My Take: DC United 2 - 1 Pachuca

I hate it when I get the score right.

I have mixed feelings about what happened last night at RFK. On the one side, United did win the match, finally fighting back to score two late goals and win their third straight home match of the short season. Was that more to do with the fact that Pachuca did what they needed to do, and were sitting back? I am not certain.

What I am certain of is that the better club did win the series. Last night I saw a very discomposed DC United out on the field. I saw several passes that were made blindly and to no one. I saw many miscues when trying to play together, too many for a club that has been together for two and a half months. Pachuca on the other hand had the type of "feeling" for each other that they were able to quickly break out with quick passes, accurate passes, and cause havoc for the United backline. However, the backline did very well, as they have in every other match this short season, which once again gives me hope for the future.

Do we blame the miscues and errant cohesiveness on the fact that United have only been together for about two and a half months? Do we blame the fact that almost half of the starters last night were new players to the club? Again, I am not certain.

Considering that once again we had both MLS clubs knocked out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, I say that right now, both of those clubs should simply chalk the tournament up as an intense early season primer. Who should be worried about the fact that MLS clubs have again failed to reach the mountain top is Garber & Co.

Yes, the CONCACAF Champions Cup is finished after Pachuca and Saprissa face off in their home & away series, but next season MLS clubs will have to face pretty much the same situation with the Quarter Finals of the CONCACAF Champions League. According to Steve Goff at the Washington Post, the 2009 part of the Champions League schedule is identical to the current Champions Cup schedule -

Feb. 24-26, 2009: Quarterfinal, Game 1
March 3-5: Quarterfinal, Game 2
March 17-19: Semifinal, Game 1
April 7-9: Semifinal, Game 2
April 21-23: Final, Game 1
April 28-30: Final, Game 2

If the league (MLS or SUM, whoever really runs things) wants MLS clubs to compete and win this tournament, they are going to have to figure out something new for the clubs. Maybe a real increase in the salary cap to actually attract better players to fill out the 28 man roster, which would give MLS clubs more than the "real" 16 players that they truly have.

Maybe they need to provide the CONCACAF clubs with more and meaningful winter training, and earlier in the calendar year. Bundesliga clubs have January off, yet they still schedule warm up matches to prepare for the second part of their season, why not have MLS clubs travel to Germany to train and face off against two or three Bundesliga sides? Get the players more than just stretching and running drills before they hit the first Quarter Final match, assuming that they reach the Quarter Finals.

So United is out of CONCACAF play until the SuperLiga (July) and the CONCACAF Champions League (September). I say that United should take the positives from last night and the supposed better match fitness to Salt Lake and kick the hell out of Real on Saturday night. Take the good from the bad and take the points from the league.

Match-Prep: DC United vs. Pachuca 4/9/2008

It's return leg time at RFK Stadium for DC United. United hosts Mexican super-club Pachuca in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup Semi-Finals tonight. Pachuca took advantage of the higher altitude and a less than sharp United squad and grabbed a 2-0 win in the first leg last week.

A 2 goal hole isn't the worst of situations to be in. We are at home and we seemed to have found a much better shape for the side with Santino starting up front with Emillio, in front of Gallardo. It would be interesting to see Moreno start up front with Emillio and have Gallardo, Fred, Quaranta and Simms in the midfield. I think that Santino would be a bit of a better option on the right flank, passing wise and shooting wise.

United coach Tom Soehn summed it up the best when he said, "You don't have to win the game in 15 minutes; you do it over a course of 90 minutes, you have to be patient and we will get our chances."

In the match against Toronto last Saturday, United was very fortunate to have a 2-0 lead by the 6th minute mark... I will be happy with a 1-0 lead by the 15th minute. I am hoping that being at home, back down to earth and fresh off of a very good victory, United is able to retain it's shape and get the goals it needs. Most important thing is that United needs to be patient and play it's game. If United let's Pachuca dictate the pace and the style of play, it will be over.

Unfortunately, I really don't see us winning 3-0, which we need to. A 2-1 win tonight seems more likely.

My Take: DC United 0 - 2 Pachuca

I honestly have a lost for words. I expected better. Yes, I know that this is the fourth match of the year and that we were playing on the Moon when you consider the altitude. I don't give a damn. I expected better play.

