Spring Intramural: New Captains, New Teams, Transfer Market - will the excitement never end?

As usual, the Spring IM leagues will begin with a furious round of trading between the captains to determine the make-up of the new teams.

Here are the new captains, the new teams and the players on the market.

If your name is not here abut you WOULD like to play, then please tell us at once!

BOYS

Italy	Ireland	France	Spain	Sweden
Jacopo	Finnian	Guerrino	Alex	Giovanni
Matteo	Zeno	Matthew	Nicholas	Tanner
Max	Edo J	Edo R	Thomas	Pietu
Lapo	Lorenzo	AnZhe	Edo P	Manfredi
Federico	Falco	Bernardo	Jerry
TRANSFER MARKET Ramnath Giuseppe Francesco R Niccolo Peter Edo R Gabriele Noah Francesco C Michael Taro Andrew Ascanio Sasha Sam Alessandro Aden Nathan Tiberio Laith
GIRLS
Germany Portugal England Jaan Fatou Eilidh Beatriz Marcela Antonella Lea Chiara Leila Juna Grace Yara TRANSFER MARKET Lucrezia         Allison            Ginevra          Celeste            Lucie            Raffaella Helena            Gaia             Mia                Margarida            Giulia            Matilde

AMBRIT BOYS WIN THEIR FIRST TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR

Ambrit A
Ambrit's 8th graders turned up on Saturday and showed that they have matured and improved compared to last year's performances. Despite facing tough competition from Southlands, New School, DSR and their own 6/7th graders, they won 3 games out of 4, drew the other one and took the first place medals.
Everybody contributed but the 'spine' of the team was particularly impressive: Ascanio in goal; Michael up front; Francesco R at centre back who put in a concentrated and disciplined shift all morning; and Captain Sasha in central midfield, who played well himself (most of the goals came off his well-weighted assists) and also marshalled his troops with an authority and confidence that communicated itself to his team mates.
TEAM: Ascanio; Laith, Alex, Francesco R; Matteo, Jacopo; Noah, Sasha (C), Sam, Giovanni, Guerrino, Michael

Ambrit B
Ambrit's cadets reassured us that the future holds no worries either!
They were very quick out of the traps and destroyed a DSR team which, later on, showed themselves to be no pushovers. Edo R hit a hot scoring streak and knocked in FIVE goals in twelve minutes to give a clear warning that he was very much in form. Captain Francesco C was hugely impressive at the back - again - and the team was always dangerous going forward.
Lapo, Peter, Aden and Bernardo brought their ANSPI experience to bear and always looked like they knew what they were doing. When you consider that we can still add players like Gabriele, Pietu, Edo J, Edo P, Nathan and Manfredi to this team, anything is possible!
TEAM: Peter; Aden, Bernardo, Francesco C, Thomas; Edo R, Taro, Alfonso, Lapo, Niccolo'

RESULTS
Southlands 0-1 Ambrit A (Michael)
DSR 1-4 Ambrit A (Giovanni, Sasha 2, Francesco R, Sam)
New School 1-1 Ambrit A (Michael)

Ambrit B 0-4 Ambrit A (Michael 2, Sasha, Guerrino)

Southlands 3-1 Ambrit B (Niccolò)
DSR 0-6 Ambrit B (Edoardo R 5, Aden)
New School 3-3 Ambrit B (Edoardo R, Aden, Alfonso)

Liverpool Crowned champions after Penalty Shoot Out

Michael's Liverpool finished off a good campaign with a 4-3 win in todays' penalty shoot-out.
The Intramural Leagues will now have a mid-season break but we will be bak in January with new teams, new names and the transfer market!

Un secondo posto che vale oro. Grande successo dell'A Team!

Un grande risultato per una squadra che quest'anno si preannuncia grande!
Il torneo alla St. George's di sabato ha evidenziato un gruppo di ragazze determinate, entusiaste e molto brave, non solo tecnicamente, nel gestire partite e avversari.

Partiamo col dire che il torneo non si è svolto - ahimé non una novità - all'insegna dell'onestà: molte ragazze fuori quota, portieri spostati da una squadra all'altra e, per finire, un'intera squadra di professioniste "pescata" da chissà dove...

