What's Next For Junior Burgos? - By Taylor Peyton

Junior Burgos played for the Silverbacks in 2014, and in the later parts of the 2015 season. During his time with the club, Burgos became a fan favorite with his goals, assists, and free kick taking skills which were second to none in the NASL, and possibly in all of North America.

Burgos’ time with the Silverbacks could easily be described as one large highlight reel. Whether it was a fantastic ball over the top to Jaime Chavez against Colorado Rapids, finishing off an incredible team goal against Real Salt Lake, or scoring a free kick against Ottawa, Edmonton, New York, San Antonio, or nearly any opponent the Silverbacks played in the NASL, it seemed like Junior was doing something big every week.

After the Silverbacks incredible run in the 2014 US Open Cup, Burgos found himself getting his first call up to El Salvador’s National Team. After assisting a goal in his first match against the Dominican Republic, Burgos was named to El Salvador’s 21 man squad for the Copa Centroamericana. He came on as a substitute in two group matches against Honduras and Belize. The Salvadorans went on to lose the third place match 1-0 against Panama in a game which Burgos was not used. Shortly after the tournament, he was called into the squad again and scored his first international goal against Nicaragua. Surprisingly, Junior Burgos was not called into the squad for World Cup Qualifiers. In the 4th round of qualifying in CONCACAF, El Salvador finished 4th in their group, thus not qualifying for the final round. To date, Junior has six appearances, and one goal for El Salvador.

Initially, Burgos was not part of the Silverbacks squad that was put together close to the last minute in 2015. He started the season with Jaguares de Cordoba, but he was not there for long due to the club not meeting the terms of his contract. He then signed a short term deal with Orange County Blues in April, hoping to secure a move in the Summer. That’s when the SIlverbacks came knocking.

After a very disappointing Spring season that saw them finish 11th, the Silverbacks needed to get their season back on track. Considering they only scored seven goals in 10 games while most clubs had scored somewhere around 15 goals, it was pretty obvious that the attack needed improvement. The Silverbacks brought in Kosuke Kimura, Pedro Mendes, Paulo Mendes, and of course Junior Burgos. The new acquisitions worked wonders for the Silverbacks. They were scoring more goals, and up until the very end of the Fall Season when they started to falter, the SIlverbacks were looking like they had a shot at the playoffs. Burgos was a big part of the Silverbacks stellar Fall Season. He was scoring amazing free kicks for fun like he did before, including the NASL Goal Of The Year against San Antonio, and he often played a part in goals that were scored by his teammates. He even scored what turned out to be the last goal of the NASL era for the SIlverbacks; a free kick just outside the box.

Shortly after it was announced the SIlverbacks would no longer be in the NASL, Burgos signed for Atlanta United and was loaned to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. He started off strongly with Tampa, providing an assist in only his second game, then scoring a goal in the Rowdies last game of the 2016 NASL Spring Season. But then in the fall season, he would only go on to start in two games for the Rowdies, the first two to be precise. Apart from coming on as a late sub against Ottawa on July 31st, he would not play again for the rest of the season. That’s 16 consecutive matches in total that he did not play. Somehow, Junior Burgos went from being one of the biggest stars on a team that was making a playoff push one fall to not even featuring in a team that was going nowhere fast the next fall. It might be the way it goes in Soccer sometimes but still seems like a cruel twist of fate. To make matters worse, Burgos was waved by Atlanta United in on December 16th, 2016.

Now the question is, what is next for him? He hasn’t been able to catch a break for a club other than the Silverbacks. But for the time being, it doesn’t look like the Silverbacks can help Burgos keep his career on track. He is a very talented and special player who deserves to play often for a club that is capable of performing well, whether it be in MLS, USL, NASL, or even outside of the US and Canada. His lack of chances with Tampa hasn’t done him any favors, but we’re talking about a guy who Eric Wynalda once said might be the best free kick specialist he has ever seen, and people who have seen him do it wouldn’t argue with the former Silverbacks Technical Director

There is no reason Burgos shouldn’t be able to find a new club that will use his skills to their advantage like the Silverbacks did. It’s more a matter of when and where than it is a matter of if. Hopefully, it happens for him soon. Silverbacks fans always take pride in familiar names and faces doing well on the pitch (as long as it’s not against them of course), so It’s a pretty safe bet that Silverbacks fans wish him well and hope it happens for him as soon as possible. Maybe sometime soon he'll score one of his amazing free kicks against Atlanta United and show them what they missed out on.

