Pranešimai spaudai

As soon as new manager was ready and able to buy up new players - having passed the manageafootyclub licensing examination - Ssangyong United went on a serious buying spree, snapping up 14 new players from around the world, and reinforcing the squad with a sound foundation in 14 new managerial hires. Then we had to kick out a few straggling players, wished them the best in nirvana, and settled on a 30 player roster. Through the midst of it, reconstruction of a new stadium was ongoing. The current capacity stands at 5,600, which is encouraging for the fans to come out and cheer on their new and hopefully improved team. Even now, there are plans to expand, but only if the home crowd continues to come out strong and vindicate the costs for further expansion. On top of these new gains, a new sponsorship contract was signed, yielding a 25% increase in sponsorship revenues that will certainly go a long way to ensuring the fiscal security of the club.

In the meantime, we've got a few friendlies to cover. It started with a home-away series at the Galaticos of Canada. What started as a close and evenly fought match turned into a one-sided affair after the hour, as tired legs drew on in the face of a hostile crowd. The end result was a flattening 4-1 loss, but the return fixture proved just as tight and was a better measure of the team's performance, though it was still a 1-nil loss at home. A good 732 fans came out to support the team through it all. Next up was a series of away matches, starting Slovakia, where a 1-nil loss to FC Guta further proved the strength of the squad but underlined their inability to hold on in the opening minutes. Similarly, a visit to England and Bodrog SE highlighted this weakness as Ssangyong United fell 2-nil away. A return home brought Ssangyong United some Polish opposition - Sparta Augustow - who again showed the frailty of the United defense in the opening 10 minutes. But unlike the previous three matches, a late striker from new Swedish striker Nick Akerlund ensured that the spoils would be shared. Staying at home to round out our post-season tour, the team played Russian side Thurrock FC. Again, the team fell behind to an early goal off a penalty, and then a red card to new Bulgarian midfielder Ventizslav Minchev ensured a tough fight ahead. But a swift response was due as new French striker Tobias Humblot seized a deft pass from Spanish center back Ruben Garay and shot the ball into the far post. Gifting possession for much of the match, Ssangyong United then took the lead when Slovak midfielder Milan Miso headed in Polish midfielder Mariusz Bartnik's cross for the 2-1 advantage. A tenuous defense and chances late on continued to thrill the home crowd of 833 fans, but it would remain 2-1 for Ssangyong United's first and only win so far.

And with two matches remaining in the final two days, it is apparent that the friendly tours have not been too friendly to the squad, but they have offered the team some opportunities to learn from mistakes and to fix them before the next season starts. More importantly, it's a great chance for home fans to see their new stars and for the players themselves to bond together, to figure out how to play together and what needs to be done. They finish the post-season tour with a home fixture against another Polish team Golnica Ryczywol and then away at Finnish side Tuonelan joutsen.

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