MLS Playoffs: Preparing for the Quarterfinal Climax

David Beckham will spend the spring in Milan and Tom Soehn preemptively dumped Kevin Payne and D.C. United. The timing on each announcement may have been a bit surprising, but the end result certainly was not. So with those issues out of the way, it's time to focus on the second legs of the MLS Cup quarterfinals, and what we learned last week that may have been a little less inevitable.

The most intriguing developments certainly occurred in Utah, where Real Salt Lake's 1-0 defeat of Columbus left the champion Crew with 90 minutes to save their season and raised serious questions about coach Robert Warzycha's sanity.

Columbus coach channels Steve Sampson:

We know you've probably worked hard to erase the memory, but try to recall the moment 11-and-a-half years ago when U.S. national team coach Steve Sampson started to believe that he had more to do with the side's success than the players on the field. He arbitrarily banished "Captain for Life" John Harkes, switched formations, introduced us to David Regis and set us up for a World Cup disaster.

Steve, meet Columbus coach Robert Warzycha. Questions surrounded Sigi Schmid's former assistant as the Crew stumbled to a 0-2-5 start. But Warzycha got his bearings and presided over an impressive turnaround that resulted in a second consecutive Supporters Shield and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.

But the Crew lost three of their final four league games, scoring just once, and the rookie coach panicked at the worst time. A two-leg, home-and-home series is too unforgiving and over too quickly to experiment, and yet Warzycha overthought things and decided last week's game in Salt Lake was the right time to bench 2008 MVP and championship addict Guillermo Barros Schelotto, his best player, and playoff veteran Alejandro Moreno. The result? A 1-0 defeat that leaves the champions desperate for goals in the Thursday rematch (8PM ET, ESPN2).

"It's going to be a different game," Warzycha told the team's website. "Usually at home we play much better. I need to see what he does in practice. I need to see how he can best help the team. It's not like he's somebody that has a title to play. It's based on performance. If the team needs him he is going to play."

Warzycha needs to get out of the way, put his best players on the field and let them win the game. Soccer is not a sport for micro-managing coaches, and Columbus now faces elimination because its coach is forgetting that. Schelotto still may be searching for his top form after missing some time with an injury. But he, not Warzycha, is the Crew's best asset.

Findley makes his case:

We argued last week that playoffs are great because they detemine who is able to master the moment and perform when the pressure is greatest. While Warzycha wet the bed, Salt Lake striker Robbie Findley continued his revival at the perfect time. He shook off a two-month slump and scored twice in RSL's playoff-clinching win over Colorado. Then his 88th-minute goal against the Crew not only staked his club to a 1-0 aggregate lead, but demonstrated the sort of hustle and nose for the goal that U.S. coach Bob Bradley lost when Charlie Davies was injured in last month's car accident.

We're not saying that Findley should be on the plane to South Africa, not even close, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have another look at him in camp early next year (he was brought in for the early September games against El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago but didn't play.)

So does Shalrie Joseph:

People who watch the league and know the game already are well aware that New England Revolution midfielder is one of MLS's elite players, but hopefully his performance against favored Chicago in last Sunday's 2-1 win opened a few more eyes. The Revs, missing both Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston, gutted out an impressive result behind Joseph's tireless two-way play. Naturally, he scored the game-winner as well.

Considering the roster issues New England dealt with this year, it certainly wouldn't be a shame to see Joseph beat out Landon Donovan and Jeff Cunningham for the league's MVP award. It is a shame, however, that fewer than 8,000 fans showed up at Gillette Stadium to see it. Can anyone explain why on a mild fall day, with the Patriots enjoying their bye week, next to nobody came out to see a successful club play its biggest rival in the playoffs? Anyone?

If defense wins championships, the LA teams may be in trouble:

The 2-2 tie between the Galaxy and Chivas USA was fun to watch, but featured enough errors and misplays to make even the most die-hard MLS advocate wince. Goals were giftwrapped for both sides, and with home-field advantage nonexistent in this series, it seems that whomever is able to maintain their composure and limit mistakes will triumph in Sunday's second leg (7:30PM ET, ESPN2).

Grahame Jones, the long-time soccer writer for the Los Angeles Times, provided a good rundown of the first-leg follies.

On an unrelated note, it would be nice to see Beckham assert himself more in midfield on Sunday. He still hits the best ball around, but seems to be covering far less ground and passing from much further back than we're used to seeing. Is that tactical? Is he saving himself for later?

Houston-Seattle quickly has become one of the league's best rivalries:

Store-bought trophies with cheesy names don't produce a rivalry. Intense, meaningful games do, and the Dynamo and Sounders have produced a couple in only one season. The pair followed up their riveting U.S. Open Cup semifinal with a first-leg ruckus that proved that a soccer game doesn't have to have goals to be entertaining. The action was end-to-end, intense and featured close calls, controversy and Nate Jacqua's bloody, bandaged head. It was everything you could want out of a playoff game (well, except maybe a goal or two). And props to referee Ricardo Salazar for managing the game so well, and especially for not falling for Fredy Montero's theatrics after his early confrontation with Houston goalie Pat Onstad.

"I think it's becoming a great rivalry," Jaqua told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "We've had some good games with them. And I enjoy that type of physicality and battling back and forth for every ball. I think that's fun."

The atmosphere at Qwest Field certainly helps make any game seem like a big one, but Houston fans have been known to provide their own color as well. These clubs are well-coached, talented and play like everything is at stake before fans who feel the same way. They even dress in bright colors, rather than the plain, indistinguishable all-white pajamas that nearly every other team in the league insists on wearing. Houston-Seattle is what MLS soccer should look like, and the goals this series deserves should come Sunday (3PM ET, Telefutura.)