MLS Radar: Week 2

Posted on March 17, 2015 by CT

I promised the action would get better and it did. Week 2 was filled with intriguing storylines and can’t-miss-highlights, so let’s get right into this second edition of the MLS Radar Series. Below you will find a quick take on each of the weekend’s eight matches. If you don’t feel like reading but still love MLS, skip to the bottom where you’ll find fun stuff including my Goals of the Week, “F” Ups of the Week (refs eligible too!), Surprises of the Week and Tweets of the Week.

Friday Night Soccer

I particularly enjoy watching sports on Friday nights. For years I’ve thought MLS should incorporate a regular Friday night broadcast into their season schedule, something they finally did this off-season. It didn’t hit me last week that Friday Night Soccer is finally here, perhaps because LA v. CHI made for such a dull matchup. But this week it really settled in that MLS will become a Friday night mainstay on TV sets around the country thanks to UniMás, the Spanish language television network. HOU v. ORL provided for an intriguing matchup with the Dynamo coming off an unconvincing win and expansion side Orlando looking to build off of a draw in its inaugural match.

HOU 0 – 1 ORL
Orlando looked better for most of the match in my opinion, controlling possession and creating more quality looks than Houston. Like last year, the Dynamo defense struggles in the air while the midfield doesn’t apply enough pressure on the ball as attacks are mounting. Houston ‘keeper Tyler Deric has already put together an impressive highlight reel of saves this season in helping the Dynamo keep a clean sheet through the first three halves of the season. But a loose touch off a back pass in the 74^th minute showed Orlando midfielder Pedro Ribeiro just enough of the ball and he punished the in-form ‘keeper for the mistake.

In the end Orlando took the match 1-0 as Houston were never very dangerous. The Lions looked solid in week 1 and they built on that with a deserved three points on the road in week 2. They are looking pretty damn silky for an expansion side and should be fun to track in their inaugural season. If they can acquire a quality MLS striker (finishing seems to be the biggest problem right now), the eastern conference may need to look out.

Saturday Games

CHI 0 – 1 VAN
This one had draw written all over it, both before the game when predicting the outcome, and late into the match, as it was scoreless 85 minutes in. But an error in the defensive 18 from veteran MLS defender Lovel Palmer cost the Fire in the 86^th minute. Vancouver DP Pedro Morales should have been better and his MVP caliber form from 2014 is noticeably missing. Morales easily should have scored twice early, missing badly on two wide open looks in the first half. Chicago created some nice chances as well and improved on their week 1 outing but ‘Caps GK David Ousted played a great game and really earned his clean sheet. This was a big win for Vancouver after losing at home a week ago. They are sure to rack up some points at BC Place this season, so if they can find results on the road, even against the likes of Chicago, that’ll be enough to get them into the playoffs in a tough western conference.

CLB 2 – 0 TFC
It’s a good thing TFC managed three points in a tough venue (BC Place) in week 1 because I’ve just learned that the Reds open 2015 with seven straight road matches. What a brutal start to the year! The 2-0 loss to Columbus on Saturday night should not have TFC fans too worried because it was a tough road match against arguably the best team in the east. Plus, TFC were the victim of a terrible call, as fullback Justin Morrow was shown red just before halftime after what looked like a clean tackle. Ten-man Toronto couldn’t hang in the second half and goals from Justin Meram and Kei Kamara sealed the points for the home side.

FCD 3 – 1 SKC
The #BBQderby: This nickname didn’t catch on in the TwitterSphere, but I don’t care, and will be referring to the Dallas v. SKC matchup as the Barbecue Derby from now on. Oscar Pareja made the lineup adjustment many predicted, bringing on defensive mid Michel and his deadly left foot instead of Ryan Hollingshead. The one lineup change I would like to see going forward is removing Atiba Harris from the starting XI. A lot of FCD fans were probably glad to see Colombian hot head Jair Benitez leave because of his knack for picking up reds and yellows, but it seems that Atiba could fill his shoes nicely in that department, not to mention the fact that he’s performed poorly at right back through two weeks.

Dallas switched from the 4-4-2 used in week 1 and went with the 4-2-3-1 that suits Mauro Diaz so well. The team performance was improved and we looked a more threatening side than a week ago. It must be noted that SKC were without USMNT center back Matt Besler (suspended), but Dallas looked dangerous up the middle of the pitch, out wide and from set pieces all night. Both first half goals came from mistakes but Dallas’ was still the classier of the two, culminating after two nice passes and a sure finish by the Super Rat. SKC’s lone goal on the night came just before halftime was more a product of subpar defending and questionable goalkeeping than a specific blunder.

The second half was impacted by an egregious error from the officiating crew. Only 10 minutes into a half that seemed evenly played, Blas put one in the back of the net. The only problem is that he and four of his teammates were at least a yard offside. Both sets of players, coaches and fans looked on in astonishment as the head ref pointed to the center circle rather than looking to his assistant.

Five Dallas players were in an offside position before Blas Perez (circled) scored our 2nd goal of the match

I honestly didn’t even celebrate because I kept waiting for the offside flag to be raised – it was a strange sensation. FCD later grabbed a third thanks to Fabian Castillo – you can see this highlight in the GOTW section below. SKC could have put the pressure on late after being awarded a questionable PK in the 79^th minute, but star striker Dom Dwyer can’t finish a ham sandwich right now and ‘keeper Chris Seitz came up with a clutch save to seal the win for Dallas. Don’t look now, but FCD is on top of the MLS power rankings.

RSL 3 – 3 PHI
I have already written too much and I did not watch most of this game, so I’ll keep this short. From what I understand Philly’s three goals were mostly a product of good fortune and luck. Their new Young DP, Venezuelan striker Fernando Aristiguieta, opened his MLS account, bagging a first half brace thanks to some sloppy play from RSL. This much I did watch; RSL were down 3-2 late and scrambling to find an equalizer in their home opener. Then Luke Mulholland’s 85^th minute shenanigans paid off as head referee Alan Chapman pointed to the spot when the RSL midfielder took a fall in the box. Click here to see how bad the call was. No doubt, the officials decided the outcome of this one instead of the players. Unfortunately for us, Philly head man Jim Curtain was a class act and kept his post match comments tame.

SEA 2 – 3 SJ
Clint Dempsey bagged a garbage-ish goal in record time and must have had the Quakes and the famous Seattle crowd thinking the beatdown was on. But not so fast. New manager Dom Kinnear has clearly injected San Jose with some confidence in his return to the Bay Area. It didn’t take long for Chris Wondolowski to get on the score sheet, bringing down a cross with a nice first touch and hammering it past the ‘keeper with his second touch in the 13^th minute. It was a classic Wondo finish that brought back memories from 2012, when he set the league on fire with a record-tying 27 goal season.

