SUMmer of Soccer Continues

The ‘Summer of Soccer’ which began on June 20, rolls on. After this past weekend, 41 events, including 15 doubleheaders comprising 56 matches have drawn 1,306,902, for an average of 31,876.

Since my last post on the SUMmer of Soccer, the big guns were on display and the attendances reflect that. Here’s how the events fared …

Summer of Soccer Attendances
Opponents Venue Date Event Att
 Real Madrid v DC United  FedEx Field
Landover, MD		  Sun, Aug 09 Friendly  72,368
 Barcelona v Chivas de Guadalajara  Candlestick Park
San Francisco, CA		  Sat, Aug 08 Friendly  61,572
 Barcelona v Seattle  Qwest Field
Seattle, WA		  Wed, Aug 05 Friendly  66,848
 Barcelona v LA Galaxy  Rose Bowl
LA, CA		  Sat, Aug 01 Friendly  93,137
 Mexico v USA  Giants Stadium
E Rutherford, NJ		  Sun, Jul 26 Gold Cup  79,156
 Chelsea v Club America  Cowboys Stadium
Dallas, TX		  Sun, Jul 26 WFC  57,229
 Inter Milan v AC Milan  Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, MA		  Sun, Jul 26 WFC  42,531
 semi-Mexico v Costa Rica
semi-USA v Honduras		  Soldier Field
Chicago, IL		  Thu, Jul 23 Gold Cup  55,173
 Club America v AC Milan  Georgia Dome
Atlanta GA		  Wed, Jul 22 WFC  53,600
 Chelsea v Inter Milan  Rose Bowl
Los Angeles, CA		  Tue, Jul 21 WFC  81,224
 total  662,838 
 average  66,284 

More ch-ching for Soccer United Marketing(SUM). This was the first year of the 3 year agreement between Barcelona and SUM. They’ll return next summer, especially given the report that they took home over $8.5 million for their little USA preseason excursion.


Hello! Barca and the Galaxy pack the Rose Bowl. SUM has US marketing agreements with both Barca and Chivas; must have been some payday. Hopefully some of it will make it to the players in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement(CBA).

Gold Cup Total Attendance

Gold Cup 2009
 Mexico v USA  Giants Stadium
E Rutherford, NJ		  Sun, Jul 26  Final  79,156
 Mexico v Costa Rica
USA v Honduras		  Soldier Field
Chicago, IL		  Thu, Jul 23  Semifinal  55,173
 Guadeloupe v Costa Rica
Mexico v Haiti		  Cowboys Stadium
Dallas, TX		  Sun, Jul 19  Quarterfinal  82,252
 Hondura v Canada
Panama v USA		  Lincoln Financial Field
Philadelphia, PA		  Sat, Jul 18  Quarterfinal  31,087
 Panama vs. Nicaragua
Mexico vs. Guadeloupe		  U of Phoenix Stadium
Glendale, AZ		  Sun, Jul 12  Group Play  23,876
 USA v Haiti
Honduras v Grenada		  Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, MA		  Sat, Jul 11  Group Play  24,137
 Costa Rica v Canada
El Salvador v Jamaica		  FIU Stadium
Miami, FL		  Fri, Jul 10  Group Play  17,269
 Guadeloupe v Nicaragua
Mexico v Panama		  Reliant Stadium
Houston, TX		  Thu, Jul 09  Group Play  47,713
 Haiti v Grenada
USA v Honduras		  RFK Stadium
Washington, DC		  Wed, Jul 08  Group Play  26,079
 Jamaica v Costa Rica
El Salvador v Canada		  Crew Stadium
Columbus, OH		  Tue, Jul 07  Group Play  7,059
 Panama v Guadeloupe
Nicaragua v Mexico		  Oakland-Alameda Cty Col.
Oakland, CA		  Sun, Jul 05  Group Play  32,500
 Honduras v Haiti
Grenada v USA		  Qwest Field
Seattle, WA		  Sat, Jul 04  Group Play  15,387
 Costa Rica v El Salvador
Canada v Jamaica		  Home Depot Center
Los Angeles, CA		  Fri, Jul 03  Group Play  27,000
 total  468,688 
 average  36,053 

