Saprissa Hates Club America More

Here's my wrap-up on how Club America took care of bidness against Saprissa in Costa Rica. 

I've been to the Monster's Cave, back when I lived in Costa Rica during part of my college years. It's a concrete cave of a stadium, but I always thought of it as small. I mean, I've been to Azteca, which is huge. 

But it gets wild there when the fans fill it up. They get loud. But all the fan support couldn't push Saprissa past an Aguilas squad which has found its form this season. 

Saludos Costa Rica "Odiame más"
— Gustavo Matosas (@Mato_Matosas) February 26, 2015

Jason and the Argonauts, er, the RSLians.

Jason Kreis and Real Salt Lake take on Monterrey in the CONCACAF Champions League final. I was on a conference call today about the match. The calls take a long time and to give everyone a fair shot, reporters are only allowed a question or two. It takes even longer to write up the quotes, and just as I was finishing, MLS sent out a quote sheet.

I could have saved so much time.

Anyway, here's my finished article.

And here's the MLS transcript, if you're curious.

Opening remarks from Real Salt Lake Owner, Dave Checketts:
When the vision of this club was created over seven years ago I never imagined this day would come as quickly as it has. We are honored to play Monterey. We know they’re a very good club. They, like us, are anxious to move on and we expect a tremendous battle.
To reach this point is gratifying but we are not satisfied.
We have great respect for our opponent. We know it is going to be very difficult, but we love being the first at everything. We love these occasions where people can say about us no one has ever advanced this far. In reality, we’re just a club from Salt Lake City, Utah that has tremendous players from nine different nations, is well-coached and is fully prepared and fit and ready to play our best football and see what we can accomplish.

Jeff Carlisle, ESPN.com – Given the strength of the opponent, will you reign in your attacking instincts or will you continue to play the same way?

Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jason Kreis:
I am a big believer that in soccer, if you attack well enough, you will limit the amount of time you need to defend. We’re not going to change our philosophy now that we’re in the final and we’re not going to change our philosophy because we’re playing a fantastic opponent. We are going to ask our players to be very mindful when we have the ball and be very good with it …We need guys to be focused and sharp and get back and defend quickly because if we don’t, this is the type of opponent that can kill you in a heartbeat.

Jeff Carlisle,ESPN.com – How will you prepare for Aldo de Nigris and Humberto Suazo?

Kreis:
We haven’t seen Suazo as much as we’ve seen de Nigris. De Nigris is more of a box forward in my opinion. He has really good size and really good speed and probably better feet than most people would think a guy of that size would have. Typically box forwards lack the technical ability that he does have.
Suazo is a bit of a bulldog and can drop into the midfield more and turn and make plays. He has a lethal, lethal shot.
Both of those players we’re going to have to be extremely mindful of and they have some midfielders that are quite special on the ball as well. It just depends on which four they play because they’ve been using a lot of different players throughout the last four or five matches.

Steve Davis, SI.com – How will the warm weather affect training?

Kreis:
For this trip we decided to come earlier, and were able to train yesterday and train today and we’ll train tomorrow. That should be enough to acclimate our guys.

Michael C. Lewis,Salt Lake Tribune – What has it been like to have such support from around the league?

Checketts:
The support from fellow owners, from player to player, from coach to coach has really been extraordinary. I’ve heard from almost all of my fellow owners. They all recognize what’s at stake here for the league. We are flying a banner that not only says Real Salt Lake but also Major League Soccer.
I was driving with my daughter who’s 17-years-old and I was telling her how big this game was and she asked just how big it is. I said it’s the game of the century. This is it. This is the biggest game ever. She said, you know, dad, you say that about every game. Other than the MLS Cup, we’ve never played a game in our history that’s as big as this.
When I talked to Jason about becoming the head coach, even though he’d spent most of his career in Dallas he said I don’t quite understand why, but I care very much about this club – Real Salt Lake . This is an opportunity to stamp Real Salt Lake’s presence on the entire world of soccer. I don’t anyone could have imagined that. It’s an incredible opportunity.

Kreis:
I’m looking at this as a tremendous opportunity that we’ve achieved through all the hard work over several years… Going to the World Club Competition would easily be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.


