Tottenham Hotspur kicks off their U.S. tour with a week of training in San Jose and a friendly with the Earthquakes Saturday afternoon (televised on ESPN). On a sun-splashed field at the Quakes Nutrilite Training Facility — situated adjacent to the proposed new stadium site — Harry Redknapp and his staff had his players conduct a full training session in front of an audience of over 1000 local soccer supporters.

With the players going through stretching exercises, an abbreviated field 8 v. 8 scrimmage, and a training-ending finishing drill, the fans in attendance enjoyed an opportunity to see Spurs up close and personal. Many were decked out in Earthquakes jerseys, while a large contingent wore the red-and-white checkerboard kits of Croatia. The Tottenham players seemed to relish the attention and were gracious with their time as they signed autographs for all who wanted them.

For many, it was a chance to see Premier League players in person. But it was also an opportunity to represent their local club, the San Jose Earthquakes, and show Tottenham the importance of MLS in the soccer community. Head coach Harry Redknapp welcomed the chance to bring his team to the U.S. and shared some positive thoughts after Spurs training on the future of the game in the States.

“I think there are so many good young players in the U.S. and the talent pool is immense,” said Redknapp. “You see that now in the World Cup, where I thought the US did very well. There are some good players here, and I think it is only a matter of time before the US becomes a real force in world soccer.”

So much of that starts by having a successful domestic soccer league. Redknapp knows something about soccer in America — he was a player, then a coach with the Seattle Sounders of the NASL back in the 1970s. He shared that even then he could see the potential of young American players, but that the opportunities were lacking for them to make the jump to elite international level.

“I spent some good time in Seattle,” said Redknapp, “and I took some young American players with me back home to England where they did fantastic. But they came back here and there was no where for them to go to learn and progress. Still, the talent was here to be sure.”

With MLS in its 15th year of existence, the development opportunities for the domestic player have dramatically improved. However, Redknapp did warn about a major problem he saw back in the NASL that he hopes won’t be repeated in MLS — chiefly, the signing of aging superstars from overseas.

“As the MLS gets stronger and you get the right types of players,” cautioned Redknapp, “the most important thing is that the people you bring over are the right types of players. You need good professionals that can come over and work with the younger players. You don’t want guys coming over to take the money and then show no interest in American soccer. They need to encourage the young players and be role models that they can learn from.”

MLS man-of-the-moment Thierry Henry was presented as an example by Redknapp as a player that would be a big positive for the New York Red Bulls and the league as a whole.

“Thierry Henry is a fantastic player,” exclaimed the Spurs coach. “He’s one of the greatest players ever to grace the Premier League in England, and a great guy off the field as well. He’ll be a great asset to MLS. He is a class guy and fantastic footballer.”

Tottenham goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini was also keenly aware of the Frenchman’s arrival to the U.S. He concurred with his head coach about the newest MLS designated player.

“Henry will have a great impact on the MLS,” shared the Italian goalkeeper. “He is a great player with success wherever he played. He has helped his teams win many trophies. He has a great experience, and it will be great for the younger players to see him play. He will be a great ambassador for the league.”

When asked if he would consider a move to MLS, Cudicini remained diplomatic. At nearly full fitness after a long recovery from injuries suffered in a motorbike accident late last year, the goalkeeper still hoped to make an impact this season for Spurs. Any plans to play in the U.S. will have to wait for now.

“The MLS has always been a league I’ve looked to,” said Cudicini. “I love the way Americans love sports, not just soccer. I really admire the American sports fans. So maybe one day, I would. I am 37 years old now, so I am not young anymore, but you never know.”

A full healthy and motivated Cudicini could very much be an asset to MLS, but his skills have definitely diminished from his glory days at Chelsea. Still, players of his character can be valuable as teachers and role models of the sport to young American players. With the profile of MLS expanding overseas, and the recent success of the U.S. Men’s National Team at the World Cup Finals fresh in people’s minds, perhaps more players in or near their prime will make the trip to the U.S.

“MLS is a league that is coming on well, and you can see from the World Cup that the US did very well,” said Cudicini. “You see more and more American players coming to Europe to play in challenging leagues. MLS is definitely a league that is getting better and better and you are now seeing good players from Europe going there as well.”

Tottenham will leave San Jose early next week and make the trip to Harrison, N.J. to play another MLS side — the New York Red Bulls. The Summer of Soccer has begun; let’s enjoy the opportunity to show the world what MLS can accomplish.

Earlier today, AC St. Louis of the new NASL announced the signing of Steve Ralston as a player and assistant coach for their upcoming inaugural season. The former New England Revolution and MLS original decided to leave the Revolution after a new contract could not be worked out. He returns to his home town of St. Louis as the NASL’s highest profile signing to date.

As recently as last Thursday, the veteran midfielder was still considering signing with the Revolution for a ninth consecutive season. However, he informed the team later that day he would be moving on. Speculation had Ralston signing elsewhere in MLS, though that move might prove risky for any team to make for a 35 year old coming off a devastating knee injury. Apparently the deal in St. Louis must have been discussed throughout January, in the time since his MLS contract ran out at the end of 2009, with Ralston using that offer in his negotiations with the Revs.

Ralston leaves MLS as one of the last remaining members of the class of 1996. After six years with the Tampa Bay Mutiny, he moved to New England in 2002 following the dispersal of players after the Mutiny were contracted from the league. His longevity in the top flight of American soccer left its mark on the MLS record book, with Ralston toping the list for games started (372), games played (378), minutes played (33,143), and assists (135) in the league’s 14 year history. While he never won an MLS Cup, he participated four times with the Revolution. Ralston also leaves MLS as a seven-time All-Star and three-time Best XI selection.

As exciting a signing this is for AC St. Louis, it is sad day for MLS to lose one of its remaining original players. His importance to the Revolution was without question, and was especially evident when he went down to injury late in the 2009 season. At an age where most players are showing a decline in speed and skill, Ralston’s veteran play provided stability to an already strong Revolution midfield. It will be difficult to for him to fully regain his abilities following his latest injury, but his quality would still allow him to be an important part of most MLS teams.

The move from MLS to the NASL by Ralston certainly does not signal the beginning of heavy roster poaching by the new league. However, it does signal that with their return as a brand-name, the NASL wants to capture the attention of the American soccer audience. The addition of a US Men’s National Team and MLS veteran today makes it clear that the league looks to make a splash in 2010.

Qwest Field in Seattle hosted the 2009 MLS Cup Final

With the announcement earlier today that MLS will hold the final of the 2010 MLS Cup Playoffs at a neutral site, it seems a good time to revisit the controversy of whether this is good for the league, the teams, and their fans. Since the league began in 1996, the Final has always been played at a stadium determined before the playoffs began. Twice in the league’s 14 year history did a participating team play the final in their home stadium — DC United defeated Colorado 2-1 at RFK Stadium in 1997 and New England lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 at Gillette Stadium in 2002.

During the recent MLS Cup Final weekend in Seattle, Commissioner Don Garber was asked whether the league would switch to the final game being hosted by the team with the best playoff seeding — shouldn’t the higher seed earn some sort of advantage over their lesser opponent? The Commissioner replied that such a proposal was under consideration, but that no decision had been made for next season and beyond.

We got our answer today with MLS’s announcement that the Cup Final format would remain the same for 2010. In a statement from Garber, he explained the rational behind the decision. “We believe this format will provide an exciting environment for our fans while also allowing the necessary planning time for our key constituents. We will continue to assess the possibility of playing MLS Cup at the home stadium of the higher-seeded team in the future.”

Much of the debate in Seattle on the location of future finals was prior to the actual game taking place — a penalty-kick shootout victory by the eighth seeded Real Salt Lake over the second seeded Los Angeles Galaxy. The arguments in favor of a change in policy basically took on two themes. First, the better seeded finalist deserved an advantage over their lower seeded opponent due to their superior regular season form. Second, fans and supporters of the best team in the Cup Final should be rewarded with hosting the game close to home.

Both points are valid, but can be explained away by the current structure of the MLS Playoffs. The better seeds entering the playoffs get to host the conference championship games, giving their teams the home-field advantage they earn through success in the regular season. Their path to the Final is intended to be the most straightforward in this system. For the fans of the higher seeds, they get the chance to see their team at home in those conference championships.

Those that want to focus on the money side of the equation will point out that the two highest attendances for MLS Cup Final games were in 1997 and 2002 — both “home” games for participating clubs DC United and the New England Revolution. Mere circumstances lead to their hosting the championship, but that didn’t hurt the financial bottom-line for these two events. An MLS Cup record 61,316 attended the game in 2002, while RFK hosted 57,431 in 1997. Having a participating team host the Final sure seems to make financial sense now, doesn’t it?

Sure, if the hosting team can boast a quality stadium with a large attendance capacity, I’m sure MLS would love to have that occurrence every season. What happens if Kansas City (Community America Ballpark capacity = 10,385) or San Jose (Buck Shaw Stadium capacity = 10,300) finish with the highest seed in the playoffs — would the league allow their showcase game to be played in small, temporary stadiums? Nearby locations could be substituted, but that doesn’t seem to fit the rational for having them host the final in the first place.

For sports where the champion is determined by a series of games — baseball, basketball, hockey — it makes sense to let the better seeded team host more games. However, when the championship is settled in a winner-take-all single game format, a neutral-site location makes the most sense. Neither team is given a huge advantage over the other. This works for other soccer tournaments — FA Cup, UEFA Champions League — and the biggest sports final in the United States — The NFL’s Super Bowl. The distractions of a home-crowd disappear and the best team on the night emerges as champion. The best supporters for each club will continue to make the trek to see their team, providing an exciting environment for all in attendance.

As MLS tries to grow their Cup Final beyond just a game to “event” status, continuing to choose a neutral-site location is paramount. Weekend activities leading up the Final, which often require lengthy planning periods, create a better overall experience for the teams and their fans. The local supporters can also get involved, and perhaps develop their own enthusiasm for their local team’s future prospects. Seattle proved in 2009 that a host city can embrace the Final even without their team participating. The challenge is for future host cities to do the same.

Hmmm... Looks like I'll need to put on an extra layer.

For many of us who still play soccer recreationally, whether as weekend warriors or as part of multiple leagues all week long, the habits formed in the earlier years of training tend to stick with you like Henry’s hand to a goal-bound ball. For instance, to this day I still prefer to cut the ball from my left to my right as I dribble downfield — unfortunately a tendency that is not lost on my opponents. Even the gear I wear on the field has been shaped from my youth, where Adidas was always first choice for my boots and clothing for as long as I can remember.