Wondo’s second goal, an opportunistic but well taken blast in the 48^th minute, was less about Wondo and more about Brad Evans, the veteran jack-of-all-trades who has seen time with the USMNT. Seattle are experimenting with Brad Evans at center back to start the season but he gift wrapped the two second half goals for the Quakes on Saturday and cost his side the match. When I started following the league a few years ago, Evans was known almost exclusively as a midfielder, albeit a versatile one with a deep knowledge of the game. Then, during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, JK gave Evans a look at the fullback position. Now Seattle is trying to convert him to a full time central defender so they can pair him with three time MLS Defensive Player of the Year Chad Marshall.

Back to the game. San Jose were down a man for the final 38 minutes but it hardly showed. They had the better of the chances until the final 10-15 minutes when they were clearly running on fumes. A 70^th minute strike from new Quakes DP Innocent Emeghara capped off Evans’ nightmare game. The San Jose striker deserves credit for putting a dirty move on Evans and beating the ‘keeper with a class finish, but again Evans inexperience on the back line showed itself on the play, which eventually cost Seattle the match.

Through two weeks, the Brad Evans in central defense experiment is looking like a risky one, and the Seattle faithful might be examining their defensive depth a bit in the aftermath of this loss. On the other hand, San Jose, one of the true unknowns coming into 2015, proved their week 1 effort against Dallas wasn’t a fluke and will look to build off of what their commentator called an historic win.

Sunday Games

NYC 2 – 0 NE
I only caught the first half but the crowd was electric. NYC created far more chances than they did in week 1 versus Orlando and David Villa saw quite a bit more of the ball. I thought he could have had at least a brace in the first 45’, but he did bag the opening home goal in franchise history by finishing off a nice little give and go. Even prior to the season, it was clear that Orlando’s DP/Global Icon/Team Captain Kaká had bought into his club and this league. After watching David Villa celebrate his first goal in front of a brilliant home crowd, I am convinced that NYCFC’s DP/Global Icon/Team Captain has bought into his club and Major League Soccer as well. The second goal of the match was fantastic as Villa played the role of provider, playing a perfect ball in on the counter attack to promising young forward Patrick Mullins who easily finished the chance and sealed the 2-0 victory.

A lot of MLS folks get sensitive and uppity when discussing playing surfaces and stadium situations, acting as though the league isn’t legit unless all 20 of its clubs play in the classiest of venues and on the finest of pitches. I on the other hand credit MLS for what they have achieved and the number of clubs that are housed in modern, soccer-specific stadiums. In fact, 16 of the 20 current clubs are playing in their own soccer-specific stadium or have seen the legislation passed in order to build one. Two of the other four clubs are Vancouver and Seattle, who play on artificial surfaces but in front of some of the league’s best crowds, so I wouldn’t describe their situations as terrible. NYCFC’s situation is pretty silly though. They are playing on a baseball field so the pitch is limited to small dimensions while the fans are limited to bizarre seating arrangements. Having said that, I thought it was okay on TV as the small pitch made for entertaining up and down action and the strong crowd compensated for the match being played in a baseball stadium.

The two expansion clubs have made MLS a better league with their unique stories and impressive community support. Suffice it to say, I’ll be tuning into as many NYCFC and Orlando home matches as I can this season.

PTFC v. LAG
In the action I watched, neither team looked particularly dominant. LA still seem to be finding their post-Landon-Donovan-era form, and perhaps we won’t quite know what that is until the arrival of Steven Gerrard in July. Portland seemed to have secured all of the points after a clutch finish from Adi in the 90^th minute, but Galaxy forward Alan Gordon headed in the equalizer moments later. If you listen closely, you can hear Timber Joey sawing away at the log, still celebrating Portland’s second goal as the Galaxy celebrated their dramatic equalizer. I can only imagine the sickening feeling for Timbers supporters. But their loss is my gain and it was a great way to wrap up the weekend for FC Dallas as even more of our western conference clubs were forced to settle for a point or worse on the weekend.

FUN STUFF

GOTW – Four of my favorites from the weekend in no particular order

Fabian Castillo (FC DALLAS): nice passing, pure speed, ‘keeper had no chance
Innocent Emeghara (SJ): great move, great finish, the game winner
David Villa (NYCFC): nice give and go, epic celebration by crowd
Fanendo Adi (PTFC): lightning quick build up, quality finish

“F” Up of the Week

Tyler Deric’s poor touch that cost Houston the game at home. Though Brad Evans was a close runner-up, as he also cost his side the match with an inexcusable gaffe in front of the home crowd. You can find highlights of these hilariously bad mistakes above in the breakdown for each match.

Honorable Mention: Three awful pieces of officiating impacting the outcome of matches
-RSL 3-3 PHI: Phantom PK call in 85′ cost Philly 2 points
-FCD 3-1 SKC: One of the worst non offsides calls you will ever see
-CLB 2-0 TFC: Terrible red card decision changed the match

Surprise of the Week

(1) San Jose went on the road to Shield and Cup favorites Seattle, took all three points and looked a creative and dangerous side in doing so. They hung with FCD in Frisco for 91 minutes and lost on a dumb mistake. They have been impressive in two tough matches to open the season.
(2) The expansion clubs are playing some solid soccer. While the opener wasn’t the most attractive soccer, Orlando played a nice match in Houston and NYCFC created far more chances at home than they were able to last week. It’s a big monkey off the back of the expansion clubs to already have a win, and they can now take aim at a playoff spot. After all, more than half of teams get in!

This week’s winner is @eyeats, for his astute reply to a Taylor Twellman tweet. I’ll post a picture below of the play in question:

There you have it, MLS Radar: Week 2 is in the books. That escalated quickly! I’ll be prioritizing content next week.

MLS Radar: Week 1

Posted on March 9, 2015 by CT

Between chipping away at the MLS Timeline Series and the threat of a strike from the MLS Players Union, I am in no way prepared to thoroughly recap the first week of action. It’s unlikely that I’d consistently publish a quality recap of MLS action over the course of the entire 34 week season anyway. So instead, I’ll be reflecting in classic Soccer Therapy fashion, sharing thoughts, listing notable events and discussing key takeaways from everything that registered on my MLS radar over the weekend. I’ll try to post every Monday or Tuesday, but we’ll see.

Quality of Play – It looked like the first week of competitive action as far as I could tell. I’ll remember week one (not really though) for the awful finishing, as chance after chance was squandered. Nine of the 20 clubs failed to put one in the back of the net while only three clubs managed to score more than once. So the opening week didn’t exactly provide fireworks. But MLS writer Matthew Doyle compared this year’s opening week to 2014 and had some nice things to say:

“MatchDay 1 of the 20th MLS season is now in the books, and this must be said: It was a hell of a lot better than last year’s. Goals per game and pass completion percentages generally lag in March and into mid-April as teams work out the kinks – new faces, new schemes, new coaches and the occasional new stadium –on the way to becoming finely tuned machines. This weekend was still stuffed with the signs of early season rust, but there were also a few impressive passages of play, and a couple of very nice goals”

OCSC v NYCFC – The people of Orlando truly did #FillTheBowl and the Florida weather came through, providing a gorgeous sunny afternoon on a special day in MLS history. The scenes, as you can see, were terrific. Two unique expansion clubs joined the MLS ranks on the day. One, Orlando City, is a former dominant USL side owned by a rich Brazilian and the other, New York, a brand new club owned by the Yankees and Man City. Orlando City is captained by former Ballon D’or winner and 2002 World Cup Champion Kaká, while NYCFC is led by 2010 World Cup Champion David Villa. Each club also has a relevant member of the USMNT on their squad, with Mix Diskerud in midfield for New York and Brek Shea at fullback for Orlando. Brek Shea looked very dangerous coming up the left flank in the opener and Mix had a nice curler to score the first goal in franchise history and open his MLS account.

