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MLS Playoffs: Preparing for the Quarterfinal Climax

Brian Straus — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:41:00 EST

Filed under: MLS

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.)

MLS Playoffs: Preparing for the Quarterfinal Climax originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:41:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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David Beckham to Rejoin Milan After Galaxy's Run Is Done

Michael Cardillo — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:46:00 EST

Filed under: MLS, Serie A (Italy)

The Hollywood paparazzi are going to have a little less fodder on the sidelines at Los Angeles Lakers games come January. Italian giants AC Milan have officially confirmed the long-rumored second loan of English midfielder David Beckham from the Los Angeles Galaxy.

While the official details of the loan haven't been released, this much seems to be known. Beckham will join Milan in January and finish out the 2009-10 Serie A season, before he hopes to join England's team at next June's World Cup. This means, as he did this season, Beckham would parachute back to the Galaxy in either late June, or more likely, early July.

Unlike last winter's Beckham loan, there is considerably less acrimony on both sides, which is somewhat of a surprise. When he returned from Italy during the current MLS season, he was booed, jeered and even had a confrontation with a venom-spewing fan during his first game at the Home Depot Center in a friendly, ironically, against AC Milan.

The ensuing release of "The Beckham Experiment" probably didn't help matters since it made even the most ardent Beckham fans call into question his level of commitment to the Galaxy, MLS and soccer in America.

However, instead of being rained down upon with garbage like a 1980s wrestling villain whenever he lined up for a corner kick, Beckham once again bounced back when his back was against the proverbial wall.

Though it's not on par with his freekick against Greece that punched England's ticket to the 2002 World Cup, three years after his bitter ejection after a red card against Argentina at the 1998 quarterfinals in France, Beckham once again proved -- at least some -- of the doubters wrong.

When he could have mailed it in and cruised through the MLS season before going back to Milan -- and potentially buying out the remaining years of his much ballyhooed five-year contract -- a strange thing happened on the way back to the San Siro: the Galaxy got good. Or, at least under coach Bruce Arena they got competitive, compared to the nine-car pile-up they resembled in his first two seasons, by winning the Western Conference, albeit with just a 12-6-12 record. (In another irony, Milan is nine points adrift of rival Inter in the Serie A table.)

As of this posting, the Galaxy are locked up 2-2 with city rival Chivas USA in the first round of the MLS playoffs. It probably helped, too, that after all the anti-Beckham fervor calmed down the media spotlight decreased significantly and he was just able to go about business as a soccer player and not worry about being soccer's savior in America. More importantly, he quietly put to bed any possible discord between he and Galaxy captain Landon Donovan, whose quotes in "The Beckham Experiment" painted the Englishman as a terrible, aloof and (gasp) cheap teammate.

Wouldn't it be typical Beckham fashion for him to ride off into the sunset as a conquering hero as the Galaxy capture their third MLS Cup? (Then again, considering MLS' snakebitten luck, Chivas will find a way to win this weekend's second-leg, thereby killing any potential media buzz the league might have attracted had Beckham & Co. found a way to advance.)

David Beckham to Rejoin Milan After Galaxy's Run Is Done originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Consistent Columbus, Distracted Chicago Face Challenges in MLS East

Brian Straus — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:54:00 EST

Filed under: MLS

Leave it to deceptive diva Cuauhtemoc Blanco (right) to steal a bit of the spotlight from the Seattle Sounders and Houston Dynamo, who opened the MLS Cup playoffs Thursday night in an ill-tempered 0-0 game that, unfortunately, did not feature finishing worthy of the atmosphere or occasion.

As Seattle and Houston were battling at Qwest Field, news broke that the Fire's playmaker had abandoned his "hope" of another season in Chicago and opted instead to spend next spring with Veracruz, the third-placed club in Mexico's second division. The episode marks yet another hurdle for a Fire team that was the league's preseason favorite and will serve an additional subplot in its annual postseason confrontation with the New England Revolution. In the other Eastern Conference semi, the Columbus Crew will begin their title defense against hard-to-read Real Salt Lake. Here is a short preview:

No. 1 Columbus Crew (13-7-10) vs. No. 4 Real Salt Lake (11-12-7)

Schedule:
Saturday, Oct. 31: Columbus at Salt Lake, 6 PM ET
Thursday, Nov. 5: Salt Lake at Columbus, 8 PM ET (ESPN2)

Season Series:
April 2: at Salt Lake 4, Columbus 1
July 18: at Columbus 3, Salt Lake 1

Outlook:
This one shouldn't be close, right? In one corner, you've got the defending champion, the league MVP, a host of gifted attacking players, the team with the best record and the only MLS club to advance to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League. In the other you have an inconsistent side that finished with a losing record, whose leading scorer went two months without a goal before connecting in the season finale and which clinched a playoff spot only because D.C. United blew a 90th-minute lead in Kansas City the same day.

Why bother even playing the games?

Because the MLS playoffs, especially under the current format that offers next to no advantage to the team with the better regular season record, are well known for producing shocking results. New York's stunner over the Houston Dynamo last fall was the most recent in a string of first-round upsets that claimed both top seeds in 2007 and one in 2006, 2005 and 2004. And with Salt Lake almost unbeatable in the thin air at Rio Tinto Stadium (9-1-5 this year, including the April rout of the Crew), it's conceivable that the humble team with the worst name in professional sports could head to Ohio with a lead.

Salt Lake's ability to steal a win in the opener will depend on whether Robbie Findley is back in form or whether is two-goal performance against the Colorado Rapids last weekend was just a tease. He finished the season with a very respectable 12 goals and 4 assists, but failed to find the net from late August until Saturday and wound up coming off the bench several times late in the season. The midfield depends on journeyman Andy Williams and occasional U.S. international Kyle Beckerman, who will be charged with shadowing Crew playmaker Guillermo Barros Schelotto. It's a tall task, especially with Robbie Rogers and Eddie Gaven providing Columbus with some of the best width in the league and several forwards capable of finishing.

The Pick:
Columbus is the league's best team, even if defender Chad Marshall is slowed by a knee injury. It's difficult to imagine a scenario under which Salt Lake could advance. The Crew will get the goals they need in the second leg, even if they lose this Saturday.

No. 2 Chicago Fire (11-7-12) vs. No. 3 New England Revolution (11-10-9)

Schedule:
Sunday, Nov. 1: Chicago at New England, 2 PM ET (Fox Soccer Channel)
Saturday, Nov. 7: New England at Chicago, 8:30 PM ET (Fox Soccer Channel)

Season Series:
May 9: at Chicago 1, New England 1
July 15: at New England 1, Chicago 2 (SuperLiga semifinal)
Oct. 17: at New England 0, Chicago 0

Outlook:
Chicago-New England arguably has become the league's best rivalry. That's what happens when teams meet in the playoffs four straight years and seven times in nine seasons. The Fire hold the all-time edge, 4-3, and any chance the Revolution have to level terms will depend on its ability to shut down Chicago and sneak a goal or two. With veterans Taylor Twellman (concussion) and Stever Ralston (knee) out, this is far from the same New England side that advanced to the MLS Cup final in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

But the Fire has problems of its own. The most talented team on paper when the season began, Chicago has had anything but a smooth ride. Injuries to forward Brian McBride and nearly the entire starting defense, Chris Rolfe's failure to emerge as a top-flight attacker, plus Bakary Soumare's sensational summer departure following a locker room bust-up with coach Denis Hamlett, left the team struggling to secure a playoff berth. The Oct. 22 win over Chivas USA, thanks to an own goal, was Chicago's first victory in seven games.

Then, of course, there's Blanco. The ultimate distraction. Already questionable with an injured hamstring, Blanco stole the headlines late Thursday when news of his departure to Veracruz broke. The deal apparently will keep him there until the World Cup. Fire technical director Frank Klopas said, "We respect his desire to continue playing in Mexico during the MLS offseason and continue preparing for the 2010 World Cup, which is a top priority for him. We will continue our dialogue with his agent regarding Blanco playing for the Fire in the second half of the 2010 season and beyond."

Perhaps Blanco's teammates will not take to kindly to the timing, nor to the implication that the Mexican second division offers better World Cup preparation than MLS. Either way, it's hard to find the silver lining to the news.

The Pick:
There's always an upset in the MLS playoffs, and we haven't picked one yet. If you're going to target a favorite, it makes sense to line up the one entering the postseason in poor form and facing a bit of turmoil. Seasons like the one Chicago has had, complete with quite a bit of fan frustration, normally don't end with titles. Revolution coach Steve Nicol is a master at grinding out results when it matters, and goalkeeper Matt Reis and midfielder Shalrie Joseph remain the best in MLS at what they do. The Revs will find a way.

Consistent Columbus, Distracted Chicago Face Challenges in MLS East originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLS West Features Marquee Matchups

Brian Straus — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLS

Four clubs separated by just three points in the standings, Seattle's raucous crowd, Houston's thirst for redemption, the league's only genuine derby and the first postseason appearance by David Beckham: They add up to produce the most compelling quarterfinal quartet in MLS history. The Western Conference playoffs begin Thursday night as Houston visits Seattle (10PM ET, ESPN2) in the first game of their two-game, total goals series. The Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA kick off their Southern California Superclasico on Sunday. Here is a short preview:

No. 2 Houston Dynamo (13-8-9) vs. No. 3 Seattle Sounders (12-7-11)

Schedule:

Thursday, Oct. 29: Houston at Seattle, 10PM ET
Sunday, Nov. 8: Seattle at Houston, 3PM ET

Season Series:

July 11: at Seattle 2, Houston 1
July 21: at Seattle 2, Houston 1 OT (U.S. Open Cup semifinal)
Aug. 23: at Houston 1, Seattle 1

Outlook:

A riveting U.S. Open semi that featured an 89th-minute equalizer, nine yellow cards and 40 fouls gave us a good indication that this series will be played with considerable intensity. The expansion Sounders exceeded all expectations this season, qualifying for the playoffs with relative ease, winning the Open Cup and setting the MLS attendance record. A packed Qwest Field should provide the perfect backdrop for ESPN2's cameras on Thursday night.

The Seattle story has been a feel-good constant throughout the league this year, but Houston has plenty of motivation as well. Favored to capture its third straight MLS Cup last season, the Dynamo pulled an epic choke job in the home leg of its series with the New York Red Bulls and was eliminated with a stunning 3-0 defeat. It's been a long road back to this point, and the departure of Dwayne DeRosario to Toronto FC means this Houston team has a much different look than its championship predecessors.

