Tango Yak, LLC

Chelsea, the football club from the Premiere League of England battles against Bayern Munich in what is expected to be a fantastic final to the UEFA championship. Chelsea has a tall, athletic and fearless goalie by the name Petr Cech from the Czech republic. He wears a silly looking helmet which has become his trademark and he has played like a champion consistently. He is backed by a solid defense (British player Ashely Cole and Serbian Branislav Ivanovic for example) that managed to hold off the likes of Messie with the Barcelona team in the semifinals. The midfield is also quite excellent with the likes of Ramirez from Brazil and Frank Lampard from England. The forwards are a lethal squad with Juan Mata from Spain and Didier Drogba from the Ivory Coast among others. Their captain has been suspended by a red card. They have been underdogs, but have performed like bulldogs. The coach is Italian Roberto Di Matteo who used to play for Chelsea. He was appointed interim coach, but the team has really played well for him. Chelsea’s insane management have decided not to hire him permanently, a true outrage in my opinion. Whether this will demoralize his players or give them a cause remains to be seen.

Bayern Munich will be playing at home as the championship game returns to Munich this year. Striker Mario Gomez is a German player of Spanish descent, he is physical, strong and fast. Like Drogba he is deceptively quick. Arjin Robben from Holland is another star forward playing for this team. Manuel Neuer is the goalie for Bayern and is also the goalie for the German National Team, quick and rangy, he made incredible saves in the shootout against Ronaldo and Kaka of Real Madrid thus securing a win for his team in the semifinals. The midfield has the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and this group swarms the field like giant bees ready to sting the opposition. The defenders are superior with the likes of Rhafina from Brazil and Lahm from Germany. Their coach Jupp Heynckes (AKA Don Jupp) has a glorious history as a player for Germany and is a no nonsense coach who is determined to win.

This will be a great match with fantastic players and great rivalry. Chelsea’s defeat of Barcelona in the semifinals was nothing short of a miracle. They won despite severely lagging in possession time and shots on goal. They played the last game with a man short for more than half the game. Will they get crushed by powerhouse Bayern Munich or are they a team of destiny? This is in brief  the setup for the championship match of the European soccer clubs, it takes place on Saturday May 19 at around noon time. See you at the game baby

The Union of European Football Associations is known as UEFA and it is comprised of futbol (soccer) clubs from Europe. These clubs belong to different leagues and vie for the Championship through a complicated process of qualifying and selection which you can review at this link as well as the upcoming schedule: UEFA Rules

We have now arrived at the Quarter Final stage and this is guaranteed to be very high quality soccer. These private clubs compete within their leagues on weekends and play in the UEFA championship during the week. Unlike the world cup, players from all nationalities play together on one team. For example Messi of Argentina plays for Barcelona and Reynaldo of Portugal plays for Real Madrid. You do not have to be an expert to enjoy these and since the Octopus is dead, just sit back and go with the Yak. Here is a preview of Tuesday’s games and soon we preview Wednesday’s games.

Both games Tuesday start at 11:45 AM Pacific Time. APOEL of Nicosia Cyprus the beautiful island in the Mediterranean, the biggest long shot faces what is possibly the best team Real Madrid. Some say it is just a matter of how many goals the Spanish team will score, but the game is being played in Cyprus and the place has already gone mad with expectation. If the Cypriots pull out an upset it would be the equivalent of Rocky, Cinderella and David vs Goliath all put together. APOEL’s goalie Dionisios Chiotis made two insane saves in the penalty shoot out to win over Lyon and bring his team to the quarters. Serbian goalie coach Goran Cumic said they studied videos of the Lyon players shooting penalties before the game. You will need to watch more than videos to prepare for Real Madrid, let’s hope they don’t end up watching “Gone with the Wind”. The team is full of national Cypriots, but they also have strong foreign players like Kaka and Manduca from Brazil. They have to face a powerhouse of a team in Real Madrid with the likes of Ronaldo from Portugal and the ultimate goalie and ladies’ favorite Iker Casillas of Spain. I saw Real Madrid live at Qualcom Stadium in San Diego last year playing live against Chivas of Guadalajara, they are big, strong, fast and dominant.

As for the other Tuesday game, we have Benefica of Portugal against Chelsea from the British Premiere league. Benefica is also an underdog, but they play with spirit and determination. Benefica is not a star studded team, but they do have good players like Luisao from Brazil. Chelsea has some great players like Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast and Branislav Ivanovic of Serbia, they have really played well for care taker coach Roberto De Matteo. This one will be a close match.

Looks like the games will be broadcast on Fox Soccer and Fox Soccer Plus, but it is possible you might need to watch them streaming live on the internet. Here is a link for live streaming which we soccer fans have become used to: UEFA Live Game Streaming Let the games begin - Wednesday preview on Sundayak

The local milongas usher in this grand festival starting with milonga Del Bario on Wednesday night then the traditional start of the festival at Tango Addicts where America will rock your world. The natives are restless but will gladly give you a lift to and from the venues. Friday afternoon will be the first milonga at the magnificent Kona Kai resort and Zeina (petite Yak) will do the music with the beautiful bay as a backdrop. You don’t have to die nor take a bus to go to heaven. The Friday night milonga is also at the resort and the DJ will be the wonderful Joe Leonardo.

Saturday afternoon will have the Happy New Yak alternative milonga then Hurricane Shorey will make landfall in the evening and welcome the New Year with her heavenly music (Yeah Baby). Sunday evening the very cool and master teacher Jay Abling will be our DJ. The all nighter will be at Patty Wells studio where the Greek Demigod, son of Zeus, Lampis the Z man will DJ.

Teachers: San Diego favorites Homer and Cristina Ladas arrive first and if it was up to us, we would never let them go. The great Shorey will teach as well as DJ, prayers have begun for a tanda with her. Am so happy to report that Brian Nguyen and Yuliana Basmajyan from LA will be teaching as well, these two have made us Californians so proud. I haven’t taken classes with Eric Lindgren and Rebecca Shulman so I read about them, asked around and watched their videos and they are just outstanding. Last but not least is Tom Stermitz with Amy Beaudet who are well respected and well liked as well.

A great team at an incredible venue in the finest city, truly you don’t have to die or take a bus to go to heaven. Get rid of the family, pack your stuff (bathing suit too) and come on down to San Diego, let us enjoy the weather but dance up a storm
Web Site: San Diego Tango Festival 2012