There was something in the air at Chicago Indoor Sports on March 19th. After 5 weeks of games, all 6 teams in the first ever Elite League came to Championship and put it all on the line, playing for above all else, the right to call themselves Champions. On paper, the week was like all the rest, but in the end, only one team emerged as Elite League Champion and only one individual took home the Elite League Golden Boot. We saw a level of intensity we hadn’t known was possible – in the true spirit of the Elite League, every player had come to win.

Game after game, every team gave its all. After five weeks of civil play, everyone was playing for keeps and no one would leave unscathed. It was an unforgettable night of soccer and left some of us a little worried – how could we make it all happen again next year?

If you couldn’t make it out, words just don’t do what went down any justice. What Team Dempsey and its leader – and Golden Boot winner – Clemente Chaidez did that night is beyond words. But to be fair, we’ve given it a try. Here’s a recap of how all the game’s played out…

Through, the first 5 weeks, Team Robinho and Drogba earned their rights to a quarterfinal byes by placing 1st and 2nd in the Elite League Bracket. That left the remaining 4 teams to battle it out to play in the semifinals.

Quarterfinal #1: Zlatan 2 v 6 Dempsey
In the first quarterfinal, Team Zlatan faced Team Dempsey for a spot in the semis. Unfortunately for Zlatan, their quarterfinal effort resembled the rest of their season. It was a proper send of for the light blues, and an even more appropriate start to the night for golden boy Clemente Chaidez, who claimed 5 of Dempsey’s 6 goals. John Lesniak’s goal was somewhat unnecessary but hey, why not? For Zlatan, 2 upper 90 dead ball goals from Cody Styx were not nearly enough to continue the Team’s season.

Quarterfinal #2: Team Ribery 2 v. 0 Team Ronaldo
In the second quarterfinal, Team Ribery faced their always threatening rival, Team Ronaldo. The prior exchanges between these two made for an exciting match-up as each team truly their their better was better than the other team’s better. A story told through physical play, it was one of the toughest played of any of the Elite League Games. An early goal by Christian Rodriguez off a ball from Haro was enough to give Ribery the lead and would end up being the game winner. Both teams had chances to score but neither much for most of the game. In the last gasping seconds of the game, Ribery closed down any hopes of a Ronaldo comeback as Royce Labauex net some security. Both goalkeepers deserve an honorable mention as they played superbly and were responsible for keeping the game exciting and close.

Semifinal #1: Team Drogba 2 v. 3 Team Dempsey
The first semifinal featured 2nd seed Team Drogba, who some expected to make a strong run at the title after starting the season with an 0-2 record. They took on Quarterfinal #1 winner and 3rd seed Team Dempsey, in a rematch from the previous week. Everyone was on the edge of their seat before this one even got underway.

Both teams exchanged leads early, but the scoring started off with Chaidez’s sixth of the night and gave Dempsey the early lead. The goal came off a long ball out of the back from Oliver Elfenbaum; Chaidez, cool as ever, volleyed the ball out of the air and past the Drogba keeper. The finish was one that many would be content ending their career with. Thankfully, for all of those in attendance, Chaidez has decided to keep playing. The tables then turned in Drogba’s favor with two unanswered Brandon Ramirez goals. Ramirez was a man on a mission but it would not be enough. Jomar Mendoza tied things up with his first of the night off a nice shot from distance, which seemed to stun Team Drogba. A mental mistake by the Drogba defense allowed Evan Trychta to go 1 v 1 and beat the helpless Victor Lazano in the gaping Drogba goal. With Trychta’s goal, Dempsey punched their ticket to the final.

Semifinal #2: Team Robinho 3 vs. 1 Team Ribery
Despite the end result, the bigger story in this one was perhaps Team Ribery, who put forth an honorable effort in what would end up being their final game of the League. Top Dawg Robinho finally took the field to face Team Ribery in the second semifinal of the night.

The game was a stalemate for the first 12 minutes and everyone though the impossible might occur – Could little Team Ribery take down the unbeatable giant? No, Team Robinho broke the stalemate with a Jorge Bahena Goal in the 13th minute. Bahena, who’d been out with an injury the previous few weeks, had work to do and followed his goal with an assist to Wilmer Moreno with a nice 1-2 combo. Jose Valdez then took care of any upset speculation with two goals in the end to give Robinho the well deserved spot in the final. Ososami scored the consolation goal as Ribery signed out with a respectable performance against the mighty Robinho

3rd Place: Team Drogba 6 vs. 2 Team Ribery
In the 3rd place game, Drogba met Ribery to crown the 3rd Place team. Nothing but pride was at stake as both teams looked to make a graceful exit from the Elite League. Drogba took the lead through a Martin Vargas Goal, who took advantage of the rebound shot by Brandon Ramirez. Vargas upped the score by one with his patented left footed bomb. Ososami got one back with a counterattack. But Team Drogba proved too much and earned the rights to 3rd Place in stylish fashion as they scored four unanswered goals to beat tired and sore Team Ribery.

Championship: Team Robinho 3 vs. 5 Team Dempsey
The stage was set for what was to be the most exciting game of the Elite League – a showdown between the undefeated Robinho and orange underdog Team Dempsey. Every player stepped onto the field intent on walking away with the title and they played with fire in their hearts. There were many questions being asked before the game began: Will Robinho finish undefeated? Will anyone dare challenge their hype? At this point in the night it was clear who the two frontrunners were in the Golden Boot race, Wilmer Moreno had consistently shined over the course of six weeks. Clemente Chaidez had performed consistently as well but his team had struggled to put forth consistent results. Each player had a loyal following, but there was something in Chaidez that night…

Perhaps Robinho’s dominance was their downfall as they looked all too confident and went out to score early on. Dempsey took advantage of Robinho’s unnecessary early aggressiveness as Chaidez was left unattended after a pass coming from John Lesniak. Robinho was quick to answer, however, as they tied it up at one all with a goal from Zach Reneau-Wedeen. But Robinho could not contain a Chaidez-Trychta combo, which produced two more Chaidez goals to put Dempsey ahead 3-1. An own goal did not help their cause as they suddenly found themselves down 4-1 and scratching their heads. Wilmer Moreno took it upon himself and pulled Robinho within 1 with two unassisted goals. The Yellow Monster seemed to have a panic attack as they gave away yet another goal to Dempsey’s red hot and Chaidez. The Golden Boot winner saved his best for last as he scored an unbelievable 11 Goals in the final week, silencing any who doubted that he was in fact the best of the best.

As is often the case, not every player is mentioned in the recap, defenders and keepers in particular get the shaft, but at the end of every game, it is the team that wins and without a team to back them up, no superstar can shine. So here is a special shout out to the Elite League Champion, Team Dempsey: Alejandro Sanchez, Charlie Adams, Jomar Mendoza, Jorge Guzman, Oliver Elfenbaum, Evan Trychta, Clemente Chaidez, John Lesniak and Andrew Morua, Congrtulations and thanks for a great ending!

That’s how it went down. To all the Elite League players, thanks for a great six weeks and remember, you’ve only got about 10 months to get ready for next year.