Toronto FC – They clearly upgraded their 3-headed monster from a year ago, replacing the frail Jermaine Defoe with the Hulk-like Jozy Altidore up top and replacing young Brazilian striker Gilberto with arguably the finest and primest talent in MLS history, Sebastian Giovinco. Checkout some highlights from his time at Italian powerhouse Juventus. Toronto FC has some other useful pieces and if they can keep their core healthy, this should be the year their frustrated supporters have been waiting for.

Houston Dynamo – I can’t personally comment on this as I did not watch any of the game. And even though I read somewhere that Columbus out possessed and out shot Houston, the Dynamo did still manage the three points and the sense I got on Twitter was that new manager Owen Coyle has them playing attractive, attacking soccer. Houston still has a lot of talent, and with Cubo Torres soon to be in the fold, if they can solve their defensive problems from 2014, they could be dangerous.

Seattle Sounders – While Seattle was missing their key midfield man, Ozzie Alonso, they were hosting a weakened NE Revs side missing its two best players, Lee Nguyen and Jermaine Jones. Despite this, the Revs are considered a top club in MLS this season and it was impressive for Seattle to get the three points and a clean sheet after losing 2-1 to TFC in the opener a year ago. Clint Dempsey’s goal in the 67′ was straight out of a FIFA video game.

Portland 0 – 0 RSL – I am starting to wonder if either of these teams is a significant threat in a western conference that’s just added two tough clubs to the mix (HOU and SKC) and lost its punching bag, Chivas USA.

CONCACAF – This has nothing to do with MLS’ opening week, but the paths of DC United and Montreal have been interesting over the last six days. Earlier in the week, DC United were eliminated in the CCL quarters after losing 6-4 on aggregate to Costa Rican side Alajuelense. Montreal, MLS’ lone surviving representative in the tourney, staged a miraculous upset, downing Mexican powerhouse 3-3 (on away goals) in dramatic fashion. These highlights are impossible to believe, amazing scenes in Montreal. Just 72 hours after DC were knocked out of the CCL, they hosted Montreal in their 2015 MLS opener, a match DC won thanks to a goal assisted by Davy Arnaud, the former Montreal midfielder.

FC DALLAS
I thought the boys looked good in the first half, creating some nice chances but failing to convert them. The second half was disappointing, and I would have liked to see some substitutions made earlier. However, with a 92’ goal, we secured the three points, and that is all that matters. The late goal was a fortunate one, and San Jose were probably unlucky not to come away with a point. Dallas has rarely taken points from matches that they shouldn’t have in the past, so to come away with three while the team is still feeling itself out is a big boost. We are a great home team, perhaps the key to the season ahead is finding points on the road.

Oscar Pareja appeared to go with a 4-4-2, deploying Tesho Akindele on the wing, and Blas and Castillo up top. Tesho’s first touch has vastly improved and rumors of his productive preseason and USMNT camp experience were verified, but I’ve never been a fan of him out wide (as much as I like him up top). Hollingshead manned the other wing and continued his strong preseason form as he was absolutely all over the pitch. Fabian Castillo was his normal terrorizing self, especially in the second half, and appears more comfortable taking defenders inside this year in addition to his standard trying to beat them around the outside. For me, Mauro Diaz was the biggest let down. The formation did not allow Mauro to be himself as the 4-4-2 didn’t accommodate a true #10, but the most disturbing part of his performance was the awful set piece delivery from FKs and corners. This must improve because Oscar left our set piece specialist, Michel, out of the lineup presumably to improve our passing and possession in the midfield. Moises Hernandez continued his growth at left back and showed real pace and skill on the evening – he will move onto a bigger league one day. Victor Ulloa is quickly becoming a fan favorite as he continues to become an above average midfielder in MLS and busts his ass for the entire match. Oh, and Michael Barrios, our new Colombian DP, looks like a strong player, a nightmare for opposing defenses, and I would imagine he will get the nod over Tesho or Hollingshead in our next match vs. SKC. That is about it for the player by player breakdown. Despite losing JeVaugn Watson for unknown reasons, this looks like the deepest FC Dallas squad I have seen and it should hold up nicely against injury and discipline over the course of the season.

These are my main thoughts after one week of MLS action. There are 33 more to go and it promises to get better. I’ll cover a variety of topics and some weeks the radar piece will be shorter than others. Here’s to an FCD victory on MatchDay 2, and maybe a few more goals across the league.

Reliving the ATX Pro Challenge

Posted on February 21, 2015 by CT

Anyone who follows this blog knows how excited I was to see Major League Soccer (and my favorite club FC Dallas) visit my hometown for this event. Now that it has passed, I feel obligated to put something up on the blog so it can live in our (digital) memories forever. Below, you will find a recap of the action with some other talking points from the weekend. At the end, I’ve included a short photo album. Austinites really showed up to watch some soccer and proved that, even if we are not #MLSready, we are most certainly USL ready.

FC Dallas v. Columbus Crew (2/13/2015)

A gorgeous Austin sunset and some brilliant weather (50-70 degrees and clear all night) set the scene as FCD and Crew SC kicked off the inaugural ATX Pro Challenge at 5:45pm. A lackluster crowd was on hand to start the evening, but Dallas’ supporters traveled well, showing up in impressive numbers to support their club from start to finish.

FIRST HALF
Both clubs fielded strong XIs but the first half looked like the early preseason action that it was: inconsistent passing and mistakes aplenty in the final third. Columbus did put together some legitimate scoring chances, including a one on one between new Crew attacking man Kei Kamara and FCD ‘keeper Chris Seitz. Kamara made a nice effort at goal (from my poor point of view anyway) but Seitz and the woodwork each got a piece of the ball and Dallas maintained their first half clean sheet. A mostly forgettable first half ended in a flurry as FCD bagged three goals in the final 16 minutes. Promising young midfielder Ryan Hollingshead assisted FCD Talisman Blas Perez in the 29th minute before bagging a brace with goals of his own in the 38th and 44th minutes. Perez’ opener delighted fans as he took the pass from Hollingshead in a tight space just outside the box, gave a quick touch with his left, and then half volleyed it past the ‘keeper with his right all in the blink of an eye. Hollingshead’s brace was a pair of tap in rebounds, but his performance on the night should not be discounted as he was all over the place.

The halftime band was AWESOME. A different band for the Sunday match was equally awesome. After all, Austin is the Live Music Capital of the World.

