The Journey to MLS Cup 2013 Continues

This weekend was full of MLS action with many highly anticipated matches that kept us glued to the TV. Some of the matches were truly entertaining while others seem to lack some of the desired creativity. For the most part coaches approached this first leg strategically. We will have to wait and see how it turns out for each club. There were two matches on Saturday, November 2 and two more on Sunday, November 3, and it felt good to let go of time spent watching Premiership action in favor of MLS action.

New England Revolution 2 – 1 Sporting Kansas City

In this match up where the Revs hosted the mighty Sporting we saw a very spirited match full of action. It was often broken up and it did flow very smoothly but the young guns of New England made it work and they are going to Kansas City with one goal in hand. Since goals away do not count any more in the MLS Playoffs all they have to do is hunker down for a draw. That won’t be easy however, as Sporting led by the experienced Peter Vermes really own their house, and the scoring guns of the Midwest are likely going for a very strong attacking game. Their strategy was clearly to withstand the youthful attacks of the Revs and take a decent result home to Kansas City. Sporting KC have the better chance to advance.

Seattle Sounders FC 1 – 2 Portland Timbers FC

This arch-rivalry of the Pacific Northwest lived up to its typical excitement. The match was very exciting to watch, with lots of dynamism and ongoing attacks. It was a very frustrating night for Seattle and Dempsey, especially since he had a good game, but it seems as if Seattle’s famous coach Sigi Schimdt just doesn’t have the right combination of players quite figured out this year. The Timbers defended mightily and attacked very effectively and had the Sounders scared for most of the match. There was some life sparked into the Seattle side once Mauro Rosales came in. It is interesting that Rosales doesn’t get more starts given that he carried this team at one point and clearly has a very positive influence on the attack. Needless to say, the Sounders have a monumental task ahead of them going south on I-5. The Timbers will be gracious hosts, but they will show their neighbors to the north who’s boss in the Rose City. Portland Timbers have the upper hand.

Houston Dynamo 2 – 2 New York Red Bull

Houston welcomed New York at BBVA and the Red Bulls wasted no time in pushing for goals. It was a decent match for both teams but New York definitely looked like the better side. They led Houston for most of the match. The boys in orange just couldn’t make it happen against the rugged New York defense. The Dynamo got the equalizer late in the match only after the Red Bulls went down to 10 men. Olave received a red card for a reckless and completely unnecessary foul. However, Houston will have to do much better if they want advance. NYRB probably have this taken care of since they are going home with a draw and a strong road performance in the back pocket.

Los Angeles Galaxy 1 – 0 Real Salt Lake

This was a fairly decent match but very one-side, as coach Jason Kreis had his team simply worry about withstanding the attacks of the mighty Galaxy. RSL were not concerned at all about getting players into the attacking third. In fact, they rarely worried about the midfield; an area they usually control well. RSL’s team general,  Kyle Beckerman, seemed relaxed on the pitch and played more like a defender than his usual role. Los Angeles pushed hard toward the Salt Lake goal throughout the match, but the RSL defense and their superb goalkeeper, Nick Rimando, handled all that pressure exquisitely. All but one incredible shot that is, as Sean Franklin’s highlight reel strike will do down in the books as on of the best goals ever. It was a great moment for this deserving Galaxy player who seldom scores, but contributes immensely whenever he’s on the pitch. RSL probably feel good about going to Utah needing only one goal to make up the loss in LA and one more to advance toward the MLS Cup, but the experience of the Galaxy players will be difficult to match. Bruce Arena and his men are very excited about the possibility of a three-peat as MLS Cup winners. It should be a fantastic match to watch.

In just a few days, four teams will celebrate and four will become spectators, but with great hope for the rapidly approaching 2014 season. We, the fans, will have a great time being a part of it, even if our hearts will be broken at the sight of our team losing. There is always next year.

Dynamically Impacted

Last night we celebrated a superb first match of the 2013 MLS Playoffs in which Seattle and Colorado offered beautiful footballing art as Seattle moved on to meet their archrivals, Portland Timbers. Quite the opposite happened tonight as the Houston Dynamo FC welcomed the Montreal Impact FC in their orange-clad house. This match was not close although Houston played well and Montreal showed glimpses of their brilliance.

