It was announced today that the Pacific Palisades in the greater Los Angeles area will be the home of the newest W-League expansion team, the Pali Blues.  California businessmen Ali Mansouri and Rudi Bianchi announced that they have secured the rights to the new team, which will be headed up by successful W-League coach Charlie Naimo.

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“We have always been impressed by the high level of support and participation in women’s soccer among the Palisades residents,” Mansouri commented.  “We have always been interested in bringing the highest level team soccer team to the area, and now our dream has been fulfilled.”

Mansouri, a former college soccer player in Ohio, has lived in the Pacific Palisades since 1999.  He serves as the President and Executive Director of the Los Angeles Blues Soccer Club, Inc.  Bianchi was born in Italy and has lived in the Pacific Palisades since 1985.   The Milan native has seen a lifetime of success in soccer at both the playing and coaching level.  He has also served in many organizational and management positions in the world of soccer, including his serving on the organizing committee for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.  The Pali Blues will be the third business the two proprietors operate under the L.A. Blues Soccer Club banner.

Also announced was the hiring of Kenzo Bergeron to the position of Director of Operations.  In addition to experience, Bergeron brings a sincere passion and respect for the women’s game to the Pali Blues. 

“For too long, there has been a shortage of pro quality environments for the highly talented female player to demonstrate their talents,” Bergeron stated.  “Now they will have one right here in the LA area.”

Bergeron grew up in the West Los Angeles area and has coached soccer for over ten years.  He is currently the director of a local soccer camp and coaches the Crossroads School Girls’ Varsity soccer team. 

“I believe that the Pali Blues Soccer Club has great potential to succeed in the Palisades, which is why we chose this area as a home site,” Bergeron continued.  “I believe that the Palisades will welcome our club and players.  The formation of this club is exciting, and I know that we will stand out as one of the best women’s soccer organizations in the country.”

The Pali Blues announced that former W-League Coach of the Year, Charlie Naimo, will serve as the club’s inaugural head coach and general manager, while Skylar Little will handle the assistant coaching duties.

“I have no doubt that we will put together a championship-caliber team this season,” Naimo predicted. “The Pali Blues organization is very welcoming, and I look forward to getting everything started on and off the field.”

Over the last four seasons, Naimo has amassed an astounding 53-3-0 regular season coaching record.  He coached this past season for Jersey Sky Blue. The first-year franchise finished 12-2-0 in the regular season before falling to the Ottawa Fury in the conference championship semifinal.  The club led the league in goals for and goals against while producing the W-League’s Most Valuable Player, Lara Dickenmann.

“We believe that Charlie possesses the skills to create a winning tradition for our club,” Pali Blues co-owner Ali Mansouri said in reference to Naimo’s hiring.  “His enthusiasm for the game is matched only by his record of success.”

Naimo first put on the head coaching hat in 1998 with the Central Jersey Splash and shortly after was honored as the W-League Coach of the Year in 1999.  After a stop with the New Brunswick (NJ) Power, he took over a struggling New Jersey Wildcats club, and with the assistance of the team’s ownership orchestrated an entire reconstruction of the organization.  In his three seasons with the team, Naimo compiled a 41-1-0 regular season record, leading the club to regular season titles in 2004 and 2006 while winning the W-League championship in 2005.  In 2005 the Wildcats were named the USL Franchise of the Year.

“Charlie has a wealth of experience working with players at all levels and has an unbelievable pool of players from which to draw,” Pali Blues Director of Operations Kenzo Bergeron stated.  “The southern California soccer culture will embrace Charlie as a professional and hard-working talent.”

In addition to the hiring of Naimo, the Pali Blues announced that former WUSA player Skylar Little will assume the role of assistant coach.  Along with her twin sister, Jacqui, the Palisades native was regarded as one of the best players to emerge from the region.  Little started every game over her four-year college career at UCLA, filling a trophy case along the way.  Her sophomore year, she was named the team’s Most Improved Player before being named team captain prior to her junior year.  In addition to being named an All-America honorable mention that season, the UCLA Most Valuable Player was named to the NSCAA All-Far West team and the Soccer Buzz All-West first team.  She was again named club captain and Most Valuable Player her senior year.  Little went on to play in the Women’s United Soccer Association for the Washington Freedom for the three years that the league was in existence.

“I am really excited about the idea of having a W-League team in the Palisades,” Little commented.  “I believe that it is a team that the community will really support.”

Bergeron also expressed his happiness regarding the hiring of Little.

“Skylar is regarded as one of the most talented female players to ever emerge from this area,” he continued.  “The relationships that she has with her alma maters, Marymount High School and UCLA, will be very important for our club.”

The Pali Blues logo incorporates the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean for which the city of Pacific Palisades is known as ‘Where the Mountains Meet the Sea.’ The town is a well known area in LA famous for former residents California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and 40th US President Ronald Reagan, as well as movie mogul Steven Spielberg.

The USL W-League played its inaugural season in 1995, and it is recognized as the premier development league for female players in North America.  The schedule is set to open next May and commence in August.  The Pali Blues have secured the newly-renovated Palisades High School field as their home venue in their inaugural 2008 season.

Press release courtesy of www.USLsoccer.com