Seattle and Houston each gave up only 29 goals in regular season play, tieing for the top spot in MLS. The goalkeepers are well known -- the Sounders' Kasey Keller is a U.S. national team legend and the Dynamo's Pat Onstad is a two-time MLS goalkeeper of the year and three-time champion. The Dynamo's veteran back line has been hit hard by injuries this year, but it obviously has held up. A midfield featuring new national teamers Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden (6 goals, 4 assists) and the peaking Brad Davis (5g, 12a) remains one of the league's best. Seattle counters with playmaker/underwear model Freddie Ljungberg (2g, 9a) and attacks with speed thanks to Steve Zakuani (4g, 4a) and striker Fredy Montero (12 g, 7a). Both teams feature quality target men. Houston has Brian Ching (8g, 3a), and Seattle boasts Nate Jacqua (9g, 7a).

The Pick:

Seattle won its final three games and seemed to have shaken its home scoring woes in a 2-1 defeat of FC Dallas to close out the season. Houston has been somewhat inconsistent down the stretch as it dealt with injuries and a heavy CONCACAF Champions League schedule. However, it has players up and down its roster with playoff experience and should have the advantage in midfield. For once, MLS's scant first-round "home-field advantage" may come into play. It should be close, but assuming Clark and Luis Angel Landin are healthy, look for Houston to advance at home in overtime or on penalties.

No.1 Los Angeles Galaxy (12-6-12) vs. No. 4 Chivas USA (13-11-6)

Schedule:

Sunday, Nov. 1: Los Angeles at Chivas, 5 PM ET
Sunday, Nov. 8: Chivas at Los Angeles, 7:30 PM ET

Season Series:

April 11: at Los Angeles 0, Chivas 0
July 11: at Chivas 0, Los Angeles 1
Aug. 29: at Los Angeles 1, Chivas 0

Outlook:

For the first time since Chivas entered the league in 2005 there is a real battle for SoCal, and like any good rivalry around the world, the opposing clubs represent very different sides of Los Angeles. In one locker room you have the high-profile team featuring the two most recognizable faces in American soccer, David Beckham and Landon Donovan. The team name was picked to represent a city full of stars, some of whom occasionally appear at their games. Down the hall you have Chivas USA, a club that features the coat of arms of the city of Guadalajara on its badge and strives to appeal to the Latino fan and the soccer purist. There is no home field advantage, and the games are sure to be intense.

Bruce Arena's reshaping of the Galaxy has been remarkable, and should earn him MLS coach of the year honors. The club was so dysfunctional the past two seasons that Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl wrote a book about it. Now, it's a discplined outfit that seems to get along both on and off the field and, for the first time in years, has an interest in playing defense. L.A. yielded 36 goals in MLS play this season, compared to a ridiculous 62 in 2008. Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza and Sean Franklin are three of the most talented young defenders in the country.

The Galaxy have a considerable advantage on the attack. Chivas relies heavily on U.S. midfielder Sacha Kljestan (5g, 3a) to engineer the offense and has not received enough production out of Cuban striker Maykel Galindo (4g, 2a). Mexican import Eduardo Lillingston lead the Goats with eight goals this season. Chivas will have to rely on effort and graft to compensate, but should be plenty motivated by their opponent and the playoff atmosphere. Goalkeeper Zach Thornton has been reborn this season and posted 12 shutouts.

The Pick:

The two best players in this series will be wearing white, and if Chivas defensive midfielder Jesse Marsch is limited by his concussion, Beckham (2g, 3a) and Donovan (12g, 6a) will have even more room to move. Chivas peaked far too early, and this should be the Galaxy's series to win without too much difficulty.

MLS West Features Marquee Matchups originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLS Right to Stand by Its Playoffs

Brian Straus — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:55:00 EST

Filed under: MLS

Watching MLS Commissioner Don Garber try to answer questions about the league's competition format on Monday night's Fox Football Fone-in felt like watching an art teacher give painting lessons to the color blind.

To his credit, Garber maintained his composure as hosts Nick Webster and Eric Wynalda and a few inarticulate callers threw out terms like "single table" and "European calendar" without ever explaining what it was they were after. Every year at this time, MLS faces cliched criticism from "hard core" fans who insist "our" league should be just like those in Europe, without ever explaining how or why. The truth, however, is this (and Garber knows it): Playoffs are the fairest and most exciting way to determine a champion, and this year's MLS Cup tournament promises to be one of the most balanced in some time.

Although nobody on Fox Soccer Channel was able to present a coherent argument or actually define what "single table" means -- it seems to mean something different to everybody -- let's go ahead and assume it centers on a criticism of the use of playoffs. It could just as easily refer to an elimination of the parallel conference structure without dropping the playoff, but no "single table" advocate seems to want to clarify this. Garber apparently was anticipating the anti-playoff sentiment, however, and began his appearance Monday night by stressing that a playoff system allows MLS to avoid an anticlimactic conclusion.

"I'm just not quite getting it," Garber said of the movement against playoffs. "Columbus would have won 10 days before the end of the season. They would have been celebrating the championship at a game where they lost."

He continued: "I understand the heritage and tradition that people enjoy with a single table. But somebody would have to explain to me how that would be better than what we have now, because I'm not getting it."

The fact is, nobody can explain it. Those who argue against them do so simply because they think "European football" is so much more "authentic." Please. Playoffs are better, and the popularity of events like the World Cup, Champions League, Super Bowl, NCAA Tournament, World Series, etc. prove it. The increasing push for a college football playoff proves it. Europe's slow adoption of the system for promotion and in some cases, UEFA competition places, proves it. Sports is entertainment. Nearly all of our lingering sports memories center on playoff games. Legends are built when elimination is on the line.

Leagues in Europe that self-hating American soccer fans want so desperately to emulate don't have playoffs because that's their tradition. It's been like that forever. That's the only reason. It was easier to run a league that way in 1908. A "single table" isn't inherently better, and one could argue easily that failing to test teams and players in climactic games against comparable opponents that demand more both physically and mentally is a significant oversight. I have played in leagues that have playoffs and leagues that determine their champions through regular season record, and elimination games simply are played at a higher level. This is irrefutable.

Let's put it this way. If having each team play the other the same amount of times without ever testing them in an elimination situation is the fairest and most exciting way to determine a champion, then FIFA needs to remodel the World Cup. It could use its national team rankings to determine a division structure, and over the course of each four-year cycle each country would play the others home and away. When it's over, the gold trophy is handed to the team clinching the best record, whenever that occurs.

How exciting! Instead of the tedium of the World Cup finals and the uninteresting things that always happen there, we could simply watch Germany clinch the championship with a scoreless tie in Seoul or Helsinki at a game that's one of several dozen played on a given Wednesday night. I can't wait.

As Garber said on Monday, MLS was correct to abandon the regular-season shootout, overtime and the other gimmicks that actually changed the way the game was played on the field from the rest of the world. But the league also is right to use playoffs. The regular season tests a team's consistency. The postseason tests its ability to master the moment. That is how you determine a true champion, and the MLS Cup climax helps the nascent league attract fans and sponsors and gives it a moment in the spotlight.

"I think we need to be the best American soccer league that we can," Garber said. "Not just making a decision so we can satisfy some identity that's not going to really deliver value for our fans."

The myopic devotion to all things "European" must end. Soccer is the most popular sport there, but that's not because they run their leagues a certain way. It's cultural, and occurs despite the way they run their leagues, which are, for the most part, horribly predictable, boring and anticlimactic. A couple of the same dozen teams can afford the best players, and they're clear of the pretenders by Christmas year after year. There's no need for playoffs when a league is so noncompetitive. American soccer fans should consider this next time they demand changes in MLS.

The abbreviated MLS playoff format clearly needs to change, and that's something we'll explore in a later column. But for now, let's be glad we'll have the opportunity to see the best teams in American soccer face off against each other when everything is on the line for all.

MLS Right to Stand by Its Playoffs originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Endless Playoff Possibilities Promise Intriguing MLS Conclusion

Brian Straus — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:14:00 EST

Filed under: MLS, US Soccer

Maurice Edu made news not for playing, but for running across a couple of racist idiots in Glasgow. The Houston Dynamo lost to previously winless and goalless Isidro Metapan on Wednesday night and was eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions League. Oguchi Onyewu had surgery on his torn left patella tendon and will be out an estimated six months--50 percent longer than originally thought.

Thankfully, a lousy week for American soccer is about to get better. On Thursday night, the Chicago Fire will host Chivas USA (8PM ET, ESPN2) in the first of a half-dozen games that will impact the MLS playoff picture. The competition for postseason spots is unprecedented, with seven clubs vying for three berths on the final weekend. We'll save the criticism of the league's ridiculous playoff format for another time, and instead will enjoy the fact that with 14 relatively even-matched teams (and New York), MLS at last has produced a meaningful regular season.

None of the four quarterfinal matchups has been decided and the permutations are practically endless. Four teams (Los Angeles, Houston, Chivas and Seattle) still could finish atop the Western Conference, while Chicago could finish second in the East or miss out on the playoffs altogether. Chivas (13-9-6, 45 points) and Columbus (13-6-10, 49 points) are the only two clubs in contention for the Supporters Shield.

The current standings can be found here, and an admirable attempt by Goal.com to flesh out the various tiebreaking possibilities, some of which involve up to six teams, is here.

So, since there's little point to prognostication, let's take a look at the games and figure out which playoff matchups we think would continue the league's momentum into November and the MLS Cup final, scheduled for Nov. 22 in Seattle. Based on what's currently possible according to the standings and tiebreaker procedures, here's what we'd like to see:

Chivas and Chicago draw on Thursday. On Saturday, Toronto and D.C. United grab wins on the road against already-eliminated New York and Kansas City, while Real Salt Lake takes pleasure in ending rival Colorado's season at Rio Tinto. We'll root for draws in both the Seattle-Dallas and Los Angeles-San Jose games because it helps produce the most intriguing playoff matchups. Those are sealed on Sunday as Houston, sore over its Champions League elimination, beats a tired Chivas at the Home Depot Center to clinch top spot in the West and Columbus wins its second consecutive Supporters Shield with a victory over fading New England.

As a result (we think), American soccer fans will get four very intriguing playoff series.

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Columbus vs. No. 4 D.C. United

Perhaps a visit from the hated Black-and-Red will galvanize a Columbus fan base with so much potential. It would be great to see Crew Stadium full, and the chance to eliminate D.C. (which knocked out the Crew three times in the late 1990s) might generate some excitement. United veterans Ben Olsen and Jaime Moreno deserve another crack at the postseason, but a playoff appearance should not deter club owner Will Chang from instigating the philosophical changes now needed so badly at the capital club.