The thing that bugs me is that I saw better play at times, but I saw some really stupid play at others, and I saw some other things in between. As this young season moves forward, I am getting more and more questions forming in my head about our squad than I am answers.

Zach Wells really did not need to get that Yellow Card. So early in the match, it was plain stupid for him to have constantly held the ball for as long as he did on his goal kicks. Regardless of the altitude, these guys have been training for the better part of 6 weeks, even up in the thin air; they should have been able to get through the first 30 minutes without him holding the ball that long. It was a stupid mental lapse that was in truth, a foreshadowing of other mental farts that the rest of the team would do. One of those was Wells' failure to protect his near post on the first goal.

Paging Mr. MLS MVP!!!! Can someone please find Mr. Emillio? He was thought to have been sighted at RFK a few weeks ago, but it appears that a lazier form of the MVP has taken the #11 shirt. Emillio, WTF?! You shouldn't be playing that deep man! You are a goal scorer, a goal poacher. You sit up high and wait for the service. You don't come back to collect the ball near midfield and "try" (which is stretching the word, as his moves are just a slight step over mine) and juke and jive your way towards goal.

I think I am starting to understand how Gallardo plays and what he tries to do. Unfortunately, I am starting to think that the rest of the team doesn't have a clue how he wants to play the ball. As was mentioned during the match, Gallardo looks to really need someone to play close to him, which might force Soehn to revert back to a 3-5-2 in order to give better play support for Gallardo. He might be a great player, but every time I see one of his passes not get to the intended man, I want Gomez to run on the pitch.

I like Franco Niell, but I would really like to see Santino start the next game. Santino has a better passing ability and if Emillio would play in his proper position, Santino would be able to float in between Gallardo and Emillio to provide a passing option to both of them.

Fred looked much better tonight on the wing, and in all honesty, I wouldn't mind seeing him move into the middle with Gallardo, but I am not so certain how that would work.

So we are in a 2-0 hole, with what could be considered our third international match of the short year, against Toronto FC this Saturday at RFK. If Jamie Moreno doesn't start on Saturday, I would like to see Santino and Emillio up front, with Simms (who again was huge in the midfield tonight) Gallardo, McTavish, & Fred in the midfield. Namoff, Peralta, Burch and Martinez starting in front of Wells. That would give us at least three guys who have some sense of a creative attack (Gallardo, Fred & Santino) to match with Emillio in the offensive third. Bring Jamie on in the second half for holding play and Niell for speed up top.

So much for being at a lose for words. See you all at RFK on Saturday.

SuperLiga Groups Announced... sort a.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the 2008 North American SuperLiga participants have been decided and groups have been drawn.

Group A
- PUMAS
- New England Revolution
- Chivas USA
- Atlante

Group B
- Houston Dynamo
- Chivas de Guadularara
- Pachuca
- DC United

DC United will host all of their matches at RFK Stadium.

It does appear that the actual schedule for this tournament has yet to be determined, as DC United's schedule only has the All Star game listed for July. Now unless MLS has finally realized that a month break in the summer would actually help the quality of play in the league (which I doubt that they would ever do) the lack of schedule matches for July leads me to believe that SuperLiga will take place in July, but they aren't sure as to when exactly. Houston only has one match listed on their schedule, as does New England. Chivas USA have two on their schedule.

All in all, the group looks very tough, so the guys who do take part in the group stage matches should have good matches. I assume that Tom Soehn's priority list for 2008 might look a little like this:

1a. CONCACAF Champions Cup (as it comes first)
1b. MLS Cup
2. Supporters Shield
3. CONCAF Champions League
4. SuperLiga Championship
5. US Open Cup

I haven't heard or seen anything either for or against this, but as the CONCACAF Champions League will be taking place during the same time frame as the CONMEBOL Copa Nissan Sudamericana, I would assume that CONCACAF clubs will not be taking part in that tournament any longer. I will keep an eye out for this one.

I am one of those people who actually likes the SuperLiga. Yes, it is a made up tournament, but most tournaments have to start somewhere. Yes, the matches don't truly test the MLS clubs as they do not have the travel "quirks" of heading to Mexico for group matches. All in all, as I said last year, the tournament is a very good idea and has to begin somewhere.

