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Turmoil at Real Maryland leads to more changes

30 Jul, 2008

By Chris Hummer, Potomac Soccer Wire Editor

The first-year USL-2 club Real Maryland has not had a good end to their once promising opening year as a professional team. Following an encouraging 3-3-0 league start, the wheels have come completely off, with the team in midst of a 12-game winless streak in all competitions.

After replacing their Head Coach less than two weeks ago, team President Victor Moran took more action this week, announcing today the dismissal of their marquee player, as well as the team General Manager, citing "disputes" and "differences" with management respectively.

“It was a tough decision to make,” Moran lamented of losing Cerritos, the former D.C. United and El Salvadoran national team star forward, ” but in the end, I feel it was in the best interest of the team."

While winning the league in a first year was not a likely goal for the first-year club, certainly competing every week, and not getting embarrassed would have been. But after downing the New York Pancyprian Freedom amateur team on June 13 in U.S. Open Cup play, Real has not won a single game, going 0-11-1 in all competitions, which doesn't include a closed-door scrimmage drubbing by Boca Junior's reserves during the famous Argentine team's recent pre-season training camp at Maryland SoccerPlex.

The writing may have been on the wall for major change before today's announcements however. After the 8-0 loss July 19th to the Charlotte Eagles, Head Coach Silvino Gonzolo was released and promptly replaced with Brazilian Antonio Carlos Vieira.

The new coach rallied his new team to a close 2-1 loss to visiting Bermuda Hogges, but Saturday's 6-0 loss at Richmond Kickers must have been the last straw for Cerritos and General Manager Bienvenido "Bien" Martinez.

In the short press release sent out today, the message was clear there were clear differences of opinions, and Moran had taken action to both stop the bleeding and begin rebuilding for the team's sophomore campaign.

Real will round out its season with the final leg of the D’Orsey Cup against Crystal Palace Baltimore at UMBC this Thursday before heading to Pittsburgh for the final game the season on August 9th. Regardless of the results in these matches, the team that trots out next Summer will clearly be a much different "ReALity" than the one that closes the opening chapter next Saturday.

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