Last winter I made the first significant change to my purchasing habits when I picked up a pair of Nike Ronaldinho field turf boots at the local Nike outlet store. At 75% off the list price, I was willing to give them a shot; besides, the fit was as comfortable as I had experienced for a pair of soccer boots. I wore those shoes out by the end of the summer, but not before I had stitched them back together in a couple places. It was a sad day when I finally consigned them to the garbage bin.

Recently, I was given the opportunity to review some soccer training gear, and again I decided to try the latest from Nike instead of the usual Adidas suspects. With winter approaching, I wanted to try a training shirt and shorts combo that could act as a layer underneath my regular uniform. Additionally, with my weeknight games starting at 8:30pm, a pair of gloves was also desirable.

While my first choice would have been a Pompey training kit, I decided to try out one from Arsenal instead. Perhaps wearing the cannon badge would inspire me to play more fluidly on the field like they do at the Emirates — maybe even encourage a right-to-left cut-back on my defender! Sadly, the latter did not occur when I first played wearing the training top, I was not going to be snapped up by Arsene Wenger anytime soon.

"C'mon! You can play better than that!"

The Arsenal training top from Nike has a comfortable fit, though it was a bit larger in size than the comparable Adidas size (I tried the XL). The shirt features some clever venting panels on the back that helped with perspiration removal during the course of the game. The shirt also does not chaff in the normal problem areas either; definitely a plus in my book. Overall, the workmanship was very good, and has so far proved durable through nearly a dozen wear-then-wash cycles. I’d suggest getting the next size down if you plan on using this as an undershirt, otherwise expect a loose fit. And if you don’t care for Arsenal, Nike makes training kits representing other clubs from around the world, including Barcelona and Manchester United.

Nike Arsenal Training Top 2009-2010 - Grey and Red

Probably the biggest revelation I made during this product testing came when I tried the latest gloves from Nike. To date I have made do with a pair of cross-country skiing gloves during colder evenings, but they were woefully inadequate for gripping the ball for throw-ins. The Nike Field Player Glove V — my first actual soccer glove mind you — not only serves very well in that capacity, but in also being water-resistant, they are very effective during rainy play as well. I distributed a couple pairs to some teammates, and received positive reviews back from them. The rest of the team wants to know when they are getting their pairs — don’t hold your breath guys. Because the have a weather barrier woven into the fabric, these gloves stretch very little. Be sure to order the correct size or you’ll find them too tight for comfort.

Nike Field Player Glove V - Black and Grey

We are now in December, a traditional month for gift-giving, when you might want to treat the soccer player in your life to some new gear. I’m hoping my family remembers that, as my birthday is next week — Hey, I need a new set of shin-guards; I know you’ve smelled the old ones! The courteous staff at SoccerPro made the Nike training gear available to me — thanks again guys — I have it on good authority that they carry shin-guards too…

Even the Space Needle gets made up for the MLS Cup

(Seattle, WA) — Would the big local crowds that have filled Qwest Field to watch their Sounders play all season long come out to watch the MLS Cup Final? Would supporters from Los Angeles and Salt Lake City make the trek to the Pacific Northwest to watch their clubs compete for the Championship. Would the television audience for ESPN’s broadcast continue the strong ratings earned in the previous rounds of the 2009 playoffs? I am here to report a strong affirmative on all counts — well done to all the soccer supporters here in Seattle and across the country. Your enthusiasm for MLS made for a memorable weekend in the Emerald City.

The signs that Seattle had truly embraced the label of being a soccer-mad city were evident from the top of the Space Needle to the streets surrounding Qwest Field. MLS Cup 2009 Banners hung from lampposts, storefronts were decorated with soccer themes, and various vendors were stocked up with Cup merchandise. Meanwhile in Seattle Center Park, crews spent the week painting on the logos of the Galaxy and Real Salt Lake upon the roof of the iconic Seattle tower. Additionally, the pattern of the official MLS soccer ball framed a painted replica of the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy. And while the images were only visible by helicopter (or Space Needle web-cams), they literally capped off the great build-up the MLS Cup generated this year.

On game day, Real Salt Lake fans and Galaxy fans roamed the streets of downtown Seattle resplendent in their team’s colors while wearing a varied catalog of team scarves — definitely needed on a blustery day in the low 40’s! The fish mongers at Pike Place Market gleefully flung the huge halibut and salmon over the heads of the fans, including myself as I ventured too close to the merchant’s wares. I witnessed the occasional dueling chants that rang out from small cadres of Galaxy and RSL supporters groups — complete with drums and horns in many cases — on the streets surrounding the iconic marketplace.

I ran into supporters from other MLS cities as well. Proudly wearing their DC United gear, Art and Nick were taking in the scene for the weekend. They came to Seattle to participate in the MLS Supporters Summit program the day before, but were really looking forward to the final match later that evening. For Nick, this was his 14^th MLS Cup Final — a perfect attendance record since the inception of the league — and he could name no better host city than Seattle. Well, he did promise that DC would represent well if they ever could get a stadium built!

Atop the Space Needle, fans posed for pictures on the observation deck holding aloft their scarves and framing the distant downtown and Qwest Field stadium. Inside, staying out of the lunchtime rain, I ran into the principal owner of the Philadelphia Union, Jay Sugarman, who was enjoying the sights from 520 feet in the air. He hoped that his expansion club would find the same support and excitement in the Philadelphia area that he saw from the Sounders FC fans in Seattle. With progress on their stadium in Chester proceeding well, and the introduction of their home uniform for 2010 this week, Sugarman was looking forward to assembling his club ahead of next season. I asked him not to take any Earthquakes in the expansion draft this Wednesday, but he couldn’t promise me anything!

As the afternoon continued and the weather improved to just overcast skies, the streets near Pioneer Square began filling up with Sounders supporters preparing for their traditional “March to the Match.” But instead of a uniform field of rave green uniforms, hundreds of red and blue clad RSL supporters and blue and gold Galaxy supporters joined in, filling the square to capacity. Kasey Keller and James Riley of the Sounders were there, as well as MLS Commissioner Don Garber, all mingling with the crowd of revelers. The famous Seattle Sounders FC marching band was filling the air with music, though they were often drowned out by the chants of the fans. At just under 2 hours from kick-off, the whole assemblage marched down Occidental Avenue toward Qwest Field in anticipation of the match.

Outside the stadium large groups of Real Salt Lake supporters jumped and danced around, they appeared to outnumber the Galaxy fans by at least 3 to 1. Shame on you Los Angeles fans, I expected better representation!  The celebrations continued, when at one point a group of street musicians were co-opted into providing the backing music for a choir of Galaxy supporters. The spontaneous show of revelry was equally inspiring and entertaining. In the large pre-game celebration zone, MLS players like Stuart Holden, Fredy Montero, Jimmy Conrad, Dwayne De Rosario, and others regaled patient lines of fans with handshakes and autographs. You could even get your picture taken with the MLS Cup.

As the game got underway, a capacity crowd of over 46,000 spectators rocked Qwest Field, with the sentiment certainly leaning toward the underdog Real Salt Lake. An occasional Sounders chant was heard, but more often it was the roars of approval for excellent play from both squads. I counted fans wearing uniforms from all 15 MLS clubs in attendance while wandering through the crowd. Notably, a couple of steadfast Houston Dynamo fans held aloft a bright orange Dynamo banner near midfield for much of the match. And true to my heart, I even met some Portsmouth FC faithful that now called Seattle home — Play Up Pompey!

Confetti storms that turned Qwest Field into the largest snow-globe on earth, cheerleaders urging on fans of both clubs, even a couple of attractive “trophy babes” escorting the MLS Cup into the stadium — the league went all out to provide a fantastic event to crown their champion. Oh yeah, the game was so exciting that no one wanted to see it end — this final goes down as the longest match in the 14 year history of the playoffs. I will never forget the great hosts in Seattle for making the 2009 MLS Cup Final weekend such a wonderful experience. Thank you!

In the first part of our 2009 MLS Cup Final preview, the Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles Galaxy players were assessed and compared, with a slight advantage being measured for the Galaxy. In this continuation of our analysis, attention is paid to the coaches and intangibles for both clubs.

The Coaching:

The Los Angeles Galaxy was a mess during the summer of 2008. They had just lost a 3-2 decision to the San Jose Earthquakes on a late goal by Ryan Cochrane, and a very disturbed David Beckham groused to the press after the game about the team’s lack of confidence. We would later learn in Grant Wahl’s The Beckham Experiment that this was the low point for the club. The players were not communicating, and head coach Ruud Gullit was already eyeing his exit from MLS. Just weeks later, after a sweep of the dysfunctional front office, Bruce Arena was handed the reigns to the Galaxy. Biding his time following an ignominious term as leader of Red Bull New York, Arena was prepared for the spotlight that came with coaching the world’s most famous player.

While the remainder of that year continued to be a circus at The Home Depot Center, the stage was being set for a return to prominence in 2009. Arena cleaned house of those he could or would not work with, and then brought in the mid-level veterans he knew could be successful in the MLS environment. Savvy draft picks in defenders and ex-Maryland teammates Omar Gonzales and A.J. DeLaGarza contributed immediately to a 10-game stretch to start the season that saw LA lose only once. The team began to gel around their coach, and the confidence to win grew each week. Even the summer return of Beckham couldn’t derail the Galaxy this season — Arena made sure he would integrate back into the squad seamlessly — and they went on to finish atop the Western Conference. Bruce Arena brought the Galaxy from worst to first in just one season. This Sunday marks his fourth trip to the MLS Cup Final — where he won twice at the helm of DC United — and the sixth trip for the Galaxy franchise.

Meanwhile, the scene is much different in the Beehive State, where MLS playing legend Jason Kreis is in his third year in charge of Real Salt Lake. Hired shortly after retiring as a player from the club, Kreis has quickly become a respected manager around the league. When he retired early in the 2007 season, Kreis had scored 108 career goals in MLS — good for best in league history at the time. That attack-minded attitude became his trademark when it came to tactical decisions at RSL. By employing constant pressure on their opponents, Salt Lake continues to create myriad scoring opportunities. His win/lose/tie record is nothing to be excited about, but his teams have done enough to get into the playoffs the past two seasons. A near miss in last years Western Conference Finals was redeemed with passage through the Eastern Conference Championship this post season. He preaches self-belief and hard work to his charges, most exemplified by midfielder Kyle Beckerman, and a never-give-up attitude. Always considered the underdog in these playoffs, especially when it comes to road games, Kreis has employed his attack-first mentality to perfection in toppling two very tough opponents in Columbus and Chicago.