No. 2 Chicago vs. No. 3 Toronto FC

Toronto's first playoff appearance should generate considerable excitement north of the border, and the midfield matchup between the Reds' Dwayne DeRosario and Amado Guevara and the Fire's Cuahtemoc Blanco would be the postseason's most intriguing. Under the above scenario, Chicago will enter the series winless in seven matches, perhaps setting up MLS's preseason favorites for a first-round exit and a conference final between nascent rivals Columbus and Toronto.

Western Conference

No. 1 Houston vs. No. 4 Seattle

The league's best team over the past four years, Houston was winless in three games against the expansion Sounders this season, including a riveting and ill-tempered U.S. Open Cup semifinal that was decided in overtime. This matchup also would feature two of the league's four best coaches (Bruce Arena and Steve Nicol have to be considered the others), and a couple of the most colorful crowds, while offering a must-see Ricardo Clark vs. Freddie Ljungberg showdown in the middle.

No. 2 Los Angeles vs. No. 3 Chivas USA

The two SoCal clubs finally are decent at the same time, and David Beckham deserves nothing less for his maiden MLS Cup effort than a genuine derby. Galaxy-Chivas games have produced some of the best atmosphere MLS has seen, and would be a fitting way to introduce new viewers, opting to check in for the Englishman's postseason debut, to the league. Anything that stokes some real rivalry in American soccer is a good thing.

Let the games begin.

Endless Playoff Possibilities Promise Intriguing MLS Conclusion originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:14:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rogers Rising: US Midfielder Dishes on Bradley, Davies, Cup Chances

Brian Straus — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:37:00 EST

Filed under: MLS, US Soccer, U.S. Men's National Team, FanHouse Exclusive

The U.S. national team's stirring comeback against Costa Rica last week will be remembered for Bornstein's header, Davies' tragedy, Bradley's hustle and Onyewu's injury. But it also should be remembered for the contribution of Columbus Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers, whose entry in the 69th minute changed the match.

Playing in his first World Cup qualifier, the nimble winger added an obvious spark to a team trailing by two goals. He hit the cross that led to Michael Bradley's 72nd-minute goal, came close twice to tying the game himself, then delivered the corner kick that Bornstein finished in stoppage time. A key member of this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup squad and a regular camp participant, Rogers certainly made his case for South Africa when presented with the opportunity.

This weekend, Rogers sat down with FanHouse and offered some interesting insight into a young player's path to the national team, his famous mentor, the Davies accident and the curfew culture that likely played a role.

FANHOUSE: What was it like to be part of those furious final minutes against Costa Rica? What were the emotions?

ROGERS: Something that I definitely won't forget. Definitely. I was just trying to make some sort of impact. When I got on there, I had a lot of energy. I felt like the Costa Ricans were a little tired. I was getting the ball in some dangerous spots. I was happy to bring some energy to the team and it worked out. I was happy to get that goal there at the very end. It was a special night. We won the group and kind of paid tribute to Charlie. I got to wear his number. In the big picture Charlie's okay. I got to see him. There's more to life than just soccer. I'm just happy he's alive. He's recovering and he's doing really well.

FANHOUSE: The team's reaction at the whistle was telling. The result obviously meant a lot to you guys. This was no meaningless game, was it?

ROGERS: After the Honduras game we talked about it and we said, 'Look, we want to get a top seed. We want to do well in the World Cup.' To do that we need to win our group -- it gives us the best possibility of getting a top eight seed. That was part of the motivation.

Also, there's a bunch of winners on that team. No one likes to lose, not in training, not in a game of cards, not anything. You can really tell. I think a lot of teams maybe after going two down would have really just dropped their heads and kind of just forfeit the game, but all the guys fought back until the very end, until the 94th minute I think we scored, and it just kind of showed the character and what the team is all about. It's been like that the whole qualifying cycle. I was just happy to be a part of it. Even though I played in one qualifying game, I was on five rosters. But I was really happy to get a chance to play and change the game when I came in. It was exciting.

FANHOUSE: You've been in camps, as you said, and played a key role on the Gold Cup team. What sort of opportunities are there for less experienced players to break into the national team? Does Bradley give you a fair shot?

ROGERS: Bob watches us in training. You have to work hard in training. You have to be playing well with your club. He gave a chance to me in the Gold Cup...He gives young guys chances. If you're playing well and working hard, he's not afraid to put you on the field. If you earn it, he'll definitely put you on the field. There's no politics involved, nothing like that. He was fair to me. He gave me that chance and hopefully I'll get more chances. If not I'll keep working and doing the same things.

FANHOUSE: You went to Europe [Dutch club Heerenveen, where Michael Bradley started] in 2006 but it didn't work out. Did you see the Crew as a step down? Do you think it's added or detracted from your career?

ROGERS: To tell you the truth, I didn't really know what to expect. When I first got there, I didn't know if I was going to be traded or if they wanted to keep me. I knew they had a lot of guys in my position. But I had a long history with Sigi [Schmid, then Columbus coach], so I knew he might want to keep hold of me. I knew him out in California and his son played on my club team, so we've known each other for a long time. Sigi really helped me find my game and helped me grow up, especially last year, and helped me develop into a midfielder that hopefully can play more with the national team.

Bobby's [current coach Robert Warzycha] helped me a lot as well. These guys also, Guille [Barros Schelotto], and some of the other guys like Frankie [Hejduk] and all these guys really help me out on the field. I was really lucky to be put with this group and I think you need a little luck in your career if you really want to make it farther and be a good professional.

FANHOUSE: David Beckham's opinion that he must play in Europe to prepare for the World Cup raises the question though, can MLS put you where you feel you need to be to take the next step with the national team?

ROGERS: I think this is a good stepping stone for me. Columbus Crew, like I said, I was lucky to be put with this kind of organization, with this group of guys. They've really helped me. I don't know if I can say the same thing for every club because I've only played here. But I can definitely say this club has helped me.

I still want to go back to Europe and try to further my career and play for a bigger club. I think at one point in my career I'm going to have to do that if I really want to step into the national team and be a solid contributor. But you can still look at guys like Landon, Stuey [Holden] has been starting the past few games, Jonathan Bornstein, who scored the game winner, is also in MLS. There's definitely a place for those guys. Just, I think there are more guys playing in Europe that are on the national team and those are the guys who are playing for their clubs.

FANHOUSE: But the key factor is that they play.

ROGERS: They play, exactly. That's the most important thing, that you're playing in games. If you just go to a club in Europe and sit on the bench or sit in the stands, I mean, there's no point.

FANHOUSE: So you think you have a realistic shot at playing in South Africa next summer?

ROGERS: That's definitely one of my goals. I definitely think I have a shot. I'm confident I can get on that roster. Of course I need a little luck and be playing really well, but I think there's a chance. To go to a World Cup, just the possibility to be on the roster, you know, is pretty ridiculous. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed and I know that maybe it can happen. But I won't get my head down if it doesn't happen either.

FANHOUSE: You spent time with Juergen Klinsmann while growing up in California. What impact did that have on your development?

ROGERS: In Huntington Beach I played some PDL and some men's league with him. He played under a fake name. He didn't want media and other people coming out. He just would teach me little things on the field, talk to me off the field, talk to my family about what he thought maybe would be a good way for me to develop as a young player, as a young professional. Just gave me different ideas about soccer.

I remember him always telling me that the only time that you're really going to be playing well is when you're happy. I went to Holland and I wasn't happy and I wasn't playing the way I want to be playing. That for sure, happened. Just when I watched him play. He was always moving and always running. He was never stagnant, always playing quickly. I definitely learned from him just playing beach soccer and pick-up games. He was definitely someone I watched when I didn't know him, and then when I got to know him he was a great person as well, a great role model. He really helped me.

FANHOUSE: And he was the guy that everyone thought should take over the national team after Bruce Arena resigned in 2006.

ROGERS: Juergen I think was pretty close to taking the job, then he went over to Germany [Bayern Munich] and everything. Bob's done a great job. A lot of people aren't giving him as much credit as they should.

FANHOUSE: Why is Bradley the right coach for this team?

ROGERS: There's a lot of things. I think he's great at giving young players a chance. I think he's good at building a team that's strong on and off the field, that has a winning mentality. He knows it's important to have structure off the field as well as on the field. He's good tactically. He's a strong individual in that he doesn't really care what people think, and he's a good person as well. I think there's just so many things that contribute to his success and the success of his teams. He's really helped me this past year and I'm looking forward to every camp I go to and even look forward to just training. I think he's a good coach.

FANHOUSE: And the criticism? Is any of it valid?

ROGERS: I don't really look at that kind of stuff, but when you see like titles, you're like, "Oh, this is nonsense."

FANHOUSE: Bradley talks so much about the responsibility, commitment and sense of community he wants from those of you on the national team. The Davies accident must have hit him pretty hard. While Davies certainly didn't deserve what happened, he was out at 3 AM.

ROGERS: It sucks because we already qualified, so I'm sure a lot of guys kinda wanted to celebrate qualifying. We did have curfew, I think 12 o'clock. It's not uncommon for guys to sometimes miss curfew a little bit after you've already qualified or you're celebrating a win or whatever. I know Bob feels bad about it. Everyone feels bad about it. It just shows you how fragile life is. You look at that kind of stuff and you read about that kind of stuff on the internet or you hear it on TV or whatever, and you never really think it's going to be someone you know.

FANHOUSE: Has it changed you?

ROGERS: Yeah, for sure. When I talk to my friends now and they say, "Oh, we're going to go out," I'm like, "All right, well make sure you're careful."

[Davies] is a great guy, a great person, a great friend and a great player, so I feel really bad for him. But, he'll be back. He's got great character. He'll work hard to get back to where he was and he'll have another World Cup to fight for....He's a great kid and everyone really needs to kind of learn from it.

Rogers Rising: US Midfielder Dishes on Bradley, Davies, Cup Chances originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AC Milan VP Calls Beckham Loan A "Done Deal"

Michael Cardillo — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:47:00 EST

Filed under: International, MLS, Serie A (Italy)

In a very unsurprising development, AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani declared that the club is "95 percent" finished on bringing back David Beckham to the club in January on loan. Galliani went as far as to call it a "done deal."

Unlike last year when there was a lot of alarm and acrimony when Beckham announced his intentions to play somewhere else during the break in the MLS season, this time there doesn't seem to be too much problem that he'll be away from the Los Angeles Galaxy for a period of time after the 2009 season wraps in November.

