Hell ye, this is the thread I have been waiting for ever since the soccer weekly thread started up :-)
I really feel quite sorry for Revs fans. Their ownership seems to want to create a team every year that will fall just short. They never make the move to bring in that game-changing player to put them over the top. Time for Kraft to realize that it's not enough to play ugly soccer and compete. Fans want a winner, especially if the team has to play on a gridiron.
The question is can the Galaxy actually play to the potential they have on paper? The pre-season tour against teams in Asia/Oceania has been dismal with LA getting their hides handed to them by the likes of no-name teams from Hong Kong. What does bode well is the return of Carlos Ruiz, who should be - sorry Landon and David - the most productive player the Galaxy have on the roster. At least he knows where the back of the net is and has always been comfortable in LA. Becks has been added to the England squad and will likely be handed his 100th cap. There are rumors flying everywhere that he is homesick (if not, there is a real possibility he is burned out from trotting around the globe all year to meaningless friendlies). I hope, as some are speculating, that his getting the cap doesn't kill his motivation to keep working hard and we end up with a half speed Becks trotting around the pitch. I can imagine it was quite dispiriting playing with such a dismal side as LA was last season. But, its the team they put in my backyard (South Cal), so I have no choice but to support this dismal side. Bold prediction: LA makes the play offs.
More CCC news - Houston Dynamo got past their own quarter-final, as did Pachuca - so while D.C. will play Pachuca (first in Mexico, then in the US) Dynamo wait to find out the result of tonight's Atlante-Saprissa match to see who they will face in their own semi. It'll be a tough call for United - not least since Pachuca's home turf is seven thousand feet above sea level! - and either potential opponent for the Dynamo will be tough going for the reigning MLS Cup champions... Well, you do know that the Home Depot Centre hosts this team, too: And they actually look like they will do pretty well this season!
True, there is Chivas. But there are many reasons I couldn't support that team, the least of which being I was going to Galaxy games way back - in the Rose Bowl days - long before there was a Chivas USA.
Well, one team I support has only been there since '07, and the other was one of the originals - so I guess I can have it both ways! But if you feel like not being too hard done by if CDCUSA beat the Galaxy in the Honda Superclasico this year, I won't blame you, nonetheless...
No offense, I respect what the MLS has achieved so far (although some aspects of that league seem very strange to me, like the almost socialist financial structure and the weird transfer system) - but "Honda Superclasico"??
Depending on who the US brings, it will be an interesting match. Player for player, position for position, England have more quality. No one can question that. And even in their best players, the US have no one near, say, Rooney or Gerrard. But anyone who has watched England knows what is on paper rarely translates onto the field. And the "Fabio revolution" will not take hold overnight. England are still a pretty direct team, devoid of much creativity, and one that - like every single England team ever - often mistakes hustle and getting stuck in for skill. Of all the teams across the pond, the US - being a side of massive athleticism in place of creativity and skill - matches up the best against England. Based on no facts or even knowing who will play that day, pulling a prediction out of thin air: Yanks 2 Brits 2. Angry red tops scream Fabio's completely lost the plot, demand resignation.
Hey, I didn't name the thing... ...and quite frankly, I wish more leagues around the world were as keen to do something about the rampant inequality you see in various European leagues. MLS needs to be the way it is to survive, both in the face of very strong rival 'mahor league' pro sports in Northern America, and against the rival soccer leagues in the Americas, Europe and elsewhere. And while I hope that the likes of the salary cap can go up eventually, I would not want to see it go up farther than the league can sustain financially. The last thing I want to see is MLS tank the way NASL did.
Oh, the first of 2 MLS jerseys I was waiting for arrived today! Yay! Plus, the D.C. United jersey shipped on Monday - here's hoping it will be here soon!
Awesome! I've got a TFC jersey from before the BMO logo got put on-- says "TORONTO" across the chest instead. So you're getting one of the new DC kits? The stripeless one? I made sure to order one from last season because those three stripes across the chest I've always identified more with United than with Adidas. But apparently the team was told they could have a sponsor or they could have the stripes, but not both. After watching the matches against Harbour View I thought the new one looked very plain, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. And the scuttlebutt is that Verizon is the likely sponsor for the shirt, and it will show up at some point during the season.
