Column: This City Section soccer rivalry takes competition to the limit
They’ve been playing soccer together for four years at Birmingham High, Adrian Diaz, the scorer, and Steven Ramos, the defender.
Next season they will move on to college and play at rival schools, Diaz for UC Riverside and Ramos at Cal State Northridge. Almost every practice, they joke about what will happen when they are no longer teammates.
“Who’s going to win, who’s going to lose,” Ramos said.
“We’re already preparing,” Diaz said.
Ramos won’t reveal his strategy for stopping Diaz, who has 14 goals this season.
“It’s a secret,” he said.
Fortunately, they still have several months to go as teammates, and one of their biggest games is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday when they play at rival El Camino Real in a West Valley League match.
The teams last met in last season’s City Section championship game, won 2-0 by Birmingham. A fight broke out afterward, and the consequences were swift: Both teams were banned from participating in the Southern California regional playoffs.
Ramos said fighting “was a dumb decision. It ruined our season.”
Said Diaz: “I was very surprised and we’re all friends and know each other from soccer. It wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Now it’s time to see what lessons were learned. Coaches and administrators from both schools have been adamant that fighting won’t be tolerated.
“I have talked to our kids and I’m sure they’ve talked to theirs, and I think both teams understand they can’t do this ever again,” Birmingham athletic director Rick Prizant said.
Said El Camino Real coach Ian Kogan: “I addressed it at the beginning of the season and reminded them that what we did was not the standard. We respect Birmingham as an opponent. It shouldn’t happen again.”
These are two of the top teams not only in the City Section but also in Southern California. Birmingham is 13-1; El Camino Real is 8-1. Birmingham’s only loss was to Oxnard, a team El Camino Real defeated. El Camino Real’s only loss was to Hart, a team Birmingham defeated. Two of Birmingham’s best players are El Camino Real transfers, brothers Carlos and Christian Esnal. Carlos had six goals in two games since becoming eligible following the sit-out transfer period.
Every season the schools battle it out for the league title and they frequently end up meeting for the City title.
The matches are intense and fans in the stands also get excited. Many alumni get fired up just remembering their rivalry experiences.
“Going into my fourth year, I feel the rivalry gets better,” Diaz said.
Ramos has friends at El Camino Real and learned they are real friends because they didn’t attack him during the fight.
“We can’t let that happen again,” he said. “It’s just an intense rivalry on the field. Off it, I don’t have a problem.”
Kogan said Ramos always seems to have his best games against the Royals.
El Camino Real has a top scorer in Jonathan Rabinovitch, who has 13 goals. “He’s had an amazing season,” Kogan said.
But Birmingham has the duo of Diaz and Ramos.
“I’m hoping they will let their guard down and let us beat them,” Kogan said.