As typical, both teams started off hot but very early on it became clear that Houston had control of the game and Montreal did not. Houston played a well-rounded game from the opening whistle. The team had a good understanding of their strategy in defense, midfield, and attack. Montreal seemed to be quite dangerous on a few occasions in the attacking third but their defense and even the midfield struggled to find a rhythm. The defense, in particular, seemed uncoordinated at best. It appeared that Andrew Wenger was going to serve as a lynchpin for Marco Di Vaio but that certainly did not happen as Di Vaio, a reliable prolific scorer, often found himself waiting for passes or having to crawl back to the center line to get a couple of good touches on the ball. In defense, Camara and Rivas struggled.

The Houston mastermind, Dominic Kinnear, knows exactly which buttons to push once his team makes the playoffs. Truthfully, the Dynamo cannot boast with their performance during the long stretch of the 2013 season, but once in the playoffs they turn on a different switch and all of a sudden they look like potential contenders for the MLS Cup. Brad Davis was his usual self; simply playing a superbly reliable match all 90+ minutes. Boniek Garcia who is quickly becoming a venerated personality in Honduras, whose national team he helped greatly to become a participant at next year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil, was excellent covering great ground and interchanging positions with Will Bruin and Brad Davis seamlessly. Barnes Giles, played a solid game all around. A great source of hope for the Dynamo is Will Bruin who seems to have re-found his scoring boots at the right time. He was excellent both in terms of skill and work ethic. Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall deserves praise, as he was simply fabulous. The composed keeper was probably their most consistent player all season long and he just informed the rest of MLS that he’s serious about his job.

The match was unfortunately very rough on the part of the Impact players. A few of them seemed relentless about taking down the Houston players. It made for an ugly match on more than one occasion. The referee Mark Geiger did a fine job, but there’s only so much a man can do. Nelson Rivas, who had a sub-par performance in the center defense for Montreal was cautioned repeatedly and ended up seeing yellow twice, immediately followed by red. The Impact was basically done by that point anyhow, but the sending off of Rivas really seems to have been the nail in the coffin. The saddest part is that for about 10 minutes prior to that Montreal was finally getting some fluidity to their attack with a couple of subs that had come in. Sadly the end of the match is marred by yet another tantrum by some Montreal Impact players. Montreal’s Andres Romero kicked Seattle’s Kofi Sarkodie while down after the whistle, followed by the traditional shoving which quickly escalated to serious pushing and shoving, even chocking and scratching by the famous Marco Di Vaio. This was simply horrible and unacceptable. Referee Mark Geiger correctly red-carded both Romero and Di Vaio leaving only eight Montreal footballers on the pitch. The game ended soon after with Houston moving on based on their excellent 3 – 0 win, but even more importantly with great dignity.

What might one say about this childish outburst on the part of the Montreal players?! Sad! Unfortunately, some of us who have followed the Montreal Impact for many years through the USL and NASL, this does not surprise us. Such reaction by a losing Montreal Impact side has become expected. Even one of the color commentators called them ‘sore losers’ and they certainly came across that way. Now, before too many accusations fly about, please take note that this writer does not believe all Montrealers, nor even the Montreal Impact to be sore losers but something must be addressed in the organization in order to change this club attitude when faced with a loss. This experience was especially disappointing considering that the Montreal Impact have played a superb season all year long. Needless to say, the Impact are a serious organization and they will address this matter responsibly.

The first two elimination matches of this year’s playoffs are done and now we move into the weekend with great anticipation. Congratulations to Seattle and Houston and good luck to all the teams already dreaming of lifting the coveted MLS Cup.

Battle in Seattle

The first game of the MLS Playoffs 2013 has ended with the expected victory of the much-hyped Seattle Sounders FC of the visiting Colorado Rapids FC. It would have been quite the upset, had the Rapids defeated the Sounders on their home pitch in front of their excited, and somewhat weary fans. It was not to be a night of upsets.

As expected, there was much anticipation about the match, especially being the first of this year’s playoffs. The MLS Cup run has been a difficult aspect of Seattle’s MLS history in spite of all other successes, on the pitch, in the front office, and especially in the stands. For all intents and purposes the Sounders had a shaky season, but they continued to make headlines with their fans and most notably with the signing of superstar Clint Dempsey. The US men’s national team and Tottenham Hotspur striker returned to MLS making history in the process, but that story is well known at this point. The MLS Playoffs leading to MLS Cup still puzzle football fans across the world, but in English-speaking North America they seem to energize us. The Colorado Rapids have an MLS Cup in their cupboard from 2010, and they have done well this year also.