Advantage: Los Angeles Galaxy — Arena has the trophies to prove it.

The Intangibles:

There are few certainties in sports — that’s why they play the games — save for the underdog crying out for respect against a seemingly undefeatable opponent. Since the 2009 playoffs began, Real Salt Lake has worn the underdog label with aplomb. Their surprising success in reaching the MLS Cup would not have been predicted entering their final game of the season against the Colorado Rapids. With just one win in their five prior matches, RSL required a win over their Rocky Mountain rivals just to sneak into the playoffs as the eighth seed (after winning tiebreakers against those same Rapids and DC United) with 40 points. Their season ending form was just average, but their playoff form has risen to another level. They have all the confidence in the world after two straight road victories, and look forward to their match in Seattle.

The field and weather conditions on Sunday should help Real Salt Lake as well as their attitude. Qwest Field offers up the much maligned artificial playing surface the club may remember from their days playing on a similar field at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Utah. Additionally, the weather will be very cool, with a good chance of rain — much closer to what you’d see in their home state and not sunny Southern California.

Lastly, the inspiring story of midfielder Andy Williams’ wife’s battle against cancer has helped the team rally around the cause. Williams has continued to impress even with the weight of those personal issues, and his teammates will be eager to reward his dedication.

Down in Los Angeles, the three year soap opera of Galaxy soccer that has followed David Beckham’s historic signing reaches a more stable stage with their MLS Cup Final appearance. As mentioned earlier, LA was last in the league at the end of 2008 and looking nothing like the Super-Club that former GM Alexi Lalas imagined them to be. What the guidance of Bruce Arena and the leadership of veteran signings like Gregg Berhalter and Tony Sanneh have been able to do for the club is impressive. Sanneh in particular has been a revelation for the club, without haven’t logged very many meaningful minutes during 2009. Virtually out of the game when Arena signed him earlier this year, the veteran has brought professionalism to the club that many felt was lacking. Add in other veterans like Chris Klein and Eddie Lewis, and there is a swagger to the Galaxy’s play that was missing during three prior years of missing the post season.

And, of course, there is David Beckham. The face of MLS is on the precipice of achieving a remarkable feat in professional soccer — league championships for three different clubs in as many countries. Beckham has been often criticized for his seemingly disinterested approach to playing in the U.S., but nobody watching this post season can fault him for his efforts. His intensity on the field, sometimes viewed as a form of petulance, can lift an entire team to success. Now on the biggest stage for soccer in America, David Beckham will want to add MLS Champion to his resume.

Advantage: Los Angeles Galaxy — The Beckham Experiment will be a success.

That completes the two final categories to consider for this MLS Cup Final preview. The indicators overwhelmingly point to the Los Angeles Galaxy as the team better prepared to beat Real Salt Lake. Thus, the stage is set for the Galaxy to hoist their third MLS Championship trophy this Sunday in Seattle.

Before the playoffs began, the consensus was that the teams in the Western Conference were more prepared to the lift the MLS Cup in Seattle on November 22^nd. Little did we know then how prophetic that sentiment was, as we now have both entries in the Final representing the West. The Los Angeles Galaxy — the top seed out of the West entering the post-season — and Real Salt Lake — vanquishers of the best the East had to offer — face off at Qwest Field with the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy at stake.

In a two-part article to conclude tomorrow, we’ll break down the aspects of both teams going into the Final. Today we’ll focus on the players — tomorrow the coaching and intangibles. And while LA versus RSL may not be the glamour match-up that some had hoped for (sorry Cuauhtemoc Blanco), the storylines for MLS Cup XIV are nonetheless compelling.

The Offense:

The Los Angeles Galaxy relies heavily on their team captain Landon Donovan to spark the offense. Not only as a goal-scorer (12 on the season), Donovan plays the role of provider as well (6 assists) for a Galaxy team that scored the second fewest goals in the Western Conference. “The Specialist” David Beckham also plays a big part of the offense — see his pinpoint cross to Donovan in the Chivas USA first round, second leg victory that set-up the winning goal. Looking past the star power, the players that need to step up in the attacking third are strikers Edson Buddle and Mike Magee. Neither player has shined this season, especially an injury-slowed Buddle; however, if either player can take advantage of the service expected from Donovan and Beckham, they will get scoring opportunities against a rather ordinary RSL defense.

Salt Lake enters the MLS Cup Final with a Jekyll-and-Hyde offense — a dominating performance against the Columbus Crew in the first round, and a scoreless draw in the Eastern Conference Final — that relies on the dynamic Robbie Findley and Fabian Espindola, with a possible replacement in Yura Movsisyan. Unfortunately for RSL, their strikers have not finished the excellent scoring opportunities afforded them throughout the 2009 season. Now would be a great time for leading scorer Findley to regain his form, and Movsisyan — with one foot out the MLS door — needs to focus on this game.

Advantage: Los Angeles Galaxy — proven leadership and experience.

The Midfield:

Real Salt Lake unquestionably has quality and depth in the midfield. Attacking midfielder Javier Morales, in tandem with Kyle Beckerman, give the Lakers a potent duo in the center of the field. Both looked sharp so far this post-season, and will be asked to show poise in controlling possession in Seattle. Out on the wings young Canadian Will Johnson and the veteran Andy Williams provide good skill going forward, but are somewhat limited in their defensive play. Against Chicago, the midfield quartet sparkled at times — they must continue that form to keep the possession advantage in favor of RSL.

While Landon Donovan tends to contribute primarily in the attack, David Beckham often plays over the entire field. When Beckham drifts back into the defensive midfield role, he is quite effective. However, the Galaxy offense suffers without him pressing forward. LA needs Dema Kovalenko to take over the responsibility of being the primary defensive midfielder. Out on the wings, Eddie Lewis and Chris Klein have the skill and experience to make their impact in the Cup Final. Beckham holds the key for this group — he wil dictate whether they succeed of fail this Sunday.

Advantage: Real Salt Lake — better overall quality.

The Defense:

The Los Angeles Galaxy was the worst defensive team in 2008, so they could only be expected to improve this season. Central defending partners Gregg Berhalter and Omar Gonzalez have proven to be a dominating force in the middle for the Galaxy, as they anchored a squad that let in half as many goals (31 versus 62) in 2009 as compared to last season. Combined with outside backs Sean Franklin, Todd Dunivant, and A.J. DeLaGarza, Los Angeles boasts a very stingy back line. Any post-season jitters were exorcised in the first round, first leg match with Chivas USA, and the Galaxy has not conceded a goal in more than 250 minutes of playoff action. Throw in the dominating presence of goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, and Los Angeles appears primed to continue that scoreless streak this Sunday.

Real Salt Lake is no slouch on defense either with talisman Jamison Olave leading his back four. But the real hero in Salt Lake is goalkeeper Nick Rimando. Not an imposing figure at just 5’-9”, Rimando clearly knows his positioning during the flow of play and on set pieces. He masterfully controlled the Eastern Conference Final shoot-out with three saves on the Chicago Fire. Even when he didn’t reach the ball, he guessed which way to go on all but one shot. Rimando may be the perfect antidote to David Beckham’s set piece danger in the Final.

Advantage: Los Angeles Galaxy — they have found the right combination.

The Bench:

RSL do not feature a marquee player the likes of Donovan or Beckham; instead they feature a roster of consistent performers. Beyond their starting XI, the Lakers field a substitutes’ bench highlighted by former USMNT hero Clint Mathis. The midfielder has often been called into games this season late in the second half to provide poise in possession and a dangerous addition to the offense. In the attack, whichever of the three front-line strikers doesn’t start the game will certainly take the field before the final whistle. Last week against Chicago it was Espindola, but Movsisyan has often played that role this season. Finally, penalty kick hero Ned Grabavoy provides ample relief in the midfield. A very solid player, Grabavoy can cover in defense when the team is leading or contribute confidently in the attack if RSL needs some late game offensive heroics.

If the Galaxy has one weakness as a team, it is with their bench. Whether due to injuries or out-of-form players, LA will notice some significant drop-off in quality when their substitutes are called upon. Attacking players Jovan Kirovski and Alan Gordon are experienced, but don’t start for a reason. Gordon especially seems to be a roll of the dice when he plays — great at times against Houston last week, but other times often ineffective. In the midfield, national team players Eddie Lewis and Chris Birchall could spark the Galaxy offense if needed late in the game.

Advantage: Real Salt Lake — Mathis is the man.

One of the lessons learned in this post season was how futile it was to predict the winners of the matches ahead of time. In a league that features a competitive balance among its member teams, forecasting match results may as well be done with the flip of a coin. Having said that, and by looking at the players expected to see action this Sunday in Seattle, the Los Angeles Galaxy seems to possess the edge in quality and experience. However, there are more factors that need to be considered before making a pick for the 2009 MLS Cup — we’ll turn our attention to the coaching and intangibles in tomorrow’s continuation of the Final preview.

The second round of the MLS Cup Playoffs has the two higher seeds in each conference hosting their opponents from last week’s match-ups. In the four matches from last week, the home teams either tied or won leaving the seeded favorites with work to do if they hope to advance to the conference finals. The path seems more difficult in the Eastern Conference, where the Columbus Crew and the Chicago Fire each trail in their aggregate-goal series by a one-goal deficit. Starting tonight at Crew Stadium and ending Saturday in Bridgeview, Illinois, the pressure is on for the two best teams in the east.

In the Western Conference, the higher seeds faired much better in their first matches. Both the Houston Dynamo and the Los Angeles Galaxy earned hard-fought draws against their respective opponents the Seattle Sounders FC and Chivas USA. The schedule makers treat us to a doubleheader on Sunday, with Robertson Stadium doing their best Qwest Field impersonation — but splashed in orange — for the second seeded Dynamo, and the Home Depot Center hosting the two Los Angeles clubs. Because of the drawn first games, these return leg contests are winner-take-all.

On the surface, it is fair to say that the playoff results have been as expected. Predictably defensively minded match-ups in the Western Conference were borne out in Seattle and Los Angeles. The scoreless draw at Qwest Field seems to favor Houston going into their game this Sunday, but they will need to keep in mind that last year saw them in the same situation, and they went on to lose 3-0 to the New York Red Bulls. No one in Dynamo Orange wants to repeat their home collapse of 2008; the team will not take this year’s opponent as lightly. Back at the HDC, host Chivas USA and the Galaxy did eventually draw 2-2, but not because of good attacking soccer, rather as a result of poor defending. Take away the brutal displays at both ends of the field and that match was evenly played throughout. The total defensive calamity should not be repeated the second time around as the Galaxy assumes the title as “home team.”