I would ultimately like to see the group stages involve 6 games, 3 home and 3 away. unfortunately, this type of thing will not be done until MLS rosters get larger and the salary caps get bigger. MLS clubs would pass out if they had the mid week travel matches in Mexico, then the MLS matches, then right afterwards the CONCACAF Champions League matches, which will require more travel matches.

Until MLS increases the roster sizes and the salary caps, the SuperLiga, in its current format, is a good stepping stone to giving more MLS clubs exposure to matches outside of MLS. This is a good start.

Soccer News & Notes: 7/25/2007

LA Galaxy win first SuperLiga Match; FC Dallas Draw
God I love Landon Donovan! This guy has a nack for making people eat the same stuff that they throw at him. After the Beckham circus match Saturday night, pretty much everyone dropped Donovan on his head for missing the open header late in the match and basically being invisible through out the entire match. I even said that the Galaxy would finish dead last in their SuperLiga group.

Well, he proved me wrong and showed the rest of the media that he can still step up in matches. Donovan scored the match winner as the Galaxy, minus Golden Balls, defeated Pachuca 2-1 last night. As FC Dallas drew with Chivas de Guadalajara 1-1, the Galaxy currently sit at the top of the Group A standings.

FC Dallas draw with Chivas.
The other SuperLiga match of the night had FC Dallas draw with Chivas de Guadalajara 1-1, despite an apparent hand ball that lead to the Chivas goal that tied the score at 1-1. FC Dallas played a man short for the end of the match as Drew Moor was sent off for shoving Chivas captain Hector Reynoso.

I watched the first half of this match and I was shocked at how hard these guys were hitting each other. The hitting was fierce and the passing was horrible. FC Dallas had terrible passes through out the entire first half, and it made me wonder if it was only time until Chivas snuck in with a goal. Chivas themselves weren't that much better, but they did have faster build ups in the offense, which I thought would be the difference. I figured teh score would be 1-0 for Chivas.

Freddy off to Benfica?
The AP is reporting that MLS and Benfica have agreed to a $2 million dollar transfer for Freddy Adu, but Freddy and Benfica have yet to agree to personal terms of the contract. Freddy was back in the Real Salt Lake line up as they hosted Boca Juniors in an international friendly last night, which finished 1-1. Negotiations appear to be on going.

I really, really like this move, assuming that Freddy can agree to personal terms with Benfica. Moving to Portugal provides Freddy with the chance to face an entirely different environment and get alot more playing pressure on him, rather than marketing pressure. At Benfica, Freddy will have to fight for playing time in training, something that Peter Nowak was trying to get him to understand and what he said he figured out with his two week training session last year with Manchester United. He won't be the media darling of the entire league, like he head been over here. His game should improve greatly, assuming that he moves. I am just happy that he wants the greater challenge, unlike some other guys.

Eddie Johnson turns Derby down.
Speaking of Americans getting chances to move overseas, Eddie Johnson has reportedly turned down Derby's offer to joining the EPL side this season. Derby has just been promoted to the EPL and were looking to bring EJ in to bolster its offense. In 2005, Benfica offered MLS a reported $6 million for EJ's contract, but the league turned them down.

As I said before, I think that EJ should move, especially with his stock so "high." The guy has been lighting up MLS, 12 goals in 11 games, but his game needs to go higher, especially if he wants to truly be an international goal scoring threat for the USMNT. Playing in the EPL would have forced him to become quicker, not only on his feet, but in his head.

Poor decision EJ, poor decision.

Here it comes…SuperLiga!

Ok, so how long has it been since the inaugural SuperLiga tournament was announced along with the participants and the bitching? After all of the complaining, arguing and debates, we are finally set to see inform MLS clubs go against pre-season Mexican clubs with 1 Million dollars up for the winner.

So what should we expect? Should we see the MLS clubs wipe the field with their Mexican opponents? The Mexican clubs are in preseason form after all, so they should be rusty and ripe for the picking.

I doubt that we will see anything other than some interesting matches. Clubs on both sides of the Rio Grande should do well, but I think we will see something of a Houston vs. Pachuca final. Houston is playing very well right now and Pachuca seem to have everything falling into place for them.

