With my sincerest apologies for the long World Cup absence, this edition of the Major League Soccer Talk Podcast looks towards this weekend’s action, with Real Salt Lake and New York taking center stage. But before we do, we talk Bob Bradley, Champions League and U.S. Open Cup with the show’s new permanent co-host, Christopher Riordan.
All you ever wanted was two strong semi-final matches that were going to lead into an interesting and intriguing big championship final that had the pomp and circumstance. Well who would’ve thought that one man would play a role in US Soccer’s version of England’s FA Cup? But here it is folks, Sigi Schmid, who lead the Columbus Crew to the 2008 MLS Cup Championship and won the US Open Cup at our Nation’s Capital last year for the Seattle Sounders, will play each other on Tuesday, October 5th at Qwest Field.
DC United 1:2 Columbus Crew A.E.T.
After the terrible league season that DC United had to endure as well with a mid-season coaching change, the US Open Cup was their last chance to earn a title of any kind. It looked like fate would be on their side in the 13th minute as it looked like Gino Padula took down a DC player and a spot kick was awarded. Pablo Hernandez calmly took the shot and converted for the one goal to nil lead.
Throughout the match DC and the Crew had plenty of chances to score to either get an equalizer or a two goal lead. But in the 59th minute cards were flying out from referee Chris Penso. Danny O’Rourke and Pablo Hernandez had a bit of an argument during a challenge. O’Rourke saw yellow while Hernandez saw red and DC United shockingly were down a man thru the entire match.
As the clock was ticking towards the 90th minute it looked like DC United was on their way to another miracle victory in the US Open Cup and we’re ready for their third consecutive final match, but in the 89th minute Marc Burch tried to stop Andy Iro’s shot. Unfortunately he deflected the ball by accident and into his own net. Heartbreak at RFK as the match was moving on towards Extra Time.
But the Crew would get that game winner from their top play maker Guillermo Barros Schelotto in the 98th minute when Carey Talley fouled a Crew player in the area. Got his booking and Schelotto converts his spot kick for the lead and the victory. This was a very tough defeat for DC United as they had one minute of regulation left and whatever stoppage time was going to be added for the second half to move on into their third final match. But now they will have to sit at home and watch the final.
Seattle Sounders 3:1 CD Chivas-USA
The defending US Open Cup Champions had a tough opponent for themselves as well since Chivas-USA was also having their troubles in the league. A tough season for first year head coach Martin Vazquez saw his side go down a goal early as Steve Zakuani was terrorizing Chivas-USA all match long. He made a solid pass to Nate Jaqua who converted his first of the match in the 10 minute.
But the Sounders sensation that is Fredy Montero once again came up big for a goal in the 58th minute with the help of Zakuani once again as he made a nice cross into the area and a sliding Montero converts past Zach Thornton for the two goals to nil lead. There was a sense of fear from the Sounders supporters when Jesus Padilla pulled on back in the 68th minute.
But Jaqua converted his second goal of the match in the second minute of three in second half stoppage time to seal the victory and hosting the US Open Cup Final at Qwest Field. Not only will the winner advance to the Qualifying round of the 2011–2012 CONCACAF Champions League, but the Sounders will get a shot at becoming the first back to back US Open Cup Champion since the NY-Pancyprian Freedoms of the Cosmopolitan League in 1982 and 1983.
But at the same time this will be the battle between the Master and his pupil, as current Columbus head coach Robert Warzycha was Schmid’s assistant with the Crew from 2006 thru 2008 till he took over the reins last year. This year’s US Open Cup Final will be very exciting to see when Tuesday, October 5th comes. I know that I’m excited for it.
Every World Cup cycle we are always ready for our US Men’s National Team to improve with new players and challenge the best or what is considered the best teams within the Confederation of CONCACAF. That also includes the trip to Estadio Azteca and of course our rivals coming to the freezer at Columbus Crew Stadium during the final round of qualifying of every World Cup. Well unfortunately things are going to change for this coming qualifying cycle and that means one thing. The border war derby has been scratched.
From Ives Galarcep I just found out about the new structure for the 2014 World Cup Qualifying campaign and I have to say it’s a terrible situation for both Mexico and the USA. The main reason is that these two sides will not face each other at all unless it’s a Gold Cup Final or the annual International Friendly matches that will always be on American soil.