The Eastern Conference week one results were equally predictable. Neither host dominated play, but did enough to finish with one-goal advantages heading into their return leg matches. Real Salt Lake preserved a 1-0 victory over the scoring-challenged Crew — no goals in nearly four straight games — in a rather pedestrian affair. Columbus returns home with a line-up that should include reigning league MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto and playmaker Alejandro Moreno, both missing from the first game, making the prospects for the Crew that much more promising. The Chicago Fire returns home after having surrendered a one-goal lead to the New England Revolution in a 2-1 loss at Gillette Stadium. They will need to halt the momentum of the Revs with a win at Toyota Park to keep their season alive.

Will all four higher seeds advance to the MLS Cup playoff semi-finals this week? Based on the results of the last week, the answer appears to be an unequivocal “yes.” However, history tells us otherwise, as a dramatic number of higher seeded teams have lost to their lower ranked opponents in these aggregate-goal home-and-home playoff series since they were instituted by MLS in 2003. Out of the 24 series in the past six years, the higher seed has advanced in just 15 — a winning percentage of 63%. The prospects for the higher seeds get even worse when looking at the specific circumstances the four teams are in this year. 7 out of 12 times (58%) the higher team survived after losing the first leg of the series, and 4 out of 7 times (57%) the higher team advanced after a first match draw. If the past is a good predictor of the future, that unequivocal “yes” becomes an obvious “no.” Only in that first year (2003) did all four higher seeds manage to make it to their conference finals, and as many as three higher seeds have been eliminated (2005) after the first round.

So, there has to be an upset this year, right? As we’ve discussed, history tells us this is most likely. The playoff adage that “anything can happen” should be better phrased as “something will happen.” I would argue that the playoff seedings are essentially meaningless given that the higher seed does not really gain an advantage in the current playoff structure. Sure, they get to host the second game of the series in front of their home fans, which could include any necessary extra-time and penalty kick shootouts, but that doesn’t significantly outweigh the fact that they still play at the lower seed in game one. In fact, because team parity is the rule in MLS, it should come as no surprise that the higher seed has survived only 63% of the time since 2003.

Given that the higher seeds in the Eastern Conference have the more difficult path to the semi-finals due to their one-goal deficits, the most likely team to suffer at the hands of a lower seed is the Chicago Fire. For this, look no further than their home record over the 2009 regular season. The Fire weren’t much more than an average team at Toyota Park, gaining only 5 wins out of 15 home matches. Needing a win on Saturday to keep their season alive, the Fire will need to buck that regular season trend. Also not in favor of the Fire is their scoring output at home, just 16 goals (and 17 goals allowed) in 2009. The statistics suggest a New England result in this match-up, and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.

While I still expect the other higher seeds to advance, including my overall pick for the MLS Cup — the Houston Dynamo — the Fire look to be the odd team out this postseason. Sorry Chicago, better luck in 2010.

Former DC United Coach Tom Soehn

Earlier this morning came the news that DC United coach Tom Soehn would not seek to extend his current contract with the team. Set to expire at the end of this year, Soehn will instead leave the club he has been a part of for the past six seasons – three years as an assistant and three as the head coach. In all competitions in his three years in charge, Soehn compiled a W-L-T record of 55-48-31. Major accomplishments include the Supporters Shield in 2007 and the US Open Cup in 2008.

Contrary to what some are writing, Tom Soehn was not fired by the club. Instead, he will not seek to stay beyond his current contact. After the final game of the season, DC United President and CEO Kevin Payne indicated that any offer to Soehn to return in 2010 as coach would be evaluated over the following month. Without the assurances from management that he would get a contract extension, Soehn appears to have taken the first step toward other opportunities. With the announcement of his leaving, Payne wished Soehn all the best in his future endeavors.

Tom Soehn took a great deal of criticism from the media and supporters of DC United over the past year. The Red and Black’s failure to qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs was the latest example of the club underachieving in 2009. Soccer expectations are always high in our nation’s capital, where reaching the finals of the US Open Cup and coming a goal away from qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League knockout round were not considered enough. Soehn was roundly condemned for his line-up and substitution decisions over the course of 2009, despite dealing with an aging roster, numerous injuries, and a brutal schedule (by MLS standards) of 42 games. His tactics were rightfully criticized, but his dedication to the club cannot be ignored.

As announced by DC United, General Manager Dave Kasper begins the search for a new head coach today – maybe Richie Williams should keep his phone handy – in preparation for the 2010 season. As for Kasper’s thoughts on Tom Soehn, “He is a bright young coach who has a big career ahead of him. I wish him continued success with his next coaching position and his family the best of luck always.” Good luck, indeed.

photo courtesy Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com

What was Pat Onstad thinking? How could he lose his cool so suddenly in the most important game in the Dynamo’s season? A dangerous cross came through the penalty area, just out of his reach, and continued over the byline. Sure, replays show Fredy Montero obstructing the goalkeeper, but not in any way dangerously. Besides, he has as much right to get position on the cross as Onstad. So when the ‘keeper charged the young striker, chest-first, knocking him to the ground, a red card from referee Ricardo Salazar was certainly next. The Dynamo would be down to 10 men, without their veteran goalkeeper for the rest of this game and the return leg in Houston, and looking at a second successive first round exit in the MLS Cup playoffs. However, Salazar conferred with his officiating crew and proceeded to display a yellow card to Onstad. The Seattle crowd roared furiously, viewers across the nation were left scratching their heads – even the announcers seemed to be surprised.

Perhaps if the push had occurred on any other player than Fredy Montero, there would have been a red card. Unfortunately for the young Colombian, he has developed a reputation throughout MLS for his unsporting tactics. So while Onstad escaped with a yellow card, Montero was also booked for his part in the altercation. As Kartik Krishnaiyer introduces in the previous article, these often despicable actions do little to endear Montero to the general American soccer fan. Even some Seattle supporters have expressed their displeasure at the perceived cheating. He is still early in his career, and one hopes that Montero can learn to use his skills with the ball to find success in MLS – not his dives.

On the play that could have changed the whole complexion of this playoff series, Pat Onstad explained his side. “He just picked me and, to be honest, I just gave him a super-light bump,” he said to reporters after the game. “He went down like he normally does and rolled around a few times. I think if it had been Nate Jaqua, he would’ve just brushed his shoulder like there was a fly buzzing him.”

Onstad may be underselling his part in the altercation. Replays show the goalkeeper visibly upset at Montero’s actions, and the “super-light bump” was given with heavy intent. According to a report from the referees, a yellow card was given instead of a red because of the action of the push – no hands or head, just the chest. However, it seemed clear that there was malicious behind the push, and could have easily been awarded with an ejection from the game. Onstad was saved by the poor reputation of Montero, a point he referred to in further post-game comments: “[T]hat’s Fredy. I knew as soon as I bumped, ‘That’s the wrong guy to bump, Pat.” So, I got what I deserved and I’m sure the referee felt [Montero] embellished a little bit.”

Give credit to the referees in this hotly contested match. Both the Houston Dynamo and Seattle Sounders FC earned eight red cards apiece during the regular season. The Dynamo in particular was being labeled in the media as being “undisciplined.” Preparation prior to the game for the officiating crew must have entailed the profiling of players most likely to inflict dangerous play. The Onstad/Montero incident occurred in the 15^th minute of the match, with each earning a yellow card. With the precedent set for the remainder of the game, only four more yellows were issued, despite a number of other reckless and dangerous tackles. Should the head referee Ricardo Salazar made more of a statement early with a sending off of Pat Onstad (and perhaps Montero as well?) Fortunately he did not, and despite the early fireworks, as exciting a scoreless draw as you will see played out.

Houston visits Seattle in MLS Cup playoffs

Our reward for enduring through 32 weeks of regular season matches is a fascinating final four in the Western Conference playoffs. While the Chivas USA versus Galaxy doubleheader in Los Angeles stacks up to be a tough defensive struggle for both squads, expect fireworks from the Houston Dynamo and the Seattle Sounders FC. The Sounders won twice against Houston in Seattle this season – once in the regular season and once in the US Open Cup playoffs – and will hope to repeat that result when the two teams face off in game one of their MLS Cup playoff matchup tonight at Qwest Field. Houston will have their full squad available this time around, and hope the phrase “third time’s a charm” holds true. Over 33,000 fans are expected to attend the expansion team’s first foray into postseason soccer, creating what will be a formidable home field advantage for the Sounders. Game time is 10pm on the east coast, 7pm out west – this is beyond a doubt Thursday night “Must See TV!”

Does Seattle have what it takes to win tonight? Home and home playoff series have historically been toss-ups for the #2 seed versus #3 seed pairing in MLS. The key in this aggregate goals format is a strong start in game one. After a lull during the middle of the season, Seattle has recaptured their confidence with a string of strong performances both away from home and on the artificial turf of Qwest Field. However, can this team adjust to the pressures of the MLS playoffs? The experience will be new for many of those wearing the Green and Blue, but not for two of their key players – Freddie Ljungberg and Kasey Keller. Ljungberg, from his central midfielder position, has orchestrated the last two Seattle wins, tallying four assists from their 5 goals. The Swede international should relish the chance to prove himself on the big stage that defines the American sports playoffs. On the defensive side of the ball, Keller and his defensive four finished the MLS season allowing a league low 10 goals at home. The veteran goalkeeper provides the confidence and leadership that will make it tough for Houston to break through tonight.

The key for Seattle is the play of their strikers – Freddy Montero and Nate Jaqua. The two combined for 21 goals and 14 assists this season, eye-popping numbers for an expansion team. They face a Houston Dynamo defense that should be at full strength, not the makeshift lineup they faced in their two victories earlier this season. With Ljungberg providing the service, Montero and Jaqua will need to convert on their scoring chances in order to gain the victory tonight. The Seattle defense is ready to do their part, getting a result beyond a draw will be up to the forwards.

Will Houston regain their playoff swagger after last season’s early exit? Seattle says all the right things, but they must be happy just to get to the playoffs in their inaugural season. Houston expects to be in the postseason every year, and believes they will triumph in the MLS Cup Final. The devastating loss to New York Red Bulls in 2008 – the biggest playoffs upset in MLS history – should provide ample motivation this time around. Dom Kinnear’s veteran squad was criticized for playing on cruise control during stretches of the regular season, often displaying a lack in discipline along the way. Still, the Dynamo finished the season with the second best record in the Western Conference. Players like Brian Ching, Ricardo Clark, Pat Onstad, and Brad Davis have extensive playoff experience – they can help lead their team past the overconfidence of last season toward redemption in 2009.