The circumstances are much different the second time of Beckham's loan.

For one, the Galaxy are actually a good team, having already clinched a playoff spot in the upcoming MLS playoffs and sitting in a three-way tie atop of the Western Conference. On top of that, Beckham, after a rocky start including being jeered at the Home Depot Center and called a "fraud" during a friendly with Milan early in the summer, the English midfielder has assumed a leadership role, ingraining himself into the fabric of the Galaxy, with two goals and three assists in his nine starts.

At this point, it seems few Galaxy fans would begrudge him for going to Italy, since he wants to retain the possibility of playing for England at next June's World Cup. England manager Fabio Capello has said that the 34-year-old midfielder has minimal shot at playing at his fourth World Cup if he's not playing at a high level. It doesn't help matters that the MLS season doesn't begin until April.

The winds have also changed toward Beckham in this regard. There seems like a realistic chance that he will fulfill his five-year contract with MLS and not stay with Milan beyond whatever the details of his latest loan end up specifying. (It would seem likely he'd return to the Galaxy in July, after the World Cup.)

In fact, the irony of this loan is that Milan is now the club that is struggling, sitting 12th in the Serie A table with only nine points from seven matches.

Oddly enough, the biggest news to come out of Galliani's mouth on Thursday is that Milan might explore its options toward getting some compensation from the U.S. Soccer Federation after defender Oguchi Onyewu tore his patellar tendon on national team duty Wednesday night vs. Costa Rica.

AC Milan VP Calls Beckham Loan A "Done Deal" originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLS Gets Good News at Crucial Time

Brian Straus — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:40:00 EST

Filed under: MLS, US Soccer

Even though we've had a first division league for nearly 14 years and a national team that's on the verge of qualifying for its sixth straight World Cup, soccer still occupies a pretty peripheral spot on the American sports landscape.

For that reason, every bit of good news matters. Even if they're not headline worthy and don't 't get the mainstream sports media and fanbase talking, small steps forward are a sign of bigger steps to come. And this week has included several, giving US soccer supporters reason to be optimistic as crucial qualifiers approach and as the MLS regular season reaches its climax.

CONCACAF Champions League: Major League Soccer's performance in this part of the world's first legitimate continental championship tournament was pathetic. Famously, epically pathetic. Four guaranteed berths in the competition imply that MLS is equal to the Mexican first division as the strongest league in CONCACAF.

But last term, the Houston Dynamo, D.C. United, New England Revolution and Chivas USA combined to go 2-10-6 against opposition from powerhouse countries like Trinidad & Tobago and Panama, among others. Houston saved MLS from total embarrassment, defeating San Francisco of Panama and L.A. Firpo of El Salvador and advancing to the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, USL1's entrants from Montreal and Puerto Rico went a combined 11-5-6, with the Islanders falling in the semifinals on penalties. MLS was lucky that FIFA didn't force it to remove the word "Major" from its name.

This season has been a different story and a breath of fresh air. The awful New York Red Bulls were a predictable preliminary round casualty, but Houston, D.C. and the Columbus Crew now are each in the driver's seat for a quarterfinal berth. Houston (2-1-1 in Group A), crushed Panama's Arabe Unido, 5-1, this week and now holds the tiebreaker. Its game against Mexican powerhouse Pachuca is at Robertson stadium, leaving a trip to winless and goalless Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) as the last hurdle before the knockout stages.

Columbus lost to visiting Cruz Azul this week, but is 2-2-0 and two points above Costa Rica's Saprissa in the chase for the second quarterfinal berth from Group C. Columbus hosts El Monstruo Morado next Tuesday. And D.C. United, who laid a 0-5-1 egg in the 2008-09 group stage, rediscovered its offensive form and rolled to a 3-0 triumph over Honduras' Marathon on Thursday night. D.C. (2-2-0) now holds the tiebreaker over the Hondurans for second place in Group B.

Overall, a noteworthy improvement for MLS, which is a far less humiliating 6-6-4 in the tournament so far.

New Stadiums: Soccer specific stadiums, or at least facilities where the MLS tenant has some say over revenue and scheduling, are the lifeblood of American pro soccer, and there was progress made this week on several fronts.

On Saturday, San Jose Earthquakes owner Lew Wolff unveiled the design for a "European-style stadium" to be built next to the city's airport. And it is indeed "European." Moving away from the cookie-cutter architecture seen in so many other MLS venues (the concrete concourse sitting above shallow stands, the ornamental roof, etc.), the Quakes new home will feature steeper seating, fans right on the field and a wrap-around roof that is actually low enough to hold in the noise. Pictures and more information can be found here.

The Red Bulls announced the opening date for what promises to be a palace: March 27 against Chicago. And although the Philadelphia Union will play their first home match at the Eagles' Lincoln Financial Field, the expansion club promised it will "play the vast majority of our games in our own stadium" in 2010.

Grass in Toronto?: Players hate artificial turf. That's not going to change, no matter how much spin the soccer suits try to muster, and no matter how hard they try to suppress the players' and fans' complaints. The only reason it exists is financial. It obviously does not improve the game.

Two years ago, David Beckham made a few waves after criticizing the fields at Giants Stadium and BMO Field. "I didn't realize FieldTurf was acctually a company," he said in Washington, admitting that he had purchased several of the fields for his youth academy. "At that level and other sports around the world, I think it's a great service. At this level...I love playing on grass and I think soccer should always be played on it."

Turns out Toronto may now be feeling the same way. Buried in Thursday's unveiling of MLS's 2010 home openers was an admission that TFC's first game "will be determined pending the outcome of the club's proposal to install a grass surface at BMO Field." To prove that the preference for grass is nearly unanimous, even the mayor of Toronto is getting involved.

It's only one stadium, but it's a step in the right direction.

MLS Cup in primetime: Sadly, MLS Cup 2010 may be played on the artificial stuff in Seattle. But at least the game won't be buried in an unappetizing and anonymous mid-day time slot.

This year, ESPN has agreed to broadcast the game at 8:30 p.m. ET, exposing the match to a prime-time audience. Sure it's on cable instead of ABC, but it's 2009 -- that distinction barely matters at this point. It also will be up against the national Sunday night NFL game, but that's just one event. Most people have remote controls. This is a great move.

According to the Sports Business Journal, the number of viewers per game for ESPN2's telecasts has risen 7% from last year. It's but another small step, but again, one that is cause for cautious optimism for a league and a sport still trying to find its place.

MLS Gets Good News at Crucial Time originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Columbus Crew Are Coming Together

Brian Straus — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:34:00 EST

Filed under: MLS, US Soccer, FanHouse Exclusive

The Columbus Crew tamed the Purple Monster on Wednesday night, adding yet another impressive chapter to the quiet but compelling claim that the humble side from Ohio is American soccer's best team.

"Honestly, flying under the radar hasn't been a bad thing. Whether people want to respect us or not, we're back at the top," veteran midfielder Brian Carroll told FanHouse. "Obviously playing in this market is a little different from a marketing and pressure standpoint, but the fans here are extremely passionate. They want the best from us, and we're trying to work hard to give that to them."

For the past year and a half they have, and it's time that supporters and media in the rest of the country take notice.

Carroll wore the captain's armband on Wednesday night in Costa Rica and set up the winning goal, a fifth-minute strike from Eddie Gaven that was enough to secure a 1-0 CONCACAF Champions League victory over Saprissa. Carroll, a Washington-area native who was a starter on D.C. United's 2004 championship team, started the play with a steal on Saprissa's right flank. He created a bit of space, sent the ball inside and then received it back further upfield before chipping a pass into Gaven's path. Gaven did well to settle it on the run and finish.

The goal was historic. Saprissa, the "Monster's Cave," has been a house of horrors for both the U.S. national team and MLS. The national team is 0-7-0 in the Costa Rican capital and has been outscored 16-5. Professional clubs had fared only slightly better before Wednesday, going 0-5-1 in San Jose. D.C. United earned a 2-2 draw there last October, while "marquee" MLS teams like Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston all left defeated.

But this Columbus team is proving itself worthy of elite status, even if it doesn't field many household names or play in a city that attracts much media or television attention. It came from nowhere to win the MLS Cup/Supporters Shield double last year but lost the architect of that rebirth, Sigi Schmid, to Seattle in the offseason. Heading into 2009 there was a "wait and see" attitude about the Crew, similar to the one directed toward the Arizona Cardinals. One good season does not completely eliminate perceptions created by years of anonymous mediocrity.

Columbus began this season as if 2008 indeed was a fluke. Schmid's former assistant coach and long-time Crew midfielder Robert Warzycha lead the defending champions to a 0-2-5 start. Questions arose about the new coach's competence and whether the Crew had the hunger or talent to defend their title.

"I think those questions are going to happen whenever there's a change, and when things didn't start up for the best, of course they're going to point fingers," Carroll said.

"I think [Warzycha's] handled it tremendously throughout the entire year, keeping our egos down, keeping us working hard, keeping us fighting for each other, knowing all along that if we do that we'll be back to where we were the previous year. He's just letting us develop and do our jobs and keeping us level-headed and on the right path."

Columbus finally got a win on May 9, defeating visiting Kansas City, and the Crew was off to the races. They ripped off a 10-1-4 run that has them once again in the driver's seat for the Supporters Shield with an 11-4-9 record. In addition, they are a very respectable 2-1-0 in the Champions League, which has been unkind to MLS teams over the past couple of years.

Most impressively, they did much of that good work without 2008 MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who missed significant time after hurting his hamstring in mid-July. He did not start another MLS game until last Sunday's 2-1 win over the Dynamo. Columbus is spreading the goals around, with six other players who've gotten on the scoresheet more than once and a sound defense led by a healthy Frankie Hejduk, new U.S. international Chad Marshall and the underrated Gino Padula and Danny O'Rourke. The Crew also boast young American attackers like Robbie Rogers and Gaven that can and will take on defenders - something worth noting in MLS.

Carroll said of the poor start: "I think you can attribute it to a little bit of everything. I think we just found our bearings again and got back to the basics of what made us successful last year, just focused on playing together, tackling, being opportunistic. And before you know it, we're getting results."

And they're continuing to get them during Champions League play, while other clubs use schedule congestion as an excuse for their poor form. This is simply a team that has learned how to win, and at this point they must be the favorite to lift a second MLS Cup this November. Perhaps that will get them some notoriety.

