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World Cup 2010 South Africa Bud COPA 6 vs. 6 Tournament California Team Headed to World Cup
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MORE WORLD CUP STORIES: The part was on at Home Depot Center when California's team qualifed to play in this World Dup support event.
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The First World Cup Winners
They didn't do the Disky Dance or pull out the vuvuzelas. But they just might when they get to South Africa. LA Blue, a soccer team from the Los Angeles suburb of Sylmar, will be playing at the 2010 World Cup. No, they are not facing Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico England or even the USA. But they will be going against teams from other countries in the COPA Budweiser 6 vs. 6 tournament, a support event for the South Africa World Cup.
They earned that right by becoming the California 6 vs. 6 champion by defeating The Chosen Few from Bakersfield, 3-2, for the Budweiser Cup on Sunday, May 16, in front of 1,000-plus enthusiastic fans at Home Depot Center. It was the culmination of a state-wide tournament. The final event featured 32 squads from 16 cities LA Blue's next stop is the FIFA World Cup stadium in Pretoria, South Africa, where it will meet other 6 vs. 6 winning teams from around the world.
This is a dream come true for these players, if ever they even dreamed they would be going to the 2010 World Cup. "It's heaven. Heaven," said LA Blue goalkeeper Miguel Angel, whose quick reflexes knocked away the potential game-tying goal as time expired. "I'm happy. Very happy. Thrilled." The winning goal was scored by Samuel Ochoa at the 18:52 mark of the 20-minute match. "A teammate gave me the ball, I turned and took the shot," Ochoa said. "Luckily, it went in."
The event was a festive happening that began with preliminary matches leading to the semifinals and finals in Home Depot's stadium. Bands played all day and Budweiser brought in a rolling bar on wheels, as well as enough Budweiser "chicas" to field a team of thier own.
"This is a great event for the community and for soccer," said winning coach Isidre Torres, who was remarkably calm immediately after the game. Reminded that his team is headed to South Africa to play in a World Cup stadium, he smiled and said, "Well, it hasn't hit me yet. It will probably take a couple of hours."
Six-on-six soccer features six players per side on a reduced field shooting at a much smaller goal. It's a fast-paced game and "transition is the key, getting back on defense because things change so fast," Torres said. In addition to helping send LA Blue to a World Cup support event at the California finals, Budweiser presented a check for $64,000 to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
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