Le nostre ragazze non si sono abbattute per questo; anzi hanno giocato un ottimo calcio in ogni reparto di gioco. Quello che ha impressionato è stata la solidità della difesa, con una grande Celeste, un'attenta Matilde tra i pali e una Raffaella semplicemente insuperabile!
Nel primo match hanno schiantato la squadra B della St. George's (7-0), poi hanno ottneuto un preziosissimo 0-0 contro le professioniste della Vis Roma Nova e hanno concluso il girone al primo posto grazie alla vittoria sulla Southlands per 2-1.
In semifinale hanno dominato la New School, che schierava almeno 3 liceali, col punteggio netto di 6-1, mentre in finale si sono dovute arrendere alla Vis Roma Nova, dopo un'aspra battaglia, crollando nel finale e incassando 4 gol in pochi minuti...
Secondo posto, che vale come il primo, e grande soddisfazione. Bravissime!
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Raffaella

La squadra B dell'Ambrit, che partecipava al torneo per fare esperienza e imparare a gestire il ritmo della gara e il contrasto con le avversarie, non ha sfigurato e - dopo una partenza difficile contro la squadra A della St. George's - ha giocato con sempre maggiore consapevolezza.
Un ottimo pareggio 2-2 contro la Castelli e un finale di torneo molto positivo: queste le esperienze da cui ripartire per migliorare sempre di più.
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Allison

A good result for our Primary Girls

Ambrit 2-0 New School
Ambrit's u11 Girl's team turned up at St George's with an explosive mix of enthusiasm and expectancy and they gave full value to the dedicated parents who accompanied them.
Their first game saw them line up against new School and, after some tentative early skirmishes, Ambrit got the upper hand when Sara scored the opening goal. A good all-round team performance then gave Annie the platform that she needed to score a second and the first three points were in the bag!

Ambrit 1-3 Southlands
Next up was Southlands, easily the strongest team in the tournament!
Mari was given the difficult job of marking Southlands's dangerous no. 11 and what a job she did... Mari was easily the best payer on the pitch and she totally negated her opponent!
The equally difficult job of marking the No. 10 was shared between Naomi, Lindsay, Linh and Sofia and all did an excellent job.
Meanwhile, Sara and Annie were doing their best to find a way through the Southlands defence and, after 6 minutes, they succeeded: another goal from Captain Annie!
Ambrit held onto the lead for 6 more minutes but Southlands's quality shone through in the end, despite Malena's heroic efforts in goal.

Ambrit 0-0 St George's
Ambrit's final game saw them face hosts St George's. Once again, Malena performed miracles in goal and Sara was outstanfìding in attack.
Ambrit came away with a good point and felt confident about progressing to the semi-finals. Alas, it was not to be: having tied for 2nd place with St George's, Ambrit were eliminated on goal difference... by just one goal!
Never mind: we'll do even better next time! (C.C.)

TEAM: Malena, Sofia, Mari, Annie, Sara, Linsay, Linh, Naomi, Carolina, Hasset, Clarissa, Sophie.

FINAL: Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool (penalty shoot out on Monday at 13.45)

Francesco R drove his team today with passion and their relentless pressure was rewarded in the first half with a goal from Manfredi. Never one to turn down a chance to impress, Manfredi managed to hook the ball in with a clever little back flick that  took the ball away from the goalkeeper.
In the second half, Michael's team was galvanized by Lapo's late entrance. From Michael's throw-in, Edo R was patient enough to wait for the ball to come down properly before unleashing an unstoppable shot for the equaliser.
Not too many chances afterwards for a winner and all were snuffed out by some good goalkeeping from Peter.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Francesco C 5, Francesco R 4, Taro 4, Peter 3, Guerrino 1, Giuseppe 1, Niccolò 1,  Manfredi 1, Tiberio 1,