Columbus Crew Are Coming Together originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:34:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Major League Soccer Gets It Right, Announces Break for World Cup

Brian Straus — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLS, US Soccer

Major League Soccer executives rarely make decisions that please everybody -- that's one of the hazards of trying to run a league with so many competing constituencies. However, it's hard to imagine anybody criticizing Wednesday's announcement that MLS will suspend play during the group stage of next summer's World Cup. For once, the U.S. soccer community, both those who are glad to be part of it and those who wish they were European or Latin American, should be satisfied.

MLS released a statement Wednesday afternoon indicating that it plans to leave the schedule blank from June 11, the first day of the tournament, until the group stage concludes on June 25. It also will not play any games on the days of the World Cup semifinals and final.

"The decision to stop league play during the group phase of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is part of MLS' commitment to deepen its connection with the millions of soccer fans in the United States and Canada. The World Cup will be a focal point for all MLS fans and several MLS players will compete with their national teams at the tournament," Commissioner Don Garber said.

In the past, the league has continued to play through the World Cup, albeit with a lightened schedule. The message that decision sent is obvious - that MLS was not part of the global soccer community and did not feel it needed to make the necessary sacrifices to align. The excuses regarding schedule congestion and stadium availability were just that. They were not insurmountable. They were just inconvenient.

It is indefensible that the league continues to play games at the same time as the U.S. national team's World Cup qualifiers, but Wednesday's announcement was a significant step in the right direction. One imagines that the only initial opposition might have come from a few penny-pinching owners worried about the possibility of scheduling an extra match or two on a Wednesday night, but hopefully those individuals are starting to get a sense of the bigger picture as well. It's hard to imagine anyone else criticizing this decision, and it should be clear at this point that the growth of soccer in this country only can help MLS.

Separately, the league unveiled its scheduling format for next season, which was open to question as the Philadelphia Union prepare to join as the 16th team. Each club will play a balanced 30-game schedule, featuring home and away dates against each of the other 15 teams. Eight sides will qualify for the playoffs, as usual, with the MLS Cup final taking place on Nov. 21.

Of course, a balanced schedule eliminates the need for conferences. Will we see a single table of 16 teams and the elimination of the current confusion that results in clubs from New York winning the Western Conference championship? That would be another MLS decision that certainly would be hard to fault.

Major League Soccer Gets It Right, Announces Break for World Cup originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blanco Makes Commitment to Fire

Brian Straus — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:10:00 EST

Filed under: MLS, FanHouse Exclusive

Mexican soccer icon Cuauhtemoc Blanco indicated that the new FIFA 10 cover featuring him wearing a red Chicago Fire jersey may not be obsolete by this winter after all.

Six months after telling the Chicago Tribune that he had decided to leave the Fire when his contract concluded at the end of this season, the mercurial forward said Tuesday that, "I'm happy to play in Chicago. The goal and the hope is that I'm renewed one more year with the Chicago Fire."

Blanco signed with Chicago in 2007 and is scheduled to make nearly $3 million this season. In March, he said, "My contract will be done [after the 2009 season] and I will leave happy because I have great teammates. It's a decision I made. I'm going to look for other options. I want to return to Mexico or see offers from another [MLS] team, but this is my last year with the Fire."

On Tuesday, speaking through a translator, Blanco said, "That comment was taken out of context."

Yet another bit of deception from a player known for his beguiling moves with the ball and his gamesmanship with opponents and referees.

It's been an unpredictable year for the 36-year-old. In March, he was retired from the Mexican national team and seemed to be interested in leaving the Windy City. Now he is a key figure in El Tri's resurgence and, apparently, a committed member of the Fire. In April, Javier Aguirre returned to rescue Mexico's floundering World Cup qualifying campaign and, although blessed with a corps of impressive young attacking talent, felt he needed the services of the veteran No. 10.

"The reason I returned to the national team was I received a call from the new coach," Blanco told FanHouse. "I was happy to receive the call and I agreed to rejoin the team. I was very happy to be able to rejoin the team. The new coach has brought a lot of life and now we're all on the same page in terms of communication, energy, working as a group and trying to achieve the same goal."

Mexico is now the team to beat in CONCACAF, having dismantled the U.S. in the Gold Cup final and roaring to the top of the Hexagonal standings with wins over the Americans and Hondurans at Azteca and a stunning 3-0 demolition of Costa Rica at the Estadio Saprissa. The maturation of Giovanni Dos Santos, Carlos Vela, Nery Castillo and Andreds Guardado has been key, but it's been Blanco who's been pulling the strings thanks to his uncanny ability to find space, locate the vulnerabilities in an opposing defense and make his teammates better.

Blanco said he's enjoying his new lease on life with El Tri.

"I would be very happy if I was 20 years old again and could play many more years," with the likes of Dos Santos and Vela, he said. "But I will relish the opportunity to play with them at the World Cup."

Should Blanco stick to his word and turn out for the Fire next spring, he will be preparing for that World Cup as an MLS player. That commitment obviously stands in stark contrast to David Beckham, who continues to insist that only another spell in Europe will have him fit to compete next summer. The American journalists in attendance at Azteca on Aug. 12 were pretty much unanimous that Blanco was Mexico's best player during the first hour of the game, despite being the only one in MLS.

Asked whether he thought MLS would prepare him adequately for next summer, Blanco said, "In terms of me playing in MLS and preparing for the World Cup, it's a very competitive league and it's a league that's getting better. It's a league that gives me good competition that helps me prepare for important games with the national team."

At this rate, it certainly does appear that Blanco will play in his third World Cup and first in eight years. And at least today, it appears he will be doing so as a member of the Chicago Fire.

Blanco Makes Commitment to Fire originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Drew Carey, Kasey Keller Sound Off

Brian Straus — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:37:00 EST

Filed under: MLS, US Soccer, FanHouse Exclusive

The team with 'Tradition' printed on the backs of their jerseys, the one whose marketing campaign for Wednesday night's U.S. Open Cup final centered on a collection of trophies unsurpassed in this country, wound up being the side that appeared nervous and out of its depth. The visiting Seattle Sounders attacked D.C. United from the start with confidence and speed and were unlucky not to be ahead by two goals at the half. They sealed their first trophy when Fredy Montero scored in the 67th minute and D.C. goalie Josh Wicks lost his mind, jumped on the Colombian and was ejected.

Seattle's players, staff and ownership celebrated heartily afterward in RFK Stadium's visitors' locker room, spraying champagne and singing their traditional rendition of "Jingle Bells." FanHouse was there and spoke with former U.S. national team goalkeeper and Sounders captain Kasey Keller and minority owner and comedian Drew Carey about winning the Cup and what makes their club different from its competitors in Major League Soccer.

KASEY KELLER

OPENING COMMENTS: Any time you're in a cup final, whether it's in Europe or it's in the States or it's with the national team or whatever, winning a cup is winning a cup. We were obviously excited. We really felt this game should have been played in Seattle so we really wanted to make a point, coming here and winning it for our fans and for our organization. That truly made this a first-class experience for everybody so far and a model for MLS. Our ownership group got pounded with champagne because that's the people they are. They're the guys. They're with us. We know they're part of it. A first-year organization or a 100-year organization, we're doing it the right way, and when you win things you win things it's great. Hopefully, long may it continue.

I was giving [United President] Kevin Payne a little bit of stick, and [U.S. Soccer CEO] Dan Flynn and stuff, just saying that this is our attendance for an autograph session [United drew 17,329 on Wednesday]. Obviously the D.C. fans were great. They were vocal. They were loud the whole game. But our fans in Seattle are something special. You saw what we traveled. We traveled several hundred to the game, 3,000 miles away. Imagine what it would have looked like in Seattle. It wasn't. It was here. We won it on foreign soil and we're taking it back home.

On whether Seattle fans understand and appreciate the Open Cup: I think the hardcore fanbase does. I think it was part of the, kind of the group that maybe have come in a little bit newer and didn't quite know what this was. But I think it's something that U.S. Soccer needs to do. They need to market this a little bit better, because it's a fun competition and I think if people truly knew that their local club team could actually be in the final, it would make more sense to them. But it's a great night....Hopefully there's more to come.

FANHOUSE: It's been a while since you've won a club trophy....

KELLER: Leicester was '97 [Keller won the League Cup with the Foxes]. It's been a while. I've been in two cup finals since and lost them both. I've won some [CONCACAF] Gold Cups where we destroyed some locker rooms so that was fun.

FANHOUSE: What's been more surprising, the success the Sounders have had this year off the field or the success on the field?

KELLER: It's a combination. You don't have one without the other. We did things the right way from the very beginning. We've got a great ownership group that's really doing things the way it should be done. That made the transition for myself so much easier.

FANHOUSE: But you couldn't have come back from England expecting it to be like this.

KELLER: This was a long process for me, to make this decision. It was on-again, off-again a couple times. I knew after the first game that I made the right choice. I would have really struggled if I would have gone to a club where they did things non-professional. We've got everything. We've got a great training ground, great fan support, a great stadium, a relationship with the Seahawks which is second to none to any other sports franchise in America. Regardless of MLS, probably any franchise to have that cooperation between the two. It should be the model for MLS going forward, and that's why we're so proud to win something in the first year.

FANHOUSE: It validates it?

KELLER: Exactly. When we knew we had a difficult game here -- the game should have been in Seattle but it wasn't -- the ownership group gets a charter and we come out here on the charter. We're staying at the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City. We're not staying at a Holiday Inn somewhere eating the free continental breakfast. We're doing it the right way. To reward that is what's so important for myself and the players.

FANHOUSE: Now that you've had two-thirds of a season to observe, what do you think is good about the level of play in MLS and what needs improvement?

KELLER: If you look at the English Premier League and you think you're going to compete, you've got to think that basically the salary cap [per team in MLS, about $2.5 million] is about the average salary of one player in the English Premier League. You have to know your place, put it that way. I would just love to see the cap go up a little bit, a couple million, and just get it so the teams can just continue to do things the right way. We're an organization that's pushing that and I'm sure we can do that.

DREW CAREY

FANHOUSE: You've just beaten the club that was considered the flagship franchise of MLS, and now Seattle is staking its claim. Did you think you'd be this succesful both on and off the field, averaging so many fans while competing for a playoff spot and winning the Open Cup in your first season?

CAREY: You can't have one without the other, I don't think. One of the main reasons we've been successful is, I think a lot of sports teams, not just in soccer but teams in other sports, you can tell when they're run by accountants. They don't have any passion. It's just about selling tickets, a promotion here or there. You can always tell. We're a team that's not run by accountants. Everybody here has a passion for winning and success. All of us, between Adrian, me and Joe and, well, Paul Allen [laughs], nobody really needs money

We were never like, "Oh my God, we could really make money if we got into the MLS. Finally get out of debt. Pay off those college loans." It was all about, can we go to this thing and win and be successful. Honestly, in all the meetings we had with all the owners, I've never heard somebody bring up, "Hey, we gotta make money." I've never heard that phrase even uttered.

