On Sunday, December 15th 2019, Venice Beach Football Club hosted the 2nd Annual Venice Invitational. In a few short hours, the one and only Estadio de Dogtown transformed from a beachside slab of concrete into an electric mix of futbol, artistry, design, gaming, and boardwalk culture. Players and spectators flooded the courts, absorbing and participating in the festival-style soccer experience that was the 2019 Venice Invitational. The event was brought to life with two pick-up courts, the EA Sports FIFA20 Gaming Bus, a Teqball table, DJs, music, food, some of the boardwalk’s finest talent, and a launch of new Venice Beach Football Club apparel.
With a new year on the horizon, the club took this event as an opportunity to celebrate all of the incredible opportunities that 2019 brought: Our girls held hands with their idols as they sang the national anthem at the women’s national game vs. Belgium. Soon after, a Crystal Dunn mural graced the backdrop of our Sunday pick-up games throughout the Women's World Cup. Our youth, pick-up community and notable freestylers showcased their foot-skills alongside Arsenal players in front of a Gustavo Jr’s dope Arsenal mural right on our block. Our own Gerardo Flores scored a winning pick-up game goal off of a smoother than smooth assist from Kylian Mbappe on a cloudy Sunday in June. The Premier League trophy paid a visit to the Estadio in July. And these are just a handful of memorable moments from a year filled with community, love, and the game.
With Nike and EA Sports and several other local partners, we set out to create a day that celebrated and thanked our entire community for the overwhelming love and support they show to our club.
The morning gusts that swayed the palms and nearly blew the tents away eventually became the wind at our backs, propelling the day into club history. As momentum steadily built, anticipation bubbled for our second contest between the best talent to grace the courts over the year, and a star-studded Legend’s Game. It was a beautiful day that brought swathes of the Los Angeles soccer community to our club’s home and gave everyone a little bit of something to enjoy.
Youth Pick Up and Tournament
In a few short hours, the one and only Estadio de Dogtown transformed from a beachside slab of concrete into an electric meridian of futbol, artistry, design, gaming, and boardwalk culture. The day kicked off with Youth Pick Up and Tournament games. Players from both our Futsal Club and Oakwood Soccer League took their skills from the grassy fields and gymnasium floors to the streets, for some authentic Estadio-style futbol. For three straight hours, our Futsal Club players competed in their first intra-club tournament at The Estadio, battling it out in the infamous King-of-the-Court fashion. Facilitated by our VBFC coaches, the courts were brought to life, their energy and love for the game setting the tone for the youth experience. As our youth players showcased their skills on the courts, players of all ages illustrated their own skills on the Teqball table that rested in a space between the two games. Standout performances on the table came from Futsal Club regular Noah Glasco, and Brazilian technical wizard Talita Pereira. The energy at The Estadio was even further amplified by the double-decker EA Sports FIFA bus and gaming lounge that offered players a virtual street futbol experience. Venice High School varsity soccer players showed their class on the sticks during their breaks from helping facilitate the event. The buzz grew over the promising young talents that showed a glimpse of future careers on these courts. The youth Futsal Tournament winners walked off the courts smiling ear-to-ear, holding their hard-earned brand new copies of FIFA20.
Venice Invitational Qualifier
The top talent selected to compete in the Invitational arrived by noon and took to the court to get loose for a 3-hour pickup battle. Only four out of the 11 teams would advance to the Championships. Some returning talent from last year sought revenge, while a few new faces stepped into VBFC tournament competition for the first time.
As the tournament began, boardwalk legend Tru Artis offered his infectious energy to the Estadio, keeping the crowd buzzing throughout the entire day, mixing his color commentary with his unmatched off-the-top freestyle abilities.
This year’s Invitational was the closest and most competitive tournament in VBFC history, with every team winning at least four games. Every team showed strong promise, making predictions of who would earn a spot in the finals elusive. An early string of wins came from Alex Lalor and his squad (which included VBFC coaches Michael Rosario and Bella Gutierrez, immortal club legend Antonio, and Venice High coach Wesley Lee) and Talita Pereira’s squad (Big Edie, Joao, and the Brasileros) who controlled the competition in the early parts of the tourney. The goals came fast and in spectacular fashion. VBFC designer and Sunday regular Ryan Arambula nodded home a back post cross reminiscent of CR7 from teammate and VBFC warrior Ashley Oswald. Shortly thereafter, Cobi Black, with arguably the best goal of the day, put a ridiculous amount of English on a first touch backspin goal a la Thierry Henry in the Joga Bonita days. And notably, Kainoa Bailey (former LA Galaxy) hit one of the sauciest scissors, ghosted his defender, and drove home one of the best one-on-one finishes of the tournament.
As the tournament progressed, VBFC OG Almog Strikowski, alongside his brother Adam and teammates Martin and Reed, surged in the latter half of the tourney to secure a spot in the semis. 2019 Sunday Pickup’s most consistent duo Luis Flores and Rolando Chapparo - in typical tournament fashion - rallied late and held court for five straight wins to punch their ticket to the semis. Flores’ squad was fortified by German Perez, aka Big Germ, whose work at Deuce Gym has clearly paid off, and Sterling Watring, one of the Estadio’s brightest emerging young talents. Fans will attest - Watring put together some of the nicestly highlights in VBFC tournament history and left the crowd wondering, “Who the hell is this kid?” Lalor and Talita’s run of wins out the gate carried them through as well. With the Championship round decided, the day progressed into the marquee moment, where some of the most notable players in US Soccer stepped out on the hallowed grounds of the Estadio.