Let’s not forget the emerging stars on the Dynamo, midfielder Stuart Holden and defender Geoff Cameron. Look for both players to make a difference in these playoffs beyond just tonight. Confidence never seems to be missing from Holden’s game, and along with Davis, he will provide plenty of spark and energy to the Dynamo offense. Against a Seattle defense that gives up very little at home, Holden and Davis could prove to be the difference makers in stealing a result ahead of their return match in Houston.

What is the key for Seattle? Simply, Freddie Ljungberg needs to play the role of creator for the offense. Before their come from behind victory against FC Dallas in the closing game of the 2009 season, the Sounders had been held scoreless over four games. The packed house at Qwest Field should be all the motivation Seattle needs to find the back of the net. Ljungberg has the experience and verve to make that happen.

What is Houston looking for in this match? Getting off to a fast start will help immeasurably in this match. Not only will the confidence of their less experienced opponent be damaged, but an early goal would help quiet the huge sellout crowd. If Ricardo Clark can limit Ljungberg’s effectiveness, the Dynamo will be poised to leave Seattle with nothing less than a draw.

What can we expect? Seattle will want to bank as many goals as possible before the second game in Houston – no easy task given their paucity of scoring at home and the resoluteness of the Dynamo defense. Their fan base already dreams of filling up Qwest Field for the Western Conference Championship and the MLS Cup Finals, and will be loud from the opening whistle. The Houston Dynamo, not shackled with the “playoff favorite” label that weighed them down in 2008, look to survive their trip to Seattle with at least a draw, setting up momentum for the return leg in Houston next week. Expect both teams to find their scoring touch tonight, with the game ending in a pulsating 1-1 draw.

Former Toronto FC coach, Chris Cummins

With the not too surprising news this morning that Chris Cummins is out as coach of Toronto FC, let’s look at the rest of the coaching candidates for dismissal in MLS. Starting from the team with the worst record in the league, the New York Red Bulls, and working our way up the table, these men should be feeling the pressure from team owners for failing to qualify for the postseason.

Richie Williams – Red Bull New York: When Juan Carlos Osario announced he was resigning as manager of New York on August 21^st, his assistant coach Richie Williams stepped in as the interim coach for the remainder of the season. Williams also held this post for six weeks in 2006, when he took over for the fired Mo Johnston, before Bruce Arena was hired later that summer. Bottom line: Williams has served admirably guiding a club that had little chance of affecting the playoff picture just one year after reaching the MLS Cup finals. With NYRB moving into a new stadium next year, and looking to make a splash in the media by hiring a “big-name” coach, everyone expects Williams to resume his career as an assistant in 2010. Also, don’t be surprised if Jeff Agoos is jettisoned from his post as Sporting Director – news has already leaked that the team was talking with ex-Chelsea boss Avram Grant about taking over both duties, before he accepted a similar offer from Portsmouth FC in the EPL.

Frank Yallop – San Jose Earthquakes: This one is tricky. While the first year expansion club Seattle Sounders FC enjoys their trip to the playoffs, the Earthquakes 2.0 version finished bottom of the Western Conference for the second straight year. On the surface, it would seem that Yallop, and General Manager John Doyle, should be facing all sorts of pressure from ownership and supporters. However, in late August, owner Lew Wolff publicly supported his management duo in comments to the media. The dreaded “vote of confidence” usually means it is time to pack your bags – but Yallop is not under any pressure at all, and continues to be revered by large numbers of the local community for his past accomplishments. Excuses about player injuries contributing to the team’s poor results might be valid, but not getting the most out of the roster through curious position assignments? Clearly those are coaching decisions that should have him held accountable. Instead, a strange optimism permeates the club as they go into the off season expecting virtually the same roster back for 2010. Yallop might be safe for now, but expect him to be fired if San Jose gets off to a third successive poor start in league play.

Peter Vermes – Kansas City Wizards: The Wizards are the second team on our list that ended the 2009 regular season with a different coach then the beginning. When Curt Onalfo was dismissed in early August, Peter Vermes stepped in to try to rescue what was quickly becoming a lost season. After making the playoffs in 2008, ownership expected much of the same (see: NYRB) in 2009. With expectations for Vermes minimal, KC finished the year with only 12 points over their last 12 games. The fact that he is still carrying the label of interim head coach suggests that management will look to fill the coaching vacancy with a more proven commodity. Knowing how well he was received by his players, perhaps the Wizards should remove the interim from his title and let Vermes guide this team from the start of 2010.

Schellas Hyndman – FC Dallas: After riding the second half scoring explosion of MLS Golden Boot winner Jeff Cunningham, as well as his much improved defensive back four, Schellas Hyndman appears to have done enough to earn the privilege of returning for the 2010 season. The sting of missing out on the postseason after the 2-1 come-from-ahead loss to Seattle last Saturday was the first negative result for the club in over a month. After their recent visit to San Jose, a 2-1 victory, Hyndman was visibly pleased with the late season success that put his team in contention for the playoffs. The players said all the right things about their coach as well. Don’t expect ownership to disrupt the team now. Instead, FC Dallas will look for coaching consistency through the winter, and a momentum carrying winning start to 2010.

Chris Cummins – Toronto FC: The first casualty in MLS coaching ranks occurred this morning with the dismissal of interim head coach Chris Cummins. This came as know surprise given how ingloriously Toronto exited the playoff chase with their 5-0 drubbing at the hands of New York. Already having fired John Carver earlier in the season, TFC management has made it clear that qualifying for the postseason was expected this season. Enjoying a passionate fan base that clearly desires success, the third year MLS club anticipated being among the league’s best teams. Even with marquee signings like Dwayne De Rosario and Julian de Guzman, Toronto could not play up to their expectations, and the club was forced to make Cummins the scapegoat heading into another disappointing off-season.

Tom Soehn – DC United: Probably the coach with the next best chance of being fired, Tom Soehn endured a difficult season at the flagship club of MLS. Often criticized in the media for his questionable player formations and tactics, Soehn oversaw an ambitious 2009 schedule that saw DCU contest the US Open Cup final (a loss to Seattle), the group stages of the CONCACAF Champions League (elimination before the quarterfinals), and a near miss of the MLS Cup playoffs (a late KC Wizards penalty kick away from qualifying in the last game of the season.) As he completes the last year on a three year contract, management has stated that they will take their time evaluating their head coach over the next month. Reading between the lines, it looks like DC United will quietly approach possible replacements for Soehn, and then make a coaching change later this year. Missing out on the playoffs for two seasons running, after consecutive seasons of winning the Supporters Shield, does not endear Tom Soehn to the supporters of this fine organization.

Gary Smith – Colorado Rapids: The interim coach in 2008, Gary Smith assumed full responsibility for the Rapids this season. For most of the summer, Colorado seemed poised to make the postseason, but a string of draws against lesser opponents (twice against the San Jose Earthquakes in the space of a week), and a crushing 3-0 loss to Rocky Mountain rivals Real Salt Lake, leaves Smith’s squad as the last team out of qualification. Featuring a potent scoring duo of Conor Casey and Omar Cummings, the prognosis for this club going into 2009 was a low playoff seed. Smith had remarked in early September that the club targeted 40 points for a playoff position. Well, mission accomplished on that front – too bad RSL also reached 40 points, and then held the head-to-head tiebreaker courtesy of their last game victory. Colorado will rue their late season fade, but don’t expect Smith to be fired this off-season. However, like Frank Yallop in San Jose, look ahead to Gary Smith needing to start the 2010 season strong in order to keep his job.

What about the coaches currently involved in the MLS Cup chase? Barring an embarrassing performance in the quarterfinals, none of the eight playoff bound coaches need worry about their job security at this time. They have earned their place by measuring up to the standard of success in MLS.

The MLS cup is up for grabs

A thrilling weekend of MLS matches ended Sunday evening with the New England Revolution claiming the final playoff spot after their 1-0 win at the Columbus Crew. Needing only a draw to advance, given the string of events that took place on Saturday, the Revs made sure they would advance when Jeff Larentowicz hammered home a spectacular and unstoppable 79^th minute free kick that is sure to garner significant Goal-of-the-Week consideration. If New England had somehow faltered at Crew Stadium last night, the Colorado Rapids were poised to claim the last available playoff spot. Instead, the Western Conference has to settle for 3 of 4 wildcard slots – with Real Salt Lake moving over into the Eastern Conference bracket as the fourth seed.

Five teams from the West and three teams from the East – the opposite of what we saw in last season’s MLS Cup playoffs. The consensus in 2008 was that the Eastern Conference was clearly superior to their western counterpart, an opinion backed up by the stunning run of the New York Red Bulls to the Cup Finals out of the Western Conference bracket. (They also claimed a small piece of silverware as the “Western Conference Champions” – explain that one to the casual soccer fan!) This season, momentum has swung out West, where undoubtedly 4 of the best 5 teams in MLS reside. Apologies to the Chicago Fire, but only the Columbus Crew can stand toe-to-toe with the West’s Big Four. So while I expect the Crew will be flying into Seattle later in November to defend their MLS Cup win of a year ago, three weeks of mouth-watering matches out west will determine their opponent.

Top seed LA Galaxy faces their intercity rival CD Chivas USA; the Houston Dynamo takes on the expansion darlings Seattle Sounders FC. What fan of MLS doesn’t want to see these intriguing and fascinating pairings. Some of the league’s biggest stars will be on display in these matches – including the biggest one of all, David Beckham. But let’s not forget Ljungberg, Donovan, Holden, Kljestan, Keller, Ching, Bornstein, Clark, and Montero – the faces of Major League Soccer doing battle in a quest for the Cup. Two straight Superclassico matches at the Home Depot Center – two straight chances to watch Beckham and Donovan avoid the hardest tackling team in MLS. Two standing-room-only crowds urging on their clubs, with all the noise, chants, drums, banners, and taunts a soccer fan could ask for. Up north at Qwest Field, the Sounders fans will put on their own brand of frenzied support – c’mon Houston, time to rally around your club and fill up Robertson Stadium for the return leg. There is no doubt we are in for an exciting time watching the Western Conference bracket draw down to one.