GIRLS' FINAL: Valencia 3 - 0 Real Madrid

Nel gelo invernale calato da stamattina su Roma, il Valencia conquista un'importantissima e netta vittoria nella finale del primo Intramural stagionale. La partita non è stata esaltante, condizionata forse da una tensione superiore alla norma, ma ha decretato un dominio abbastanza deciso del Valencia, capace di passare bene la palla e creare occasioni, rispetto al Real, spesso impreciso nei passaggi e troppo Marga-dipendente. Proprio il capitano delle Merengues è stata forse la nota stonata di oggi: è mancato il tiro, la lucidità... solo la buona volontà non è stata sufficiente a cambiare il volto di una partita!
Quindi BRAVE le Valenciane, compatte nelle retrovie con una grande Celeste, autrice anche della seconda rete con un tiro rasoterra da fuori area, e devastanti in attacco con il trio Lucrezia-Gaia-Ginevra, che speriamo di rivedere così in forma anche sabato al torneo.
Di Gaia (con assist dal fondo di Lucrezia) e di Lucrezia le altre reti.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Lucrezia 8, Gaia 5, Ginevra 2, Celeste 2, Matilde 1, Helena 1, Leila 1, Grace 1

Artur Kicks the Winner!

Following his stunning goal in yesterday's match, Artur followed up today with the winning penalty at the end of a tense shoot-out which was still tied after 5 penalties each.
Cool and collected, Artur stepped up to the plate and slotted the ball home to make sure that Sasha's Man City will collect the 3rd place medals this year!

THIRD PLACE FINAL: Man Utd 3-3 Man City

This derby was open right to the end... and beyond: the 3rd place tropht will be decided on penalties tomorrow morning!
Artur brought he crowd to its feet when he opened the scoring odd an Ascanio assist.
Lucrezia then supplied the cross for Thomas's equaliser but Asky put City ahead again with an unstoppable shot from the right. The teams went in at half time level though, after an equaliser from Gabriele: a surgically precise shot into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Sasha and Ascanio swapped places for the second half and the team benefitted. Sasha put his team ahead for the third time but Utd would not give up and they equalised for the third and final time when Gabriele dribbled two defenders and placed another shot accurately in the corner.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Gabriele 6, Aden 4, Ascanio 3, Noah 3, Artur 2, Alessandro 1, Laith 1, Jerry 1

Real Madrid 3 - 0 Valencia

Colpo di scena nel match odierno: il Valencia, imbattuto e a punteggio pieno, cade al Santiago Bernabeu con un rotondo 3-0 che ha del clamoroso. La squadra di Celeste ha forse peccato di presunzione, passando poco la palla e tentando molte azioni personali con davvero poca brillantezza.
Il vantaggio delle Blancas arriva tuttavia in modo piuttosto fortunoso, quando un malinteso tra portiere e capitano induce l'arbitro a concedere un penalty per mani in area. Margherita trasforma con tiro centrale e potente. Il Valencia tenta una debole reazione, ma il pressing efficace del Real consente a Mia di rubare palla e trafiggere per la seconda volta il portiere. Nel finale di partita, su azione da calcio d'angolo, Helèna mette al centro un pallone che Leila calcia con forza di piatto.
Saranno queste le due squadre a contendersi il titolo nella finalissima del campionato prevista per il 26 Novembre e... ci sarà da divertirsi!

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Mia 3, Raffaella 3, Helèna 2, Matilde 2, Leila K 2, Gaia 1, Margarida 1.

Arsenal 0-2 Manchester City

The Gunners are eliminated from this year's championship, having collected zero points from four games: City go on to the 3rd place play off.
A poor match today: goals from Sasha and Aden.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Aden 4, Sasha 3, Jacopo 3, Alex 3, Edo J 2, Alfonso 2, Laith 1, Alessandro 2, Ascanio 1

Liverpool 2-1 Man Utd

Michael opened the scoring half-way through the first half and Giuseppe should have made it 2 but Andrew made a fantastic save.
Tiberio too made a good save and the sides turned around with a 1-0 margin.
Michael made it 2-0 in the second half thanks to a deflection off a defender and Gabriele, with the best goal of the game, gave some hope to Utd. But Lapo put the final nail in the coffin when he finished with his usual coolness.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Ramnath 5, Noah 3, Francesco C 3, Michael 3, Gabriele 2, Giuseppe 2, Jerry 1, Tiberio 1, Andrew 1

