www.dailyrecord.com | Printer-friendly article page Page 1 of 2 Lecor oom September 27, 2008 Local teams square off in fast, furious games of street soccer By MATT MANOCHIO STAFF WRITER PARSIPPANY -- World Cup soccer and street soccer have one thing in common, games that are low scoring, often ending up 1-0 oF 2-0. ‘The similarities end there, Instead of playing on a spacious grass field, street soccer players are confined in 45-by-75-foot area, as they were during Saturday's XTremBol Street Soccer Tournament at the Central Park of Morris County. The tournament was played on two caged, flat roller hockey rinks. team called Master Railing won the championship with a 1-0 victory over Furia Verde, or Green Force. Christian Manzera, 23, of Dover, scored the game's only goal Victor Salazar, 19, of Morristown, who played for Furia Verde, was the tournament's Most Valuable Player. ‘The footwork needed to control the ball in such a confined area is fast and precise, when compared to regular soccer. “The biggest diference by faris the quickness,’ Bobby Fitzgerald, 21, of Denville, said, "You all have to be on the same page, and if there's a weak link on the team, you'e in trouble." Fitzgerale's team, Preston Newark, was one of 10 competing for bragging rights and a first-place trophy Saturday. The matches were 20 minutes long, with four players on each team. Each side has a defender guarding a 3-foot-wide net, with three otfier players constanty kicking the ball and trying to score. Fitzgerald grew up playing organized soccer, and his story differed from many of the other competitors. Kids growing up in Central and South America, and in parts of Europe, play street soccer. A majority of the players Saturday had Latin roots and played pick-up soceer in their native lands on any flat surface they could find, ‘The flags of nearly every South American country, along with the U.S. flag, flew over the two side-by- side, caged-in playing areas. “I've been playing street soccer since | was 4," said Carlos Carmona, 21, who grew up in Colombia and now lives in Dover. ‘The teams were composed mostly of Morris County residents, many from Dover, Morristown and Randolph. "We do a lot of pickup games all over Morris County," Carmona said, "Here you just run a lot. You have to be in the best shape.” Ismael Bedoya, 33, of Morristown, was also born in Colombia. He lost his right arm below the elbow because of gangrene, but that didn't stop him from playing soccer when he came to the U.S. http://www dailyrecord.com/apps/pbes.dil/article? AID=/20090927/COMMUNITIES/9092..._ 9/29/2009www.dailyrecord.com | Printer-friendly article page Page 2 of 2 "You do need it not only to keep a litle bit of balance, or when you fall on your right side," he said. "When there's a person with a disability like that, you have to find a way to do things." Bedoya did. He and his fellow players on team Montenegro won the first XTremBol tournament held last year at the Prudential Center in Newark Andres Torres, president of XTremBol, the company that organized and promoted the event, said he created the venture because of his love of soccer. ‘The 36-year-old Rockaway resident began playing soccer on the streets of his native Colombia before coming to the United States, where he played soccer for Morristown High School and later for Seton Hall "We're trying to promote a livelier kind of soccer,” he said, adding he hopes more street soccer players will avail themselves of the flat roller hockey rink at Central Park “Just go out and play, you can really use any surface," he said. “It's physical. Its a lot of everything. It's soccer. It's fun." http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20090927/COMMUNITIES/909; 9/29/2009