I am worried about two of the MLS clubs, the LA Galaxy and DC United. The Galaxy will be entering their second straight international tournament in pretty much as many weeks. They lost 3-0 to Tigres and 1-0 to Chelsea this last week. Considering that they have already faced a pre-season Mexican club and fared poorly, how are they going to do against two of the better Mexican sides? The Galaxy are still trying to figure out who is playing which position and what formation works the best. Pavon picked up a knock in the Chelsea match and that other guy from England doesn’t seem to be ready to really play until maybe Saturday against Chivas. I was impressed with their defensive form against Chelsea. Xavier played out of his mind in central defense and Cannon saved their bacon 4 or 5 times. That said, I expect the Galaxy to finish last in their group, using the three matches essentially as a pre-season run at the new players and see which formation works the best and to get them back in form for the MLS regular season.

DC United on the other hand really haven’t had that much of a run of good form lately. In their last four matches, they are 0-3-1, having been shut out in the three losses and having blown a 3-0 lead at home n the draw. So now the injury depleted Black & Red have to face two of Mexico’s best then travel to Houston and face the MLS leading Dynamo, one of the clubs that shut them out in those three losses. Considering that Tom Soehn should have both Ben Olsen and Fred available (Olsen had to sit out the RBNY match and Fred gets an MLS sponsored vacation when United face the Revolution on August 5th) I expect them both to be in the lineup for Wednesday nights match against Morelia. If United can get three points against Morelia, a draw against America then hopefully they will not have to worry about their match against Houston. If not, I think based on their current form, United might miss out on playing passed the group phase in this tournament.

Overall, my opinion of this tournament hasn’t really changed. I think that it is a great idea and one that will hopefully grow with each season that we see it. Based on Commissioner Garber’s statements on MLSnet.com, I think that it will:

“Matt from Chapel Hill, N.C.: What are your expectations of SuperLiga this year? Will it ever go to a Home and Away format? Will it expand? Will it be on TV in English?

Don Garber: We're launching SuperLiga in a reduced format this year and still have some work to do to determine the future structure of the tournament. I certainly hope we can achieve a home and away competition with expanded teams but this year have to determine the tournament's success before we move forward.” - MLSnet.com

The biggest thing that will determine its future is if the first run is a success. In order for the tournament to be a success, the current fans need to get behind it. It seems that a lot of MLS fans are shunning this tournament because the teams were selected instead of teams that won some type of qualification to get in.

I think that once the matches get started, there will be plenty of fans in the seats and we will see this tournament become a success. As MLS/SUM/MPD begin planning the next SuperLiga, hopefully they will take any mistakes from this one and eliminate them and expand the tournament to include more clubs. I would ultimately like to see MLS/SUM/MPD begin to invite the top two clubs from Costa Rica as well.

Their First Team can't win either: America falls to Pachuca

So right as I was leaving Mexico City last week, everyone and their brother was gearing up for the two legged series between America and Pachuca for the Apertura championship. America had sent it's second string side to Brasil to face Santos in the Copa Libertadores in hopes of resting their first string players for the Pachuca match-up. Well, it really didn't do them much good.

Pachuca won the first leg last Friday 2-1 at Azteca Stadium and drew 1-1 at home Sunday night to win their second league championship in the last three tournaments. Pachuca also added a third trophy to its case, having just picked up the CONCACAF Champions Cup in April and winning the CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana in December.

One bright spot for America was that Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored in both of the matches; however, as these were his last two matches with America, they should begin to look for another forward. Blanco signed with MLS side Chicago Fire and should be joining them in the next several weeks.

So much for resting the First Team. Maybe they should have sent their first team to Brasil and used their second team against Pachuca?

My Trip to Mexico.

I ended up having to spend the last week in Mexico City for work and while I was there, I was able to enjoy the World's game from a different point of view.

I spent part of Wednesday watching the UEFA Champions League Final with several Mexico's and other Latin Americans and I have to say, that wasn't that great a match. Liverpool looked the better of the two sides, but Milan was able to play a better second half than their first and that was all that mattered.

Later that night I sat in Papa Bill's Saloon drinking Sol and Dos Equies while watching America play on a very wet field against Santos in the Copa Libertadores. America sent it's Second team to Brasil because their First team are playing against Pachuca in the Apertura Finals tonight and Sunday. While I was still a little unsure why a club would send two separate teams to play in two separate tournaments, I watched America take a 1-0 lead into half time against Santos. That lead would soon evaporate as Santos came out firing on all cylinders and won the match 2-1 behind two great second half goals. I understand that winning the Apertura championship is the highest importance in America's plans, but I did not agree with sending what in all cases, was their second string side to play in a Quarter Finals of an international tournament.