Brian Straus, Sporting News –What is it about this RSL team that has been able to do what no other club has?

Kreis:
The first thing that we need to credit is that we’ve built a very deep team. There have been teams in the past built on the starting 11 and once you got past that, the depth and true quality of the players went down drastically. I would say at Real Salt Lake we’ve been supported on a different level by our ownership and we’ve been supported on a different level by the League because of how much emphasis and how much help they’ve been willing to give us and put some weight behind this CONCACAF competition. Finally, I would say the League has made some very good decisions over the past five years about raising salary caps and making it possible for teams to get more depth and more quality to number one to number 30.

Checketts:
I agree with Jason that the steps the League has made have been critical. Also, several weeks after Jason became the head coach he jumped on a plane to Argentina and came back with three players, two of which, Javier Morales and Fabian Espindola, have been critical to our success. That’s where it started. We began adding pieces all under the banner that there aren’t any superstars on this team. There is a tremendous team chemistry and I think you see it in the way they play, the way they move the ball, the way they attack, the way they endure adversity. A lot of hard work and dedication by a lot of people is what gives us the chance that’s in front of us.

Josie Pereira, Salt Lake Tribune – Will the pressure of game and size of the crowd affect the players?

Kreis:
We have a very, very mature group. A team that is extremely experienced. Quite a few of our players have played with their national team in World Cup Qualifier matches in some of the hardest environments to play matches in. So, I don’t think it can get any more pressurized than the multiple experiences they’ve already had. We’re very well prepared for it.

Ron Blum, Associated Press: Should MLS consider adding more roster spots?

Kreis:
No. We have a possibility of 30, but we’re only using 28. For me, the number is about right. The MLS has made multiple decisions so we can compete on all fronts. The one thing I would urge everybody to consider is increasing the salary cap. It’s all well and good to continue to add roster spots, but we need the proper salaries to be able to pay the players so we can get quality players to compete in all the matches. So that when you’re using what a lot of people would term your second team which is a term I hate, you’re not talking about players that are playing their first professional matches. Instead, you’re talking about guys that have played in other places and can contribute in a seamless fashion.

Ridge Mahoney,Soccer America - Won’t it be important to keep the ball away from Monterey and is that something many MLS teams aren’t capable of doing?

Kreis:
Some of the best defense you can have is to be good on the ball. I think it’s going to be critically important when we have the ball we need to recognize we need to keep it for long stretches. We need to be very mindful of not giving it away cheaply because when you play an opponent as talented as Monterey they will punish you for that.

Mahoney - Do you think it’s important to train in the stadium you’ll be playing in?

Kreis:
I think it’s critically important. It’s something we do nearly everywhere we go. One good thing about CONCACAF is they force every opponent to allow you to train in the stadium the day before the match and we’ve used that every place we’ve been.

Luis Bueno, Riverside Press Enterprise: MLS teams have never won a meaningful match in Mexico, what makes it so hard for MLS teams to win down there?

Kyle Beckerman, Real Salt Lake captain:
We are all searching for the answer. These teams know how important these tournaments are and they are used to this type of tournament. I think they feel a big part of pride over losing to an American team. I think we are going to have to keep at it and keep believing that we can get one over on these guys. It’s tough and the atmosphere is great, they really support their home team, it makes it tough, but we just have to give it a go.

Nick Rimando, Real Salt Lake goalkeeper:
It’s tough, as Kyle said, we have seen it first hand at Cruz Azul but I don’t think we are afraid to come in here. We were the underdogs before and we know what it is like to come into an environment and not expect to win or pull a result out and I think we have the guys who can do that. There is nothing that says we can’t go in in there and get a result. We don’t have to win but getting a result would be good for us.

Jonah Freedman, MLSsoccer.com - Before MLS Cup 2009, Dave Checketts told you guys that You never know when you are going to get an opportunity like this and you have to take the opportunity and make the most of it . Has he given you guys another such inspirational talk and if so, was more urgent than 2009?

Rimando:
He hasn’t yet, but in the beginning he let us know how important this tournament is. That is not only coming from Dave Checketts, but it is coming from our coaches and the League. The more we advance through each stage, we as players know how important it is and how important it will be for ourselves and for MLS to put this stamp on the league. We want to represent this team and do well for ourselves. This tournament will open eyes around the world. It doesn’t just take the voice from our owner to tell us that. This is a good opportunity for us to prove that MLS is for real.