The match began with plenty of spark from both teams as is typical these days throughout the world. Both teams made every effort to score early. The first 10 minutes went by and the teams settled in, and both kept an upbeat tempo, however, Seattle seemed to make many more connections in the attacking third. The first goal came from Brad Evans with a superb strike that sent the Sounders fans into jubilation. Rightly so! They really attacked the Colorado net constantly. The Rapids were not deterred and they continued to play with great energy, inspired in no small measure by Colorado coach Oscar Pareja. The second half is always expected to bring about a change of sorts, particularly for the team that’s down a goal facing elimination. Indeed, in the second half we saw more energy and strategic thoughtfulness from the Rapids. There was also a noticeable difference in the drive of the Sounders, especially after the 1-hour mark. This was to be expected as Seattle Coach Sigi Schmidt was clearly already planning for the next match against Portland, whose coach Caleb Porter was already well into his pages of notes sitting comfortably a few rows up from the legendary Seattle coach.

The match was nearing the end as both teams played with lots of heart; Colorado fighting for their first goal and Seattle managing the game toward the final whistle. The whole match was very entertaining with lots of great plays and many attempts at goal from Seattle. The pitch is populated by 22 footballers with great passion for this sport, their respective teams and cities. At times it was a little rough but referee Silviu Petrescu deserves great accolades for managing these two teams superbly. With less then 10 minutes left, the unthinkable happened. A quick attack by Colorado and Seattle goalkeeper Michael Gspurning catches the ball just a couple of feet outside the area. Naturally, Petrescu showed him the red card. The entire Seattle fanbase skipped a heartbeat collectively at that point. Backup keeper Marcus Hahnemann, the 41-year old Seattle native comes in and does well for the final 10 minutes or so. This was a dream come true for this incredible goalkeeper who still plays top-flight football at his age. He is an inspiration. But, of course, 10 minutes is plenty of time to score two goals with the attacking prowess of Colorado in the likes of Gabriel Torres and the experienced Edson Buddle. Dershorn Brown was kept away from the Seattle net most of the night, but now the Rapids were one man stronger. Not only did Seattle keep the Colorado attacks at bay but also Eddie Johnson scored an insurance goal, which sent the fans into a frenzy. This was a great finish for the Seattle team and fans. Clint Dempsey, Leonardo Gonzalez, and Osvaldo Alonso had a superb showing throughout the match. Dempsey in particular was able to deliver more than 20 excellent passes. His greatest contribution, in this writer’s opinion, is his ability to move without the ball. This type of cerebral playing strategy freed up players like Neagle and Johnson to attack more easily. The first goal scored by Brad Evans was, in fact, a direct result of the Deuce pulling two Colorado defenders with him which gave Evans all the time in the world to place that shot exactly where he wanted it, beautifully stretching the net. The entire Seattle team played well. Colorado also played very well, and hopefully they take satisfaction and pride in that as they retreat into the Rockies. The next season is just around the corner and they have much to look forward to next year as well.

The 2013 MLS Cup run has begun with a bang and we have more to come. Seattle are already preparing for Saturday’s match against their Cascadian neighbors to the south. Houston will play host to Montreal and this also promises to be a fantastic match between teams with great attackers. Predictions will fly in all directions, and hearts will either soar or be crushed but all will enjoy every moment of our beautiful game.

The Great American Soccer Landscape

The beautiful game has experienced superb growth in the USA and even in Canada in the past ten years and it's been great to watch. Men who played the game 20 and 30 years ago only saw this type of scenario in their dreams. It's worth examining how far we have come. Currently, there are three professional leagues in the USA, with the top two having teams north of the 49th parallel also.

Major League Soccer currently fields 19 teams with the 20th team to join in short order and the firm announcement that the target number of teams is 24. The league began with great aspirations soon after the USA hosted the World Cup in 1994. MLS kicked off its first season in 1996 with 10 teams spread throughout the country. The vision showed some wisdom as the league pursued some high profile players and distributed them to all the teams. There was plenty of excitement and soccer fans were thrilled by the playmaking prowess of Carlos Valderama and the staunch defense of Alexi Lalas. It was a great start and for a few years following it held ground well and even added a couple of teams. Sadly, the clubs suffered financially and the league experienced a 'rock-bottom' effect between the years of 2002 and 2006. The two Florida teams, Miami and Tampa Bay, were dropped and the league struggled to hang on for dear life. That was not to last long, however, as beginning in 2007 a complete turn around began. Teams have been added almost every year since and more importantly each club has gotten stronger and richer. The league has constantly increased standards and the club owners have stepped up their involvement and investment. Credit goes to many contributors to the king of sports, league officials, owners, players, referees and supporters. MLS has a goal in mind, to be one of the top leagues in the world, and it's very likely going to happen in the not so distant future.