How about this scenario: by the end of the second weekend in November, the dust will have settled on the Western Conference playoffs, and for the third time in four years, the Houston Dynamo will be poised to win the MLS Championship. After exacting their revenge on Seattle in the second leg of their first round tie, the Dynamo will travel to Carson, California and methodically break down the defense of the Galaxy in a 3-1 triumph. The class of the Western Conference in this decade – including their years in San Jose – will cap off 2009 with another MLS Cup.

Of course the regular season matters – congratulations to the Columbus Crew on winning the Supporters Shield for the second season in a row – but the playoffs are where memories are made. This past weekend gave us a taste of that win-or-go-home sensation across the Week #32 schedule – the perfect appetizer for the MLS Final Eight. However, the regular season is behind us, and the playoffs begin this Thursday. While I’ll have an eye on what is happening out east, my focus will be squarely on the battles in the west. For the teams involved in the 2009 edition of the MLS Cup playoffs, the West is surely the best.

The end of the regular season has put me in a contemplative mood. Not only because I am left trying to figure out how the San Jose Earthquakes missed the postseason again, but because I am asked to fill out my 2009 MLS Awards Ballot. Following the Quakes as closely as I do, I enjoy access to players and coaches from all MLS teams as they make their way through Buck Shaw Stadium. As I study my choices for Coach of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and so on, I look back on those interactions and interviews for clues that will help my decisions. With that in mind, I don’t hesitate to fill in the name for Most Valuable Player – Jeff Cunningham of FC Dallas.

For most of the 2009 season, San Jose and Dallas remained rooted at the foot of the Western Conference standings. Each week I’d calculate how the Quakes could surpass the Hoops and perhaps make a run up the table. Saturday, June 7^th, saw the Earthquakes visit Pizza Hut Park with a chance to jump over their bottom feeding rivals – but a late Kenny Cooper goal tied the game at 2-2. San Jose would never get any closer to Dallas in the standings as they slowly faded away over the long summer.

FC Dallas would also continue to struggle as the season approached the halfway mark. Poor defending kept them from making up ground to any of their conference rivals. It was becoming apparent that Cooper would be leaving in the summer transfer window, while Cunningham was lacking any scoring productivity up front. Crowds at Pizza Hut Park were well below 10 thousand and the supporters were getting frustrated.

But then a remarkable turnaround began, started by the signings of Heath Pearce and Jair Benitez in defense and the resurgence of Cunningham as an offensive threat. The Jamaican-born forward, now a citizen of the United States, scored twice against the New York Red Bulls on Independence Day in a 2-1 victory. He collected Player of the Week honors with that accomplishment – an award he would go on to win three more times over the second half of the season. By the end of July, Pearce and Benitez had shored up the defensive line, and Cunningham was tallying scores at a blistering pace. In a 6-0 victory over Kansas City on August 1^st, he scored four times to set a single-game career high. The once US Men’s National Team member has gone on to score 16 goals during his last 14 games, an incredible accomplishment that now has him leading MLS in scoring with 17 goals – one more than the Colorado Rapids’ Conor Casey. Tack on his league fourth-best 8 assists and Cunningham clearly shines brightest as MLS’s most potent offensive force.

The renaissance in Frisco, Texas had gone relatively unnoticed by the rest of the league as no one gave the Hoops much chance of making it to the MLS Cup playoffs. When a road game against the hapless San Jose Earthquakes rolled around earlier this month, Dallas was sitting at 33 points in the Western Conference, but riding a 5-3-1 streak since the All-Star break. In a league built on competitive parity, I had seen the Quakes do something similar in 2008 – rise from obscurity to contend for the postseason. Might this Dallas squad be following that same destiny?

That mid-week match at Buck Shaw Stadium was the home finale for San Jose, and they certainly wanted to give their supporters something to cheer about in an otherwise dismal year. However, Cunningham and his teammates would have none of that, as they dispatched of the Quakes with relative ease 2-1. Cunningham assisted on the first goal by David Ferreira, and then finished off the game in the 81^st minute with his league leading 17^th goal of the campaign. As the somber crowd filtered out of the stadium, the Dallas victory officially eliminating San Jose from the playoff race, and I made my way to the visitor’s locker room to meet the Man of the Match myself. After a brief interview with Coach Schellas Hyndman, where he praised the playmaking of his star forward, I joined a small group of reporters waiting for Cunningham to emerge from the showers.

With his straggly beard and small frame, Jeff Cunningham does not strike an imposing figure. The mercurial forward is playing for his fifth team in as many seasons, and the rumors are that he was not a good presence in the locker room. I have experienced inaccessible players before, and braced myself for another such encounter. Instead, I was met with a smile and a friendly hand shake. He quickly impressed me with how quick he was to praise the defensive line. “You should be talking to those guys, not me” he said as he pointed out Pearce and Benitez at the other end of the room. Goalkeeper Dario Sala was also commended before the attention turned back onto his game night heroics.

He exuded confidence when describing his performance on the night, outwardly scolding himself for not converting on two scoring chances he had in the first half. The game winning goal was not a classic, just a simple finish from a well weighted Dax McCarty through-ball, but it did give him 17 goals on the season and the league lead. When I asked him specifically about the race for the MLS Golden Boot, Cunningham was very candid with his reply. “It means so much to me. I think about it often, I can’t sleep sometimes because I’m thinking I really need to do well in this game. I was thinking about (Conor) Casey somewhere in his hotel room (currently preparing with the USMNT) watching this game and it put added pressure on me. I need to keep the pressure on Casey.”

This wasn’t the standard one-game-at-a-time variety of response; rather, Cunningham was honestly stating his desire to be the scoring champion in MLS. I appreciated his almost cocky answer, and the notion that his single minded focus on scoring provided him with so much motivation. FC Dallas has benefited from his prolific scoring as well, and currently stand tied for the last playoff position going into the final weekend of the season. Cunningham relishes the idea of making it into the postseason. “We’ve been playing some good football the last month, two months, really since the All-Star game. If we make it in, there are going to be a few teams afraid to face us.”

Even if FC Dallas does not qualify for the postseason, the efforts of Jeff Cunningham cannot be discounted. Without his goals and assists, we wouldn’t even be discussing the realistic probability that the Hoops sneak into the playoffs with the seventh or eighth seed. Forwards are paid to score goals – without them a team is doomed to mediocrity – making them the most valuable commodity on the roster. To me, Cunningham is the best forward in MLS this season. He deserves the league’s Most Valuable Player award.

As the CONCACAF Champions League group stage entered its last week, all three MLS representatives were still with a chance of qualification to the knockout round of the competition. Results through Wednesday night have cleared up the fates of the Columbus Crew and the Houston Dynamo, while DC United must sweat out the last Group B game taking place tonight.

Let’s start with what we do know – Columbus will enter the quarterfinals after their 1-1 draw away to the Puerto Rico Islanders while Houston is eliminated after their 3-2 loss away to Metapán of El Salvador. Because DC United drew 1-1 with Toluca on Tuesday, they must await the result of tonight’s match between CD Marathón and San Juan Jabloteh in Trinidad. A loss or a draw from Marathón puts DC into the quarterfinals.

The Columbus Crew entered Week #6 of the CCL knowing they controlled their own destiny. Needing at least a draw to secure second place in Group C, the Crew played the first half with little intensity, and gave up a relatively soft goal to the home side Islanders to trail 1-0 at halftime. Not wanting to rely on other results within the Group, Columbus came out strong in the second half, nearly tying the score in the first couple minutes off efforts from Brian Carroll and halftime substitute Adam Moffat. Eventually it was Emilio Renteria who leveled the score in the 74^th minute. Playing out the remainder of the game with the score in their favor, the Crew can now look forward to the knockout stages of the competition in early 2010.

The Houston Dynamo received good news ahead of their match with Group A bottom dwellers Isidro Metapán when, earlier in the evening, group winners Pachuca dispatched Arabe Unido of Panama 2-0. Trailing the Panamanians by three points in the race for the second qualification slot, but holding the head-to-head tiebreaker, Houston needed a win in their match to advance in the competition. While the Dynamo have not had much success historically on the road in the CCL, playing against a team that had yet to score in the competition seemed to present an easy task. Instead, Dom Kinnear’s squad came out with little energy, and poor communication among the defensive line lead to two quick goals from the El Salvadorans. The Dynamo recovered to level the score before halftime, with the second goal being worthy of another luck, as goalkeeper Tally Hall punted a ball into the opponent’s penalty area that bounced beyond a hapless Metapán ‘keeper into the net. The home side claimed interference on the play through a tough challenge from Brian Ching on the ‘keeper, but the referee let the goal stand. With their early mistakes now atoned for, the Dynamo needed only a winning second half performance to secure their passage to the CCL knockout round for the second straight year. Instead, a bevy of missed opportunities, and a long range free kick goal from the home side, saw Houston crash out with a 3-2 loss and an end to their Champions League run.

DC United was also in control of their CCL fate as they flew to Mexico to take on the group leaders Toluca. Never has a team from MLS beaten a Mexican squad south of the border, but DC would come very close. Taking a 1-0 lead in the first half off a spectacular goal from Chris Pontius, the Black-and-Red looked poised to knock off a Toluca team that couldn’t break through against goalkeeper Steve Cronin. DC held on until the 62^nd minute, when a penalty kick was awarded after a soft challenge from Lawson Vaughn in the area, and second half substitute Israel Lopez converted the equalizer. Only a victory would guarantee DC second place in Group B, but they squandered what few chances they could create over the final third of the match and had to settle for the 1-1 draw. Now, they await the match result from tonight to see whether they’ll continue to play in the CCL.

Congratulations to the Columbus Crew for successfully advancing in the competition. There is only frustration for the Houston Dynamo for dropping a game to a team that couldn’t buy a goal in their first five group stage matches. Supporters of DC United, justifiably proud of their teams result in Mexico, will be cheering on Jabloteh tonight, willing the Trinidad and Tobago squad on to at least a draw. Otherwise, MLS will send only one team through to the quarterfinals of the CCL – truly a disappointment for the league and its fans.

UPDATE: In Thursday night’s game in Trinidad, Marathon defeated San Juan Jabloteh 4-2 to secure passage to the quarterfinals ahead of DC United. Behind a second half hat-trick from Jerry Palacios, the Honduran squad easily handled the winless hosts. The result leaves the Columbus Crew as the only MLS representative left in the competition. The elimination of both Houston and DC from the CCL reflects poorly on the league in our region. However, until participating clubs are pressed by their supporters to succeed outside of MLS, don’t expect results like this year and last year (only the Houston Dynamo advanced) to change.