Familiar Faces Returning to the Silverbacks? - By Taylor Peyton

The first Set of Tryout dates at Silverbacks Park has come and gone. They took place at 9 am on December 20th and 21st. As you would expect, not many people showed up. However, there were some familiar faces in attendance. One of them being photographer Dave Williamson who took a few pictures at the tryouts. Members of last year’s Silverbacks team that were present included Abdul Bangura, Abraham Lansana, Kemar Brown, Fabio Fernandes, and Avery Shepherd.

There still are tryout dates left, but given the number of players from last year’s team at the first dates, it leads fans to believe that the core of the 2017 Silverbacks won’t be too different from that of the 2016 Silverbacks. Last Year's captain Mitch Garcia has gone, but apart from that, there haven’t been any significant moves by Silverbacks players that have been announced by the club.

Given his history with the Silverbacks Reserves, as well as the first team in the NASL days, Abdul Bangura seems like a likely candidate to take over the captaincy in Garcia absence. It was reported that he was supposed to be the captain last year but ended up missing the entire season due to injury. Obviously, the decision is in the hands of Phoday, and/or the Coaching staff, and the roster is still taking shape, but Bangura as captain seems like a reasonable guess.

To say that the Silverbacks have gone through high turnover the last few years would be an understatement, but if the Silverbacks can retain a big part of last year’s team, it will make it easier to build on the success of last year’s team. The Silverbacks new opponents in the Southeast are bound to make the Silverbacks path to a Conference Championship more difficult, and the season is still very far away, but given the talented players that are most likely coming back, and Phoday’s sharp eye for talent,  there just might be reason to believe that the Silverbacks can compete in the new Southeast Conference.

Conference Realigment and Tryout Dates Announced - By Taylor Peyton

After dead silent months of September, October, and November; news about the Silverbacks have finally come out. Three big pieces of news were confirmed within a span of a week. Realignment of the NPSL Southeast Conference, dates for Tryouts, and confirmation that Season Tickets will soon be on sale. 

With the withdrawal of Myrtle Beach Mutiny, Tobacco Road FC, and almost certainly Carolina Railhawks Reserves from the NPSL, the South Atlantic Conference is no more. It was announced on Sunday, December 4th, that the Silverbacks would instead be playing in the newly-realigned Southeast Conference. It will be split up into two divisions. The Silverbacks will be playing in the East Division with Asheville City, Carolina Discoveries, Georgia Revolution, and Knoxville Force. The West Division will be composed of Birmingham Hammers, Chattanooga FC, Inter Nashville FC, Memphis City, and New Orleans Jesters. There will be a total of 13 games for the Silverbacks, which is three more than they played last year. There will be a home and away game against each of the teams in our division, and one game each against the teams in the West Division that could be home or away. The Southeast playoffs will be composed of the top 3 teams from each division. On the same day that the realignment was announced, the Silverbacks confirmed via Twitter that Season Tickets would be going on sale soon. 

On Wednesday, October 7th, the Silverbacks Announced three sets of tryout dates. The first set of dates taking place on December 20th and 21st, the second being on January 3rd and 4th, the third being February 1st and 2nd, with an “Invitation Only Tryout” taking place on May 1st. All tryouts will be held from 9 am to 12 pm at Silverbacks Park. Players trying out will have to pay a fee of $50 if they register online in advance, and Walk-In Registration will cost $60. A Free Silverbacks T-shirt is included in the registration fee.

It’s been a pretty boring offseason up until now, but this has been a very exciting week that might have made it all worth it. New opponents, a reignited rivalry with Chattanooga, new Cities to travel to for fans that enjoy going to away games, a longer schedule, and the possibility of a new group of exciting, locally based players are all worth getting excited about. Let’s hope the string of exciting news continues.

Two Silverback Opponents Fold - By Taylor Peyton

The layout of the NPSL South Atlantic Conference seems to have changed significantly after it was announced by league chairman Joe Barone that Myrtle Beach Mutiny, and Tobacco Road FC would no longer be competing in the NPSL. Now only four teams remain in the South Atlantic; The Railhawks reserve squad, FC Carolina Discoveries, Georgia Revolution, and the Silverbacks.