FANHOUSE: Does that attitude translate to wins on the field?

CAREY: It does because then every thought you have -- if you're an accountant, every thought you have is about how you can make a little bit of money. But when you're us, every thought you have and every decision you make is about, how can we kick everybody's butt? How can we win? We have to get his coach. We have to get this environment. We have to have these kinds of conditions. We have to have this personnel. And that guides all our decisions.

Plus the idea that the fans can get rid of [GM] Adrian [Hanauer], is a big deal, that the fans have some power and say-so and we're talking regularly with the fans, that affects all our decisions too in a way. We have to please the fans. We have to win. That's our main goal all the time. That's what drives all our decision making. That's what's in the back of our mind all the time.

FANHOUSE: So then how big is coming to D.C. and winning the Open Cup?

CAREY: It works. You get into the sports business and think, "Oh, I can make a buck. Or if I make a good stadium deal or something people will like me at the country club." I don't even know what people think when they get into the sports business, honestly, based on the decisions some people make. For the Seattle Sounders, it's all about how we can win, how we can put a winning team on the field. Every meeting I've been to, every discussion I've ever had with anybody, that's all that comes up....

The money will come. That's my philosophy anyway, if you do a good job. Your first thought shouldn't be about money. Your first thought should be about doing a good job. The money will flow.

FANHOUSE: How have the Sounders turned soccer fans in Seattle into MLS fans? It's a struggle for many clubs around the league.

CAREY: When we started marketing the team up in Seattle it was all through all the fan groups and on the internet. We didn't go a traditional way. It was more like introducing ourselves to these fan groups that were already there with the USL Sounders and saying "Hey, we're going to expand this and make it a bigger thing. Why don't you come along and be a part of it?" And we held hands and took the leap. That's a big thing. You want the fans on your side.

All our decisions are about pleasing the fans and winning games. That's what we're in the business for, to win trophies and championships. And to beat other teams in games, even individual games. If we had a losing season but made money, I'd call that a bad season. I know there are other teams, not just in MLS but in other leagues, baseball and football and stuff, where if they had a losing season but made money, they'd be congratulating themselves. That's not the way we do it.

FANHOUSE: How important is it to have a veteran like Keller as the face of this franchise?

CAREY: He's really well liked by the fans. He's a top-notch player. He makes the plays. When he says something it has a lot of importance, because he's been there, done that, you know what I mean? You need to have somebody who's one of the best players on the team stepping up and championing you on the field and motivating you.

In a league like MLS, people really need to be coached. When Ruud Gullit came to L.A., I think the mistake they made was they hired a guy who came in and didn't realize you need to teach people how to do their job and how to be better. We only have so much money to pay these guys and they're at a certain level. You have to teach them.

FANHOUSE: If MLS wanted to double or triple the salary cap tomorrow, would you be supportive?

CAREY: Totally. Because we're making money [laughs]. When people watch Real Madrid, Man. U., Barcelona, those are the teams they follow, it's like being a baseball fan. You might like the Yankees or the Red Sox or the Dodgers or whatever, but you go see a AAA game because you like the sport. That's why people are coming to MLS. They know they're not seeing Barcelona. They like the game. And what you need to do, we need to get the casual fan, we need to bring up the level so it's approaching the European level.

FANHOUSE: But fans in many countries that aren't England or Spain support their league. They love their hometown club, even though it's not Barcelona.

CAREY: I know. But that's the only sport they have. America's different. There's basketball, football, baseball. There's everything. You really have to step up and say, "You can't miss these games because you're seeing the best players America has to offer." When we're able to keep all the Clint Dempseys and Jozy Altidores, and keep them in town because we can afford them now, keeping these guys and having these stars raised in America will be a big thing for us.

But it's growing all the time, and if I didn't think it was growing I wouldn't have invested in it. I think it's a good investment. I really have a lot of faith in the future. There's nothing but upside for soccer in America.

Drew Carey, Kasey Keller Sound Off originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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United, Sounders Add Spice to Cup

Brian Straus — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:06:00 EST

Filed under: MLS, US Soccer

The Avellaneda billboard war began in the spring of 2005. Racing Club, for reasons unknown, paid for a sign toward the end of the bridge that connects central Buenos Aires with the southern "suburb" celebrating its status as "the only team to fill two stadiums on the same day." It was referencing the Thursday four years before when it clinched the Apertura championship at Velez Sarsfield before thousands of its own fans, then returned to celebrate at a packed El Cilindro.

Archrival Independiente quickly responded, proclaiming on its own sign nearby that, "We may fill only one stadium, but we win more than one title every 35 years." Racing soon returned fire, and it was on. I was lucky enough to be in Argentina at the time and was both fascinated and envious, hoping that someday our clubs would be as passionate and hilariously petty as theirs.

That day may be Wednesday, as D.C. United hosts the Seattle Sounders in a U.S. Open Cup final that may be a turning point for both the oft-ignored competition and the way American soccer clubs market themselves.

The Open Cup marketing war began in late July, when Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer told The News Tribune of Tacoma that he was "somewhat skeptical" of the bidding process that resulted in D.C. hosting Wednesday night's final instead of Seattle. "Our fans deserve some answers," he said. "And, by the way, U.S. Soccer has been trying to raise the profile of the U.S. Open Cup. A game in front of 10,000 fans at RFK I don't believe is going to raise the profile as much as a game in front fo a sold out Qwest Field."

U.S. Soccer's interest in raising the Open Cup's profile is debatable, but Hanauer's remark about the respective attendances struck a nerve. United President Kevin Payne told The Washington Post that it was "really unseemly for Seattle to suddenly show up in MLS and everything should be handed to them."

Each side had their valid points. Seattle, which has averaged more than 30,000 fans per game this season, surely would have drawn a bigger crowd. United will be fortunate to get half that number. But the Sounders also would have been forced to play the game on a Tuesday afternoon because of scheduling conflicts with baseball's Mariners, rather than the federation's preferred Wednesday night.

Faced with putting his money where his mouth was, Payne responded. The morning after United defeated Rochester in the Open Cup semis, public and media relations director Kyle Sheldon tweeted "D.C. United will face Seattle Sounders FC in the U.S. Open Cup final at RFK Stadium on Wednesday, September 2... We. Win. Trophies." A campaign was born.

For all the success Seattle has had at the box office this year, and for all the good the atmosphere their fans create at Qwest has done for the league, they remain an expansion team whose minor league predecessor was supported by about 10% of the current fanbase. Payne, Sheldon and their colleagues knew they had to attract a good crowd to tonight's final to stick it to Hanauer, and figured the right way to do it was to differentiate themselves not only from the Sounders but from the other professional teams in Washington. (United has won four league titles in 13 completed seasons, the capital's football, baseball, basketball and hockey teams have won seven in 217 combined seasons).

On Aug. 10, the day after United hosted Real Madrid, the club took out full-page ads in The Post and three other Washington newspapers featuring an open letter from Payne. He asked -- Seattle fans will argue that he begged -- readers to support the team "after 14 trophy-filled seasons." He wrote: "I know not all of you are D.C. United fans. Many of you aren't even soccer fans, but a challenge has been issued and we expect all sports fans in D.C. to meet it....Stand up and cheer. Stand up for another championship. Stand up for D.C."

The team created a Web site, wewintrophies.com, and made the image of the Open Cup trophy and the rest of United's historic haul the centerpiece of a marketing campaign unprecedented in the tournament's history. The club set up a "trophy tour", during which it took the silverware to 17 bars around the Washington area. The print advertising continued, and the props director at a local theater who also happens to be a Screaming Eagles member created a seven-foot replica of the Open Cup trophy that Sheldon and his colleagues carted around the city. United offered tickets for "1996 prices", $12, along with $2 beers and hot dogs.

Hanauer said nothing notable in response, but the Sounders fans took up the cause. "Whiny whores host Sounders in Cup final," said the headline on the Emerald City Supporters club's website. It pictured Payne holding a photoshopped letter reading "HOW TO RUN AN MLS CLUB LOVE, ADRIAN H." and for some reason, a photo of a sparsely attended Washington Nationals baseball game. The message board and Twitter sparring between fans heated up, perhaps stoking a nice rivalry between the clubs, and Seattle is planning to recreate their traditional march to the stadium, albeit somewhat smaller, in Washington on Wednesday.

The word on Tuesday night was that all of United's efforts had resulted in just over 13,000 ticket sales. That number certainly is less than an average MLS game at RFK and far below what Seattle likely would have had, even on a Tuesday afternoon. But it's far better than D.C. attracted in last year's final against second-division Charleston (just over 8,000) and is a good crowd for the woefully undermarketed and underfunded Open Cup, the 95-year-old tradition that continues to be treated like U.S. Soccer's stepchild.

Whatever money Payne and Co. decided to spend to secure the final on home turf obviously is an indication of the club's commitment to add to its trophy case. In addition, it's an investment in building a competition that the federation continues to ignore. The $100,000 winner's purse is embarrassing, the games aren't on TV, the qualifying process is arbitrary and unfair and the matches often are played in small, ramshackle facilities before sparse crowds. United's front office, and Seattle's fans in response, have done more for the tournament's status than anyone else has in nearly a century.

In addition, and perhaps most importantly, the provocative statements from Hanauer and the impassioned appeal from Payne send a refreshing signal that perhaps the people who run MLS and its teams are willing to inject a little personality into the proceedings. The league often is far too bland for its own good. Too many people spend too much time watching what they say, removing the hint of anything partisan or controversial. The passion of the fans in Argentina mirrors that of the clubs they support, but for far too long soccer officials in the U.S. have spent their time and money promoting "family entertainment" and trying to avoid offense. Payne and Hanauer have turned the page. Hopefully the rest of the clubs and the federation will follow, and hopefully whomever wins Wednesday night will gloat like crazy.

United, Sounders Add Spice to Cup originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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US Defender Heath Pearce Signs with Turkish Club

Michael Cardillo — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:46:00 EST

Filed under: European Soccer, International, MLS, U.S. Men's National Team

If there's one edict that U.S. National Team coach Bob Bradley has established since taking over the reigns from Bruce Arena at the end of the 2006, it's that if a player wants to be included in the U.S. squad he'd better be playing for his club team.

