Aug 27 2008
MLS Should Be Glad Nobody Saw This
So the CONCACAF Champions League was background noise on my TV last night. The first game was often relegated to a pic-in-pic window, as I found myself more interested in a World Series of Poker final table on ESPN. (I’ve got that damn poker bug again. Winning a tournament in Las Vegas does that, I guess…)
Given what I did manage to see, though, I can only say this — Major League Soccer should be thoroughly ashamed.
I can understand MLS sides gagging in Mexico. They’ve been doing that for more than a decade. But gagging in Trinidad & Tobago and Panama, and in front of crowds that could not have been bigger than the average Crystal Palace Baltimore crowd? Seriously?
Keep in mind these weren’t even the champions of their regions. Joe Public, who leads the New England Revolution 2-1 after one leg, was the runner-up in the Caribbean Football Union championship. Tauro FC was the Panamanian runner-up, and they notched a 2-0 win over Chivas USA in the first leg at the awesomely named Rod Carew Stadium.
At least the Revs managed to pull one back. The Goats had the better of possession and proved they couldn’t score with the help of Heidi Fleiss.
Maybe these are temporary setbacks. Maybe those regional runners-up will come to America and find themselves on the wrong end of a 3-0 drubbing next week. Still, these MLS clubs couldn’t even manage a draw in Central America or the Caribbean, and somebody should be asking why. Are these teams really that worn out from fixture congestion? Or could it be that the players are taking their feet off the gas to send a message to the owners? I’m sure that last question is the one MLS doesn’t want anyone to ask.
In the meantime, I’m just hoping all these other competitions benefit my Railhawks. We’re at home against the Montreal Impact on Saturday, three days after their first-leg CCL match tonight against Nicaraguan champs Real Esteli in sold out Saputo Stadium. Then next weekend, we’re catching the Charleston Battery three days after their U.S. Open Cup final against D.C. United. So we still have a little hope for this season. Unfortunately, we also still have Scott Schweitzer as our manager…
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Were the Revs and Chivas playing at full strength?
The Revs looked like they were at full strength — Twellman, Joseph, Ralston, Parkhurst, etc. — though Matt Reis was on the bench for this one. Couldn’t say about Chivas, though Sacha Kljestan played the whole way, so I doubt that the rest of the lineup consisted of reserves.
I think what we are seeing here is parity within CONCACAF. It happens in Europe. Look at how Manchester City needed to go to penalities to get by a relatively unknown Danish in the UEFA Cup yesterday. Why can’t it happen here?