Asheville City has just been announced as the NPSL’s latest expansion team, and for all, we know there still could be some expansion announcements yet to come. It’s unclear whether Asheville and another expansion team will be added to fill the two spots with the remaining teams staying put, if there will be a bit of realignment within conferences, or if the South Atlantic Conference will just be made up of five teams. Something else to consider is that Nashville FC still needs to be replaced, but that’s a different story altogether.

2016 was Tobacco Road’s first season in the NPSL, and it would turn out to be their last. In 3 games against the Silverbacks, they were able to steal a point on a late penalty in Durham but lost at Silverbacks Park Twice. The first one being a 2-1 Silverbacks win during the regular season, and the second one being that memorable South Atlantic Championship game.

Myrtle Beach Mutiny fared a little bit better in two meetings against the Silverbacks, beating them 2-1 at Silverbacks Park, and sharing points in a 2-2 draw at Ashley Booth Stadium. The Mutiny will most likely be remembered for that chippy and tense game at Silverbacks Park where one of their players Aksel Juul taunted the Atlanta Ultras after scoring what ended up being the winning goal.

There’s still a long way to go in the offseason, but this seems to be the start of “silly season.” Many scenarios could play out. Could the Silverbacks be moved to the Southeast, reigniting their rivalry with Chattanooga FC? Or will the Silverbacks stay put and have the upstart Asheville City SC on their schedule in addition to the rest of their old foes from last season? Only time will tell, and there’s lots of time left for Speculation.

Help ASFC Trust Own 49% Of Silverbacks Reserves! - By Steven Bayley

We recently had a lengthy discussion with Atlanta Silverbacks GM Phoday Dolleh about partial ownership of the Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves squad - which may play in the Atlanta District Amateur Soccer League this Fall - Spring. We’ve been offered a 49% ownership stake, but it's going to require immediate fundraising on our part. We’ve been told that this could lead to an ownership stake in the NPSL club. (More on that later.)

For the Silverbacks to compete in the ADASL, they will have an expectation on them to be dominant. It is critical for the Silverbacks as a club to live up to and exceed that expectation. Phoday sees it as both an opportunity to scout additional local talent for the 2017 NPSL team, and to give promising locally based players competitive match action.

What he is not willing to do, however, is to source standard local players through standard local channels and throw a Silverbacks jersey on their backs and have them represent the club as just another ADASL team.

Currently there are 5 players the club is supporting, living in apartments near the stadium through the end of September, who are traveling around getting tryouts with full time pro teams trying to catch on. Currently 4 players are training with NASL teams, and another 1 with a USL team. Ideally he wants these guys getting pro contracts, but if they don't latch on, he wants them in the ADASL squad. He wants to hold training with the ADASL squad every day, to reap the benefits of a viable year round organization both from the grassroots exposure our dominance of the ADASL will give the club, as well as a development for NPSL 2017. As supporters we want year round competitive matches for our total club. This is the way to achieve that affordably.

The standard costs to run an ADASL team with local players is $6000 for the season, all in. This is pretty much straight off the league documentation and includes League fees, player registration fees, referee fees, field rental fees, etc. With Phodays model including additional player costs, housing, stipends, etc. as part of the larger pro window shopping experience, he sees this running $10,000-$12,000 to do this right. He sees it as investments to protect and build the brand through these 18 year round in-town games the Silverbacks Reserves will get in the league. He wants us to raise the $6000 for the official team expenses, and he will match what we raise.

He wants us to control 49% of the Reserves with our 49% money. It will basically be an even partnership where he controls the players / on field and we control marketing, collaborate on revenue, perhaps we charge $2-$3 to attend matches at the Park, which we think is a better idea than offering free, therefore people respect it as a legitimate thing, as opposed to an adult league.

Part of experimenting at this level is seeing what we can do, and Phoday is interested in and willing to run these different experiments with the reserves and implement successful initiatives with the NPSL team in 2017. After we get up and running for the 2016 season, we will develop a separate fund, for which we will raise money, for national cup entrance and travel of Reserve team participation in 2017/2018 Amateur Cup and US Open Cup USASA qualifying track.

The money we invest in the Reserves although going to the ADASL for fees and gameday use, will be credited as overall investment in the Silverbacks club and count as the first money toward fan ownership in the larger Atlanta Silverbacks FC (NPSL) club, with additional discussions with the Trust about %'s this offseason to begin some % of fan ownership THIS COMING NPSL 2017 season, and working on a longer term plan and goals to get to a sizable investment portion.

