Metro FC: A Pro/Rel Story
Everyone in lower league soccer wants promotion and relegation. For things to be decided on the pitch. Pro/rel offers the truest form of parity, an equal shot of becoming something big, regardless of what place is called home. Sporting merit is a system of rewards and punishments, but that system also offers a steady pace in which a club can build a culture filled with traditions and the time needed to create all the relationships a club needs to thrive: fans, sponsors and community representatives.
This is a pro/rel story about an American soccer club building a tradition around winning in the oldest league in the country, the San Francisco Soccer Football League. The SFSFL is a multi-tier league with clubs from all over the Bay area, some over a hundred years old. Metro FC are creating history as it hopes to become back-to-back-to-back league champions in the SFSFL’s 3rd, 2nd and 1st Divisions, respectively.
“Everyone on my team shows up consistently and to win and play well and be better. They don’t make the team if I’m not getting that from them every game and all season. The more serious you take the game, the more fun it is. My players, I think and hope, like being on the team for that reason, because that’s what we provide.”
The San Francisco Football Soccer League
The SFSFL was founded in 1902 and is the oldest soccer league in the country. The league operates three divisions in its pyramid and has been home to many historic clubs including four U.S. Open Cup Champions: San Francisco Athletic Club (‘76), San Francisco Greek-American AC (‘85), San Francisco CD Mexico, originally and now known as El Farolito (‘93), San Francisco Greek-Americans AC (‘94).
When asked about the competition Francis said "It’s excellent. It’s always a battle for 90 minutes every game because the top 30 teams are highly competitive, aggressive, physical, smart, organized, and skilled. The level of the top 15 teams in my experience is better than 75% of teams in what is considered division 4 on the US soccer pyramid - UPSL, National Soccer League, etc.” He added, “the best thing: the SFSFL and soccer in San Francisco could be and will be even better. Eric Wynalda (forgive spelling) and Alexi Lalas played in the league in the 80s. It was a feeder league for MLS referees. It has multiple previous US Open Cup champs. It has a ton of MLS Next teams, one that we are partnered with, SF Elite Academy. Local soccer here is the next big thing.”
Metro FC started play in the First division ( third tier of SFSFL) in 2017 where they finished fifth with a record of 11 wins, 7 losses and 4 draws. In 2018 the club would go on to be crowned champions and dominated the competition scoring a total of 120 goals, which and an average of 5 goals a match. It would follow-up its promotion with another championship performance finishing first in the Majors Division. 2020 led to a pause in SF Metro’s pursuit of history, but SFSFL Premier kicks off on June 6th and the club looks to continue to do what it always does, win.
Scoring Goals
You can’t win a match of soccer without the ball going into the net. Scoring a goal is the culmination of preparation and motivation. It starts with the preparation at practice. The best players are not only motivated by winning the match in front of them, but by competing at the top level and against the strongest of competitors.
“I am not of the philosophy that a good possession team is enough. It is essential, but goals mean a lot to me and to the club. You have to score to win.”
One of the struggles in lower league soccer is player retention, which makes it difficult preparing a team every season. The constant rotation of players means a consistent change in tactics to just fit the current personnel. Player retention is a key element to SF Metro’s success on the pitch. “There are currently at least 10 players returning from Day 1,” said Head Coach and Owner Langbein, he added that in “season 1 we retained 50% of players; season 2 we retained 75%; season 3, 90%; season 4, 90% including a second team; and this season, post-pandemic 30/44 are returning players. For context, in our league, most teams only retain 5-10 players a year out of 25 available roster spots. And all my players commit to 17/22 games per year, in a 6 month season. This is part of how we recruit, and think about evaluating players when we add them.”
In the clubs previous three seasons, not including the start of the postponed 2020 season, Metro has gone on to score 237 goals. How can a club maintain such a high level threat throughout multiple seasons, all while climbing the SFSFL pyramid? “We have amazing players, that's number 1. We also have players who are hungry to score and be playmakers. I fuel this fire by always challenging our players to be the guy to score. If you're a striker or winger or a scorer and you say that, you better prove it,” said Francis, who knows that all that matters is that the ball gets into the back of the net. Head Coach Francis continued to say that, “ I hate and discourage the term ‘unlucky’. Bullshit. Score the goal. Hit the ball correctly. This is not luck. Be better. There is strong accountability across our team to be ‘the guy’. I incentivize playing time with goals.”
This outstanding ability to score goals on the pitch has translated to the success of the club off the pitch. Langbein wants to take this team to the top of the pyramid, not just in the SFSFL, but beyond. “I committed myself and my team to climbing that ladder from the bottom all the way to the top each year,” said Langbein, who continued to explain that “ each year one wrung up the US Soccer Pyramid. I intend next year to host a 4th division team and so on up the US Soccer Pyramid.”
While this team is creating the ultimate example of sporting merit, they also are making intelligent business decisions to help them grow with its on the field ambitions. Most recently the club announced a huge kit sponsor for the 2021 season. Zenni Optical is an eyewear manufacturer that also sponsors the Chicago Bulls, SF 49ers and multiple eSport teams throughout the country. This new sponsorship matches the club ambitions to rise to the top of the soccer pyramid. This fresh new sponsorship also comes along with a beautiful checkered kit, that rivals many of the fashionable jerseys created by other lower league clubs.
A Pro/Rel Story
Metro FC is the story that lower league soccer is yearning for. A shining example of what can be accomplished through promotion and relegation. It’s a story about setting goals and continuously striving to meet and exceed them. So as we watch the 2021 season unfold, watch for the progress of SF Metro. Embrace the club's style of play, described by Head Coach Langbein as “ knowing the balance between playing with class and swagger. In constant search of playing the game for the beautiful fluid play and the ugly, hard fought, grinding execution it takes to win. A commitment to always getting better and always preparing for success. Playing with confidence, remaining composed, and accepting winning with humility,” because these are not just descriptions of a team playing on the pitch, but a club building off of it.
What if Metro FC does achieve its goals and becomes back-to-back-to-back champions? Where does the club go from there, when the SFSFL pyramid has been completed?
Part two next week.
- Steven Ramirez