Andrea Canales, Goal.com - What in particular has Jason done as a coach done to mold you guys into such an effective unit in a short period of time?

Beckerman: He had the experience. When he was playing, he didn’t like the way things were done and when he became the coach he had the chance to change it and do things the right way. It has really been a joy to work with him. Everyone who has come to the team really enjoys playing for the club because things are done right here and I think he gets the support from the owners and it trickles down. I feel that from day one when I came to RSL, we began to do the right things; in training and off the field. We started to see the success come from the hard work we put in and Jason deserves a lot of the credit

Andrea Canales, Goal.com - Nick, do you have the details of what are these right things that make a difference for a team?

Rimando:
I think the first thing is that we had to become a team we couldn’t be individuals. We had to go out there as a team and win as a team. There is no I in team. As cliché as it may sound, everyone on the team buys into that. There are no stars, we are all stars on this team. We are a team that fights for each other on and off the field and that’s what he [Jason Kreis] wanted to grow here at RSL and that is exactly what he is doing. We want to fight for Jason and for our teammates and when you have a bad seed giving the players that want to play and want to fight and want to be on the same page, good things happen, that’s exactly what has happened on Real Salt Lake

Josie Herrera, Salt Lake Tribune - Have you been out on the field yet practicing, if so what is the field like? If you haven’t, how is Monterrey?

Rimando:
No we haven’t been on the field yet, tomorrow is our first day. We have everything over here. The weather is not too bad, we expected it to be a lot hotter, but it wasn’t bad, we practiced last night and the weather seemed great. We have plenty of fluids, good food, and we are all ready to go. It is the time now to get ready for the game and we are ready to go.

Josie Herrera, Salt Lake Tribune - Will the crowd and the Monterrey fans be a challenge for you guys?

Rimando:I think wherever you go there is always the challenge of dealing with the fans, but I think our team has dealt with that in competition already. You know when we play at home the teams have to deal with our fans and fans of the league.

Post-game presser

Just got back. Writing furiously but wanted to post up the audio of the post-match press conference featuring Preki and Roberto Nurse.

Audio of it here.

Now back to writing!

Chivas USA vs Tauro FC running blog

Okay, I'm here at Home Depot Center for the Chivas USA-Tauro FC match and I feel like I'm in an empty stadium. Well, actually, it pretty much is an empty stadium. With classes back in session at Cal State Dominguez Hills, the attendance has been capped at 2,000.

As a colleague told me, some prestigious tournament.

Anyway, there is a game to be played and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League proper to be had. Chivas USA needs to win 2-0 to have a shot at advancing. A three-goal win regardless of Tauro's goals gets Chivas through. Anything less and the Panamanians will get through.

Don't have the lineups yet but I can piece together this from Chivas' pre-game warm ups.

Zach Thornton; Jonathan Bornstein, Jim Curtin, Bobby Burling, Francisco Mendoza; Justin Braun, Kraig Chiles, Paulo Nagamura, Sacha Kljestan; Atiba Harris, Roberto Nurse.

I hadn't expected Alecko Eskandarian or Ante Razov to start. They're warming up though along with Lawson Vaughn, Keith Savage, Jorge Flores and Daniel Paladini among others.

Okay, I missed a couple of players. It's Eric Ebert instead of Kraig Chiles and Dan Kennedy in place of Zach Thornton. So...

CHIVAS USA: Dan Kennedy; Jonathan Bornstein, Jim Curtin, Bobby Burling, Eric Ebert; Francisco Mendoza, Sacha Kljestan, Paulo Nagamura, Atiba Harris; Justin Braun, Roberto Nurse.

TAURO FC: Willington Dominguez; Luis Moreno, Leonel Parris, Alberto Monatas, Roberto Palma, Rolando Rojas; Christian Vega, Gustavo Avila, Jean Alberto McLean; Edwin Aguilar, Luis Fernando Esobar.

