The Opponent: Ft Lauderdale Strikers

It's hard to be defense-first with a name like that.

Here are some things to know about the Strikers before United open the fall season against them this Saturday.


1) They recently had a closed-door scrimmage against Argentina side River Plate.

A "closed-door" scrimmage? What do the Strikers have to hide? Yes, they lost 3-0 to the Argentine side, but when they're own blog said the Strikers "put in a strong match," who's to argue? I, for one, would like to, but they're making it too hard for me.  A fair person would say losing 3-0 to the most successful club in Argentina is nothing to sneeze at, but what does it mean to be champions 36 times? After awhile you gotta ask yourself, "why bother?"

On the other hand, having a closed-door scrimmage means they could try out some new tactics. Maybe a move to the controversial 4-0-6 formation is in the works; a new twist on the old zero-forward classic. Or maybe they've decided to give up passing the ball. It's gonna be dribbling or nothing for this squad.

36 championships is no big deal

2) The Strikers acquired two new goalkeepers this offseason while pursuing LeBron James.

Take a look at this recent tweet from Ft Lauderdale's official Twitter account:

Hey @KingJames, you know you can also dribble a soccer ball... pic.twitter.com/y8r4Duyq5U
— FTL Strikers (@FTLStrikers) July 10, 2014

What does it all mean? It seems like there's something the front office knows about Mr. James' skills that the rest of us don't. Fortunately James decided to stick with NBA and head back home with his head held high.

The Strikers signed not one but two goalkeepers in the offseason, a Slovakian national as well as one of the best college goalies in NCAA history. Why sign two goalies? Maybe this has to do with some of the tactical changes I mentioned earlier. Maybe they'll play with one keeper in the net and the other can play just in front of him as a sort of advanced keeper/sweeper position, or a 'keeper-sweeper,' as they say. (This is not to be confused with a 'sweeper-keeper,' who plays goalkeeper in such an advanced position that he takes on some responsibilities that a sweeper might traditionally do. Instead, the less common 'keeper-sweeper' is a sweeper first, who may at times play like a second goalkeeper, in a technically illegal manner.)

With two goalkeepers the team can afford to play with 9 forwards. United need to be on the lookout.

Move two of those defenders to forward positions,
and you have the 1-6-3 Japan used in 1936. Surprisingly they dropped it
after only two matches.

3) Strikers' gonna strike.

I got a chance to watch Ft Lauderdale when they came to play United last spring. I have to say that the 3-1 scoreline flattered United just a little bit. The Strikers were coming on strong in the second half to tie the game. Then the match turned in a matter of minutes when Christian Ramirez scored on something of a wonder strike, Ibarra followed that up with a goal of his own during a controversial offside non-call, and then the Strikers found themselves a player down after a senseless challenge led to a red card.

If United find themselves in a bit of hot water again this weekend, they should look to the refs to have them replicate that performance and hope their opponents receive one or two red cards. It couldn't hurt things.

Martin Nunez lets the ref know he's doing a bang-up job!

Finally, here's Christian Ramirez tearing apart the Strikers' defense. The goals are cool and all, but the rocking jams really sell the whole thing.