Don Garber will address the "Leaders in Football" conference

Over the next two days, many of soccer’s most influential executives from around the world will meet in London, England for the annual “Leaders in Football” conference. Included in that group are three representatives from the United States: Don Garber, MLS Commissioner and CEO; Sunil Gulati, USSF President; and Tim Leiweke, President and CEO of AEG. Garber joins a panel discussion on managing the wealth gap in professional soccer leagues, while Gulati and Leiweke will be on hand to discuss strategies for weathering the current global economic crisis.

The MLS Commissioner has not released a full account of his speech to the conference, but he did take time to talk with The Associated Press about some of the subjects he plans to address. Garber specifically called attention to revenue sharing, the salary cap, and spending limits dictated by MLS policy that make certain the league’s economic stability. He goes on to conclude that the MLS model ensures “financial fair play” for all member teams.

“We believe to our core that every fan wants to believe that when the season starts they have the tools, the capability, the resources to compete so they can dream about their team winning a championship,” Garber said.

He went on to discuss how his single-entity economic model for MLS prevents runaway spending by individual team owners. “As a person who manages a sports league who is very focused on ensuring that we remain financially viable so we remain in business that’s not a system that could work here,” Garber said. “It would clearly create an arms race of spending that would clearly put MLS out of business as it did with the North American Soccer League in the early 80s.”

No one wants to see MLS follow the road of the NASL, but Garber will need to make changes to league policies that currently prevent the growth and limit the fortunes of individual teams. We don’t want to see financial parity in MLS result in mediocrity on the playing field. The “Designated Player” provision of the salary cap is a step in the right direction, as is allowing teams to build stadiums and collect their own revenue. However, there is more that needs to be done now to prevent stagnation of the product, and apathy among its supporters.

Most importantly, MLS needs to give teams more control over their rosters. One change would be to let teams compete for newly signed players to the league through the global transfer process. Let the team negotiate and pay the transfer fee on incoming players, not the MLS front office. Next, introduce free agency with the next MLS Collective Bargaining Agreement, a system that works in other professional sports leagues in the US. Also, mandate an immediate increase in the salary cap for next season and significantly raise – perhaps even double – the minimum player salary from its current $34,000 a year. Players with higher incomes and improved options in free agency become more accountable to the teams and their fans, resulting in an increase in their competitive play. Likewise, these changes in MLS policy will give each team the flexibility to build a roster they feel can best compete for the league championship.

Perhaps for a niche sport in an already crowded American sporting landscape, the conservative approach of MLS over the history of the league has proven acceptable. And in countries struggling to host a professional soccer league that can’t compete with the big leagues of Europe, the lessons learned in the US could translate successfully during economically difficult times. However, for the long term growth of soccer in the United States, MLS will need to loosen up their regulations and give the team owners more control over financial decisions.

Week #5 of the CONCACAF Champions League saw all three MLS participants playing at home looking to gain maximum points in their groups. For DC United, it was mission accomplished, as the Black-and-Red punished San Juan Jabloteh 5-1 at RFK Stadium. The disappointed Columbus Crew, who had a chance to clinch a berth in the quarterfinals, leaked a stoppage time goal to group rivals Saprissa in a 1-1 draw. Finally, at Robertson Stadium in Houston, the Dynamo gave Pachuca all they could handle, but still came out the loser in a 1-0 defeat.

The CCL takes a three week break, before resuming group play October 20-22. After Week #5 of the competition, none of the MLS teams have secured passage into the final eight. After enjoying the comforts of home over the last two weeks, all three MLS entrants take to the road for Week #6. Let’s break down the advancement possibilities for each team to reach the quarterfinal stages.

In Group A, Pachuca has secured advancement after their sturdy defending and goalkeeping heroics of Miguel Calero Wednesday night secured all three points against the Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo had numerous scoring opportunities go wanting, especially in a frenetically paced first half, and now sit third in the group with just one match to play. First the good news – the Dynamo head to El Salvador to take on struggling Isidro Metapán, still without a point in the competition. Now the bad news – even with a win in El Salvador, the Dynamo will need help in the other group game between Arabe Unido and hosts Pachuca. Houston currently trails Arabe Unido by three points but holds the tiebreaker between the two teams. Anything short of a Pachuca victory against the Panamanians knocks the Dynamo out of the CCL.

DC United’s crushing 5-1 defeat of Jabloteh Wednesday evening keeps their drive to the quarterfinals alive in Group B. After a disappointing start to the CCL group stages, DC United has roared to life with nine points from their last three matches. They could secure passage to the knockout round without needing to touch the ball again if the last Week #5 match between CD Marathón and Toluca results in a victory for the Mexican club. Any other result leaves DC United with a tough trip away to Toluca needing to gain points against the Group B leaders. Expect all eyes in our nation’s capital to keep watch on the match in Honduras tonight, knowing that an early passage to the quarterfinals will leave Tom Soehn’s men able to focus solely on qualifying for the MLS Cup playoffs.

Group C leaders Cruz Azul have already clinched top spot in the standings, leaving the Columbus Crew and Deportivo Saprissa to battle for second position. The Crew did not do themselves any favors by drawing with the Costa Ricans on Tuesday night. After outplaying their opponent throughout the match, Columbus allowed a stoppage time equalizer from Alexander Robinson that left both teams with a chance to proceed to the knockout stages on the tournament. Up by two points and holding the tie-breaker over Saprissa, the Crew needs at least a draw away to the Puerto Rico Islanders in their last group stage match. A loss to PRI coupled with a Saprissa victory would eliminate Columbus from the CCL.

After an exciting Week #5, the CONCACAF Champions League fortunes for DC United and the Columbus Crew look favorable, with the Houston Dynamo requiring help in their effort to advance out of Group B. To be sure, an exiting end to group play awaits us in three weeks.

UPDATE: Thursday night saw Marathón defeat Toluca 2-0 and go equal in points with DC United at nine apiece. Toluca still leads the group with 12 points, but missed their opportunity to join their three fellow FMF representatives in qualifying for the knockout stage with one round of matches remaining. They now host DC United needing a positive result to assure advancing, otherwise they face the possibility of being eliminated if DC United defeats them by 14 or more goals – very unlikely. That leaves the more realistic scenario of Marathón and DC United competing for the second advancement slot. Since DC United holds the head-to-head tie breaker against the Hondurans, as long as they can match Marathón’s result against bottom-of-the-group San Juan Jabloteh, the Black-and-Red will continue to the CCL knockout phase early next year.

Meanwhile, DC United will be up against history later this month, as no MLS team has ever defeated a Mexican league team on their home field. Thursday’s result in Honduras certainly challenges DC United’s hope of advancing in the tournament, and it makes their Week #6 visit to Toluca more meaningful than ever.

Another busy week for the three MLS entrants in the CONCACAF Champions League concluded last night, with DC United earning a convincing 3-0 victory over Marathón of Honduras at RFK Stadium. Following on the heels of the Houston Dynamo’s 5-1 thrashing of Arabe Unido of Panama, and the Columbus Crew’s disappointing 2-0 loss to Cruz Azul of Mexico, the MLS teams performed as expected. Going into the last two rounds of group play, all three MLS clubs have an excellent chance of advancing to the knock-out round.

The Houston Dynamo started Week 4 of the CCL well, with a dominating performance against their chief rival in the group, Arabe Unido. Playing at Robertson Stadium, the Dynamo were expected to win this game, especially in light of their result in Panama earlier in the competition. In that match, five red cards, three against Houston, and a late equalizer by Arabe Unido, resulted in a sloppy 1-1 draw. In a disgraceful scene at the end of the match, the Dynamo players had to wait at midfield while the stands were cleared before they could exit the stadium.

In this week’s rematch, there would be little of the drama seen in Panama, as the Dynamo asserted themselves early and often. Already up 2-0 on goals by Eddie Robinson and Cam Weaver either side of halftime, Arabe Unido’s Omar Camargo was sent off with a red card in the 56^th minute. And despite, the Panamanians pulling one back, Houston attacked at will over the final 30 minutes and finished with a 5-1 victory. Both teams are now level in Group A with seven points each going into the final two weeks of play.

On Wednesday night, the Columbus Crew would have the difficult task of facing Cruz Azul. Coach Robert Warzycha fielded a relatively strong squad for the home match, with a starting XI missing notable defenders Frankie Hejduk and Chad Marshall. Columbus started well in the game, putting up-field pressure on the ball and stretching the attack through winger Robbie Rogers. Unfortunately all their effort was for not, as shaky defense led to a Cruz Azul goal from a well taken opportunity. The Crew continued to pressure the Mexican defense, but found only the crossbar and the goalkeeper, Yosgart Gutierrez, as targets. Cruz Azul doubled their lead later in the first half, and never really looked threatened after that.

While the Crew would have fancied a win at home, the Mexican side made it clear that they are the best team in Group C. After losing 5-0 earlier in the competition at Cruz Azul, Columbus comported themselves well in their home return, despite suffering their first loss at Crew Stadium since June of 2008. And with two winnable games left in Group C, the Crew must fancy their chances to advance in the tournament.

Last night saw the most important match of Week 4 for the MLS clubs in the CCL played by DC United and Marathón at RFK Stadium. The home side dominated possession throughout the first half, intent on achieving the resounding victory they all but required in their quest to advance in the tournament. Strikers Luciano Emilio and Chris Pontius both missed chances to put their side ahead; however, the Hondurans provided adequate resistance to DC United, and the teams went into the half scoreless.

DC United started the second half with intent under the leadership of substitute Jamie Moreno. Emilio was first to break through, after converting a sublime Avery John cross past the helpless goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead. Moreno then doubled the advantage with a clever toe poke from the top of the area that just snuck inside the post. Marathón couldn’t answer the attacking pressure of DC, as perhaps the political uncertainty back home that led to a lengthy and exhausting journey just to get to RFK left the players feeling lethargic. And when Emilio found the net for the second time in the half to make the score 3-0, the Hondurans were done. The victory leaves DC United and Marathón level on six points in Group B, but courtesy of the big win, DC United owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Overall, the three MLS teams are in good position to qualify for the second quarterfinal slot from each of their respective groups. With the first three tie-breakers in the competition being head-to-head record, followed by goal differential, and then away goals, the Houston Dynamo and DC United would advance if they finished even on points for second place with Arabe Unido and Marathón respectively. The Columbus Crew has a home date with Saprissa coming up next Tuesday. Having already beaten them on the road, the Crew will have their hands full with a Costa Rican side looking for revenge. With a win or tie, Columbus will join their MLS compatriots in position to advance.