In the first round there will be eight groups of four with the top two winners of each group advances to a second round with four groups of four, then the top two winners of each group will enter the final round as two groups of four. The winners of both final round groups will advance to the World Cup while the second place finishers will face each other in a playoff for the third spot. Or if FIFA decides to eliminate the half spot playoff with South America since Brazil automatically goes in as the host country, then CONCACAF could get four automatic spots for the top two finishers of both groups.
Nothing is official til July of 2011. Once a date within that month has been secured on FIFA’s International calendar, that’s when all six Confederations will submit a qualifying proposal and the qualifying draws for the 2014 World Cup will proceed. But from what has been written, it sounds like CONCACAF’s new World Cup Qualifying plan will be accepted.
Of course the idea of this new qualifying plan is to give the smaller known nations a chance to face the big boys of North America, Central American and the top two Caribbean sides like Jamaica and Trinidad And Tobago. But if that was the real case then the last two qualifying cycles I thought were strong enough to achieve that goal.
When I heard the rumors of this change happening I thought I could help out CONCACAF by creating my own World Cup Qualifying plan with the help of the FIFA Coca-Cola Rankings. Using the current August 11th CONCACAF Rankings as an example, those ranked first through twelfth would be apart of four Semi-Final Round groups as the last position would be fought for through early qualifying stages.
In round one nations ranked from twentieth to last will face each other through home “n” home qualifying. Round one winners will face each other in round two and those teams ranked fourteenth through nineteenth will start in round two as well. Round 2 winners will face each other in round three to fight for the final semi-final group spot with the exception of group D. Thirteenth ranked nation will await the winners of round 2. All earlier round qualifiers will be contested as goal aggregate qualifiers along with the Away Goals Rule.
Then the top two winners of each semi-final group will advance into the dream proposal of an eight nation final round group. That would mean the World Cup qualifying battles between Mexico and the USA would remain in-tact and things would be just fine. But as I have said if CONCACAF has this new idea for World Cup Qualifying accepted by FIFA, then the biggest rivalry of the Confederation will be pushed out and that is something CONCACAF can’t lose.
Six precious points on the line between the top two sides of the Confederation and what does it mean when you have new talented players making their way to the National Team and they won’t play their top rival during qualifying. At the same time you never know if Mexico and the USA will play each other in the final of next year’s Gold Cup tournament.
I hope FIFA will inform CONCACAF’s competition committee that this proposal is rejected and just stick with what has worked the last two qualifying cycles.
Reports have come out this evening confirming that Bob Bradley will stay as coach of the US Mens National Team for another four years. Just as speculation was growing that Bradley would be out, Jurgen Klinsmann would be in, and US Soccer was going to make some significant changes before the next World Cup, it seems that everyone has chosen stability over transformation. There are several different ways to look at this:
This was the right move
Bradley may not be the most charismatic character of all time, but he did well. Under his stewardship, the US won the Gold Cup, got to the finals of the Confederations Cup, won the CONCACAF qualifying group, and won its World Cup Group. While the US did crash out of the World Cup by losing to Ghana in overtime, that game was as close as a game could be, and had the US won it, this decision would be a no-brainer. While major countries like France and Italy were having personality breakdowns in South Africa, Bradley kept our boys loose, focused and together as a team. The team was in great shape physically, and despite the obvious limitations of the US squad, especially after Charlie Davies and Oguchi Onyewu suffered serious injuries, the team met its main objective – getting to the knock out stage. Bradley has earned the chance to take the team to the next level.
This is a disaster
Bradley is not the guy to take the team to the next level. He made some fundamental mistakes in our tactics that cost the US a chance to really make a mark in South Africa. What was Ricardo Clark doing there against Ghana? What was Gooch doing in there against Slovenia when he could barely walk? Were it not for a saving goal by Landon Donovan, the US would have been going home in the group stages, and this decision would have been a no-brainer. Furthermore, that run at the Confederation Cup was not much of a run – we got slaughtered by Italy and Brazil in the group stage, lucked into the knock out stage, and blew a two goal lead in the final that could have delivered a historic moment for US Soccer. Finally, winning things in CONCACAF is no great challenge. Even Steve Sampson could achieve that! If the US is ever going to move up from the JVs to the Varsity squad of soccer nations, it needs new leadership.
