The GlorifiedFriendlyLiga, aka SuperLiga, schedule was confirmed today. The four MLS teams that have long been expected to participate were joined by four Mexican clubs - one of which was a bit of a surprise.
Group A will consist of MLS sides DC United and Houston Dynamo and will be joined by Chivas de Guadalajara and Atlante. Group B will feature Chivas USA and New England as well as Pachuca and Santos Laguna.
I'll post times and dates below, but this slate of games is a bit appealing. It will be good to see Chivas USA in action against Pachuca and Santos Laguna and the match against New England is scheduled at a location to be determined, which might possibly mean it could be a doubleheader with Barcelona that has been rumored.
Still, I feel the same now as I did last year when the tournament was announced and after it was all over - it's a made-for-money tournament. Organizers know that fans will play money to see Chivas and Pachuca and Mexican teams and MLS clubs competing against international clubs is something many MLS fans want to see. There was a $1 million purse in last year's final and while the tournament winner will get that and a trophy, you can't buy prestige. A prestigious tournament this is not. Entertaining, possibly. Interesting, perhaps. But that's about it.
Here's the schedule (all times Pacific):
Saturday, July 12
D.C. United vs. CD Guadalajara (RFK Stadium – Washington D.C.) 5:00
Houston Dynamo vs. Atlante (Robertson Stadium – Houston, TX) 7:00
Sunday, July 13
NE Revolution vs. Santos (Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, MA) 5:00
Chivas USA vs. Pachuca CF (Home Depot Center – Carson, CA) 7:00
Tuesday, July 15
D.C. United vs. Atlante (RFK Stadium – Washington D.C.) 5:00
Houston Dynamo vs. CD Guadalajara (Robertson Stadium – Houston, TX) 7:00
Wednesday, July 16
NE Revolution vs. Pachuca CF (Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, MA) 5:00
Chivas USA vs. Santos (Home Depot Center – Carson, CA) 7:00
Saturday, July 19
D.C. United vs. Houston Dynamo (RFK Stadium – Washington D.C.) 5:00
Atlante vs. CD Guadalajara (Location TBD) 7:00
Sunday, July 20
Chivas USA vs. NE Revolution (Venue TBD – Los Angeles, CA) 5:00
Santos vs. Pachuca CF (Location TBD) 7:00
Tuesday, July 29
Semifinal 1 (Location TBD)
Wednesday, July 30
Semifinal 2 (Location TBD)
Tuesday, August 5
Final (Location TBD)
8 comments:
Sorry Andrea, i have to disagree. This here can and possibly will gain prestige, you don't become a prestige tournament in two years, this here can become bigger than we all expected. Its first year it was one HELL of a ride, i hope this blossoms into one of CONCACAFs prestigious tournaments.
Andrea may or may not agree with you, but I posted the above thoughts on SuperLiga :)
I hope it becomes prestigious as well but I just dont think it will, at least not soon. I think in order for it to become prestigious, people want to care about the tournament and I don't think too many people from south of the border care now or will care in the coming years.
Why did they put Houston and DC in the same group again? Was it a random draw or hand picked?
As far as prestige, here's my take.
With the upcoming CONCACAF Champions League, it looks like there will be a real top flight competition that people will (hopefully) care about. It's inevitable that MLS teams and Mexican League teams will meet.
With this in mind, I think SuperLiga can become like a UEFA Cup for CONCACAF. Sure, it doesn't include teams from other leagues, but with TFC's eligibility, it seems like a first division tournament for 3 countries. To alleviate fixture congestion and fulfill my CONCACAF UEFA Cup theory, perhaps the SuperLiga teams can be the teams that finish 3-6 in the MLS regular season. Maybe throw in USOC winner, but with SUM running this tournament it wouldn't want to give a non-MLS team a shot if they managed to win the Open Cup.
I have no idea about the long-term viability of the SuperLiga, but as best as I can figure, the more often MLS teams play legit opposition and the more times people write "MLS," "entertaining," and "interesting" in a paragraph about those games, the sooner the MLS will develop a little credibility. Sustained credibility generates prestige. So I can't see how the SuperLiga hurts, and I can see how it might help.
perhaps playing some games in mexico would add prestige, but if the nat'l team won't play there why would clubs be expected to right? Maybe if Mexicans in Mexico could go to a game in Mexico then they would care. Plus they should up the purse next year to at least $2 mill and the rights to Mexican-American players for a year.
Luis is just mad because with Pachuca, and Santos in the group, Chivas USA has no chance in hell, and will probably get embarrassed.
All I know is the teams from Mexico sure played like they cared and the games last year were fantastic!
I like this edition of the superliga because America and the Gaylaxy arent in it. And Im hoping for a Chivas USA vs. Chivas de Guadalajara game in the semis or the final.
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