U.S. semi-regular left back Heath Pearce found this out the hard way when he was left off the 23-man roster for the upcoming crucial qualifiers against El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago since he was out of contract and without a club to call home.
Pearce, who fell out of favor at German club Hansa Rostock and was released at the end of the Bundesliga season, was heavily linked to a move to MLS with FC Dallas the likely destination.

Wednesday it came out that Pearce won't come to the States, rather he signed on with Turkish club Bursaspor. Talk about coming straight from left field.

As it stands with any U.S. would-be international with intentions of playing in next summer's World Cup (assuming the U.S. qualifies), it all boils down to regular playing time for Pearce. You'd have to figure that Bursaspor made some time of assurances to Pearce, otherwise why would he sign with a club pretty much off the American soccer fan's radar.

Pearce, who's been capped 28 times since 2005, has had ample chances to fully claim and establish ownership of the left back position, a position that's been historically thin for the U.S. (Witness Eddie Lewis attempting a crash course to learn the position ahead of the 2006 World Cup.) That said, Pearce has blown hot and cold over his appearances in the U.S. shirt and clearly isn't locked into a starting role even though he featured regularly at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July.

In the end Pearce's National Team fortunes for 2010 are probably tied to whether Bradley elects to continue playing Carlos Bocanegra at left back with Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit paired in the center of the defense. It doesn't exactly bode all too well for Pearce that he was omitted from the most recent U.S. roster when Onyewu is suspended for Saturday's must-win match against El Salvador in Sandy, Utah.

Still, Pearce has time to establish himself in Turkey and convince Bradley he's the best left back the U.S. has at its disposal. He just better make sure the Turkish word for "bench warmer" isn't part of his vocabulary.

US Defender Heath Pearce Signs with Turkish Club originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLS' Only True Rivalry Resumes in L.A.

Brian Straus — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLS

In the world's best soccer rivalries, the opposing clubs usually represent something greater than the pursuit of wins and trophies. Whether its socio-economics, politics, religion or geography, the antagonists have roots that transcend the sport and appeal to a certain cohort of fans whose allegiance is dependent on more than just game results and marketing.

The only U.S. rivalries that even begin to approach that sort of dynamic are those between certain universities. Perhaps, stereotypically, one sort of person roots for Michigan while another supports Michigan State. But these are pale comparisons. The truth is that soccer often thrives on those sorts of conflicts, and the sport in this country has yet to develop them. There are several factors -- our pro franchises tend to have inclusive fanbases, the sport is still developing here and the size of the country makes frequent fan interaction nearly impossible.

Except for Los Angeles, where on Saturday night, the biggest game in the short history of Major League Soccer's only real rivalry will be played.

Since Club Deportivo Chivas USA entered MLS in 2005, they and the Los Angeles Galaxy clearly have represented different segments of American soccer culture. With its global marketing, its "Superclub" ambitions and its reliance on Landon Donovan and David Beckham, the Galaxy appeal to fans with domestic and/or European sympathies and those who have supported MLS from the start. Chivas, launched by CD Guadalajara owner Jorge Vergara, was a naked attempt to capitalize on the huge number of Mexican-American and Latino fans in Southern California who remained loyal to teams south of the border.

It was a project that was divisive right from the start. There were those who resented the new club's Spanish-first policy, and its admitted intent to rely on Mexican and Latino players. But they averaged more than 17,000 fans a game that first season, despite winning just four matches.

"I definitely know there were a lot of guys in the league, including myself, who were hesitant to play for an organization that was changing the way they were going to get players, changing what kind of players they were going to get, especially when they came in and said they were only going to speak Spanish, their coaches were going to speak in Spanish," recalled Sasha Victorine, a Los Angeles native who had played for the Galaxy for five years before moving to Kansas City in 2005.

"The U.S.-Mexico rivalry just being so big now, by bringing Chivas in here, they were going to basically be a Mexican club playing in MLS. It really did bring a lot, and kind of reminded everyone of the rivalry between us and Mexico."

Victorine is uniquely qualified to speak about the Galaxy-Chivas rivalry. He's Los Angeles through-and-through, an MLS lifer who has played through nearly 10 years of growing pains. He won a championship with the Galaxy, and then, after more than three years with the Wizards, was traded back to his hometown to play for the "Mexican club".

After that disastrous first season Chivas abandoned its focus on Mexican-American players. Bob Bradley was hired to coach, and players like Brad Guzan, Sacha Kljestan (right), Jonathan Bornstein and Ante Razov helped catapult the Goats into playoff contention. Meanwhile, the Galaxy stumbled and missed the postseason in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The fact that Chivas and the Galaxy never seemed to be competitive at the same time reduced the rivalry somewhat, but the symbolism remained strong. The Galaxy continued to wear a crest centered on the letters "LA", while Chivas' logo featured the coat of arms of the city of Guadalajara. Fans took pride not only in supporting their own team, but in the fact that they disliked the other, and the games continued to feature some of the best atmosphere in MLS simply because both were present.

"The other rivalries throughout the league, to be quite honest, I don't think they're quite what they used to be," Victorine told FanHouse. "Rivalry exists when either team has the ability to beat each other."

San Jose is an expansion team, and its relationship to the Galaxy has changed. D.C. United-New York and Houston-Dallas are one-sided, both on and off the field. Real Salt Lake-Colorado lacks visibility and championship pedigree. Chicago-New England has featured some excellent playoff showdowns, but the cities are far apart and lack any natural enmity. Perhaps when Vancouver and Portland join the league we'll see some genuine tension with Seattle, but that's still a couple of years away. For now, the Los Angeles Superclasico is the best we have.

"The crowds are different, the atmosphere, there's a feeling that there's a lot more at stake rather than just playing another team in the league," Victorine said. "You don't need a chain-link fence and barbed wire for the game to finish, but definitely people have a lot of passion and want to see their team win.

"You go into every game prepared the same way, wanting to win and giving your best. I think the difference in this game is you really dig in deep and you really understand how important this one is to win. I think some of the guys who have talked about the Chivas team's first and second years, they didn't have the most wins or the greatest seasons, and the feeling was that the Superclasico was basically a season for them. It's a mini-season. You have the bragging rights to Los Angeles, the town and the stadium itself, and definitel plays into everybody's feelings going into the games. It definitely gives you something extra."

Saturday night's edition, to be televised by ESPN2, indeed will be packing something extra. For the first time, both teams are in playoff position entering the final third of the season. The Galaxy are second in the West at 8-4-11 and Chivas is third at 10-8-3, trailing first-place Houston by just five and seven points, respectively. Beckham is getting comfortable with the Galaxy and Donovan is playing the best soccer of his career, while Kljestan and Maykel Galindo seem to be rounding into form for Chivas, which recently signed forward Jesus Padilla from the parent club in Mexico. The teams boast two of the league's best defenses.

The Galaxy lead the all-time series 9-3-5, but the clubs finally seem to be playing at a competitive level for the first time, and there is more on the line on Saturday than simply pride.

Unfortunately for Victorine, a concussion will keep him on the sidelines on Saturday. His disappointment was clear during his conversation with FanHouse, but it was also clear that Chivas' more inclusive nature (its locker room has become a model U.N.) has removed the skepticism he felt when the club entered the league. In fact, he said he hopes Chivas can build its own stadium in the Los Angeles area, in order to cement its own identity, give its players and fans a place to call home and really ramp up the rivalry with the Galaxy.

"Right now the teams are pretty friendly. We see each other quite often in the weight room, other sports around the stadium. Guys have known each other for years, played with each other on teams or in college," he said. "But it's amazing how quickly, whenever your next game comes up against the other team, how quickly those friendships kind of shed away and it really becomes a rivalry.

"It definitely means a lot to both teams. You see each other all the time, but it really becomes a rivalry when you walk around the stadium, and you know who gets to kind of walk with their heads up and basically feel like it's their stadium, your place because you won the game."

The next, and most important, chapter of MLS's most authentic rivalry, takes place on Saturday evening.

MLS' Only True Rivalry Resumes in L.A. originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patrick Vieira Hints at MLS Move

Michael Cardillo — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 09:58:00 EST

Filed under: European Soccer, MLS, Soccer Posts

If I had a nickel for every time I read a rumor about an aging soccer star linked with a move to MLS, well, I might be able to buy something tasty off the McDonalds Dollar Menu.

Saturday the latest of these rumors shifted toward Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira who revealed to Orange Sport that this would be his final season playing in Europe. On top of that, the 34-year-old said he'd consider a move to the United States citing the influence of former France teammates Youri Djorkaeff.

Hopefully Djorkaeff, who played 45 games for the New York Red Bulls from 2005-06, didn't tell Vieira that MLS rules allow you make up a phony excuse about a family emergency while you leave the team to attend the World Cup as a spectator which the Frenchman did in 2006.

Vieira making the open statement that he'd like to play in MLS, however, probably won't have clubs from the league lining up to capture his signature. It's not like clubs exactly want to chew up a good chunk of their salary cap or a designated-player spot on a 34-year-old defensive midfielders closing in on 600 games played.

Vieira's not exactly a Pavel Nedved or Luis Figo (both extensively linked to MLS in recent years before retiring), who could have still been a dynamic offensive players in the league while serving as box office draws. Viera, meanwhile, plays an unglamorous position on the field and would only really resonate with hardcore soccer aficionados.

At his peak Vieira was a key cog when Arsenal became the "Invincibles" earlier this decade. And yes, Vieira's former Arsenal teammate Freddie Ljungberg has acclimated himself quite well with the Seattle Sounders this season, but they're different type of players at different stages of their respective careers.

On the plus side, if Vieira is actually serious about moving to MLS to wind down his illustrious career, he'd bring a wealth of experience and professionalism to any locker room.

There's also another reason a club might be wise to take a flier on Vieira, as it could possibly help grease the wheels of another ex-Arsenal Frenchman who's also hinted at finishing his career in the States -- Thierry Henry.

Patrick Vieira Hints at MLS Move originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Sat, 29 Aug 2009 09:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Donovan 'In Control' of His Own Galaxy

Brian Straus — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:22:00 EST

Filed under: MLS, US Soccer, FanHouse Exclusive

He's dealing with a divorce and a highly-publicized conflict with teammate David Beckham, along with the stress and strain of international competition. Yet Landon Donovan is playing perhaps the best soccer of his career. How can this be? FanHouse speaks with Donovan's teammates, coaches and the man himself to figure out what's changed.

He may very well be the most talented field player this country has ever produced, yet Landon Donovan has been far from beloved. His failure to stick with Bayer Leverkusen, his poor 2006 World Cup, his occasionally grating personality and his bizarre mannerisms seem to have trumped his accomplishments in the eyes of many American soccer fans and observers.

