Before the wolf and laurel crown staked their claim as top club in the Great Lakes East division of the Midwest Premier League, club co-founders Javi Bautista and George Chomakov spent 2019-2021 together at Detroit City FC bringing home multiple championships to Le Rouge and lead the DCFC U23s to the inaugural MWPL Midwest Conference title in 2021.

Hungry like the Wolf

“It all started playing indoor soccer,” Chomakov said. “We had a team together and we started calling it ‘Liquid Football’ just because we were doing one-touch passing and the overall play was good. It was just a joke at the time, and one day I get a message from Javi and he’s like ‘What if we made a team called Liquid Football?’” Chomakov had no hesitation at the suggestion. Bautista departed his coaching position at DCFC and Chomakov did as a player at roughly the same time and the two felt the timing was right to bring their dormant idea to life.

Making numerous stops on the pitch and the touchline throughout their careers, the talents they have acquired gave them confidence to roll up their sleeves and get to work. “We thought it would be a good idea to just take a stab at it and see if we can do our own thing, and kind of not really have to answer to anybody or ask if it was ok to do that or this,” Bautista said. Business decisions are not always made with everyone’s best interest in mind and Bautista recalls seeing some of those decisions made at the detriment to players and other staff. “That’s why we decided to build a club that was focused on the players and the staff members, that’s why our motto is ‘Player Built’ because it was built by players and that’s how we run it,” he added.

Much like Roland Gibson of the 2024 Great Lakes East expansion club Ypsi Yetis, the independence controlling the direction of your organization is another facet that the pair are lockstep in agreement. Chomakov echoed his fellow co-founder’s sentiments, of experiencing the decisions made they did not agree with, further fueling their desire to create Liquid Football Club. “Whether you’ve played, coached or been around the game there are certain clubs that you learn more about what they are all about and it doesn’t sit well with you,” he explained. “You always want to put your own stamp on how you want to run a team, how you want to treat the players, how you want to run the business side of it, how you are about treatment of the staff…I think all of that played a huge part.”

Securing a home stadium was one of the many firsts undertaken by Chomakov prior to the 2023 season. The population density as you creep closer to the Motor City on Interstate 96 soon becomes apparent, so finding a pitch shouldn’t be hard for a few ex-DCFCers, right? The logic in general would make sense to any soccer fan in the “Mitten” but Chomakov explained the process was less than ideal. “You see so many high schools and stadiums around and you start calling, trying to find time,” he said. “Putting everything together on that side of things was a bit more difficult, because when you’re a player you just show up. You don’t have to worry about anything like that.”

Bautista himself estimated that he invested around $8,000 along with sponsorship and merchandise revenue to get his operation started. “The goal was to put a little less money into it each year from my personal money and building a financial base where we can be really sustainable over a five-to-ten-year period,” he said. “We understood we weren’t going to make any money off this in the first five years probably.” Contrary to what Bautista was bracing for, it appears the sustainability has arrived at his club’s doorstep a few years early as his wallet has been marked as safe from major personal investment prior to the 2024 season.

Family is Everything

Liquid Football has one of the more unique badges and color palettes in the MWPL. Sporting gold kits at home and black on the road, with tastefully done tricolor rings around the collar and sleeves, it is not a surprise numerous sizes of both sold out. The star of the show is the uniquely shaped iridescent badge that is impossible to miss. “We wanted to do something a little different because logos are typically circles or traditional designs,” Bautista said. The wolf and laurel crown are a tribute to his two sons, Roman and Lobo. No matter where Liquid travels, he will have a piece of his family with him.

When LFC announced their existence and joined the MWPL for their inaugural season, Chomakov was happy with the reception. “It was a really good reception,” he said. “In terms of the announcement, we have plenty of support. Obviously, he (Bautista) playing and coaching at DCFC and me playing for Detroit City as well. As you know, they get five, six seven thousand fans for a game.” Chomakov continued explaining the bond Le Rouge supporters and the team has trickled down to the MWPL, with DCFC faithful supporting at their own at home matches and encouragement via social media or over the phone.

Pretty Sly with Your Gyri

Bautista and Chomakov struggled to find players in the beginning stages, as an entity with little or any tangible history the recruiting process included putting trust in some unknowns. Much like the sponsorship struggles early on for Rockford FC, sometimes you must rely on your connections and character to see it through. Bautista emphasized that the ideal players for his club need to possess intelligence and coachability along with the expected physical attributes. The club relied on a heavy amount of trialists along with friends and connections to fill the roster with the season looming ever closer. “As the season went on, people saw what we were trying to do, then we had a few really good players join and we finished off the season really well” Bautista expanded.

Growing up playing soccer his entire life, Xavier Walser would scour the internet in search of training drills and discovered Javi’s YouTube channel. In somewhat of a full circle moment, he saw Bautista was going to be the man in charge. “That would be really cool to play for him,” Walser said. “I really liked the design of the logo, and I was looking for a new club...I thought what better than to join a completely new club in a league that is growing.”

Bautista & Chomakov’s relationship with the players should be lauded as a crucial component as to where the club stands today. “As a player it is so exciting to play with somebody like George, who has so much experience in the professional environment,” Walser explained. “It’s a dream come true for me to play with someone like George.” Being left in an echo chamber with your own ideas or grievances can have consequences both immediate and long term. Walser praised both men on their ability to facilitate an environment of communication. “You felt like if you had a concern or a question you could go to George and you knew he would get to Javi. The relationship was very positive for the players.”

Champion Grind

There weren’t thousands of fans echoing through the immediate vicinity or TV cameras to catch this important moment for Bautista and Chomakov. Their first league win, 3-1 over fellow newcomer Troy United justified the duo’s ambition. The party came to a screeching halt after dropping consecutive results to G.L. East heavyweight Inter Detroit and league neighbor Detroit Union by a combined 5-2 scoreline. “It was a bit rocky,” he admitted. “We’ve never ran a team from the start. It was an amazing learning curve, but we are here and in year two.”

Despite the early struggles with results, LFC ripped off the last eight matches without a defeat. “We’ve had enough experience between me and the other staff members, we knew what we were doing and the timeline of events,” He explained. “It was always going to be great but as long as we kept pushing through, we were going to end up in the really good spot.” That spot ended up being second in the GLE table behind Inter by two points.

Walser also attributed their inaugural season turnaround to the team’s perseverance in training and Bautista’s skill to adapt throughout the campaign. Formation changes, new faces and tailoring the gameplan to Liquid’s strengths opened the door for a better product on the field for fans while climbing up a very competitive Great Lakes East Division. “We all accepted the rough start because we are a new club.” He explained. “It never got us down. I’ve played in all types of lower leagues in Michigan and the Midwest Premier League is the highest I have played in. When you get on the field it is very apparent and very exciting, it makes you want to prove yourself.”

An inside joke among friends at a pickup game has evolved and found its way in a relatively young league with a bright future. Soccer fans are being spoiled for choice within the Metro Detroit Area when it comes to clubs to pour your heart into.

For Walser, LFC is home.

“It was amazing, I absolutely loved it. I had the option to move away this summer and I was like ‘No way, I want to stay and play with Liquid. I couldn’t say more positive things about it, it feels like a professional environment but lower league soccer.”

- Rich Schenck