Venice Invitational teams prepare for the tournament.
Legends Game
While the tournament players took a moment to rest in preparation for the Championship, the Estadio hummed in anticipation for this year’s infamous Legend’s Game. The bleachers filled, as some of the best ballers in soccer graced the main court at The Estadio. Returners included Steve Nash, Stu Holden, Lee Nguyen, and Servando Carrasco. Estadio debuts were made by Romain Gall (who competed in the Invitational and advanced to the semi’s), Cobi Jones, Alexi Lalas, Tyler Miller, Euan Holden, Shawna Gordon, and Jordan O’Brien. Alex Morgan and Allie Long - fresh off a World Cup title and rocking their new USA Beat Everybody threads - came through to chill and enjoy the scene. In a truly humble and down-to-earth way, both Morgan and Long mixed in with the crowd, taking photos and chatting with countless fans and folks in our community.
With two stacked squads of legends, the matched kicked off. The crowd, still awe struck over the illustrious talent before them, settled in to watch the legends get a feel for the style and environment of the court. Within a few minutes, energy built like a wave, and players let their skills be known: passes connected effortlessly, movements were fluid and intentional, tricks added in for spice and flavor - the game was captivating, poetic. Most notably, every single legend was smiling, letting their love for the game radiate through their play. Bleachers full, our youth players sat criss-cross-apple sauce at the edges of the court, eyes wide in admiration, marveling over the talent before them.
Inter Miami-bound Lee Nguyen, who essentially had the ball tied to his foot the entire game, proceeded to show why he is one of the most coveted technical midfielders in the game. Steve Nash clearly never lost his 20/20 court vision and picked out dimes for teammate Jordan O’Brien effortlessly. Euan Holden debuted with an unsurprising comfortability on The Estadio concrete. LA Galaxy and US National Team Legends Cobi Jones and Alexi Lalas took to the court with four-star, general-like experience, as VBFC ambassador and club legend Stu Holden kept everyone on their toes with his usual mercurial midfield flair. LAFC goalkeeper Tyler Miller pulled off a cheeky meg on Stu, who returned the favor shortly thereafter. Goals poured in from both sides as fans and onlookers cheered. As the environment’s energy reached its peak, the game was to be settled by a win-by-two decision. Shawna Gordon stepped up and put her squad in pole position with a one-goal lead, but Stu, Euan and Steve rallied back and secured the Legend’s Game crown with three quick goals. Fans, players and onlookers stormed the courts to celebrate among the cast of Legends that graced our courts.
Invitational Championships
SEMI-FINALS
As golden hour washed over the closing moments of Legends Game, the top four seeds prepared to take the court. The Championship format was two 10 minute semi-finals and one 14 minute final. Three of the squads amassed 10 wins, while Team Lalor, Rosario, Antonio, Wes and Bella had just 7, which put them on the court in the first semi-final. Fortune favored team Lalor, as Talita’s squad lost two of their strongest players and were forced to recruit two more Brazilian’s on standby. A composed defensive effort from the entire team, and a particularly strong individual effort from Alex Lalor saw their team past the South American’s and into the final fairly comfortably. The second semi-final pitted 2019 Team Flores against Team Strikowski, which was sure to be a strong contest between team teams of accomplished Estadio regulars all capable of taking control of the game. The match started evenly, with both teams capable of running away with it at any moment. But it was Flores’ and co’s experience and savvy that gave them a noticeable edge as they slowly started to pull away. The combination of Big Germ’s strength and poise at the back and Flores’ consistent goal production put them through to the final.
FINALS
Afternoon turned to evening as the winter sun fell below the orange horizon. The final teams were decided: Team Lalor vs. Team Flores. Two 7-minute halves stood in the way of the title of 2019 Venice Invitational Champions. It was no small feat for these players to earn their spots. Today, as they triumphed over countless current and former professionals also hungry for the win, these two teams had a unique advantage: Every player in the final match toted with them dozens and dozens of hours of playing time on the Estadio court throughout the year. The wall, the concrete, the dimensions; every bump, groove, and sand spot were more than familiar to each player on the court. Both teams got off to a cagey start, but soon settled into their rhythm. Goals in quick succession from Flores and Lalor inspired a raucous outpouring of fans onto the court. The Estadio’s energy was reminiscent of Allen Iverson’s Rucker Park debut in 1998, as players and fans buzzed at every skill and goal. Sterling Watring saved his best for last as he piled in goals, making a name for himself in the process. Slight discord within Team Lalor, combined with true grit from Flores, Big Germ, Rolando and Sterling, saw Team Flores pull away and ultimately win. The 2019 Champs were crowned.
To the winners went the spoils, as the champions walked out with four new PS4s, copies of FIFA20, and the Venice Invitational crown for the next year. Alex Lalor secured himself the Most Valuable Player award, ending the day as the highest scorer and a general wealth of positive energy throughout the entire event.
Thank you to everyone who came out to support.
Massive thank you to all the Club Legends:
Cobi Jone | Alexi Lalas | Stu Holden | Steve Nash | Servando Carrasco | Alex Morgan | Allie Long | Lee Nguyen | Tyler Miller | Romain Gall | Euan Holden | Jordan O’Brien | Shawna Gordon
A big thank you to all our partners:
