12/27/2020 10:18 PM Article By: Oscar Zamora
This past Sunday, December 21st, 2020, marked the date of the beginning of a new alliance between Chula Vista FC and DV7 in which the objective is to create the best soccer academy in San Diego.
Both soccer clubs realized that since they have similar views and goals about how soccer is supposed to be taught and trained to our youth players, combining forces was the perfect way to fulfill the soccer needs of the City of San Diego. Both clubs had already worked together very successfully with the Boys 2007 US Development Academy (DA) team. So, joining forces as a whole, was already meant to happen.
Clubs’ Backgrounds.
Chula Vista FC was established in 1982 and during this last decade, they have achieved some impossible dreams and goals that nobody had expected from a small community club in the South Bay. This current club’s success has had a lot to do with the appointment of Hector Diaz as Academy Director in 2010 who opened up the patch for the club to explore different possibilities on what leagues and tournaments to play outside of the local ones. In 2013, their U19 team won National Cup. In 2015, the U23 team reached the Lamar Hunt’s Open Cup’s Third Round, gaining national recognition as the Cinderella story of the tournament. They have now earned the respect of everybody that faces them in this tournament every year. In 2016, the club also joined the US Development Academy (DA) to strengthen their Youth Program. And during this year, Chula Vista FC joined the newly formed MLS Next after the DA dissolved and, also, it is a founding member of the Elite Academy League. Achievements that are very amazing for a ‘small’ cub in the City of Chula Vista since they have kept their enrollment fees at a very minimal amount for their members.
DV7 Soccer Academy was created by former Spanish International Soccer super star, David ‘El Guaje’ Villa. DV are the initials of his name and the 7 is the number he wore during his soccer career. The DV7 Group was founded in 2015 and has academies in different parts of the world, such as Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain, United Kingdom, New York and San Diego. Their soccer coaching staff is loaded with high licensed coaches from UEFA that help teach the Spanish soccer methodology which has been proven effective and successful around the world. It is the method that David Villa learned as a child, carried throughout his career and perfected under the guidance of some of the best coaches of all time: Luis Aragones, Pep Guardiola, Vicente del Bosque and Diego Simeone. Also, the club offers a high-quality training facility. DV7 group has recently added a professional soccer team, Queensboro FC, which will play in the USL Championship and will provide an opportunity for their players to be successful at the professional level too.
Clubs’ present and future together.
Panelists included DV7’s President, David Villa, Chula Vista FC’s Academy Director, Hector Diaz, DV7’s Technical Director, Diego Gomez, Chula Vista FC’s Director of Coaching, Ruben Caño, DV7’s Group CEO, Victor Oñate and and Sporting Director, Jusep Gombau.
Hector Diaz, Chula Vista FC’s Academy Director expressed his opinions on the collaborative effort by both clubs. Diaz said this about working with DV7: “We had a lot of success working together with the MLS Next Academy’s Boys 2007 team and we though we could replicate it not only in one team, but in multiple teams and have more balanced groups and play at the highest level. Not only in the MLS Next and Elite Academy levels, but for all aspiring youth players in the South Bay. It just became more difficult not working together with them. So, we decided to get together and make sense on something that could work for both of us and in the best interest for the youth in the South Bay.” Diaz also mentioned that DV7 brings access to an elite training facility that will complement with the parks already allocated to Chula Vista FC as well as high UEFA licensed coaches that will help us train at a high level. Diaz concluded: “It’s a relationship that works for both of us and I am very excited about it”.
Diego Gomez, DV7’s Technical Director, offered his views on Elite Youth Soccer and adding a strong Girls program to the already successful Boys program. Gomez expressed his excitement about providing South Bay with an opportunity to offer the Youth Program at the MLS Next and Elite Academy levels as well as the Adult Program participating in the US Open Cup. Gomez also added that building the Girls side and bringing it to the highest Academy level will be goal for the next upcoming years. “I am confident that we will be able to do this with the collaborative effort of both clubs”.
Ruben Caño, Chula Vista FC’s Director of Coaching spoke about the continuation on his professional methodology’s 5 year plan that he had introduced for Chula Vista FC in 2017 and how he sees the relationship with DV7. “In my opinion, with this new relationship with DV7, it improves the plan. I know Diego, I know DV7 and obviously David Villa and by working together it will be better. It was a very good decision.”
Victor Oñate, DV7 Group’s CEO, explained about what DV7 Group offers is about. “What we try to do with this idea is to generate a very strong International soccer development community with academies all over the world for children that want to train with the DV7 methodology.” Oñate added: “We have an agency to support the dreams or careers of the talented players that want to grow to the professional leagues. We also working the path to professional teams such as the one we have established in Queens, New York, Queensboro FC. All of this with the intent to provide the pathway to become professionals and to develop personal values.”
Jusep Gombau, new USL Championship’s Queensboro FC’s Head Coach and former FC Barcelona’s La Masia coach, explained how his club, that starts in January of 2021, will be used as a platform for our players to follow their dream to become professional soccer players: “We call our club a platform for all the players. We have the idea of using a lot of young players from 2002 to 2005. And our main objective is to develop these players and help them with their dreams to become professional players and, also, to help them increase their level so they can go to better leagues. They could play in MLS or why not, they could also go to Europe and play.” Gambou added that they have many partnerships around the world, specially in Spain, where players can fulfill their professional career dreams. Gombau also said that these 2002-2005 players will be developed in 2021 so they can be ready for Queensboro FC’s first team in 2022. These players will come from all the different academies that DV7 has around the world with the San Diego area being one of the strongest ones. 2 players from the Chula Vista area have already been invited to try out in February with Queensboro FC. Gombau said that the club built a residency program to attract the talent from all their academies. “We provide a home and offer scholarships to all the players that we feel that they have the talent to come to play with us and become professional players with us.”
David Villa, DV7’s President, said that the DV7 group was very excited Chula Vista FC-DV7 Academy project. Villa also said the main focus will be to help players get their dreams. Villa also talked about the project: “We saw in Chula Vista that they had very similar mentality as us. We are very happy to be working with them. We feel that we are the best soccer academy in San Diego. And, if we are not, we will be for sure, I am sure of that”. Villa continued: “We need to help the players day by day with our coaches, with our fields, with our methodologies, with everything that the players need in the day by day to get their dreams.” Villa also said that there is a lot of talent in the United States and specially in the San Diego area and can’t wait to come back and visit this academy.
Overall, the collaborative efforts from both clubs will provide the Chula Vista and San Diego area players a very well defined path to a successful transition from their formative years to the professional level. Without a doubt, not that many clubs can offer all of these opportunities for their communities in a single club. Joining forces to form the best soccer academy in San Diego was a great decision by both clubs.
Interested in joining our club? Sign up to tryouts for players born in 2007 or later.