Honestly, it really does not matter
There is no more over-valued job than coach of the national team. You don’t really develop players in that position, — you simply pick the best 23 available and see what happens. Perhaps a coach like Raymond Domenech can cause a team like France to fall apart, but only a fool would say that Vicente del Bosque caused Spain win in South Africa. Spain won because they have the best 23 players in the world. The US will have more success when they have better players, and the coach of the team has only the most marginal impact on growing the pool of players that can succeed at the highest level.
What do you think?
Major League Soccer and adidas have extended their partnership agreement through 2018, according to a press release Monday.
The two have been partners since the first season of MLS back in 1996.
“The United States is a breeding ground for athletic talent and we need to ensure our homegrown athletes have viable opportunities to play soccer at the highest level,” said Patrik Nilsson, president of adidas America, in the release. “We need to accelerate the model for soccer development in North America to attract and keep elite talent engaged and excited about professional opportunities in the sport. We share a long-term vision with MLS to develop the game and are excited to foster the next generation of American soccer stars.”
MLS commissioner Don Garber also weighed in, adding “One of the major reasons Major League Soccer has become one of the top soccer leagues in the world is due to the support and commitment of adidas. They have a clear vision for the sport in North America, and they see MLS as a cornerstone of that vision. Our extension with adidas is a major statement by an internationally respected brand that MLS is increasing in value and that our commitments to stadium construction, strategic expansion, player development and improvement in the overall quality of play are playing dividends.”
I find it difficult to see this as anything other than fantastic news for MLS.
Why?
Consider for a moment that the NFL, NHL and NBA are staring down the barrel of potential labor strife as their respective CBAs expire in the next two years.
With this deal, reportedly worth around $200 million, and the new collective bargaining agreement already in place, MLS arguably finds itself in a more stable position in terms of long term growth and labor peace than every other major sport in America.
What do you think? Excited about the continuation of the Generation Adidas program? Wondering why MLS extended a deal that had four years left on it? Chime in below.
The Week 22 numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||||
| Week 22 | 170 GP | YTD | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | GP | Avg | +/- | Avg | +/- | GP | |
| 2006 | 13,932 | 6 | 15,082 | 15,361 | 143 | |||
| 2007 | 16,209 | 16.34% | 6 | 16,311 | 8.15% | 16,005 | 4.19% | 144 |
| 2008 | 15,294 | -5.64% | 9 | 16,350 | 0.24% | 17,036 | 6.45% | 148 |
| 2009 | 16,236 | 6.16% | 6 | 15,903 | -2.73% | 16,559 | -2.80% | 155 |
| 2010 | 19,215 | 18.35% | 8 | 16,628 | 4.56% | 16,628 | 0.41% | 170 |
| YTD — 170 Games | ||||
| Average | Median | %<10K | %>20k | |
| 2006 | 15,082 | 13,036 | 21.18% | 17.06% |
| 2007 | 16,311 | 14,804 | 8.82% | 25.29% |
| 2008 | 16,350 | 15,078 | 11.76% | 24.12% |
| 2009 | 15,903 | 14,629 | 15.88% | 20.00% |
| 2010 | 16,628 | 14,434 | 7.65% | 22.94% |
Here are the attendance comparisons to 2009:
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Tuesday, August 31st 8:00PM EDT — 5:00PM PDT
Guests: Blake Compton Returns To Discuss Officiating Debacle of CONCACAF Champions League Group Match Between Santos Laguna & Columbus Crew
More discussion of officiating problems in CONCACAF Champions League
Andrew Bucholtz: Vancouver Soccer Blogger Discusses MLS in 2011
Mike Buytus: Charleston Battery Supporter discusses USL-2nd Championship & New D2 Standards
Re-Capping Red Bulls Victory Against San Jose Earthquakes
Thursday, September 2nd 8:00PM EDT — 5:00PM PDT
Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Semi-Finals Re-Cap Show
DC United Vs Columbus Crew
Seattle Sounders Vs CD Chivas-USA