So according to the lineups, Tauro will come out in a 5-3-2. Plus, they have Harris listed as a forward which could mean that Chivas will have a 4-3-3. Anyway, I'd expect Chivas to morph into a 3-3-5 if they don't a goal early. I'm also expecting an ugly game, with Tauro seemingly content on packing it in. Good thing there won't be many people to witness such a potentially ugly game.

KICKOFF

1 - Game is underway. Ebert's already messing up on the right side. It's a shame that neither Lawson Vaughn nor Carey Talley are healthy enough to play. You've got two good right-sided backs and you can't start either one of them.

2 - Bornstein with a cross in to Nurse, goalie gets to ball but not cleanly but no Chivas players there to get to rebound

3 - Buran nearly has breakaway but can't get ball cleanly. He pushes ball forward and Nurse almost gets to it but goalie Dominguez is there first, slides and again leaves ball on ground. He's hurt now and trainers are out tending to him. (STRONG LANGUAGE ALERT!!!) I;m guessing this is the kind of shit we're going to see all game from Tauro.

5 - Corner from Sacha. Several players crash the net but can't get to the ball.

7 - Offside on Braun. He almost had a breakaway, which isn't necessarily a guarantee of a goal with him. still, he's active.

8 - I think that was the first time Tauro had the ball in Chivas' side of the field.

11 - Curtin nearly gets a ball over Tauro's backline; Chivas gets corner

12 - Bruan nearly had a goal but a shot off corner was cleared off line by Parris

14 - Nurse almost breaks free but he gets whistled for offside. Tauro's backline is playing fairly high.

20 - PK!!! Dominguez trips Nurse in the box and gets a yellow! Looks like Sacha will take it.

21 - No goal! Sacha missed it! He hit a soft shot right to Dominguez and the goalie clears it away. Nothing for Chivas. Needless to say, this is going to haunt them.

26 - Tauro looks a bit re-energized by the PK save. They've held the ball a brief moment or two, which is more than they can say for most of the first 20-something minutes.

31 - Tauro counter nearly works but Aguilar can't close down on the ball inside the penalty area.

32 - Chivas desperately needs a goal before the half is over

36 - Harris off the crossbar! Chivas nearly gets that much-needed first goal but nothing going. Tauro's goalie, by the way, is an adventure waiting to happen.

39 - Tauro with two set pieces deep in Chivas territory. They've got four guys in the box, two guys near the ball and another two about 10 yards out of the penalty area. They're not exactly covering themselves.

40 - Corner now for Tauro; ball cleared by a Chivas defender, another corner for Tauro but leads to nothing and goal kick for Chivas

42 - GOAL!!! NURSE!! It's the Mexican-born Nurse who gets the goal. Bornstein sends in a cross, ball bounces around and Nurse spins on it and rips it into the back of the net. Chivas 1-0

45 - Preki is sitting between Alecko Eskandarian and Ante Razov on Chivas' bench and looks like he's giving them some instructions. Tauro's gonna get the heat turned up on em soon enough.

45 - Kljestan rips a shot from distance butbounces out for corner; shot sare falling for CHivas now. Corner goes nowhere, Tauro runs off on a bit of a break but Burling ends up getting fouled.

HALFTIME, Chivas 1-0. Gotta write, be back in a few...

46 - No subs for Chivas. Alecko, Ante, Jorge Flores among those warming up. Only a few early goals prevents Ante and Alecko from seeing action.

52 - Bornstein red! Bornstein picked up his second yellow card after a foul on Leonel Parris. It didn't look like much as he put his hand on Parris' waist but the Panamanian defender did well to sell the play.

54 - Now Sacha gets a yellow. He's in the ref's face and nobody goes over to calm him down. Sacha played a little with fire right there.

55 - Two changes for Chivas - Ante and Alecko in, Braun and Nurse out

59 - Aguilar has time and space in the box but shoots straight to Kennedy. He could have had something better had he waited a second and realized where he was.

60 - Aguilar tries a shot from 18 yards that forces Kennedy to pluck it off the goal line.

61 - Nagamura sends cross into box and Ante gets to it but Dominguez does well to make diving save

63 - GOAL!! TAURO FC!! Luis bags it... Luis Moreno. He gets through the defense, knocks it off the post and it trickles over the line before Panchito can get to it. Chivas, ladies and gentleman, is done.