SECOND HALF
A drab and uninspired second half was filled with sloppy play. Dallas created some nice chances early on, but Columbus controlled the run of play and got one back in the 65th minute to make for a final score of 3-1. For highlights of the match (especially the classy Blas finish), click here.

Austin Aztex v. DC United (2/13/2015)

A great crowd (estimated at 6,000) was on hand for this one as Eberly’s Army came out in full force after an all day tailgate. After a classy march to the match and an impressive tifo display, the ATX supporters’ group stole the show, engaging the crowd and creating an exciting soccer atmosphere (relatively speaking, remember this is still third division soccer in a football, baseball and basketball country).

FIRST HALF
Admittedly, I am Dallas ‘till I die, not Aztex ‘till I die, so we left at halftime for this one. Fortunately, I didn’t miss a single goal on the evening, witnessing each of United’s goals in their 2-0 win over Austin. Austin was without the bulk of their attacking players (missing four forwards!) and it showed on the pitch. The players they did start up top were midfielders and they did very little in the final third as a result – plus, ATX was outmatched to begin with. The Aztex did put one in the back of the net at one point but it was called back for offside. While the defending was poor on the play(more like nonexistent), Miguel Aguilar’s 9th minute blast stood out as the most visually spectacular moment on Friday night. Our group left for the bars at halftime of this match, but we didn’t miss much as the second half turned out goal-less. Here is a look at the highlights, including the highlight of the night by Miguel Aguilar.

Championship Sunday
FC Dallas v. DC United

Again, I am a casual Aztex fan, so I skipped out on the third place match and showed up for the final: The battle for the famous armadillo trophy and a clash between two strong sides heading into MLS 2015. The weather was a step down from Friday, but given that forecasts called for a 100% chance of rain, we gladly settled for an overcast, but dry afternoon.

FIRST HALF
FC Dallas fielded a strong lineup (other than a backup forward – Texiera relieved Blas Perez up top) and was impressive for the first 45’. Dallas saw more of the ball than DC, connecting on most of their passes and playing the possession style soccer Coach Oscar Pareja prefers. While the Hoops created solid chances, they did not manage a goal, and that would cost them in the end.

SECOND HALF
Both clubs came out flat but it was FC Dallas that never quite found their groove in the second ’45. A Chris Rolfe strike in the 54th minute from outside the box was a worthy tournament winner for United. Check out the highlight here, it’s an absolutely gorgeous goal, if you’re into that kind of thing. FC Dallas made a solid push for the equalizer over the last 20 minutes behind the relentless support of their brilliant traveling fans. Despite these rowdy efforts (most notably those of FCD Supporters’ Groups The Beer Guardians and El Matador) their boys came up short in the end, falling 1-0 to DC. A couple of orange clad Houston Dynamo fans stole the show in the stands, perfectly positioning themselves one section over from the Dallas Supporters’ and engaging them in some friendly(ish) banter. The back and forth was fun as the Dynamo duo succeeded in their scoreboard taunting of the frustrated FCD supporters, who in turn reminded the duo that Dallas had won four straight over their beloved Dynamo (a streak that has included some rather enjoyable moments – WATCH THIS!).

This was only a preseason tourney, but FC Dallas and their fan base are starving for any silverware they can get, and that armadillo trophy is simply a world class piece of silverware. Lord knows, DC United have no room for preseason silverware in their ridiculously stuffed trophy case. However, as any weathered sports fan knows, preseason action is truly meaningless, and we Dallas folks will get over it sooner than later.

PHOTO ALBUM
Scroll down to view my ATX Pro Challenge Photo Album. It starts with a series of my own shabby iPhone photos. It concludes with the four finest images I gathered through various media covering the event. To be clear, the four good ones at the bottom are not my photos, I did not take them.

Free tickets!

A nice look at a quality pitch as the boys make way to our seats

A classic ATX sunset distracts from first half action

Eberly’s Army and a glimpse of their tifo display

Nat’l Anthem before the hometown club takes the pitch

USMNT ‘keeper Bill Hamid doing work

FC Dallas all lined up for the Championship match

A line to use the restroom at a SOCCER match?! ATX is definitely #MLSready

DC United’s Thursday training session marks the official start of the ATX Pro Challenge

A great shot of Eberly’s Army by the Austin American-Statesman

Live action from the 3rd place match. Crew SC downed Austin Aztex 1-0

In its inaugural appearance, the Armadillo Trophy became instantly famous.

#MLSinTX

Posted on February 13, 2015 by CT

I cannot think of a better day than this one, the kickoff of the ATX Pro Challenge, to post one of my favorite pics: MLS in Texas

With the tourney kicking off in a few short hours from now, I am making gameday preparations. I plan on getting some good pictures and putting a nice album together. I’ll try to live tweet the games as much as I can (@SoccerTherapy) and I’ll post a recap after the weekend. Hopefully we will get a nice turnout, tough to really know though.

Soccer Therapy’s 2015 Calendar

Posted on February 6, 2015 by CT

Now that the 2015 schedules for both MLS and the USL are available, Soccer Therapy can finally start planning the year! This column looks at the Austin Aztex home schedule to see which clubs are coming to House Park during our inaugural USL Pro season. More importantly, I’ll line up Austin’s home games with FC Dallas’ schedule and determine how many weeks I’ll be able to catch a live game in ATX without missing one second of FCD’s 2015 campaign. Below, I have written about parts of the schedule that caught my eye:

SIX! – Only six of Austin’s home matches occur on match days for FC Dallas (listed below and marked on the calendar above). The times for most of these matches are TBA and hopefully they won’t all overlap. However, it’s likely that most games listed below will start somewhere between 7 and 8pm central time.

Sat 3/28: FCD v. SEA / ATX v. Colorado Springs
Fri 5/1: HOU v. FCD / ATX v. OKC Energy
Sat 5/9: FCD v. LAG / ATX v. Real Monarchs (RSL II)
Sat 5/23: FCD v. MON / ATX v. Tulsa
Sat 8/15: FCD v. LAG / ATX v. LAG II
Sat 8/22: FCD v. VAN / ATX v. Orange County

Friday Night Soccer – In 2013, I launched a Twitter assault of sorts on MLS commissioner Don Garber. For about two months, I bombarded him with “You guys should have Friday night soccer” tweets, especially on Fridays. Check out the image below to see my efforts at encouraging MLS to schedule more Friday night games. The efforts paid off and the league has responded favorably. Univision, the Spanish language television network, will show MLS Friday Night Football on all but five Fridays throughout the season. Not only will we be getting more Friday Night Soccer in 2015, we will be getting more FCD on Fridays as the Hoops play nine of their 34 MLS matches (more than 25%!) on a Friday. Friday night offers a nice little window in the sports schedule for MLS to showcase itself to the traditional North American sports fan, so hopefully the league will offer up some entertaining matches.