New D.C. United kit - arrived today! A few of the guys and I over at BigSoccer were wondering about whether it might be an idea to, in the interim before a sponsor comes on board, wonder if United might not go with showing the United for D.C. charity's emblem on their kit - in a similar, yet somewhat smaller-scale, pursuit of the example made by FC Barcelona (who show UNICEF on their kit, because the club are the ones who sponsor the charity!) - but then, I like it as-is. Oh, and as a Philly fan, what do you think of this: Night has fallen, For the Sons of Ben... They cast their minds, to two-thousand ten... And the culmination Of their dream... For a Major League Soccer team... On the streets of Philadelphia! EDIT: Great news - looks like Saputo and Gillett are gearing up for a serious run at a Montréal MLS franchise!
Both Toronto and D.C.'s jerseys are pretty slick. I like the idea of a franchise in Montréal--I saw in the article that St. Louis was also bidding for their own franchise. Maybe St. Louis and Montréal in 2011, following Seattle in 2009 and Philadelphia in 2010? Speaking of the upcoming franchises, I hope they don't pick dumb names, like the early MLS teams had (and still have, in some cases). Names like we see in baseball, football, basketball, etc., just don't sound right on soccer teams.
No activity on opening day? I was at work for most of the Revs/Dynamo match, but luckily I got home in time to watch the last twenty minutes or so, and saw that awesome goal by Nyassi in the last minutes.
That last goal was pretty slick. Opening weekend: Columbus 2, Toronto 0 (sigh) Salt Lake 1, Chicago 1 New England 3, Houston 0 (Well played, Revs) Kansas City 2, D.C. 0 (double sigh) Colorado 4, LA 0 (hehehehe...) Dallas 1, Chivas USA 1 CCC semis start in a few days! Also, while I am not exactly a massive fan of Ruud Gullit's crowd, I seem to be turning into something of an MLS collector, so I found - and bought - this today: It is the only MLS jersey sold in Ireland, after all... and no, it's not a Beckham one.
As much as I hate LAG, I have to admit it's not a bad looking kit. I watched the TFC-Columbus game on Saturday, and must say that it looks all very familiar. Lots of scoring opportunities... wasted. I think they missed Ronnie O'Brien's playmaking, and I hope that Mo doesn't let this Colin Samuel thing drag on the whole season. The guy put a penalty right into the keeper's chest, I mean COME ON. The new goalie looked alright, though. Hope he continues to play well and keep Sutton off the pitch. Can't wait for DCU vs Pachuca tomorrow! Vamos United!
I agree with you on Colin Samuel. I never liked him. I thought Toronto carried the play and played very well, they were just a bit unlucky and failed to finish on any of their chances. Cunningham should have taken the penalty shot.
I checked around my TV schedule...not one station carried an opening weekend game. My future as a soccer fan is off to a great start! -nobody
Well, yet another MLS squad gets killed by the high altitude of a Mexican estadio. United was just out of gas at the half hour mark against Pachuca, losing 2-0. The thing is, though, that it could have been so much worse. My first thought on Pachuca's first goal was that Wells misplayed it, but that was a beauty shot to the near post; I thought the player was going to cross it too. And Martinez just missed his man on the second one, off the free kick. I just don't understand why Soehn had them playing such a defense minded game. They completely turtled in this match, didn't even register a shot on goal. It couldn't have been more obvious that they were playing for a draw, and Pachuca's back line didn't seem all that organized. I just wish they would have tried to hold some possession and work the opposing defense. Based on the fact that they played a similar style game in Jamaica (successfully earning the draw) and then turned on the creativity at RFK, I think United can win at home, but can they do by two goals to force an overtime/penalties? Not so sure about that. However, if Emilio can ever get on the same page as Fred and Gallardo, I think things will look very shiny for the remainder of the MLS season.