65 - A phone conversation that may have just took place... "Hello, Preki? This is Bob. The game's over. Can you take Sacha out? Thanks."

65 - Sacha out, Jorge Flores in

77 - Okay, sorry, I was writing. Got 3 stories to send at the whistle and they're all pretty much written. Short of three late Chivas goals, all I need to do is update a couple of things and off they go!

82 - Flores nearly had a highlight reel goal but saw his left-footed shot turned away by Dominguez

83 - Curtin clears away a sure goal but the play was blown dead to offside

84 - Razov almost buries one but can't find the handle. Dominguez flops on the ball

85 - Panchito runs up to a ball with the goalie off his line and rips a shot on goal, the ball bounces off a defender though and goes out for a corner, missing the post by inches

86 - Dominguez has been on the ground for about 90 seconds. Wonder if we'll see another 7 minutes of stoppage time

90 - Five minutes of stoppage time

FULL TIME, Chivas 1, Tauro 1. Tauro goes through and will face Santos of Mexico and Municipal of Guatemala and another team

Thoughts on Tauro FC

Chivas USA will host a critical match against Tauro FC tonight. Chivas USA needs to win by two goals in order to have any hopes of advancing to the CONCACAF Champions League.

Here is audio of my post-game chat with Jonathan Bornstein about the game.

Acutally, it's a bit more complicated than just winning by two.

A 2-0 Chivas USA win would send the game to injury time.

A 3-1 Chivas USA win would send Tauro through (road goal edge).

If Tauro scores a single goal, that would ensure that the game would end in regulation no matter what.

Chivas USA will go through with a win by three or more goals regardless of how many goals Tauro scores.

Does Chivas have a shot? It's going to be tough. Ante Razov and Alecko Eskandarian were each already less than 100 percent and to expect them to go again at such a strong clip three days later might be asking too much. I'd expect Justin Braun and Roberto Nurse to play. With those two and Sacha Kljestan, Atiba Harris and Panchito Mendoza searching for offense, I think Chivas has a shot.

Defensively, though, Chivas could be gassed. The central defense pairing will be the same as Tuesday unless Claudio Suarez has some sort of miraculous recovery.

Still, this time it is Tauro FC who has traveled and will play in unfamiliar territory. That's an advantage as well.

If you're going to the game, remember that parking is free. That alone should make for a memorable match.

Champs League highlights

Maybe there's something strange that happens somewhere over the southern border. Maybe when MLS teams head into Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, they lose all sense of themselves.

Maybe that's why both Chivas USA and New England looked like garbage on Tuesday.

And yes, I'm fully aware that DC and Houston won home-and-away series just this year against non-Mexican CONCACAF teams and all that. The tally, though, for MLS teams against CONCACAF competition on their turf is tilted way against the MLS teams' favor. Anyway, here are highlights of the games.

Joe Public-New England


Tauro-Chivas USA


And here's another result of interest - Cruz Azul destroyed Hankook Verdes 6-0 in Mexico City.

Chivas USA/Tauro running blog

Predictions only get worshipful prophetic credit before kickoff.

Here we go!

Tauro: Dominguez, Rojas, Palmas, Manotas, Moreno, Vega, mclean, Parris, Canales?
Escobar, Aguilar

Chivas USA: Thornton, Bornstein, Suarez, Thomas, Mendoza, Naga, Chiles, Paladine, Flores, Kljestan, Harris

Weird, the broadcast missed kickoff.

