EAST HAVEN, Conn. \u2013 It had been a decade-long void. So Steve Coxon decided to do something about it.<\/p>\n
Following the disbandment of the Connecticut Wolves (A-League) in 2002, the Nutmeg State waited – then waited some more – for soccer to return. Discussions were held. Ideas were floated. It all added up to nothing, though.<\/p>\n
Finally, after years without a team to call their own, the wait was over.<\/p>\n
In December of 2011, CFC Azul were formally introduced\u00a0as Connecticut’s\u00a0newest club.\u00a0And not a moment too soon.<\/p>\n
As co-founder of Connecticut FC, Coxon, a former Wolves player himself, knew that the state was ready to embrace a team of its own again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found the opportunity,\u201d Coxon said. \u201cWe knew that the (Premier Development League) was looking for a franchise in Connecticut and we were ready to build it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ready to build? You bet. But Coxon, who witnessed the demise of the Wolves first hand, knew it that it would take considerable effort to launch a brand new franchise.<\/p>\n
The grunt work begins<\/strong><\/p>\n As with any expansion franchise, Coxon, a native of Newcastle, England, knew that a great deal of work awaited him and club vice president Costas Flessas.<\/p>\n Granted, the CFC program had already been established at the youth ranks.\u00a0 But putting together a legitimate Premier Development League (PDL) operation? That was a whole different ballgame.<\/p>\n So Coxon got on the horn and called the one person he knew who could help him tackle it \u2013 former Wolves teammate and current Southern Connecticut assistant coach Dave Kelly.<\/p>\n With a resume that included stops at Trinity (2001-03) Quinnipiac (2004) Hartford (2005-2010), Southern Connecticut (2011), Coxon believed that Kelly was the ideal candidate for the job.<\/p>\n Kelly accepted, fully understanding the challenges that awaited him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little daunting, to be honest, when you\u2019re trying to build a team that has zero players,\u201d Kelly said.\u00a0 \u201cSo the strategy was that I reached out to players that I knew and that I respected and that I trusted.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelly called upon players he knew in the area. First, it was Jesse Menzies from Central Connecticut. Then, it was Ryan Kinne, whom Kelly had coached at the youth level. And more players familiar to Kelly would be added.<\/p>\n But Kelly and his staff didn\u2019t close the door on potential diamonds in the rough.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had 2 or 3 open tryouts and there were about 100 kids at each one,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cWe did our best to try to get players an opportunity to get on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n With the team\u2019s first game quickly approaching, Kelly had the core of his team in place by early-May. And once first kick arrived, it was time to show what it had.<\/p>\n Welcome to PDL<\/strong><\/p>\n The start of the PDL season is designed to coincide with the completion of many schools\u2019 spring semester. But in the Azul\u2019s case, it was a little too close for comfort.<\/p>\n With only a handful of formal practices before\u00a0their May 5 debut\u00a0against Boston Victory, the Azul had no choice but to hit the ground running. And so they did.<\/p>\n The Azul controlled the tempo early, and as scripted, Kinne scored the first goal in franchise history in the 57th minute.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt good,\u201d Kinne said of the historic goal. \u201cWe had a pretty good crowd that night, opening night and getting the first goal against a good Boston team was huge.\u201d<\/p>\n But it was a lead that wouldn\u2019t last. Boston went on to score two goals in the final two minutes to rip the win away.<\/p>\n In the Victory supporter\u2019s section, smoke bombs went off. Boston players and coaches laughed and smiled. And all the Azul could do was shake their heads.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a process that you have to go through,\u201d Kelly said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd to learn what it\u2019s going to take to win and how to win and not just for me, but for the players as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Behind the name<\/strong><\/p>\n The Nutmeg State has seen its fair share of soccer clubs spring up within its borders over the years. The Bicentennials. The Wolves. The Yankees. Even the storied Vasco de Gama side out of Bridgeport.<\/p>\n Coxon knew he\u2019d have to choose a name that kept the CFC identity at the forefront, but without resorting to something bland or generic.<\/p>\n So he went with Azul \u2013 the Spanish term for a familiar hue.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all blue,\u201d Coxon said. \u201cThe club\u2019s a blue club, we wanted to give it that sort of Latin flair rather than call it the Connecticut Nutmeggers or something very American, shall we say, so we came up with Azul.\u201d<\/p>\n The Azul. The Azuls. The Blues. It may not be as catchy as the Yankees, but Coxon has gotten positive feedback thus far from his club\u2019s supporters.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people love it,\u201d Coxon said. \u201cSome people, not so much. But we like it. It works.\u201d<\/p>\n The immediate future<\/strong><\/p>\n When\u00a0the Azul\u00a0outlined\u00a0the specifics of their inaugural season during the winter, Reese Stadium at Yale University was designated as\u00a0their home pitch. But it wasn\u2019t long before the team had to resort to alternatives.<\/p>\n Prior to the start of the season, last-minute conflicts forced the expansion side to scramble and find a new home venue. And they did \u2013 kind of, at least.<\/p>\n Five different venues were secured for the eight Azul home games: East Haven High School, Wilton High School, Willowbrook Park, Pomperaug High School and Tuxis Mead. Stadium issues? Yeah, you could say that.<\/p>\n \u201cOur biggest challenge \u2013 and we haven\u2019t solved it yet \u2013 is our stadium,\u201d Coxon said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a home, so we\u2019re kind of floating all over the state looking for the best venue for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the destinations fans can catch the Azul in Connecticut: New Haven, New Britain, Southbury and Farmington. Road map, anyone?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s blessing in the fact that everyone gets to see the team,\u201d Coxon said. \u201cBut you\u2019re coming into a new environment every time you\u2019re playing. So these boys don\u2019t have a home and we don\u2019t know if the press box is going to work or the PA system is going to work so for the backroom staff it is a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n But travel and stadium issues aside, Coxon has been especially pleased with the squad on the field \u2013 wherever that may be.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew the boys were good,\u201d Coxon said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s just something about them. They\u2019ve got a good team spirit. The boys always mention how good the camaraderie is on the team. That\u2019s a blessing for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n PDL is often seen as a stepping stone for many young talents who dream of playing professional soccer. But players and coaches aren\u2019t the only ones hoping to use the fourth division league as a springboard for greater success.<\/p>\n It may be early, but the Azul have a vision. One part of that vision is the construction of a soccer specific stadium so that the Azul will be wanderers no more.<\/p>\n Another part of that vision? A jump from PDL to USL Pro (third division) or NASL (second division). But why stop there? Kelly and others in the organization haven\u2019t dismissed the notion of turning the Azul into an MLS expansion side someday.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that there\u2019s support for it,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cI think that there\u2019s a market for it.\u201d<\/p>\n And Kelly isn\u2019t the only one eager to help make the Azul push up the American soccer pyramid.<\/p>\n \u201cI know this club has higher aspirations to move up in the ranks in professional soccer in the U.S.\u201d Kinne said. \u201cSo I\u2019d like to help them move along.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ten years after the demise of the Connecticut Wolves, CFC Azul has brought back semi-pro soccer to the Nutmeg State.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[87,104,84],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/cfc1azul.jpg?fit=573%2C275","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12815"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12815"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12822,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12815\/revisions\/12822"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}