Brutal Finish for FCD – Five matches in the final 22 days of the season to be specific. We will be hosting bitter rivals (1)Houston Dynamo, traveling to BC Place where (2)Whitecaps FC are one of the toughest home clubs in MLS, hosting those same (3)Whitecaps in Frisco, traveling to Rio Tinto where (4)RSL are nearly impossible to beat, and then hosting a (5)Quakes squad who could be good, bad or anywhere in between come October. All of that, in just 22 days. FCD would be wise to earn themselves a nice cushion in the table going into this brutal run.

MLS Realigns – With the additions of NYCFC and Orlando City and the retraction of Chivas USA, MLS has realigned its conferences again. MLS is making the obvious geographic decision by moving Sporting KC and Houston Dynamo over to the western conference to make room for the two new east coast clubs. Despite both struggling in 2014, Houston and SKC have been two of the east’s stronger clubs in recent years, combining to win the east in 3 of the last 4 years. This could make it tough out west, which was already the stronger and deeper of the two conferences. It’s not just LA Galaxy and their dominance, it’s RSL and Seattle too. Portland, FCD and Vancouver make for tough midtable opposition as well. Houston and SKC are two of the best run clubs in MLS and they have the trophies to show for it. Adding them to the west will make the conference that much more difficult to compete in.

Tough Venues – SKC’s addition to the west is unfortunate because Dallas will be traveling to the Cauldron twice in 2015. That is a damn tough arena to get points out of and we can’t realistically expect much from those two matches. It’s not all bad. Like SKC, Portland, Seattle, RSL and LA are some of the toughest teams to beat on the road. All of these teams have quality squads, great fan support, and tend to handle FCD when we travel to their place. Fortunately we will only be traveling to Seattle, RSL, Portland and LA once apiece in 2015. This is a massive break for FCD as we have dropped countless points on the west coast over the last few years (not to mention a frustrating playoff draw(loss) in the Emerald City last fall).

Thoughts on Aztex Inaugural USL Pro Campaign – I do not follow the USL closely, so I look forward to learning more about the league as I track the Aztex in 2015. I have read about clubs like Sacramento Republic FC and Indy Eleven and their MLS aspirations. I have also followed the growing number of MLS clubs that now field their own second squad in the USL. While I don’t know much about the league, I do have a sense for which clubs I’d like to see live. The Aztex host 14 USL matches from late March to early September. Here is my list of marquee home games that I’ll be sure to attend in 2015:

March 28^th – Colorado Springs, Inaugural USL Match + Home Opener
April 1^st – Whitecaps II
April 11^th – Arizona United SC (FC Dallas affiliate)
June 27^th – Sacramento Republic FC
July 17^th – Arizona United SC
August 1^st– Portland II
August 15^th– LA Galaxy II *Side note: FCD hosts real LA Galaxy in Frisco on this day
September 5^th – Sounders II

Other Notes – (1) I did not address the US Open Cup in this column because it does not begin until April and MLS Clubs do not participate until June. Make no mistake, Soccer Therapy loves the USOC and will be addressing the topic when the time is right. (2) Preseason is an afterthought on this blog but one 2015 event needs mention on this post. The ATX Pro Challenge happens in February, when the Aztex and FC Dallas will be sharing the same venue and potentially going head to head in the final round. (3) I will be heading to San Antonio on April 15^th to see the USMNT take on El Tri for what should be a breathtaking experience. I hope to have quite the 2015 photo album when all is said (snapped?) and done.

Link to each club’s complete 2015 league schedule:
Austin Aztex 2015 USL Pro Schedule
FC Dallas 2015 MLS Schedule

Soccer Therapy Goes to the ATX Pro Challenge

Posted on January 20, 2015 by CT

The greatest soccer tournament in the history of Austin, Texas is happening in February. Why is it so great? My club, FC Dallas, the classiest club in all of sports, is coming to town. This post details all of the need-to-knows for those interested in celebrating this unbelievable occasion.

WHAT: Basically the most awesome thing ever. The inaugural ATX Pro Challenge is a preseason soccer tournament consisting of four games to be played between three MLS clubs and the Austin Aztex!

WHO:
Austin Aztex – Founded in 2011 after the old Aztex bailed for Orlando. The Aztex were champions of the USL PDL (4th tier of US professional soccer) in 2013. In 2014, the club earned a promotion to American soccer’s third tier, the United Soccer League (USL). They make their USL debut this spring against the likes of Sacramento Republic FC and LA Galaxy II.

Columbus Crew SC – Founded in ’94 as one of MLS’ 10 charter clubs. The Crew are a significant franchise in the history of US Soccer as they were the first MLS club founded and built Crew Stadium, the first ever soccer specific stadium in the United States. In addition to these momentous achievements, Columbus has been equally impressive on the pitch with one MLS Cup (2008), three Supporters’ Shields (2004, 2008, 2009) and one USOC Championship (2002).

DC United – Another MLS charter club. DCU are arguably the proudest and most successful club in MLS history. They have been rotting away in RFK, but with a new stadium deal secured, the franchise is certain to become one of MLS’ shining stars once again. They are one of only two MLS clubs (LA Galaxy is the other one) with a CONCACAF Champs League title (1998), they’ve won four MLS Cups (’96, ’97, ’99, ’04), four Supporters’ Shields (’97, ’99, ’06, ’07) and three USOCs (’96, ’08, ’13). That kind of trophy case can really take your breath away.

FC Dallas – Like the Crew and DCU, FCD is a charter club and has played in all 19 MLS seasons. Unfortunately, being a classy club is about all FCD supporters can brag about. Their lone trophy came in the ’97 USOC, back when the club was branded as the “Dallas Burn.”WHEN:
Friday 2/13: Semifinals
4:45pm – Gates open
5:45pm – Crew SC vs FC Dallas
8:00pm – Aztex vs DC United

Sunday 2/15:
12:00pm – Gates open
1:00pm – 3rd Place Game
3:15pm – Championship Game

WHERE: Mike A. Myers Stadium and Soccer Field – UT Campus (just behind the east stands of DKR Memorial)

HOW MUCH:
$20 – General Admission for each match day
$40 – General admission for the weekend
$8 – 16oz Beer

***For more info, or to purchase tickets yourself, click here***

The New Logo

Posted on January 10, 2015 by CT

The more I look at it and tinker with it, the more I have come to like this first Soccer Therapy logo.

It certainly isn’t original in one sense. It seems at least 1 in every 3 MLS fans uses some altered version of this logo for their profile pic on Twitter (see more about this in my MLS Good, Bad and Ugly piece) . I went ahead and followed their lead, going the easy but stale route. However, I added a few tasteful Texas twists.

“1st Half”

I read somewhere that the three stars MLS’ new logo represent club, country and community. So I took the three teams I support, my three truly beloved clubs, and replaced the stars with each of their shields. It is convenient that I support three clubs, but my reasons for supporting each club align perfectly with each star in MLS’ logo. The Aztex are my hometown club and play just a few miles from where I grew up. FC Dallas is the be-all and end-all for me in soccer – My Club. And of course, the Stars and Stripes will always be number one.

