By Gary H. Tim

 The 2008 PDL season of the United Soccer Leagues is within sight. And, with eyes focused on the championship crown, the Brooklyn Knights have officially announced the initial signing of thirteen (13) players to make up its ‘firing squad’.

Like the other 66 teams in this year’s expanded league, the Brooklyn-based franchise is aiming for the ultimate prize, and the preliminary list is geared to trigger its shot at the target.

News of the initial 13-man roster came via a memo from the desk of the Knights’ General Manager Gali Maimon, stating that “just like the city of Brooklyn , the Knights’ squad runs the cultural gamut, with no less than four continents, several countries and countless ethnicities being represented.”

The roster consist of:

Goalkeepers          - Alex Patovic  and Chris Antonino

Forwards               - Tarik Smith and David Panchano

Additionally, the club has earmarked Arthur Kulkov (D), Prasovics Elvir (GK), John Sallhag (F), Adnan Buliubasic (F), Ruben Diaz (D) and Sebastian Alvarado (F) to join the team pending USL approval.

 The selections came after the Knights exposed a record amount of players to a series of try-outs, including games and scrimmages against select teams in New York .  Maimon indicated that the vastly increased interest by players to be with the club “is largely of the exciting brand of soccer the Knights play, and their heartening successes garnered in 2007.”

 Most of the players are returnees from the side that won the PDL’s Eastern Conference crown last year, and missed getting to the national championship game by a narrow penalty-kick margin.

 According to the Knights’ Italian-born head coach Joe Balsamo, “there were a lot of good players trying out for the team, but the guys in this group are particularly skilled and disciplined, which are the characteristics I look for in building a team.’’  Balsamo said some of the players named are capable of playing in more than one position, “and this is a plus for the team.”

Interestingly, the statistics from the 2007 PDL season attest to the ‘united team first’ concept existing in the Knights’ clubhouse.  Unlike, many of the top ranked teams, the Knights did not put any of their players in the top-10 rankings for Shot Leaders, Game Leaders, Minute Leaders, Goal Leaders, Assist Leaders, as well as Point Leaders – which carried a top-20 listing.  However, star striker Tarik Smith got the lone mention in the Foul Leaders category with 33 from 13 games, ranking him #5.

The remaining players to make up the Brooklyn Knights’ 2008 PDL team roster will be announced shortly before the season kicks off on Friday, May 9 with the team hosting the Westchester Flames from 8:00 p.m. at the Aviator Field stadium (Floyd Bennett Field) in Brooklyn.

The Knights’ management is confident that its ‘firing squad’ will come out ‘with all guns blazing’, aiming to wholly execute its culture of “attractive fan-friendly soccer, and willpower to reach the top of the game.”