The whole two teams issue got me thinking about MLS and how much of a chance it might be for MLS clubs to adopt that philosophy. While I was in Mexico City, it was announced that DC United will again take part in the Copa Sudamericana and again face off against Chivas de Guadalajara, the same club that knocked United out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. With the Sudamericana taking place in September, right after the SuperLiga, and possibly during the US Open Cup run and the tail end of the MLS regular season, DC United will have several choices to make concerning player personnel. Considering that the MLS regular season and playoffs should be the club's primary focus, should United send an all reserve side into the US Open Cup? I say yes, and send the reserves into the first match.

The bigger question I saw was that as MLS grows and possibly gets involved in more and more international tournaments, will we see the type of two team commitment that I saw with America? I know that right now, several MLS clubs sort of do this when it comes to the US Open Cup, but will we see this with the SuperLiga? Sudamericana? I hope not. I honestly see no reason why a club would send a second side to take part in an international tournament. To me, it doesn't make sense. Sure, I understand sending some of the reserves, but an entirely different team? America didn't even send it's first team goalkeeper. I really hope that this practice is not adopted by MLS sides. Use reserves in the US Open Cup, but when MLS clubs take part in international tournaments, I want to see their best team sent out there.

All in all, being in Mexico with so much Soccer going on was really cool. Every TV channel pretty much had coverage of both the Champions League final and the upcoming Apertura championship with America and Pachuca. ESPN SportCenter lead off their show Wednesday night with the Champions League final, then had an update on the Apertura championship, then the Copa Libertadores match in Brasil, then the International friendly between Ecuador and Ireland, then they finally had coverage on the NBA playoffs. I couldn't understand a word of Spanish during the broadcast, but seeing so much soccer on ESPN, and leading off SportsCenter was great to see. I doubt that we will ever see that type of coverage in the State's, but a guy can dream, can't he?

Pachuca are Champions of CONCACAF

Pachuca outlasted Chivas de Guadalajara last night after 120 minutes of scoreless soccer, to win 7-6 on Penalty kicks and claim the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Pachuca will now represent CONCACAF in the 2007 FIFA World Club Cup which will take place in Japan. This is the second straight time that a Mexican club will take part in the tournament, as Club America played in the December tournament last year, finishing 5th out of 6 clubs.

You almost had to expect that of the two CONCACAF clubs, Pachuca would finish the tournament on top. They made history last year by becoming the first non-CONMEBOL club to win the Copa Sudamericana. Where Club America failed in the FIFA World Club Cup last year, I have a feeling that Pachuca will make a better showing.

CONCACAF Champions Cup Previews

I found three separate CONCACAF Champions Cup previews; CNN/SI.com has a preview that really focuses on the fact that on the club level, MLS is Mexico's bitch; ESPNsoccernet has a more balanced viewpoint (if there can really be a balanced view of this, at least Carlisle didn't bring up the 5-0 ass raping that PUMAS gave United two years ago) and highlights the players to watch; and David Lifton provides an in-depth report from DC United's training sessions in Florida.

So the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup is just about here. Houston hosts the defending Copa Sudamericana champions, Pachuca tomorrow night in what should be a packed house. Houston has some injury issues, as illustrated in the ESPN article but as Pachuca has a tough match at the end of the week against Tigres, there is a chance that Pachuca sits some of their big guns hoping for an even result for the return leg.

Thursday night, DC United hosts Chivas at RFK Stadium in the first leg. I spoke with my ticket rep and he said that about 15,000 tickets have been sold for the match and that they are still taking orders, so every United supporter who goes out for this match up had be ready to yell and scream for our boys. To give you an idea of how many people the Front Office is expecting, they have opened about 20 sections of the 400 level and are preparing to open several 500 level sections. If you haven't picked up your tickets yet, go here right now and get them!

Steve Goff has mentioned that Troy Perkins was looking strong in goal yesterday during training, so unless someone else has a knock that hasn't been reported, United should be able to field a full strength side, which is a very, very good thing.

I hope to post a preview tomorrow for the Houston vs. Pachuca match. That damn thing called work has been keeping me from really posting anything (doing a 50 PC desktop rollout alone sucks) so if I miss that preview, I will definitely have a preview for the DC United vs. Chivas match up.