Anything less than all three MLS teams advancing out of the group stage will be a disappointment. And with all four Mexican representatives poised to finish at the top of their respective groups, MLS could look forward to some excellent and challenging knock out stage pairings with our rival teams to the south. I, for one, cannot wait.

MLS commisioner Don Garber seeks a balanced schedule

Last week’s press release announcing that MLS will take a two week break during the World Cup Finals group stage has stirred some debate from supporters of the league. However, hidden at the end of that same press release is news that all MLS fans must be pleased to read. Next season, all sixteen clubs will play a balanced schedule – facing each of the other fifteen teams twice, once at home, once away.

For the first time in the history of MLS, the 30 game regular season schedule will be equivalent for ever team. This milestone for the league will finally put to rest the imbalance that currently exists for clubs that, as a whole, are competing for the same eight playoff spots. No longer like the NFL or Major League Baseball schedules, MLS’ new regular season will further resemble the best European leagues that it strives to model.

The next step for the MLS schedule makers is to get rid of the curious, albeit infrequent, cases of home-and-home series within the season. An example of this occurs this evening, as the Colorado Rapids host the San Jose Earthquakes just 5 days after they visited Northern California. For the Rapids, this comes on the heels of a home-and-home series they finished earlier this month against Toronto FC. In all, there were nine cases in 2009 of teams playing each other in consecutive or nearly consecutive games. If you care to count the US Open Cup, add three more occurrences to the tally.

I don’t see any real positives to including these scheduling quirks in 2010 and beyond. When asked about playing home-and-home series in the regular season, Colorado Rapids coach Gary Smith remarked “I’m not sure there are many advantages. I think the fact that you go away then come back home is a balanced schedule in that respect, but I’m not sure the players enjoy it too much. You can sometimes get a staid affair and the teams know too much about each other.”

Playing the same team two games in a row can present additional problems. Player injuries and suspensions can put one team at a disadvantage for both season’s meetings instead of perhaps just one. Perhaps a team struggles earlier in the year, but improves with the summer signing period – is it fair for one club to meet them twice in June and another club to meet them twice in September? Using Colorado as an example, their team captain, Pablo Mastroeni, was suspended for 3 games earlier this month. As a result, he missed both games with Toronto this season. Maybe the 3 points TFC earned in their second game against the Rapids helps them sneak into the playoffs this season – ahead of the Rapids, no less.

On the flip side, getting to face the same team twice in a short amount of time allows you additional training time to focus on your opponent. Coach Frank Yallop of the San Jose Earthquakes even sees the home-and-home series as an opportunity for the team to prepare for the post-season. ”I guess it is similar to the playoffs, you play teams back to back a lot in that situation. The first game becomes important because it sets you up for the second one. But you still have to prepare for each game.”

Being better prepared for your opponent can lead to a better performance on the field, something all fans should look forward to with anticipation. Of course, as the saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt – perhaps a physically demanding first game will lead to a different mindset going into the second game. Earthquakes captain Jason Hernandez knows all to well how this can affect a team facing an opponent in successive games; “I really don’t see it as an advantage at all. I think going back-to-back, it can get a bit too personal. They might come in and get a good result, then you have to go back to their home and fight twice as hard to get those points back.”

I see no reason to continue with these home-and-home series in 2010 and beyond. If MLS wants to really have a fair and balanced schedule, split the season into two 15 game schedules that essentially mirror each other, and save the two-game series for the post-season.

Proposed 15,000 seat San Jose Earthquakes Stadium

Saturday night at the annual Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation dinner in front of over 400 business leaders, government officials, and soccer supporters, the San Jose Earthquakes unveiled for the first time architectural illustrations of their long awaited new stadium. With the announcement, San Jose joins the Kansas City Wizards and the Houston Dynamo in publicly stating their intention to build the next MLS soccer-specific stadium.

With a seating capacity of 15,000 and additional standing and picnic areas that could boost that to nearly 20,000, the new facility would be the centerpiece of an 80 acre development near the San Jose International Airport, and a stones throw away from their current digs on the campus of Santa Clara University.

Moving away from a recent MLS trend toward stadiums designed with funky shaped but architecturally interesting overhangs, the new Earthquakes stadium would feature a uniformly covered horseshoe shaped tier of seating. “I think the roof structure will create intimacy and also noise,” stated Earthquakes owner Lew Wolff at the unveiling. “We’d like a lot of noise and excitement. And the fans will be closer to the pitch than any place else in the country, and the quality of the field will be outstanding.”

However, don’t hold your breath for the ground-breaking ceremony. Wolff has made it clear that he won’t start any construction until he has commercial sponsors that will pay for stadium naming rights and other advertising signage in and around the stadium. He also wants assurances that the financing he needs is fully in place. Of course, the final hurdle is the politics of building a stadium in the Bay Area, a region notorious for its stingy public financial outlays to sports organizations. As Wolff said somewhat tongue-in-cheek, “It is not easy getting projects done in California. In fact, I think if you came up with a cure for cancer in this state, someone would be there to oppose it.”

Perhaps sensing that the crowd of supporters invited to the stadium plan unveiling was growing ever frustrated at the lack of progress on the development, Wolff also announced that tickets prices for the next couple seasons would be reduced by as much as 40% from current levels. The front office knows that the team has suffered on the field since returning to MLS, and hopes this announcement will encourage the fan base to keep the faith.

But how long will supporters remain placated by pretty pictures and virtual stadium fly-over videos? Will lower ticket prices be enough to get fans to come out to a sub-par Buck Shaw Stadium? Fans will certainly lose interest in the organization if they don’t see ground being broken at the proposed stadium site very soon. And they certainly are not going to continue to purchase season tickets to a makeshift facility indefinitely.

All the momentum generated by the new stadium announcement will be lost in the community if Wolff and his associates spend an excess amount of time trying to line up all the commercial sponsors they have targeted. And an increasingly disenfranchised fan base will erode at the perceived apathy of the stadium development. What financial value there is in the franchise will fall precipitously.

Perhaps the best move for Wolff and the San Jose Earthquakes is to take the first step and begin development of the stadium site now. This would show fans that the team is committed to the project, giving them reason to attend games in the mean time. A full temporary facility and excess ticket demand would create a buzz in the community, which in turn would entice sponsorship by businesses looking to associate themselves with a growing professional sports organization. It might take a substantial initial investment by the Earthquakes for this to happen, but the risks of doing nothing certainly outweigh the rewards of acting now.

Carpe diem Lew Wolff, don’t leave the San Jose soccer community waiting any longer.

Eddie Gaven scores the game winner at The Monster's Cave

While most people were still nursing their hangovers from a two day orgy of UEFA Champions League matches, the CONCACAF equivalent was contested at sites around Northern and Central America the past three nights. So perhaps you missed what is arguably the finest result yet by an MLS team in the 2009 edition of the tournament. What the Columbus Crew did Wednesday night in winning 1-0 against Deportivo Saprissa in San Jose, Costa Rica is break through against a tough opponent in a stadium most people fear – The Monster’s Cave. No MLS team has ever found success at Saprissa Stadium, until now.

Eddie Gaven scored the game’s only goal in just the fifth minute, and goalkeeper Will Hesmer valiantly kept the ball out of his net over the next 85 minutes to complete the shutout. With the win, Columbus takes an important step toward the Champions League quarterfinals, and trail group leaders Cruz Azul by only one point. With two of their three remaining groups stage matches to be played at Crew Stadium, the odds are good that the Crew will advance to the knock-out stage of the tournament.

Perhaps the CONCACAF Champions League does not have the same stature and importance as the MLS Cup playoffs among the vast majority of MLS fans. I find that to be too myopic a view. This tournament is arguably the most important measuring stick for the strength of MLS versus other leagues in our region. I for one am proud of the Crew and their achievement, even though I don’t support the club themselves. The monumental victory at Saprissa is reason to celebrate for all American soccer fans.

However, a day has passed, and I am disappointed in how little excitement this historic victory has generated among MLS supporters. This is above-the-fold headline material for soccer media and bloggers. Instead, I found little to read at my favorite news sources. When I brought the match up with a colleague of mine, he just shrugged it away as a one-off result. I protested, but was unable to change his frame of mind.

Well, it’s not too late to celebrate the Crew’s victory – bring it up this weekend at the pub, or during your visit to watch your local MLS club play. Hoist your drink high and be proud of this result. Now, can we just get an MLS team victory in Mexico…

Huckerby waves goodbye to MLS?

A rough season for the San Jose Earthquakes only got worse with the news that star midfielder Darren Huckerby was lost for the season after undergoing hip surgery last Friday. The Newcomer of the Year winner in MLS last season, and a player San Jose hoped would lead a dynamic attacking offense in 2009, was limited to just 14 appearances in an injury marred season. With Huckerby struggling, the Earthquakes fortunes declined and the team sits bottom of the Western Conference standings.

Huckerby came to San Jose with a history of hip injury problems, but he has managed to stave off any long-term problems through physical therapy and pain relievers. However, already late in his career at age 33, the hip problem became more debilitating this season. Huckerby and the coaching staff knew something would need to be done before long. San Jose coach Frank Yallop was quoted as saying “He was sore most of the time when he was training. Being the pro he is Darren kept battling through it.”

With the 2009 season effectively lost for the Earthquakes, the timing was right for Huckerby to undergo the surgery. As performed by esteemed surgeon Dr. Marc J. Philippon at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colorado, the procedure involved repairing a torn labrum (the cartilage surrounding the hip socket) in his right hip. While the procedure was successful, the recovery period will extend through the end of the Earthquakes season.

Might Huckerby have played his last game in MLS? Having professed he would only ever play for the San Jose Earthquakes in the U.S. and his former club Norwich City in England, his options for next season seem limited. While many expect the Canaries to bring back Huckerby after his MLS contract runs out in December, new manager Paul Lambert may not want the Norwich City favorite back on his squad. Lambert has indicated that he wants to take his League One team forward, and has taken steps away from the relegated club’s recent past, “I think you’ve got to get them (new players) young and hungry, you tend to find it is more beneficial to you than those that are experienced and have had their careers.”

This is potentially good news for San Jose, especially if Huckerby makes a full recovery. When in good health, the left-side midfielder has electrified the Earthquakes crowds with a fast paced attack and some spectacular finishes. San Jose supporters can only hope they haven’t seen the last of Darren Huckerby.