Barcelona 2 - 5 Valencia

Un gran match oggi all'Ambrit arena: una bella partita, equilibrata e coinvolgente, tra due squadre affamate di gol e di spettacolo. Molto agonismo in campo, con una prova davvero ottima da parte di quasi tutte le giocatrici in campo.
Il Barcelona è passato alla prima occasione, in contropiede, quando Beatriz ha calciato con potenza un pallone a mezz'aria. Lesta la reazione del Valencia, con la bella conclusione di Ginevra dal limite dell'area, col pallone che si è insaccato alla destra del portiere.
Il secondo tempo ha riservato non pochi colpi di scena: il Valencia si è portato avanti con Gaia, poi ha allungato con Lucrezia e col capitano Celeste, brava ad anticipare il portiere su un cross basso. Quando la partita sembrava segnata, Eilidh ha riaperto i giochi, concludendo con un bel diagonale la perfetta azione corale della sua squadra.
Alla fine - tuttavia - le individualità hanno avuto la meglio sul gruppo e nell'ultima azione di gioco Lucrezia, con uno spunto alla Messi, ha piazzato il colpo del definitivo 5-2.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Giulia 4, Lucrezia 4, Gaia 3, Lucie 3, Fatou 2, Yara 1, Celeste 2, Allison 1, Ginevra 1

Arsenal 0-2 Chelsea

Mourinho's men came out on top against Wenger's Gunners in this London derby.
The only incident of note in the first half was Peter's excellent save as Nathan tried to go around him at the end of a mazy run past three defenders (he should have shot earlier) - 0-0 at half time.
In the second half, Zeno obstructed Sam in the area but the indirect free kick was wasted. After 8 more minutes of stalemate Sam finally opened the scoring when he got to the ball ahead of Zeno and crashed it in from close range. Arsenal almost equalised but Taro made a superb clearance off the line from Alfonso's shot and Sam made it 2-0 right tat the end.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Peter 3, Taro 3, Sam 2, Jacopo 2, Nathan 1, Francesco R 1, Mateo 1, Zeno 1

Chelsea 2-2 Liverpool

Chelsea sprinted ahead early in the game but were caught in the end by a determined Liverpool.
Guerrino put the reds ahead with a slightly lucky goal but he was awake enough to take the opportunity. But, by half-time, Sam had slotted away two goals thanks to his physical presence and mental awareness and Chelsea were in the driving seat.
In the second half, Liverpool piled on the pressure and they won a penalty when Francesco R pushed Lapo in the box. Michael stepped confidently up but Peter made a fantastic save. Liverpool did not give up though and, just one minute later, Lapo scored the equaliser. A game full of incident ended with Manfredi's second yellow card and he was shown the red. Manfredi will miss the next game.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Peter 6, Sam 4, Giuseppe 4, Francesco R 4, Finnian 2, Tanner 1.

Real Madrid 5-1 Barcelona

Real set the competition alight yesterday with a scintillating performance in the latest Classico. The first half belonged to Mia as she banged in three great goals; the second half belonged to Margarida as she dominated in all areas of the field and scored her team's last goal. The fourth goal was scored by another in-form player: Helena.
Barcelona's only reply came from captain Lucie when she decisively banged home a penalty after Raffaella's handball offence.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Margarida 6, Mia 4, Helena 3, Rafaella 2, Lucie 2, Eilidh 1, Leila 1, Chiara 1, Matilde 1

Barcelona 2-5 Valencia

In a high-scoring encounter that swung constantly from one end of the pitch to the other, Lucrezia's hat-trick and goals from Jaan and Matilde (guest player) were enough to sweep aside a strong challenge from Barcelona.
Catalan hopes were kept alive by goals from Giulia and Lucie but the Valencia girls were sharper in front of goal.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Lucrezia 8, Giulia 3, Jaan 2, Allison 2, Lucie 2, Eilidh 2, Chiara 1, Bea 1

Man Utd 2-0 Man City

This was a game decided by one player and by one player alone: Ramnath.
He tackled well, passed intelligently and, when the opportunity presented itself, he shot with unerring accuracy and was the scorer of both goals.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Ramnath 8, Sasha 2, Laith 2, Ascanio 2, Falco 2, Noah 1, Andrew 1, Gabriele 1, Jerry 1, Aden 1