World Football Challenge

World Football Challenge
 Chelsea v Club America  Cowboys Stadium
Dallas, TX		  Sun, Jul 26 WFC  57,229
 Inter Milan v AC Milan  Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, MA		  Sun, Jul 26 WFC  42,531
 Chelsea v AC Milan  M&T Bank Stadium
Baltimore, MD		  Fri, Jul 24 WFC  71,203
 Club America v AC Milan  Georgia Dome
Atlanta GA		  Wed, Jul 22 WFC  53,600
 Chelsea v Inter Milan  Rose Bowl
LA, CA		  Tue, Jul 21 WFC  81,224
 Club America v Inter Milan  Stanford Stadium
Palo Alto, CA		  Sun, Jul 19 WFC  31,026
 total  336,813
 average  56,136

SuperLiga Final Totals

SuperLiga Totals
Total Game Dates Average
2007  247,251  15  16,483
2008  195,380  15  13,025
2009  114,163  12  9,514
3 Doubleheaders in 2009 meant
3 fewer separate game dates

Congestion Eases Significantly, But Not for All

Although they would have preferred winning, Chicago must be glad that SuperLiga is over. They are poised for a strong finish, having recovered from a 4 game losing skein with 3 wins and 2 draws before dropping a decision at Houston.

Don Garber has already stated that the SuperLiga will be back in 2010, a World Cup year. It’s a sure indication that live attendance and wide distribution of English language coverage in the US are irrelevant. It demonstrates where the real money comes from; sponsorships and Spanish language TV. SuperLiga in August or September next year?

US Open
Sep 2
Final
DCU vs Seattle

Both teams played on July 25th. DCU had a CONCACAF Champions league game on July 28, an MLS game on August 1, a CONCACAF Champions league game on August 4, Real Madrid on August 9, back to league play on the 15th, and having advanced in the CONCACAF Champions League, a group phase CCL game on August 18, back to league play on August 22 and then game 2 of the group phase of the CCL on August 25 and back to MLS on August 29. DCU’s schedule remains busy after the Open final with league matches on Sept 5, 8 and 12. That will make 14 matches in 50 days, and average of one match every 3.6 days for seven weeks.

DCU has earned only 16 of 39 points and with a weaker Eastern Conference are in the thick of a playoff race. As noted, DCU advanced in the CONCACAF Champions League with its preliminary win and will play on August 18 and 25, certainly making them the club most susceptible to stumbling in either MLS, the CCL or both.

Seattle will play DC United in its bid to win its first trophy as an MLS club. Seattle played an exhibition v Barcelona on August 5, and an MLS match on August 8, with league games on the 15th, 20th, 23rd and 29th leading up to the Open final.

CONCACAF Champions League
Aug 18-20 Aug 25 – Aug 27
Group Game 1 Group Game 2
DCU, Houston, Columbus

I’ve documented DCU’s schedule above. Houston and Columbus have it easier as they won’t have the Open to worry about nor did they need to qualify for the group stages.

Houston will have the tougher go. By the time they play there 2nd group phase CCL match against Arabe Unido in Panama, they will have played 6 matches in 21 days.

Columbus, whose 2nd group match will be away to Cruz Azul of Mexico, will have played 4 matches in 19 days, having the week of August 23rd off from league play.

Random Stats

86.58% of MLS games have been played on the weekend(Sat-Sun), leaving 13.42% of games played on weekdays. These numbers jibe with MLS’s attitude that weekday games lose too much revenue for clubs. In an earlier post, I think I disproved that theory with the caveat that creative marketing is the key to maintaining decent gate receipts for weekday matches.

No team is averging 2 goals per game, for or against. DC United top the offensive chart with 1.70 goals for but are 13th in defense, allowing 1.60.

Of the 6 fifteen minute segments in a match, minutes 76-90 have seen the most goals scored. The end of the first half, minutes 30-45 is second highest in this category.

Chivas USA’s fall from top of the table to 8th can’t be blamed on their defense. They are allowing the 2nd fewest goals per game, 0.88, but their offense is 13th, scoring 1.12.