California Victory
{{Short description|American professional soccer team}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox football club
| clubname = California Victory
| image = California victory logo.png
| image_size =
| fullname =
| nickname = Victory, Vics
| founded = 2006
| dissolved = 2007
| chairman =
| manager =
| stadium = Kezar Stadium,
San Francisco, California, United States
| capacity = 10,000
| league = USL First Division
| position = 12th
Playoffs: DNQ
| season = 2007
| pattern_la1=
| pattern_la2=_blackshoulders
| pattern_b2 = _thinblacksides
| pattern_ra1 =
| pattern_ra2 = _blackshoulders
| leftarm1=007FFF
| leftarm2=FF8C00
| body1 = 007FFF
| body2 = FF8C00
| rightarm1 = 007FFF
| rightarm2 = FF8C00
| shorts1 = 007FFF
| shorts2 = 000000
| socks1 = 007FFF
| socks2 = FF8C00
| pattern_b1 = _whitestripes
| American = true
}}
The California Victory was a USL First Division professional soccer team based in San Francisco, California. It was an expansion team for the 2007 season, but ceased operation in September of that year after parent club Deportivo Alavés withdrew its support.[http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=265ea20f-377d-43c9-af44-fc21fdad7f73&k=87318 Whitecaps soccer league loses team] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125062016/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=265ea20f-377d-43c9-af44-fc21fdad7f73&k=87318 |date=November 25, 2007 }}
History
On October 12, 2006, USL President Francisco Marcos announced Dmitry Piterman, a Ukrainian American and chairman of Spanish club Deportivo Alavés, had officially acquired a USL First Division franchise beginning in the 2007 season.{{cite web|url=http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562137857 |publisher=SoccerAmerica.com |title=USL-1: San Francisco welcomes Victory |date=October 13, 2006 |accessdate=October 18, 2006 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061116195508/http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562137857 |archivedate=November 16, 2006 |url-status=dead }} The Victory was the first European owned team to compete at any level of the United Football Leagues, and also the first USL First Division team in California since the demise of the San Diego Flash in 2001. The club played at Kezar Stadium, the former home of the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers.
Name
The name Victory is derived from Alavés’ home city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital city of both the province of Álava and the Basque Country of Spain.{{cite web | url=http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/152109.html | title=USL-1 returns to California | date=October 12, 2006 | accessdate=October 18, 2006 | publisher=United Soccer Leagues | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061104023412/http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/152109.html | archivedate=November 4, 2006 }}
Management
Terry Fisher, a longtime football executive and coach, was the team's first general manager. The team was managed and coached by Glenn van Straatum, while US international Hugo Perez was an assistant.{{cite web|url=http://www.californiavictorysoccer.com/docs/home/News%20Release%2020061205.pdf |title=Open Trial Dates Set |date=August 12, 2006 |accessdate=December 12, 2006 |publisher=California Victory |format=PDF |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070622021021/http://www.californiavictorysoccer.com/docs/home/News%20Release%2020061205.pdf |archivedate=June 22, 2007 }}
Supporters
1906 Supporters was the blanket term for the supporters of the California Victory. The term 1906 referred to the 1906 earthquake and fire of San Francisco. 1906 had its roots in early fan support of the San Francisco Seals football team and the San Jose Earthquakes, who were on hiatus from MLS when the Victory began to play. They were identifiable by their custom T-shirts, colourful chants and banners draped over the rails.
California Victory Supporters Association (CVSA) was the official supporters club of the Victory. Seeing a need for community support of the club, several loyal 1906ers met at The Pig & Whistle[http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-pig-and-whistle-san-francisco The Pig & Whistle – Inner Richmond – San Francisco, CA] with members of the Victory front office. There, the attending 1906ers established the CVSA. Through the sales of handmade merchandise and community outreach, the CVSA had effectively created a fan base for the Victory.
SaveTheVictory.org
SaveTheVictory.org was a movement set in motion by the Victory's official supporters club, the CVSA. The goal of the group was to raise enough money by accepting memberships to purchase the club, an ownership model based on the NFL's Green Bay Packers and influenced by My Football Club. They were however ultimately unsuccessful.
Year-by-year
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
!League !Reg.Season !Playoffs !Open Cup |
|---|
| 2007
|USL First Division |12th |Did not qualify |3rd Round |
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110128180754/http://californiavictorysoccer.com/ Official site] (archived)
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110728000307/http://www.savethevictory.org/ Official Save The Victory site] (archived)
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070824122811/http://www.1906supporters.com/ 1906 Supporters] (archived)
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20061104023412/http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/152109.html Article on the California Victory] (archived)
- [http://www.babazorros.com/ Deportivo Alaves fans site] (in Spanish)
- [http://www.alaves.com/ Deportivo Alaves' website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208125432/http://www.alaves.com/ |date=February 8, 2011 }} (in Spanish)
Sources
{{USSoccer}}
{{Bay Area Sports}}
Category:Association football clubs established in 2006
Category:Defunct soccer clubs in California
Category:USL First Division teams
Category:2006 establishments in California
Category:2007 disestablishments in California
Category:Soccer clubs in San Francisco