By Dylan Butler
That's right, Becks, the guy who you're suppose to bend it like, came to New York and the world media followed. It was a madhouse at Giants Stadium Monday morning for the English team's open training session.And while other English greats like Michael Owen, Alan Smith and David James also made the trip, which started in Chicago Saturday with a 2-1 win over the United States national team in another friendly, all eyes were on Beckham.Even MetroStars players, who held a 90-minute practice before England took the field, were in awe.”Whoa, David Beckham,” MetroStars teenage midfielder Eddie Gaven said, while in the midst of an interview.But Beckham's attempt to take over America – in a marketing sense – is not the best area soccer story this week.No, for the most remarkable soccer story you have to leave cavernous Giants Stadium and the swamps of East Rutherford, N.J., head back east over the George Washington Bridge and land at Juniper Valley Park's Brennan Field in Middle Village.That's the home base for youth soccer giants Blau-Weiss Gottschee, who have sent a record eight teams to this weekend's State Cup finals at Peter Collins Soccer Park in Plainview, L.I.The State Cup is the most prestigious club soccer competition in New York and is fiercely competed for – literally – all across the state.And while youth soccer-rich areas on Long Island, like Massapequa and East Meadow, have a few teams represented, no single club has sent eight teams to compete in the tournament. Not now, not ever.In fact, Gottschee only had eight available teams in the mix, which meant that in the several rounds of qualifying – from opening round to semifinals – Gottschee went undefeated from boys' Under-10 to Under-18, which is something like 45 combined matches without a loss.Let's see Beckham do that.Gottschee shattered the record they set last year, when they sent five clubs to Plainview, with four coming away with state championships.Why Gottschee? What makes them so special? It's a simple, Zen-like approach to the game that is preached from the boys Under-10 team to the U-18 side.”We try and get the kids to be one with the ball,” Gottschee youth coordinator Ben Boehm said. “where they can express themselves and enjoy the game.”Boehm has been with the club since 1967 and familiar with it since its origins, when it was founded by Ridgewood-based German immigrants in 1951. He recalls some of the great teams, like the 1954 Under-19 team that was crowned U.S. co-champions.”I remembered traveling out to St. Nicholas Soccer Field on Union Turnpike, where I saw them beat a Danish side, 5-1 on that old, bumpy field,” he said.There was the stretch from 1969-75 that saw Gottschee win seven straight Under-19 State Cup titles and the 1985 national championship Under-16 squad. This, though, is another golden age for Gottschee. And not because of all the championships won recently.”I take great pride in so many people buying into this,” Boehm said of the Gottschee philosophy. “They feel like they're part of a club, not a single entity. The coaches, the administrators and the players work for each other, that's the real satisfaction.”So while 50,000 people packed Giants Stadium Tuesday afternoon to watch arguably the most famous soccer player in the world, how about some props for the boys from Gottschee? After all, they play for each other and the love of the game – not for a sneaker contract.Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