1 - Mancilla, the coach of Tuaro, well he looks like he enjoys a beer now and again.
4 - Flores is active early on, but his cross misses Harris.
5 - Tuaro has apparently won more championships in Panama than any other.
6 - GOAL! A weird mix-up in front of the goal, as the cross, popped way over, then a Tauro player dribbled a bit in the box, nutmegged Shavar, and another Tuaro guy, Edwin Aguilar, got a foot on it to poke the ball past Thornton. 1-0 Tauro
9 - Chivas USA corner. Sacha received a short corner, passed to Paladini, who made a hash of the cross - Tauro recover the ball.
11 - Flores with a much better cross, but Kljestan gets beaten to it, just barely, by a defender. Corner. Out for a throw. Flores crosses to Harris - header! Wide.
14 - Kljestan's pass is too far, but Flores fights for it regardless in the box. Gets called for foul.
17 - The announcers applaud CONCACAF for setting up this tournament, saying it's the first step in matching Europe. I choke a little on my iced tea.
19 - Yikes, Flores has been playing well, but he blipped on that play. Bornstein crossed the ball well, and Flores' first touch left the ball about eight feet away from him. He'd have been better off shooting.
21 - Two shots by Tauro are closer to killing fans in the stands than in scoring.
23 - CROSSBAR! Thornton beaten again and only the heavy metal saved him. It was a free kick from distance, but it floated high and Thornton backed up and jumped too late.
26 - Escobar from the edge of the box - barely misses the far post.
27 - Corner - caught by Thornton.
30 - The announcers are seriously harshing on Thomas and his mistakes in this game. He gives up a dangerous foul here, just in front of the arc. FK tips the crossbar - very close.
34 - Midfield muckery. Oh dear. Ball popped out to Harris, thanks to a nice Kljestan pass, and Harris came in alone on the goalkeeper and kicked the ball right into him. "He was alone and he failed horribly," says the announcer. Pretty much.
36 - One announcer puts Harris as the fourth forward on the squad, behind Justin Braun.
38 - Nags brings down a Tauro player. Threatening FK. Hits wall.
39 - Nags from distance, hits downtown. The skyscrapers, at least.
44 - Suarez fouls Canales (how dare he?) and Tauro gets a FK. It's served into the box, but no one gets a shot off. It looked to the announcers that Harris fouled somebody and it just didn't get called.
45 - Flores! Why doesn't he shoot? Ball gets away from him in the box and the clearance hits Paladini in the face, first, then his arm.
Halftime.
Hah, hah - the announcers replay not the flukey goal as the "Key play of the game", but Harri's miss alone against the goalkeeper. Cruel, but funny.
Well, with missed opportunities like that, though, Chivas USA have only themselves to blame at this point, depleted roster or no.
46 - The announcers are shocked that Jim Curtain replaces Suarez. They were sure Preki would get rid of the almost-worthless Thomas (their words). They are less surprised that Alecko Eskandarian comes in for Paladini.
48 - They call Esky Alexander, though.
49 - Esky with a close shot - he took it first touch and impressed the announcers by barely missing the far post.
55 - Tuaro player down and off the field.
59 - Another player down. I'm beginning to suspect it's to gain a bit of rest in the humid and hot weather.
60 - FK for Chivas USA. Kljestan puts it over the bar - couldn't get the dip down.
63 - Chivas USA look like they're running out of steam.
64 - Yellow on Vega for clipping Mendoza.
65 - Vaughn is on.
69 - GOAL! Aguilar picks up a pass and the defense breaks as he moves in on goal. they anticipate a pass and no one steps to him until Thornton comes out - Aguilar puts the ball calmly past him. 2-0 Tauro "The goal that kills," the announcers say.
73 - Corner for Chivas USA, but it's cleared.
75 - Esky from distance. Close, but wide.
76 - Chivas USA corner. Caught by the keep.
79 - Chivas trying hard to get a goal to cut into the differential, but Tauro break on the counter and nearly nick a third goal.
80 - Chivas USA with a FK, but goalkeeper is able to snag it. Now the goalkeeper is wasting time with an injury that the announcers don't believe exists.
83 - Panchito's cross misses the box, his teammates, the goal.
84 - Nurse has not played this game and the announcers don't understand why.
85 - Corner for Chivas USA. "A goal would be a marvelous miracle for the MLS team" It doesn't happen. Corner gets cleared.
88 - Flores telegraphs a pass, gets a corner out of it. It gets cleared for another corner, but Dominguez catches that one.
90 - Aguilar gets the MOTM. His second goal convinced the announcers.
7 minutes of stoppage? Wow.
Sach tries to save a ball on a Chivas USA buildup, but he's tired and it goes out.
Nags gets a yellow for clipping Aguilera.
Final whistle. Pretty horrid game for Chivas USA.

Champions League underway

I go back and forth on this brand spankin' new tournament.

The CONCACAF Champions League gets underway today for MLS teams as Chivas USA visits Tauro FC of Panama and New England visits Joe Public of Trinidad & Tobago.

