The season has started… .
It’s been a pretty dramatic start to the season, that’s for sure. A couple of weeks ago, we kicked-off facing Cargolux in a Cup knock-out game. Last year they won the 3rd division, so there was a good amount of […]
Pre-Season 2017/2018: Warming up… (FC Luxair 2-5 FC Euroatlas)
“The Blues” are back again! The pre-season 2017-2018 started and the players returned from a well-deserved holidays period. Like it happens every year, it’s a complicated period for the coach (Nuno), as the FC Euroatlas players are very well referenced […]
End of Season 2016/2017: We were almost there…
The last season was a very positive one for “The Blues”. The fans, a bit sceptic at the beginning due to the 6th place achieved on the previous season (2015/2016), started to become more and more enthusiastic along the year, […]
It’s that time of year.
It’s that time of year when the sound of cleats on the dressing-room tiles rings in your ears; when you feel the tightness of those shorts and wonder why they keep ordering them so small; when you smell the wet […]
September 8th, 2017 
news, news Euroatlas 
Comments Off on End of Season 2016/2017: We were almost there… End of Season 2016/2017: We were almost there…
The last season was a very positive one for “The Blues”. The fans, a bit sceptic at the beginning due to the 6th place achieved on the previous season (2015/2016), started to become more and more enthusiastic along the year, as the performance and consequently the results were quite good.
In fact, until the very end, at least the 2nd place and consequently the promotion was a real possibility for FC Euroatlas! The champions – FC Luxair – had a comfortable advantage but the group of teams “chasing” them, where “The Blues” was placed when there were 3 games to end, had a difference of 2/3 points between them… The scenario was quite hard, as FC Euroatlas had basically to win all matches and also wait for a “bad day” from one of the direct opponents in order to reach the 2nd place.
Unfortunately, a completely unexpected defeat at home (1-2) against FC Eisebunn 97 (team which was relegated in the end) crushed team’s moral and any hope from the fans on getting something more…
However, there are two important details to highlight… First, the arrival of “fresh blood” to the team had clearly a huge impact. Some new and younger faces, after a successful integration period, brought more speed and power to the team. And second, as consequence of that, talking a bit about statistics, “The Blues” had already more points at the end of the first round of the league than the ones they had at the end of the previous 2015/2016 season.
We were almost there this time… But we will be there at the end of the next one! That’s for sure!
By EM
It’s that time of year.
It’s that time of year when the sound of cleats on the dressing-room tiles rings in your ears; when you feel the tightness of those shorts and wonder why they keep ordering them so small; when you smell the wet grass again after a long summer break (ok, so we play on artificial grass – bear with me on this one); and when you make your first touch and the ball ricochets away from your feet as if it’s scared of you… It’s the start of the new season.
At all levels, from the U14s to the veterans, from the stade communale to the Bernabeu, and all over the European continent, this time of year fills so many souls with unparalleled excitement. The counters have been reset and the competition starts again.
That same excitement has been filling the air at Euroatlas FC as we roll into September. The new season finds us in the second division of Luxembourg’s corporate league, facing some usual suspects from last year, but also some new challengers like the Commune of Dudelange, which will be an interesting away ‘trip’, and FC Europa, our intra-institutional derby rivals.
Last season was a good one overall, with the team building on the strengths of the previous year and significantly improving its final position, going from just avoiding relegation in 2015-2016 to almost challenging for promotion. But we felt we could do more.
We haven’t lost any players from last season, Kevin is back from injury, Johannes is fit again and there’s a long list of potential new signings too. We know that we can play good football. We can defend well (let’s just not talk about E**h, ok?), we can keep possession and we can challenge any team we come across. You could say we’re just a few clicks off Cruyff’s total football. Or not. Up to you really.
Our first friendly last week against Luxair confirmed that we have a lot of potential. There were moments of passing brilliance, some explosive attacking action and we also showed a lot of character. I’m sure I’m not the only one who was reminded of Kiko’s header against the same opponents last year that brought us level, completing a legendary comeback after finding ourselves down 1-4 with 5 minutes to go.
Exaggerated over-glorification aside, we all know there’s a lot we will have to work on if we want to win the league and get selected to represent our respective countries in Russia next June. We will have to move better together as a team, slow down our attacking moves, and – perhaps most importantly – improve our physical condition.
But we have a strong squad, we’re gelling as a team, there are some great new signings that could really make a difference and there’s a lot of positive energy in the dressing room. Is it too early to talk about promotion? Probably, but there are lots of reasons to be excited about the new season.
by L. Souza