ADASL games will take place in the main stadium at Silverbacks Park. All home games will be Sunday morning at 11:00 AM.  We are working with partnerships with local soccer pubs to provide shuttles for fans watching early morning English and European matches at 7:00 and 9:00 to shittle them staright to the stadium for the 11:00 kick.

So bottom line, we need to raise $6000 by September 11th. That is the challenge.

Help spread the word!

https://www.gofundme.com/2kzvcuj8

SIlverbacks Reserves in the ADASL: Will It Happen? - By Taylor Peyton

The short 3-month NPSL season has left many Silverbacks fans desperate for more, as they are not used to such a long offseason. Many fans on Social Media think that the perfect way to deal with the long offseason is to field a Reserve team in the Atlanta District Amateur Soccer League (ADASL).

The ADASL was founded in 1967, there are two division with a Promotion and Relegation system in place, a cup competition called the Perrin Cup. Success in the ADASL can result in eligibility for National Amateur Cup competitions. The season runs from the beginning of October to the beginning of June, which would be an ideal situation for fans who would be desperate need of a Silverbacks fix during the long offseason, and it would allow for standout players in the Reserve team to be called up to the First team.

As part of an attempt to improve their first team after a terrible 2016 season, the Silverbacks local rival Georgia Revolution will be fielding their own reserve team in the ADASL. They have been preparing for the season by playing a few friendlies with players who will likely be part of their squad that will be competing in the ADASL, including a victory over Arsenal Atlanta, an established ADASL club that won the Perrin Cup last season.

In an interview on Gorilla Talk earlier this year, Phoday Dolleh expressed his desire to field a Reserve team in the ADASL. But since then there have been whispers that he is currently uncertain about it mainly for financial reasons. It’s obvious that Phoday knows how to put a team together, and he also knows how to get players into situations where they can develop and advance their careers. It is definitely part of his vision for the club’s future so it would be unfortunate if the Reserves in the ADASL would have to be delayed due to a lack of funds.

Naturally, many fans are hoping for the best in regards to it. If there is a season to be had Planet of the Backs will be covering their season and fans will do everything they can to get the word out by doing things such putting the Schedule on posters and handing them out throughout the city. There’s plenty of ways it will benefit the club, so hopefully it will happen. The ADASL informational meeting for new and returning clubs is on Monday, August 8th so we will know soon enough.

Breaking: End of the Road For Silverbacks Women - By Taylor Peyton

The WPSL Semifinal match between Atlanta Silverbacks Women and San Diego SeaLions has finished, and the Silverbacks have been knocked out by a score of 3-1.

San Diego jumped on Atlanta early on with goals coming in the 15th and 31st minutes. The first scored by Angelina Hix and the second scored by Ashley Johnson. The Silverbacks got one back late in the first half when Rachel Shah scored to make it 2-1.

Shah plays her college soccer at Furman University in Greenville. Last year during her sophomore season she lead the team in assists with 7 and helped Furman with the Southern Conference Championship and qualify for the NCAA tournament where they unfortunately lost 3-0 to Clemson. Shah also scored earlier in the season for the Silverbacks during a 3-2 win on the road against Knoxville.

San Diego’s Janelly Farias scored a header to make it 3-1. This goal was the one that put the game out of reach for the Silverbacks. Their memorable season was ended by a very worthy opponent In San Diego; that was just a little bit stronger on the day.

It truly was a great season for the Silverbacks Women. A season like this might not happen again for a few years. Success like that is hard to duplicate, but this season has given us reason to believe that the future is bright and even a small amount of success can become the norm for this team. A few members of this year’s team might be moving on to bigger things in the near future. But It is likely that some of the College-aged players will be coming back next year, and Metro-Atlanta is full of talent as far as Women’s Soccer goes. A lot of the talented players in the area are discovered by United FA and Iggy Moleka himself. So as long as the Silverbacks are trying their best to put a good team together, there will always be good players worth coming out to Silverbacks Park to see.

With the season officially being over, the professional players will be looking for new clubs, and the College players who aren’t already back will he heading to their respective Colleges to prepare for the NCAA season. Wherever they go, we wish them all the luck in the world and thank them for a great season.