Brown), a former Japanese national player (Takayuki Suzuki) and the Timbers all-time leading scorer (Bryon Alvarez). While they are still searching for there first league championship, the Timbers have managed to make the playoffs on a fairly consistent basis since their current creation in 2001. This years team is managed by former Timber and New Zealand national player Gavin Wilkinson who hopes that his team will one day take home a title.

UANL TIGRES

League: Primera División de Mexico
City: San Nicolas, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Founded: 1906
League Champs: 1978, 1982

Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León is one of the youngest teams in Mexico's Premera Division. Originally known as the Jabatos, Tigres were created in 1960 by the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon. The school ran and organized this professional team for almost 40 years. The team started small, in the country's more amateur divisions and was finally was promoted to Mexico's Premera Division in 1974.

The high points for the franchise came during the early part of its history. By 1982 ,they had won two championships and been runner up twice. In 1979, Tigres partook in what some consider the best match in Mexican soccer history. UANL battled their bitter rivals, Cruz Azul, to a 2-1 loss in the league's championship game.

Things changed in 1996. After years of corrupt management of the state-controlled university, the team was regulated to second division. The team had had so many mediocre and sometimes appalling records that they finally played themselves out of premier soccer. To fix the problem, the team was privatized and sold to CEMEX, the world's third largest producer of cement and things began to turn around. The team was promoted back to Premier division and they have stayed there ever since.

Last season UANL finished 14th out of 18 teams, running the risk of being demoted soon. Under former Mexican national team coach Manuel Lapuente, the team hopes to regain late 1970s form but things don't look good. Besides captain Lucas Ayala the roster lacks any type of notable players. None of the Mexican born players currently play for the National team and there are only 3 current players on the roster who play for their home countries national team (two from Paraguay and one from Panama). However, the team has booked a heavy friendly schedule, spending a good portion of summer 2008 in America playing USL and MLS teams, hoping to gain experience and skill.

VALENCIA CF

League: La Liga

City: Valencia, Spain

Founded: 1919

League Champs: '42, '44, '47, '71, '02, '04

Valencia Club de Fútbol is one of the biggest and most successful clubs in Spain and all of Europe. It is also a team steeped in history. The club was formed in 1919 by founding team president Octavio Augusto Milego Díaz. At the time Velencia already had several clubs but did not have a dominant side. Valencia CF began to surface as the dominant team from the area, beating the other local clubs.

With the fan base growing, new team president Ramon Leonarte bought new land in 1923 to build what would become Mestalla. The original Estadio Mestalla was built in time for the 1923 season and with remodeling and expansion, remains the teams home stadium and will remain the team home pitch until 2009 when they plan on moving into new 75,000 seat Nou Mestalla.

After World War II, the team was taken over by the Spanish government and government officials were appointed to team President and Vice President. However, this didn't hinder the teams success, which enjoyed its best football during the 1940s, winning 3 La Liga Championships during that era.

The club's success last until the early 1980's. The team failed to succeed on the field which led to a drop in fan base. The team had also just invested heavily into renovating their stadium, which had left them with much debt. With financial woes looming over the team, the club changed team president and other management positions but this did not help matters. With so much debt, the club could hardly pay their players salaries and because of this failed to sign new players. The club struggled in 1986 and was demoted to La Liga's second division.

However, many soccer historians claim that this demotion helped Valencia more than it hindered. It allowed the team to regroup and get its finances in order. By 1988, the club was once again back in the first division and playing well. The nineties followed with moderately successful years which built foundations for the new millennium. In 2002, Valencia beat Deportivode La Coruña to take La Liga crown and the club took it home again in 2004, outlasting FC Barcelona.

The current squad has four players from EURO '08 winning Spanish national team including David Silva and David Villa, who has scored 70 goals in 130 appearances for Valencia. The team also includes international players Éver Banega (Argentina), Nikola Žigić (Serbia), and Hedwiges Maduro (Netherlands).

On the teams' crest, a bat appears at the top. Why a bat? The explanation is that Valencia was conquered in 1238 by King James I of Aragon. While King James was attempting to take Valencia for his kingdom, a bat landed upon one of his flags. King James took this as a good sign and after defeating the Moors in battle, a bat was added to his and the cities crest.

JUBILO IWATA

League: J. League Division 1

City: Iwata, Japan

Founded: 1970

League Champs: '97, '99, '02

Júbilo Iwata was formed in 1970 by Japanese company Yamaha Motors. While they are no longer a main sponsor of the club, Yamaha helped build Júbilo into one of the most powerful sides in Japan. While they may not have the most J. League titles, they have the distinction of having the most Asian Club Cup finals appearances, finishing runner-up twice and champion once in 1999.

They received soccer world notoriety when then Brazilian national team captain Dunga left European soccer and signed with Júbilo in 1995. Dunga, who is 11th all-time in 91 caps for Brazil, played for 4 seasons in Iwata, scoring 17 goals in 99 games.

With Dunga's arrival, Júbilo went from unimportant to dominant became one of Japan's most powerful teams, rivaled only by the Kashima Antlers. In a 6 year stretch from 1997 thru 2002, Júbilo won the J. League Championship 3 times and were runners up 3 times.

However, recent Júbilo Iwata teams have been unable to match the success of its predecessors. In 2007, the team posted its lowest finish in club history, positioned at 9th out of 18 teams. The current team is aging and a lack of talent in its youth system has Júbilo fans concerned.

The 2008 roster includes Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, who is second all-time in caps for the Japanese national team, most all-time by a goalie, and, at the age of 32, captain for the national squad. Júbilo Iwata also includes national team player Yūichi Komano who, at 27, brings new talent to the roster after leaving his old team Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C. after they were regulated to J. League division 2 and Masashi Nakayama, team captain and leader who has spent his entire professional career with Júbilo. Nakayama, who has played with the team since 1990, has over 400 appearances and 206 goals and remains a fan favorite.