The MLS is fabulous, but that's not the end of it. The resurrected North American Soccer League, the official Division 2 league in the USA, started off slow and cautious but has grown beautifully in the last year. There is great interest from local fan groups and even some serious investors. The history of soccer in the USA and Canada will always include a special note about the NASL's heights in the 1970s when the world's greatest footballer Pele dazzled American sports fans with his passing and scoring genius. Sadly, the NASL shut down operations in 1984. Some of the clubs remained functioning in different shapes but by and large both the league and most of the clubs ceased operations. The NASL came back to life due to some strife between some club owners and United Soccer Leagues front office. It wasn't an easy start but the NASL leadership with great support from Traffic Sports have gotten the league going in the right direction. In 2015 season the league will field 13 teams, and more are likely to join in the years to come. Undoubtedly, the NASL will see its greatest success on and off the pitch as soon as MLS reaches the maximum 24 clubs.

The third professional soccer league getting attention is the USL Pro. The United Soccer Leagues started in the 80s with a humble beginning but in very short order it has become a permanent fixture in any soccer conversation in the USA. It currently boasts a total of four leagues and an intricate youth system that includes over 100 organizations. This is truly impressive. At the top of the pyramid of USL's system of leagues is the USL Pro league which includes 13 teams with all but two clubs being in the East. This will not be status quo for long as the USL has also announced expansion which includes at least one more West Coast club. The USL Pro is not officially a Division 3 league simply because the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) has not yet clarified all the D3 standards. This isn't to say that the clubs suffer in quality football. In fact, some fans of the game feel that USL Pro is a better league than NASL. In truth, USL Pro has a couple of clubs that are clearly ready for a much greater challenge than the rest of the clubs. This league also has a great future but it is likely going to experience some more growing pains as it grows more comfortable given a recent cooperation agreement with MLS.

Canada currently has four clubs competing at very high level, three clubs in MLS, and one in NASL and a second club begins play the 2014 season. Canadian soccer fans have also experienced a tumultuous history watching a few incarnations of a national professional league and a couple of attempts at local semi-professional leagues. Currently the Canadian Soccer League provides great opportunities for a number of players by fielding 12 teams spread throughout Ontario. It is listed as a professional league but very few players make a living wage by playing, thus semi-professional would be more appropriate. Additionally, the league has been plagued by allegations of match-fixing as well as struggles with sanctioning from the Canadian Soccer Association. Hopefully something can be done to turn that ship around. The member clubs do have great soccer talent both among players and coaches and a few of the clubs boast impressive histories.

Lastly, some fans consider that the most exciting expansion of the beautiful game has taken place in the national amateur leagues spread across the USA and few clubs sprinkled throughout Canada. The USL Premier Developmental League includes 59 clubs in almost every state of the USA and a handful of clubs in Canada. The level of play varies dramatically from club to club and the financial stability equally so, but many college soccer players spend time on these clubs as they are able to maintain eligibility for college play while receiving great training and experience in the summer. The National Premier Soccer League, with teams exclusively in the USA, has a short history of less then ten years, but they will field more than 60 teams in the 2014 season with likely more to join. They have taken a very serious business approach to operations, while being committed to providing great sports entertainment and training for young college players. Some of their players are members of much celebrated NCAA D1 programs. Additionally, the NPSL has recently mentioned that they will explore an option for Promotion and Relegation. This would be truly historic for American soccer. There are a few other top level amateur leagues which play a strong role on a regional level, the one which stands out notably being the Pacific Coast Soccer League. Many fans are beginning to see that true growth of soccer is most exciting at this grassroots local level and we can expect many more developments.

In conclusion this is an exciting time to be fan of the jogo bonito in our country and we can begin to dream about future developments. News will abound, players will shine, clubs will conquer, and fans will rejoice. Keep Kicking!