“2nd Half”

I took the blank white slate that MLS so wisely offered to their supporters (see Good, Bad and Ugly article) and filled it with a beautiful ATX sunset and a 4th-division soccer match being played on a high school football field. But, it’s still soccer being played in Austin’s “venerable” House Park. The match took place during the Aztex PDL championship season, and, if you look hard enough, you can see the flag, drum and 20 or so folks representing Eberly’s Army (the Aztex lone supporters group as far as I know).

So there you have it, the new logo twisted into a nice little depiction of my soccer happy place. Maybe I’ll remove that stupid kick stand now that I think about it – MLS’ silly logo breakdown attempts to explain the meaning of that damn kick stand. From MLSsoccer.com (I’ve highlighted the key parts referring to the kick stand):

“SLASH: The slash refers to soccer’s speed and energy. The slash begins outside the perimeter and drives upward at a 45-degree angle to illustrate both the nonstop nature of our game and the rising trajectory of our league. It bisects the crest to create a “first half” and “second half.”

As far as I can surmise, the kick stand represents the “nonstop nature of (soccer).” Are you f***ing serious, MLS? Whatever, this is my logo now and I won’t be trying to incorporate any sillyness. Besides, we don’t need no stinking kick stands at Soccer Therapy. Up top is the cause I truly care about and really want to believe in, MLS. Below are the three clubs that make up my soccer fan hood. And below that is a picture taken on a great soccer night in ATX with great people.

I encourage any and all readers to offer feedback on the new logo, however minor, critical or insensitive.

The Good, Bad and the Ugly from MLS in 2014

Image

Major League Soccer’s 19th season has come to a close and I am taking a look at some of the biggest talking points from this World Cup year. I’ll also hand out some biased awards and share my favorite highlights from an amazing year of soccer in North America.

THE GOOD

MLS Next is Here

Earlier this year, in typical MLS fashion, the league put on a ridiculous branding show called “MLS Next” that was basically a glorified logo unveiling. I think most MLS fans were excited by the idea of a new logo, but also skeptical about the league actually getting it right. Since 1994, there have been five “different” MLS logos. Have a look:

As you can see, the league hasn’t exactly been getting creative. The newest edition, which will go into use in 2015 for the league’s 20^th season, was initially met with a negative reaction. Many thought it looked, cheap, thoughtless, lacked substance, and why is that damn kick-stand sticking out of the shield!?! Those are all fair assessments, because on the surface, it does seem overly simple to the point that it lacks identity. But since these initial reactions, the logo has started to grow on fans around the league. MLS was brilliant to observe that so many of its supporters liked to take the old logo and alter the image to do different things with it, including myself:

MLS took notice of the trend and really embraced it when designing the new logo. They gave some silly explanation about how the red half of the shield symbolizes the first 45′ and the white half symbolizes the second 45′, but I believe they wanted to engage fans with a blank space in the logo to let them play with. This is brilliant marketing, but enough about logos.

NYCFC – The Connection

Manchester City’s investment into MLS has blown open a number of really cool possibilities for the league. First of all, the New York market should be taken advantage of, and NYRB certainly aren’t doing their part right now. In terms of building a more prominent product within the American pro sports hierarchy, establishing a proud, dominant, inner city club in NYC is about the most obvious thing any league could do. MLS has yet to do this, but if the Yankees-ManC partnership can make a stadium happen, NYCFC could earn legitimate international popularity. They are certainly off to a good start with the likes of Super Frankie Lampard and David Villa set to take the pitch this coming spring. Beyond the two decorated designated players (DPs), I’d imagine NYCFC will find a way to incorporate ManC’s youth talent into their MLS roster and maybe even get around some salary cap restrictions as a result. NYCFC has a veteran MLS coach with a proven track record and an MLS Cup title to his name. They’ll pick up some MLS veteran household names, surround them with 18 year old English kids and three high profile DPs. For people who hold out hope that the U.S might one day become a soccer power (at the club and international levels), this tangible link between MLS and world soccer power Manchester City is absolutely a big deal.

Player Acquisitions

MLS took a massive step forward when Seattle signed Captain America (C. Dempsey) back in the summer of 2013. The league validated that step forward when it brought in USMNT stud midfielder Michael Bradley and Premiere League talisman Jermaine Defoe in January. Orlando City SC signed the Brazilian Kaka – sure he may be old, but this is the kind of acquisition that has alluded MLS in the past. It’s also nice to see an expansion club in Orlando contribute to the league with a marquee signing before even taking the field (Note for Austinites: this Orlando City Soccer Club, which will make its MLS debut next spring, is actually the original Austin Aztex, who controversially left town, set up shop in Orlando, and now the rest is history). The Houston Dynamo signed two players that got serious time in Brazil this summer, although one of them is Honduran and the other is quickly becoming a washed up American fullback (Beasley). I already mentioned Frank Lampard and David Villa signing with New York. The number of DPs in MLS is growing. Owners and technical directors across the league are faced with constant pressure to sign real talent just to avoid a bottom table finish (Case in point: Colorado Rapids). As a result, North American clubs are making bigger moves with each coming transfer window, and it is becoming less of a stigma for star players to sign with an MLS club.

Keeping Players Too!

USMNT regulars Graham Zusi and Matt Besler signed with SKC rather than a European club when the option was theirs. The league is doing everything in its power to hang on to Cubo Torres, the Mexican striker who followed up a breakout year in MLS with a national team call up and a goal for El Tri. FC Dallas will be desperate to hang on to their young super talent, Colombian winger Fabian Castillo, after Mexican powerhouse Club America showed interest in the 22 year old earlier this year. Here is a pair of highly recommended highlights from each of the young attackers – one from Cubo Torres and one from Fabian Castillo.

The Homegrown Initiative

In my MLS All-Star* 2014 piece, I mentioned the inaugural Chipotle Homegrown Game and the league’s effort to showcase the talent produced by its club’s youth academies. MLS clubs will eventually be required to start their own lower-division team or affiliate with one. Austin’s Aztex just affiliated with the Columbus Crew while FC Dallas just partnered with Arizona United SC for the 2015 season. LA Galaxy became the first MLS club to field their very own lower-division club, the Galaxy II, who just completed their inaugural season in USL PRO (3rd tier of US Soccer pyramid). They will be joined by RSL, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto as each of these clubs will be fielding a USL PRO squad in 2015.

Perhaps the truest sign that player development in the U.S. is improving is the sale of DeAndre Yedlin to Tottenham earlier this year. He is a great young talent and the league will miss his marketability, but the fact that an MLS homegrown was granted a work permit in England so quickly after Totttenham showed interest suggests that maybe even the English are starting to take MLS seriously. 2014 was genuinely a landmark year for homegrowns in MLS. FC Dallas saw the rise of Moises Hernandez at left back and Victor Ulloa at d-mid, two very young players who look to be MLS regulars for the next decade (Hernandez could eventually garner European interest – he looks that good). Seattle Sounders homegrown Jordan Morris (currently playing college soccer at Stanford) received a call up to the national team earlier this year. Gyasi Zardes bagged a goal in MLS Cup and is garnering national team interest himself after a 16-goal season up top for the Galaxy.