Part of me is anxious to see how MLS teams do on the road against some regional competition while another part thinks this is a complete waste of time. I guess I could become a regular schizophrenic debating this topic with myself.

On some level, more games against more regional competition is a good thing. We can only truly know how good MLS is in this region by MLS teams matching up against regional competition. SuperLiga doesn't exactly fit the bill since all the games are played on American soil.

The Panamanian national team might not be much but how good is their league? Trinidad & Tobago has a decent national team but is their league up to par as well? We know how MLS teams struggle in Mexico - that has long been documented. But how do MLS teams fare against Central American and Caribbean foes? The occasional Champions Cup series has given us some mixed results as MLS teams have not done well against Costa Rican sides but have been able to get past Jamaican and Honduran teams.

On the other hand, is that really important? Is it necessary to dedicate much of the latter portion of the season on the Champions League? We're talking about six midweek games in September and October, games that could place a heavy toll on the participating MLS teams. Will MLS teams even be able to place their full attention on the Champions League with the league slate bearing down on each club?

Ultimately though I... uh, well, I can't decide. I wasn't in favor of it at first just because it didn't seem necessary but I can't say I'm not intrigued to watch the games tonight and that I won't be interested when the group stage gets here, regardless if Chivas USA and/or New England get through.

What say you?

CONCACAF Champions League draw

The draw for the first CONCACAF Champions League was held today. Now that the tournament is finally starting to take shape, it looks interesting. We'll see how it shapes out and whether or not MLS can get four teams in (New England and Chivas USA need to get past Joe Public and Tauro FC, respectively).

Anyway, here's the draw, which still has quite a few holes filled.

Group A
DC United (USA)
Saprissa (CRC)
Hankook Verdes (BLZ) or Cruz Azul (MEX)
Isidro Metapan (SLV) or Olimpia/Marathon (HON)

Group B
Houston (USA)
Luis Angel Firpo (SLV)
San Francisco (PAN) or Jalapa/Municipal (GUA)
Harbour View (JAM) or Pumas UNAM (MEX)

Group C
Atlante (MEX)
New England (USA) or Joe Public (TRI)
Olimpia/Marathon (HON)
Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver (CAN) or Nicaraguan champ tbd

Group D
Santos Laguna (MEX)
Chivas USA or Tauro FC (PAN)
Municipal/Jalapa (GUA)
Alajuelense (CRC) or Puerto Rico Islanders (PR)

Touching a nerve

I guess I pushed some people's buttons with my latest SI.com piece.

I wrote this column on the new CONCACAF Champions League last week for SI.com but the messages keep coming. Some of them have been positive but most haven't been. Some people are just sensitive. I guess that's my conclusion after this wave of responses.

In case you haven't read the column or don't want to click on the link, I wasn't very favorable towards the new tournament. I think it's a flawed tournament and I think it's unnecessary. But I do think it's got its good points as well. It will give the chance for some area clubs who don't get publicity or the chance to play against better-known clubs opportunities unseen in parts of this region. I think Chivas or America at some obscure Honduran club could be a good draw for the Central American side. But overall I think the negatives outgain the positives.

Here's just a sampling of the response I got (I'm saving some of the better ones for my next SI.com piece):

(This one just came in on Wednesday night, from some irate fan in D.C.; not sure how the national teams came into play)

You're an ass. Your contempt and lack of respect for the MLS is not too obvious. Look at the Super Liga results when the MLS teams were not in preseason. If it were not for some fortunate refereeing, the mexican teams would have been shut out completely. Oh, did I hear somebody whine about it being the Mexican preseason?? How does a league that has only been in existense for 11 years compete on par with the "mighty" mexican league? Are you feeling good about the 2-2 tie agianst the US? Got news for you. The first Mexico goal was offsides and the call on the Dempsey goal was crap. One more thing...2-0....bite me.

(Here's a pleasant succinct response, from some person in Alaska)

Bueno, you are an absolute idiot, go back to mexico.

