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Karl
Senior Member
USA
914 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 14 2003 : 10:17:19 AM
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Eastman
Cuba has Specialzed Training Center for Elite Players
Friday, March 14, 2003, 7:28:05 AM
IP:64.12.96.170
Villa Clara favorite for national championship
By ANNE-MARIE GARCIA-Special for Granma International-
TEAMS from City of Havana and Cienfuegos are to join Villa Clara and Pinar del Río in the semi-finals of the national soccer championship on January 15.
Before the final phase of elimination rounds, five teams had the chance of moving onto the next decisive round although Villa Clara were unbeaten in first place with 42 points, followed by Pinar del Río with 34.
The team from City of Havana outshone opponents Holguín, beating them 1-0 and finishing in third place with 31 points.
Fourth place in the semis goes to Cienfuegos with 29 points, who beat current champions Ciego de Avila 2-1, knocking them out of this year’s title dispute.
The Villa Clara reserve team took to the field for their encounter with Camagüey but lost the match 1-0, whilst the team from Pinar del Río lost 4-3 in a penalty shootout against Granma.
The final results in the elimination round are as follows: Villa Clara, 42points; Pinar del Río, 34; City of Havana, 31; Cienfuegos, 29; Granma & Camagüey both finished with 26; Holguín, 25; Ciego de Avila, 21; Sancti Spíritus, 19 and Havana province, 11.
Leading goal scorers are Serguei Prado of Villa Clara with 20, closely followed by teammate Ariel Betancourt with 19.
The semi-finals take place as this edition of the paper goes to press, with home and away matches for Villa Clara v Cienfuegos and Pinar del Río v City of Havana. The winners go straight on to the 2003 title challenge.
In Cuba, where baseball is the national sport, the quality of soccer doesn’t match that of our continental neighbors, although the sporting authorities are attempting to boost the sport and raise the level of the game.
As part of the FIFA-sponsored PROJECT GOAL, the Pedro Marrero stadium here in the capital underwent a complete renovation thanks to a donation of $400,000 USD.
In the same center, a specialized training center for elite players has been created in the hope that over the next few years Cuba will reach the level of excellence in soccer that it enjoys in other sports. |
Karl |
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Eastman's post - Cuba has Specialzed Training