This summer, the mercurial forward has proven he is worthy of a reassessment. Despite distractions that would have derailed him in the past, Donovan has inspired the Los Angeles Galaxy's return to prominence and the U.S. national team's run to the Confederations Cup final with the best soccer of his career -- soccer that belies a change of attitude and that he confirmed has been noticed across the Atlantic.

Following L.A.'s tie in Washington on Saturday, Donovan and a couple of colleagues discussed that new attitude, his play and his future.

The evidence for Donovan's rebirth is undeniable. The player who used to appear as if he took the field with the weight of the world on his shoulders is gone. Rightfully criticized for his nervous, tentative performances in the summer of 2006, Donovan finally seems to have developed faith in his own abilities. He is secure in his captaincy with his club, clearly confident on the ball and eager to challenge opposing defenses. At the moment, he must be considered the frontrunner for this year's MLS MVP award thanks to his 10 goals and five assists in 18 games for the resurgent Galaxy.

It had always seemed to be about comfort with Donovan, who told FanHouse over the weekend that his fuel now comes from within, that there is interest from abroad and that he is ready to prove himself on the global stage.

"I am in control of what I do, and before I thought different things determined how I would play or how I would respond or how I would act on the field," he said. "I'm in control of that now, so, and knowing that I'm in control of it means I know what my ability is. I know what I'm capable of and I bring it every time."

That assertion can't just be dismissed as wishful thinking. Not this year. It's hard to imagine the overly-sensitive Donovan of the past playing through the release of The Beckham Experiment and the ensuing questions about his relationship with his famous teammate, and it's even harder to believe the old Donovan would be playing at this level as he negotiated the pain and distraction of his impending divorce from actress Bianca Kajlich. On top of that, he's had a busy summer with the national team and has played high-profile games in South Africa, Costa Rica and Mexico City, all while knowing that potential employers abroad are watching. He's had every excuse to crumble.

"He's got a lot going on, from bouncing back and forth with the national team and constantly playing at a high level here in MLS. He's done a very good job preparing his body and preparing his mind to be ready when he steps on the field," veteran Galaxy midfielder Chris Klein told FanHouse. "From being around Landon, I definitely see a difference in his preparation for games. It started last year with him and he's more focused. I think he grasps now the ability he has to take over a game and he's starting to demonstrate that. He's demonstrating that with us and he demonstrates that with the national team and it's just tremendous to watch. The sky's the limit with him."

L.A. is in second place in the West at 8-4-11, and demonstrated its playoff mettle last week with a win at Chicago (without the suspended David Beckham) and a 0-0 draw at RFK against a desperate, full-strength United side. The Galaxy is 5-1-2 since Donovan returned from the Confederations Cup.

"I'm doing the things I'm good at," he said. "I'm helping the team in all ways, competing, being agressive. And when I do that, I play well."

Asked about Donovan's maturation, L.A. coach Bruce Arena said: "Well, his attitude is great and his leadership is great. He's more consistent. He's not up and down from game to game. He goes out and he's a good performer each and every game and that's really the charge of quality players, good players that have to bring that consistency game in and game out, and Landon's certainly beginning to achieve that.

"It's mental. It has nothing to do with technique. It had to do with whatever's between your ears."

Klein scoffed at the possibility that Donovan should have to do anything more to prove himself to the detractors, calling it "mind boggling" that any critics might remain. "He's got a realization now of what he can do and the ability he has and he's starting to use that," he said. "He's only 27. He's still maturing and he's still yet to hit that prime stage of his career."

That prime stage is coming fast, however, and Donovan knows that his play in MLS and with the national team won't answer the questions lingering from his two failed stints in Leverkusen and his inability to stick with Bayern Munich during a loan spell last winter. To cement his status, he must leave his California comfort zone and excel consistently at the highest level. On Saturday, Donovan confirmed to FanHouse that there is interest from abroad and that this time, he is ready.

"I'm in the moment very much right now. If something comes up that's serious I'll look at it. There's been some interest but at this point, nothing's going to happen until at least the winter, so I will address it then. For now, there's nothing I can do about it so I'm not going to think about it," he said.

That seems to be the key to the new Donovan -- staying in the moment and focusing only on those things that will help him on the field.

"I'm just more grounded, more centered, and I know what's in me and I know how to bring it out of me," he said. "Wherever I play it's going to be that way. I'm not going to let it go. It's too much fun."

Donovan 'In Control' of His Own Galaxy originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:22:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Juan Carlos Osorio Steps Down

Brian Straus — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:10:00 EST

Filed under: MLS, US Soccer

New York Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio resigned Friday afternoon, robbing the club's owners of the opportunity to demonstrate whatever commitment they might have to their dwindling fanbase.

The club has been sinking since mid-May, and for some time has had a better chance of setting the mark for Major League Soccer futility than of qualifying for the playoffs. When the team (an incredible 2-16-4 in league play) was eliminated two weeks ago from the CONCACAF Champions League by Trinidadian "power" W Connection, there no longer was anything to play for. With the club's new stadium opening next season, Red Bull simply had to make a statement to its fans, demonstrate a commitment to success and part ways with Osorio. It did nothing, forcing the Colombian to show the energy drink company what accountability looks like.

Osorio's assistant, former MetroStars and D.C. United midfielder Richie Williams, will take over on an interim basis, the club announced Friday afternoon. New York hosts FC Dallas on Sunday.

"I want to apologize to the fans for the results this season," Osorio said in a refreshingly candid statement. "I want to thank the players for their hard work. I would also like to thank the club for the opportunity to coach the team for the past two seasons."

Red Bulls Managing Director Erik Stover, who has presided without repercussion over the club's trainwreck of a season, said, "It has been a difficult season for Juan Carlos and he felt that it was in the best interest of the team to step aside." Nothing was said about the future of Sporting Director Jeff Agoos.

Highlighting the circus that MLS's New York franchise has become, this will be the second time Williams will serve as interim head coach. He went 4-3-2 in the summer of 2006, filling in for Mo Johnston. Bruce Arena then was hired as the full-time manager.

Osorio did lead the Red Bulls to last year's MLS Cup final, the one bright spot in what has been an embarrassing 14 years for the organization. That playoff run came thanks to two victories at Houston and Real Salt Lake and did not reflect a mediocre 10-11-9 regular season, nor did it provide any foundation for future success. Osorio was the 11th man to manage the club, which has been unable to win consistently or maintain any stability despite having had the likes of Arena, Bob Bradley, Carlos Alberto Parreira, Carlos Queiroz and Bora Milutinovic on the Giants Stadium sidelines.

Red Bull had the chance to indicate its desire for change, but instead it left Osorio twisting. Somehow, the coach of what may be the worst team in MLS history comes out looking okay.

Juan Carlos Osorio Steps Down originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Landin Signing Significant for MLS

Brian Straus — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:39:00 EST

Filed under: International Soccer, MLS

The player who scored the goal above is now a member of the Houston Dynamo.

His name, Luis Angel Landin, won't ring a bell to those who criticize MLS for lacking the aging European players they equate with legitimate pro soccer. But for those who understand the game and the league's growth process, Thursday's announcement was a significant moment.

Landin, 24, has been exactly the sort of foreign player that MLS has needed but rarely has been able to acquire. It got lucky with the likes of Jaime Moreno early on, but young and talented attackers demand considerable financial commitment and rarely fall through the cracks.

Landin certainly hasn't. He made his professional debut with continental power Pachuca at 19 and was part of the team that claimed both the Copa Sudamericana and CONCACAF Champions Cup. His star seemed to be rising. Hugo Sanchez called him into the national team and he played a part in El Tri's third-place finish at the 2007 Copa America. But that fall, Pachuca loaned him out to Morelia, and his reputation took a hit when his under-23 national side failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. Morelia then sent him to Cruz Azul last winter. The "golazo de escorpion" is among the seven goals he has tallied for Los Cementeros.

Nevertheless, his career obviously needed a boost. He has become an afterthought in a national team picture growing exceedingly crowded with young attacking stars like Giovanni Dos Santos, Andres Guardado and Carlos Vela. The word is that Landin can be frustratingly inconsistent on the field and occasionally temperamental or pouting off of it. He is a young player with unquestioned talent in need of a change of scenery, and it is significant that he has chosen MLS for that boost.

Landin is the second-youngest player to join MLS with a Mexican cap -- Juan Pablo Garcia was 23 and had played once for El Tri when he signed with Chivas USA in 2005. He left Los Angeles after two seasons, returned to the Primera and hasn't been capped since. Landin comes in with far greater pedigree, both on the club and international level. And that's going to cost the Dynamo, who have been so successful identifying talent it can sign and keep for lower wages.

Landin will be the club's first Designated Player and will count $400,000 against the salary cap. Sources tell Fanhouse that the total bill in salary and loan fees to Morelia and Cruz Azul will come to around $1.5 million. The Dynamo will have the option to buy Landin outright at the conclusion of the 2010 season.

The player and his coach did their best to manage expectations at Thursday's press conference.

"I am looking forward to getting Luis involved with the team," Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear said. "He is a player that will fit nicely into our system. I think we improved our team with an exciting, young, attacking player. We'll get him training as soon as possible and get him ready to play in this physically demanding league."

When asked if Landin was the biggest signing in the club's short history, Kinnear said, "I don't know...But I think from a media standpoint and the interest from the community, it probably is, but you know we've made some great ones along the way. You hope that he will be a good player for us."

Landin now is the only player of Latin American origin on a team that plays in a community with a huge Hispanic population. People will be watching.

"I think I will fit in nicely with [Kinnear's] system," Landin said . "I am not coming here to be a superstar. I am just coming here to play, to be one of the guys, and to contribute in any way possible."

Whether Landin has the temperament to be "one of the guys" remains to be seen, but it is nice boost for MLS that he is willing to test himself here. People in Mexico do pay attention to the league north of the border. You don't have go far in Mexico City to see a fan wearing either a Chicago Fire or Los Angeles Galaxy jersey. If Landin succeeds here, it will be taken seriously and should reestablish himself in the Mexican national team picture -- it's lost on nobody that El Tri's best player in the first hour of last week's World Cup qualifier against the United States was the Fire's Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

MLS gradually is becoming a league that can serve as a legitimate proving ground. European clubs are looking west in increasing numbers, and now even our greatest rivals are jumping aboard to reboot their careers. This is a significant moment in the league's evolution.

Landin Signing Significant for MLS originally appeared on Soccer FanHouse on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:39:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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