Hella Football

Two huge departures in Bay Area soccer – San Jose Earthquakes Luchi Gonzalez was fired and Bay FC general manager Lucy Rushton resigned – leaving both clubs with big holes to fill. The Copa America came to the 49ers Levi’s Stadium with Ecuador and Venezuela. And we break down Oakland Roots recent resurgence under new coach Gavin Glinton. There’s also a shoutout for the ‘Rooted Soul’ coffee hookup with Green Day and a roundup of NWSL, NPSL and more. 

Chris Wondolowski is the greatest player the San Jose Earthquakes have ever produced. In 2019, he became the all-time leading goal scorer in Major League Soccer. This is the story about his improbable rise from a broke reserve-team player in his mid-20s that would go on to uplift an entire soccer region, to the highest stage of all—the World Cup—and how he nearly scored the most important goal in USMNT history. 

Oakland Roots traveled to San Jose to face the Quakes. Someone who holds a big piece of both cities sporting future in his hands was not there, but that didn't stop fans singing his name #TownBiz. The US Open Cup clash was a good game, we dissect it and then wrap with some Bay FC chat - when will their luck turn? And finish with a mention for the Oakland Soul who are kicking off their USL W campaign.

Hella Football is back! We're talking the Bay Area's newest sports franchise, Bay FC, ahead of their NWSL home debut. There's some San Jose Earthquakes talk and an Oakland Roots and Soul dive into the Coliseum and beyond. And then we go in on El Farolito and the US Open Cup and take a look at some amazing jerseys, and jersey sponsorships, at SF Glens and SF City FC. We also cover The Town FC and the Quakes II, too.

Bay Area soccer is always exciting but with new teams, investment, stadium moves and cup upsets. it feels like the ground is shifting.

And Hella Football is back.

The USL Championship is back.

And  in Northern California things are looking a little bit different. The Oakland Roots are back, fresh off that fairytale surge to the playoff semi-finals. And so are the Sacramento Republic, fresh off the worst year in franchise history. And there is a new team joining the party - Monterey Bay FC

In this episode we chat all things Bay Area USL. We hear from new Roots coach Juan Guerra, captain Emrah Klimenta, fan favorite Jesus Chuy Enriquez, and new signings Charlie Dennis and Danny Barbir. Not many people are tipping the Roots for much but here at Hella Football we think they can go one better than last season. We're kind of bullish on the 2022 Roots.  

Sac Republic had a horrible year in 2021. They failed to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and also far more consequentially lost a long promised MLS franchise. They have banked on fresh blood revitalizing them signing a plethora of new players, including a former Spain youth international, Keko Gontan.

And Monterey Bay are building a team, and stadium, from scratch. They've signed a host of really interesting players. El Salvador international, Walmer Martinez, should be one to watch in attack for them. Can Monterey meld this group into something that catches other USL teams by surprise?

It's going to be a fascinating year in the USL and Bay Area soccer. And Hella Football has got you covered. 

We close out the show with a little prediction about whose going to come out on top among the USL NorCal rivals. 

Anders Perez is co-founder and president of Bay Cities FC. He tells us about what this new club stands for and much, much more. The Redwood City-based team kick off their first league season in the NISA Championship later this year and have big plans for the future. 

Anders played for the Chivas USA development academy coming up and since graduating college has spent nearly a decade with the Juventus Academy Silicon Valley. Unsurprisingly Bay Cities is a club with youth at its heart. Player production underlies everything they do. 

We chat about Bay Cities' plans to establish both men's and women's pro-teams, building opportunities for young players from across the Bay Area, Hispanic representation in American soccer, NISA, Oakland Roots and much more. Plus there's a little bit of love for one of Anders former youth players who is tearing it up with the Roots. 

You can follow Anders Perez on Twitter @AndersPerez10 and keep up with all the latest Bay Cities news at baycitiesfc.com.

2021 was a journey for Oakland Roots. The club's first year in the USL Championship was action packed. It started off terrible but they turned it around and clinched a playoff spot in the last game of the regular season. They pulled off a massive shock beating number one ranked El Paso Locomotive and then only lost to eventual champions Orange County on penalties.

There were heroes and villains along the way, some rocky moments and amazing drama. Here we take a look back at the players that made this such an unforgettable year.

We hooked up with Jonathan Comeaux from the Oakland Roots Blog to chat about the players, people and events that made this season so special.

Check out the Oakland Roots Blog at: https://oaklandrootsblog.blogspot.com/

Follow Jon at @Jonathan_Como

Stay tuned for more Hella Football in 2022.

2021 went from the ridiculous to the almost sublime for the Oakland Roots. After 1 win in their first 12 games, after another team's protests about the state of the field at Laney Stadium almost killed their season, after COVID outbreaks and a fixture backlog from hell, after so much, they took eventual USL champions OC all the way to penalties in the playoffs. Not bad for a debut season in the USL Championship. 

If you didn't know it already the Roots are going places. 

We hooked up with Jonathan Comeaux from the Oakland Roots Blog to chat about the players, people and events that made this season.

Stay tuned for part two and check out the Oakland Roots Blog at: https://oaklandrootsblog.blogspot.com/

And Jon at @Jonathan_Como

The mission was simple. For Oakland Roots to reach the playoffs they had to beat Sporting Kansas City II and hope that LA Galaxy II lost or drew against San Diego Loyal. 

At the start of the season the Roots would've been more than happy to reach the playoffs in their debut USL Championship campaign. But after turning their season around after a horrendous start it would have been a proper kick in the teeth to lose it at the last. 

In wasn't in their own hands but they knew what they had to do. All the Roots could do was beat Kansas and hope Los Dos didn't emulate their result. 

Oakland Roots had to beat LA, without facing them. Could they do it? 

We caught up with Roots head coach Jordan Ferrell to hear his thoughts on what was an incredible game and one of the days that will go down in Roots folklore. 

Oakland Roots don't do things the easy way. Up 3-1 with 20 minutes to go in a must win game, everything looked golden. But a goal and then a last minute equalizer followed by a red card left them starting at oblivion. To go out like that, after all they'd been through this season would've been a sickening blow. 

But you count this team out at your peril. 

They fought back and when they earned a penalty in the last seconds of injury time Jeremy Bokila stepped up . . . and earned his place in the team's history. 

The Roots season goes on, they have one more chance to earn a playoff spot. If they beat Sporting Kansas City II and the Los Angeles Galaxy II draw or lose to San Diego Loyal then the Roots will be playoff bound. 

#BeatLA