Brazil, Brazil! Where Art Thou?

Published monthly, the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking of national teams gives football fans across the world much to talk about, not to mention numerous statistics that sports betting outfits use to create odds. No one can deny it! It's exciting to see your country climb up a few spots and even more exciting to see your arch-rival drop a few. In 2011 the ranking has provided something that no football fans of a few years ago would have been able to predict. Brazil, who added impressive qualities to the beautiful game, has not fared as usual in the rankings.

Brazil is not doing poorly, to be sure, but they are not living up to our expectations; thus it gives a new topic of conversation. They are still doing very well, being ranked 7th at their lowest in 2011, but in looking at how the year progressed the success of the Selecao leaves something to be desired. The Brazilians began the year ranked 4th. At their best they ranked 3rd in April and May, and for just more than halfway through the year, namely July, they kept a spot in the top 5 nations. However, the greater challenge is that by the middle of 2011 the world of football was no longer talking about Brazil as the standard setter. Spain was the new standard. Since August have maintained a spot at 6th or 7th but it's difficult to believe that Brazilian fans will consider acceptable heading toward the World Championships which they will host in 2014. Questions abound: What is Brazil loosing? What is Spain doing? How are coaches changing? How are players changing? Is football changing its character? Those questions are too complex for one writer, particularly yours truly, but a quick examination might prove a useful lesson

For years we have watched Brazilian players add superb flair to club teams in virtually every national league and we have fallen in love with them.There are so many to name, from Pele to the young Neymar. But as we fell in love with these fantastic players we always looked forward to seeing them come together in their traditional yellow jerseys. We expected to see the true jogo bonito that would hallow the pitch. And we did. For the better part of the past two decades it seemed that the Brazilians had enough players to assemble three national teams, and each one would have been a serious contender for the World Cup. There was a certain creativity, vision, and even footwork trickery that the rest of the world's football nations were not able to match. Their ability to score seemed unstoppable, at times the belief was that it didn't  matter how many goals the opposition scored, the Brazilians would simply out-score them.

It's difficult to understand everything that happened, but it serves well to look at the past few World Championships. Brazil won the tournament in USA 1994. They were amazing with their depth of players. At times games looked as if Brazil was a men's team while the opposing team were a junior club. Brazil continued in impressive form but were stunned in the France 1998 final match by a team that played an incredibly composed style of football. Led by the resourceful Zinedine Zidane, the French defended and attacked as a team. Even considering the home field advantage, the French won convincingly. However, Brazil still had a fabulous pool of incredible players. Their dominance of world football continues and in Korea/Japan 2002 they raise the world's most coveted trophy once more as their shining star, Ronaldo, conquers the hearts of fans. But things turn sour in Germany 2006 quarterfinals when France give the Brazilians an early ticket home. The World Cup of South Africa 2010 is still fresh in the minds of many fans, where Spain essentially changed the definition of beautiful football.

Around the time of the Germany 2006 World Cup we start hearing more frequently the phrase "everyone behind the ball" and this reminds fans of France 1998. That's how the French tasted victory over the Brazilians. The idea that football has attackers and midfielders and defenders will not die out, but in the last few years even center forwards must defend and central defenders score goals more than ever before in history. This is a paradigm shift. In addition, the concept that a superstar will care a team is no longer valid. Sure some have done so very successfully; Gheorghe Hagi for Romania and Hristo Stoichkov for Bulgaria, but with the development of football tactics throughout the world that style of play simply doesn't cut it. The Spaniards have apparently mastered humility on the pitch; though it has made all of them demigods. Many coaches throughout the world have decided to adopt this new style of being humble on the pitch. Everyone supports everyone else at all times and the ball moves around the 700 or so square meters of grass in seamless transition. Creativity and brilliance is mostly in passing and positioning.

Brazil is a proud footballing nation and incredibly resourceful, so it would be foolish to believe that they will maintain the status quo. They are quick learners with a depth of players that most countries can only hope and pray for. In most national leagues having a Brazilian on the roster of any first or second tier team is time for celebration; it means the football gods have bestowed blessings upon the local team. Conversely, it is a safe assumption that Brazil will pick themselves up by the laces and offer us a new level of beauty to the beautiful game. The road to Brazil 2014 will begin construction in 2012. We'll just have to wait and see what the new year brings.

 (This article was originally published in January 2012 at www.IMSoccernews.com.)