We are seeing MLS’ player development efforts pay off before our own eyes. At the same time, the league and the U.S. Soccer Federation continue to ramp up these efforts and establish a more thorough and intense player development system resembling that of a European country. If the league and its clubs continue to take player development seriously, it could lead to great things for both MLS and the USMNT.

Stadium Movement

As fans of MLS know, soccer specific stadiums have played a massive role in the league’s growth by offering passionate supporters a place to call their own. Beautiful stadiums that sell out at 20,000 tickets rather than 50,000+ make it much easier for clubs to create a fun and exciting atmosphere for fans and players alike – make no mistake, that “Player Acquisitions” section above would not exist if teams were playing in half empty NFL stadiums. The point is that soccer specific stadiums are critical to the success of MLS and the league is making real progress in finding suitable venues for each of its franchises. The New England Revolution remain a concern as they play in Gillette stadium, a massive NFL venue with an artificial surface. But one of MLS’ proudest franchises, DC United, seems to have secured a new stadium deal so they can finally escape the laughable RFK. The Earthquakes will play their first game in their new San Jose stadium this spring. Orlando City has broken ground on the site where they will build their new soccer specific stadium. Here is a great view of one of SKC’s many supporter’s sections – this scene is becoming commonplace across the league:

The Bad and the Ugly
I spent so much time talking about the good things going on in Major League Soccer that this column couldn’t possibly squeeze much more into it. I’ll just list some of the “bads” and “uglys” with a quick thought to keep it brief. After all, Soccer Therapy is a place for happy thoughts. Then, it’s onto awards and highlights!

THE BAD

Scheduling – Unlike most domestic leagues, MLS’ schedule does not accommodate to the FIFA international calendar. Like Scandinavian leagues, MLS doesn’t want to play soccer in the ice and snow, and nature forces the North American soccer season to run from spring to fall. That is fine, but I would like to see the league make some effort to give its clubs a break during FIFA international dates. Currently, MLS does not recognize these dates and it is incentivising clubs to target players who don’t factor into their respective national team pictures.

Secrecy – I have not read them in detail, but those who have assure me that the league rules make no sense, and if they did it would not matter. Many felt the league basically just made up the rules as it went along so that it could bring in stars Dempsey and Bradley. If this is the case, we are better off with these guys than without them, but it severely damages the young league’s credibility when it contradicts itself with one player acquisition after another.

Salary Cap – The “secrecy” concern is legitimate, but also understood because MLS is operating in an environment where it is destined to fail. A domestic soccer league has never thrived north of the border, and if it means ridiculous levels of control by the front office to keep the league afloat, I suppose that is better than the league collapsing like its predecessors. I think the league is trying to keep the cap figure low as its core of investors turn soccer franchises from debts into revenue generating businesses. Not all owner pocket books are created equal, and a salary cap represents the best way to maintain parity and excitement. But MLS has stated that it would like to be considered a top league in the world at some point. It would also be nice if MLS clubs could compete with LigaMX clubs: In the last six editions of the CONCACAF Champs League, only four MLS clubs have reached the semis, only one has reached the final, and none have managed to win the cup. MLS is walking a fine line between being a growing league and one with real aspirations. But until teams are given the salary cap freedom to sign DPs and still fill out a deep, solid, veteran roster, the league will not be able to compete with Mexican clubs.

THE UGLY

TV Ratings – As an avid MLS supporter I have a hard time finding anything “ugly” about the league, but the TV ratings have been objectively hideous. The biggest problem is that I do not see where the league can showcase its product without going up against a much more popular American sport. Summer time seems like a good window as many American sports are on break as well as popular European domestic leagues. The ideal time to show MLS games would be at the conclusion of the season when playoff spots are on the line and then the playoff games as well. In 2014, the MLS Cup playoffs began on 10/29 and ended on 12/7. There is this little thing called the NFL that happens to be going on four nights a week during this stretch. I truly have no idea how MLS is going to get TV viewers going forward. Maybe, just maybe, this is real cause for the league to consider getting on the FIFA calender so they can showcase their product without competing against the NFL. But again, the weather in North America simply does not allow for that.

Awards:

Commentary Highlight of the Year: watch (and listen) as commentator Paul Mariner encourages his beloved New England side to keep a clean sheet in the opening minutes of a match only to see the boys give up a goal within seconds of saying it: “Well there I am, Brad, talking about keeping it clean…” – this is priceless.

Rookie of the Year:
Harrison Shipp, Attacking Mid, Chicago Fire

The young homegrown (more homegrown love!) played his first MLS season after a standout career at Notre Dame and absolutely tore it up. After 7 goals and 6 assists, he finished 2nd in the real rookie of the year voting to FC Dallas’ Tesho Akindele. Tesho had a great season and was deserving of the attention, but his winning the award was a result of a great social media campaign by FC Dallas. Shipp is the rare American footballer with European skills and vision. While he is great over the dead ball and a lethal finisher in front of goal, his ability to find and make the pass is what truly separates him. This 15-second highlight is a little fuzzy, but you should get the idea. The voters had their reasons though: this is the best highlight from Tesho’s 7-goal rookie campaign.

Coach of the Year
Oscar Pareja, FC Dallas

Oscar took over a team that had the 5th overall pick at each of the last three MLS Superdrafts. He led the club through an absolutely brutal western conference and got FC Dallas their first playoff win since 2010. He took the squad to the USOC semifinals as well. FC Dallas was never beaten when they were ousted – losing on PKs in the USOC semis and an away-goals-tiebreaker in the playoffs. How did Pareja do it? He wasn’t afraid to put the young kids out there. He gave everyone on the roster a chance and really brought along the young talent that former manager Hyndman refused to give playing time. The team also set a franchise record for goals scored in a season, playing some exciting soccer at times. I may be a homer, but this seems like a no-brainer of a decision.

Team Bust: Toronto FC

Portland was at least expected to make the playoffs after finishing top of the table in the west last year. Houston is always expected to make a run at MLS Cup rather than take a dump in August and September. Philly had a much better squad than their place in the table would suggest. But the winner of this award has to go to Toronto FC. After all the talk this off-season about ending the playoff drought thanks to their big player signings, they came out of the gates hot, only to stumble to the finish. They dropped 14 out of 15 points in their last five matches, missing the playoffs by eight points. The signing of Bradley in a World Cup year hurt them badly, and their other big signing, Jermain Defoe, was bugged by injuries throughout the season. Still, more was expected of this squad and the loyal fans in Toronto deserve much better.

Surprise Team: DC United

FC Dallas might even get a look here as many expected us to struggle in a stacked western conference. But no one could have expected the turn around made by DC United this year after a historically bad 2013. They finished top of the table in the east only to tumble out of the playoffs in the conference semis. It must be nice to be a DC United fan: the proud franchise still managed to shock the world during their miserable 2013 campaign by winning the US Open Cup at Rio Tinto over RSL. Even in the bad years they bring in silverware. Then, they seem to put those bad years behind them overnight.