(Note: I would, but I was born in Orange, California, so I suppose I should go back to the OC)

(This reader, from Baltimore, apparently felt I was too mean to the Guatemalan defense; I don't know, I'd call it a bit dead-on, considering Wednesday's result)

"This new tournament, though, has far more questions than answers and more holes than the Guatemalan national team's defense." -- Try to keep your derogatory comments for yourself.

(This reader, from Virginia Beach, actually put some thought into his response, unlike the Alaskan)

I'm pretty sure that you will offend some supporters of the MLS so let me give you credit for a good observation. While MLS has represented themselves well on "Friendlys" against European teams it has not collected any hardware since I don't know when (I just know it was the Galaxy a while back). We still don't know what the criteria for representing MLS in the Superliga but some how LA Galaxy will fit in. It is obvious that the goal of this tournament is more commercial than seeking a true champion of the region. With that said, how are the teams that will partake on the current championship format will do? I mean does it have any value of importance now that a bigger tournament with the same purpose will be played later year?

(And I get some support, from a reader in Dallas)

Nice article, I couldn't agree more! I think the big reason that MLS has so many spots is $$...CONCACAF has this tournament in mind (like most) with an eye towards what Mexico and the U.S. prefer. If you aren't one of those two countries then you're probably going to have any requests and hopes fall on deaf ear. I for one, really enjoyed the "Superliga" matches between Mexican sides and MLS sides and I thought the U.S. sides acquitted themselves nicely in that competition.

(But easily the best response comes from John, location unknown. John, your strength and courage in sending me this is admirable; I mean, it takes a man to send this type of response to someone)

Fuck off beaner.

(Some people take this stuff just a little too seriously)

Birth of a tournament

First, there was InterLiga. Then SuperLiga. Now, there's ChampionsLiga.

Okay, well, that's a stretch. The CONCACAF Champions League carries no such -Liga name. But it is another in what is suddenly a long line of tournaments for MLS teams to participate. (UI'm going to look at this tournament from an MLS point of view, for the time being, though InterLiga isn't open to MLS teams)

First, the details:

- 24 participating teams; 4 MLS, 4 Mexico, 3 Caribbean, 2 Costa Rica, 2 El Salvador, 2 Guatemala, 2 Honduras, 2 Panama, 1 Canada, 1 Belize, 1 Nicaragua
- 8 clubs will be seeded and need not qualify: 2 Mexico, 2 MLS, 1 Costa Rica, 1 Honduras, 1 Guatemala, 1 El Salvador
- remaining 16 clubs will play home-and-away series to fill remaining slots
- Preliminary round will be played late August, early September
- Group stage will consist of three home games and three away games for every participating team
- Group stage will be played in September and October
- Quarterfinals will be played in February and March
- Semifinals will be played in March and April
- Final (two legs) will be played in April

Now that we have the details out of the way, my initial thoughts are regarding the existence of this tournament. Is it necessary to expand the CONCACAF Champions Cup to include a group stage? Is there really a demand from CONCACAF soccer fans for such a tournament? What's the incentive for teams to play in this tournament? I haven't seen any figures as far as purse money involved. Prestige is built up over time so starting a tournament like this won't bring any prestige, regardless if you call it the regional champions league or not. My guess is participating MLS teams will still put the focus on winning MLS Cup, not necessarily this tournament.

And as far as the calendar itself goes, I can't understand why you would have the group stage end the final week of October and force teams to wait nearly four months to play the quarterfinals. MLS teams change a lot over the course of an offseason. You could have an entirely different team compete in Match Day 6 and the quarterfinals first leg, provided an MLS team gets that far.

I haven't seen it confirmed but the MLS teams will probably be the Houston, DC, New England and Chivas USA. Incidentally, if the Galaxy is involved in the inaugural edition of the tournament in any way, I will quit my job in protest. Or at least I'll strongly consider quitting.

Anyway, my initial fears over this tournament is the imbalance in CONCACAF shining through. Any time you hold a CONCACAF party, you get a couple of strong participants rounded out by a bunch of weak sisters. Will we see lopsided results and a quarterfinal round composed exclusively of MLS and Mexican teams?

And why did Costa Rica only get two slots? Saprissa won the CCC a few years ago. MLS hasn't had a team win a CCC since 2001 yet they get four? Will that change in the future?

For now, it seems that this tournament has more questions than answers, at least to me. What do you think?