Orange Legionnaire

Thought this was pretty cool when I got my paper and coffee today:


Get in! Go Lions.

Some stories from the Global United weekend, written by Dayton Daily News's Kyle Nagel:

**Dayton Dutch Lions Head Coach Sonny Silooy had a Global United uniform at the ready (underneath his Dutch Lion warmup) just in case there were a few injuries on the Global United squad. As despite being star-studded with the likes of Marco Etcheverry, Thomas Dooley, Marcelo Balboa, Fredi Bobic, Tony Sanneh, etc., the Global United squad had a few players that had to back out last second (such as Fernando Couto, Sa Pinto, and Yaw Preko because of other engagements/travel arrangements leaving their squad at 14 players total). Silooy would have fit into the Former World Star roster nicely with his 25 Dutch caps and lengthy experience at Ajax. Story here.

Dutch Lions opening game sets good tone, much better then some other franchise debuts in region, story and words below by Kyle Nagel:

We’ve had our share of professional franchise debuts in the Miami Valley in the past few years.
The most entertaining one belonged to the Dayton Warbirds (indoor football) in April 2005. The opponent, the Beaumont (Texas) Drillers, arrived 3 hours and 48 minutes late after flight mechanical problems, a missed bus in Cincinnati and multiple taxi rides from the Queen City. After a daylight-saving time change, the first game ended at the Nutter Center at 3:27 a.m.

The Warbirds lasted two seasons in the area, and that first game certainly didn’t set a strong tone.

Things were different on Friday, April 30, for the Dayton Dutch Lions.

The Dutch Lions, a group made up of eight Dutch and nine American players in the Premier Development League, played their first home game at Bellbrook High School against a visiting all-star squad.

The home stands were mostly filled, and the crowd was estimated at about 2,800.

The opponents’ star power might’ve helped that, but many in the crowd were already wearing the Dutch Lions’ orange in the stands.

Dayton Dutch Lions midfielder Julius Wille discusses the Global United game and the upcoming league match with Soccer News Netherlands:

"It was really fun to play Global United. Many players had cancelled, that was a shame, but there were still big names. The game was a success, nearly 3,000 people, which came to watch the match" he tells Soccernews.nl

Upcoming this week is the start of the league for Dayton Dutch Lions Wille who is confident. "For us it is still getting used to each other in terms of soccer, the matches take place yet as we want, but we still have a week before the competition so it'll be fine I think."

Dayton Dutch Lions headman Sonny Silooy (in Dutch Lions practice on left, picture by Ron Alvey) was a legendary player at Ajax and also received 25 caps with Holland- always a tough international squad to break into.

The Head Coach of the Dutch Lions, Sonny Silooy, finally arrived in Dayton this past Wednesday and despite exhaustion from delays and the long flight, went straight to work. Silooy is quite the legendary player in Holland and this experience should help the Dayton Dutch Lion players- no matter whether they hail from Dayton or Rotterdam.

Overall, Silooy spent 13 years at Ajax during his playing career, gaining an astonishing 267 caps at the Amsterdam club (Ajax ws one of the top clubs in the World at the time, especially in the mid 90's). Overall, Silooy had 400 caps in the top flights of the Netherlands, Germany, and France while garnering 25 Dutch caps. Silooy looks to also build on his coaching experience with the Dayton Dutch Lions. Silooy started coaching soccer in 2006 with a two year stint as Ajax's youth coach.

For a full article by the Dayton Daily News on Silooy's arrival, click here.

After battling volcanic ash to finally get in the country, Co-Owner Mike Mossel (above) is happy to see things finally coming together here in Dayton.

Mike Mossel, as he watched the Dayton Dutch Lions scrimmage a U-19 side on Saturday:
“It’s kind of crazy. To see some of the guys we have playing here in Dayton, Ohio, and knowing how far we’ve come, it’s a great feeling.”

Comment from Dayton Daily News article by Kyle Nagel, for the entire story click here.

The senior Dutch & American players in the squad, Bret Jones (left) and Oscar Moens (right), have kept the serious manner of the Dutch Lions's practices light with some banter.

I have already personally noticied the near seemless transition, between the American and Dutch players at the Dayton Dutch Lions when it comes to becoming good teammates, whether it be in practice or when they're hanging out together off of the field. Dayton Daily News's Writer Kyle Nagel has noticed much of the same in a lighthearted moment between Jones and Moens:

Bret Jones was walking toward a reporter to discuss the area’s new professional soccer venture just as renowned Dutch goalkeeper Oscar Moens was walking away.

“This guy,” Moens cracked while pointing to Jones, “he jumps like a monkey!”

Jones, a Xenia High School and Wright State product, laughed. Then Moens, the 6-foot-3 keeper, began jumping around and waving his arms in a lighthearted moment.

Xenia product Bret Jones on coming together with the Dutch players:

“Any time you have a new club and new players, it takes some getting used to,” Jones said. “But this hasn’t been a problem. They didn’t come in saying, ‘I’m from Holland, I know soccer’ and putting themselves on a pedestal,” Jones said. “We’re learning as much from them as we can, and hopefully they can learn from us.”

Former Dutch National Team keeper Moens concurs:

“It has been good,” Moens said. “We learn from them, and they learn from us.”

For the full article, click here.