CONCACAF Champion's Cup

[AreliusII]

Wow, with all that been said about MLS needing to do well in the Champion’s Cup to gain legitimacy, etc. this is embarrassing:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/soccer/wires/04/14/2050.ap.soc.united.pumas.1st.ld.writethru.0217/index.html

[Deuce]

We got beat by them 5-0 in Pre-season and it is nice to see thier hats handed to them... even if it was not us handing out the hats!

DC has got to be out to gain back some face after that loss.
I pity the Crew on Friday!

[soccerman]

That may have been the worst defending in the history of organized soccer. I hope thay play that way against us.

[Czar Jake]

Even though it's nice to see DC get some come-uppance, I'd rather an MLS team won the Champions Cup. This result doesn't help our league at all.

[Merrill]

It's extremely embarrassing. Why'd they even go down there if they were going to play like this. They should have just forfeited and saved the league money in plane fare.

[Rover]

Originally Posted by Czar Jake

Even though it's nice to see DC get some come-uppance, I'd rather an MLS team won the Champions Cup. This result doesn't help our league at all.

Ditto.

This is nothing but bad for MLS. We're bumped out again, and while playing some pitifully dismal soccer. And yes, DCU were representing MLS so when I say "we" I mean our league.

Hope we can put on a better show next time around. The Mexican League gets to laugh at us for yet another year.

[TerryDCU]

I am DCU - through and through.

This was an embarrassing example of DCU play. Nevertheless, we'll regroup and continue.

Not to be an excuse. Kevin Payne had a organizing defender identified, however, he needed an additional 100K to close the deal. MLS would not agree to it.

[GoReal]

I can't believe that DCU will be playing their fourth game in 9 days.
The first leg against Pumas, then Chicago last Sat., then Pumas this past Wednesday, and then the Crew today.

That's crazy!!!!

[Rover]

Originally Posted by GoReal

I can't believe that DCU will be playing their fourth game in 9 days.
The first leg against Pumas, then Chicago last Sat., then Pumas this past Wednesday, and then the Crew today.

That's crazy!!!!

The penalty for success is more work.

In soccer, the better you perform, the more competitions you play. It is very difficult to manage the workload, and it caught up to DCU.

The only answer is more quality roster depth so you can rest players during a busy stretch. MLS teams just aren't there yet but the reserve game system is a step in the right direction.

[AreliusII]

The I-told-you-so has started:

MLS still out of its league
01:08 AM PDT on Saturday, April 16, 2005

Luis Bueno


When it comes to national teams, the United States and Mexico are at about the same level.

Each has claimed important victories over the other in the past decade-plus and, consequently, neither has shown true supremacy.

The same cannot be said for their respective leagues.

Pumas of Mexico showed the Mexican league's superiority when it trounced MLS champ D. C. United in a CONCACAF Champions Cup match Wednesday, 5-0, winning the semifinal series by a 6-1 aggregate.

It was just another loss in a string of embarrassments suffered by MLS clubs.

Plain and simple, MLS lags behind the Mexican league in terms of overall quality and competitiveness. D. C. United's loss is merely indicative of the gap between Mexican and American club soccer.

Really, it shouldn't be a surprise. While MLS didn't exist 10 years ago, Mexican clubs have been around for decades. The oldest Mexican club, Pachuca, dates back to 1900. Mexican clubs such as America, Chivas and Cruz Azul have long competed in international competitions and since 1998 have been a part of Copa Libertadores, South America's version of the Champions League.

MLS is still in its infancy, and greater things surely lie ahead. Though the league is in the process of developing talent as part of its general development, the U. S. national team managed to catch up to Mexico and the rest of CONCACAF in a matter of 10-12 years. With the league producing talents such as Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Brad Friedel, the U. S. benefited.

But individual talent and national team success is not the best way to gauge a country's league.

For instance, Spanish and Dutch clubs have combined for 16 European Champions League titles, yet neither Spain nor the Netherlands has won a World Cup. France, on the other hand, has won a World Cup, yet only one French team has won the Champions League.

For a country's league to gain respect, it must do so in international competition. For MLS clubs, that means the CONCACAF Champions Cup, currently the only annual club competition it's involved in. Four years ago, the Galaxy seemed to have helped MLS clubs turn the corner. The Galaxy won the Champions Cup in 2001 and became only the second American team to win the tournament. But since then, MLS clubs have been anything but competitive in the tournament.

In 2004, Chicago lost at Trinidad side San Juan Jabloteh 5-2; San Jose was routed at Alajuelense of Costa Rica, 3-0. In 2003, host Morelia of Mexico demolished Columbus, 6-0, a year after beating Kansas City, 6-1. San Jose lost at Mexican side Pachuca, 3-0, in 2003, the same year the Galaxy lost on a 6-2 aggregate to Necaxa.

No MLS club has even reached the final of the tournament since 2001.

And if MLS can't compete in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, then it has absolutely no business even thinking about Copa Libertadores. If MLS sides can't win in places like Morelia or Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, imagine the slaughters they'll suffer in Buenos Aires. MLS fans would do well without such embarrassing losses.

For MLS to be truly competitive with the Mexican league, it will take time.

Clubs must develop quality depth. Against Pumas, D. C. United coach Peter Nowak started Nick Van Sicklen, a marginal rookie, and brought on 15-year-old Freddy Adu and Jamil Walker, who is on his third MLS club in the past year.

MLS clubs need to continue to produce top-notch talents like Eddie Johnson, Chad Marshall and Eddie Gaven, but they must keep these players in the league.

Sending young players to European leagues might do wonders for the national team, but it won't help MLS develop into an internationally respected league.