MVP
Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy

Some say Obafemi Martins of Seattle was the MVP while others say the Revolution’s Lee Nguyen was more deserving. I actually saw Keane and Nguyen live, but did not see Obafemi. I am not going to go into any analysis here, but Robbie Keane has been far and away the most valuable player in MLS ever since he joined the league in 2011 – as evidenced by his club’s winning three of the last four MLS Cups.

Goal of the Year

These things are biased – do you like the upper90 screamer from 30 yards out? Maybe you prefer a beautiful team build up or some spectacular individual technical ability. I settled on this goal as the best of the season because it is simply absurd. Some of the coolest goals you will see are met with a debate: did he really mean to do that? In this case, we can all be certain that the chip is exactly what Obafemi was going for. And if you are all about the build up play, check out that chip through ball that led to the goal.

Breakout Player
DeAndre Yedlin, Seattle Sounders FC

Tweet of the Year – this is pure gold

And there you have it – MLS 2014. Hope you enjoyed it and I will try to post a little more frequently.

US Open Cup Semifinal Thoughts

Posted on August 11, 2014 by CT

Philadelphia Union @ FC Dallas – 8/12/2014, 8pm CST

Tomorrow night FC Dallas will play their most important match since losing 2-1 to Colorado Rapids in the 2010 MLS Cup Final. Dallas gets a beatable opponent in the Philadelphia Union, a team they beat 2-1 in Frisco on July 4^th. The stakes are high: on the line for Dallas is an opportunity to a host a Cup Final on their home pitch. During the MLS All Star festivities, US Soccer conducted a coin flip that awarded the right to host the US Open Cup Final to the winner of the FCD v Philly semifinal. Home field is great, but potentially avoiding a final in Seattle, on turf, and in front of 40,000 fans is a huge break.

FC Dallas comes into this game on a fantastic run of form, going unbeaten in their last 11 matches across all competitions. Since a 2-1 loss to San Jose on May 31^st, Dallas has 5 wins and 3 draws in MLS play, taking 18 of 24 possible points and moving up to 3^rd in the Western conference. After outclassing Colorado on Saturday night for a 3-1 win, FCD is tied with Portland for most goals in MLS play, having scored 38 times in 23 matches (Philly is not far behind though, leading the East with 36 goals in 23 matches).

Dallas’ season can be broken into three different stretches:

Stretch #1, games 1-5: 4 wins, 1 draw. They began the season on fire, leading the league in scoring and taking a nice lead in the standings after the 5 game unbeaten run. The 5^th match of this stretch saw FC Dallas absolutely destroy their in-state rivals, Houston Dynamo, 4-1 in Houston.

Stretch #2, games 6-15: 1 win, 7 losses, 2 draws. Dallas goes 10 games with only 1 win (which came at home against a Jermaine Defoe-less Toronto FC). The other 9 games in this stretch saw FC Dallas drop 25 of a possible 27 points, losing 7 matches and drawing 2. Just like 2012 and 2013, FC Dallas’ season was off the rails with a disastrous late spring/early summer winless slide. The team was ravaged by injuries, missing their best defender in George John (out for 2014), their best D-mid in Hendry Thomas (also out for the year now), and their critical #10 Mauro Diaz (fully returned from injury now). The team also dealt with injuries at FB and racked up a ridiculous number of red cards. Through 15 MLS games, FC Dallas had managed just 1 clean sheet (against RSL at Rio Tinto, oddly enough). Unfortunate scheduling in the month of May was also a reason for FCD’s poor play in stretch #2. In mid May, FC Dallas played five matches in 18 days, including two brutal double-game weeks. All five of these matches were against Western conference opposition and four of the five were on the road. The club took 1 of a possible 15 points in those 18 days. It was painful to watch, but it is history now, and the injuries gave manager Oscar Pareja a chance to develop young players who now make FCD a deeper squad (namely, homegrown D-mid Victor Ulloa, homegrown left-back Moises Hernandez and rookie Canadian striker Tesho Akindele).

Stretch #3, games 16-23: 5 wins, 3 draws. The summer has been good to FCD. MLS powerhouses like Real Salt Lake, LA Galaxy, Seattle, Sporting KC, NY Red Bulls and Houston were without some their best players for about two months due to the World Cup – The USMNT camp began on May 14^th and most players didn’t get back into their respective MLS squads until mid July. Last week’s All-Star festivities brought unwanted midseason travel demands on a lot of those same star players (see ASG preview below). But not a single FCD player was voted onto the All-Star roster or selected for a final World Cup roster (or preliminary roster for that matter). It’s not very exciting/sexy for the fans or very useful for FCD’s marketing team, but it gave the injured players time to recover and the healthy ones a chance to get their legs back. FC Dallas played Portland to a 2-2 draw at Providence Park on June 11^th, World Cup Eve, and Major League Soccer began a break that lasted through the group stages in Brazil. The draw versus Portland was the second game in FCD’s current 8 game unbeaten run. Since the break, FC Dallas is not only getting results, but playing really good soccer. Manager Oscar Pareja has been flexible, using a 4-2-3-1 formation during stretch #1 that featured the dynamic Argentine playmaker, Mauro Diaz. FC Dallas was averaging 2.4 goals per game before Diaz was injured vs. DC United in the club’s 8^th match of the season. However, stretch #3 has seen Pareja go to a 4-4-2 as FC Dallas does not have an ideal replacement #10 for Mauro Diaz at this point – interesting side note: FCD management made a move during this transfer window to get Sacha Kljestan, but came up short. The new 4-4-2 has been a great formation for a team that struggled to keep clean sheets early on, and with the emergence of large, strong (and pretty good) rookie striker Tesho Akindele, FC Dallas now has the additional forward required to produce in the 4-4-2. However, now Mauro Diaz is healthy again and Pareja has tough decisions to make. Mauro is too good to no start in this league, but it will be hard to abandon the 4-4-2 that saved Dallas’ season.

That is sort of an update on what FCD has been through this year and where they stand heading into this cup semifinal. I didn’t even get to the wingers, but both are stupid fast and have played for Colombian youth national teams. If you do tune into an FCD match, watch out for #11 and #91, very entertaining. Check out these two quick highlights of Fabian Castillo in a recent match (#11) if you like:

1) True separation speed, some filth, and a nice cross

2) Speed kills, still working on that last touch

On Saturday night, just 72 hours before the semifinal kicks off, FC Dallas took a 3-0 against Colorado and was able to sub out some players and keep some fresh legs heading into Tuesday. Philadelphia also played on Saturday, taking a 2-0 lead in the 63’, eventually beating Montreal 2-1 in a game where they were able to make key subs for the upcoming semifinal. Dallas and Philly both played at home last weekend, but I love the fact that we will not have to travel, while the Union will face a trip down to Texas and a bout with the summer heat, not to mention a hot FCD squad. If we play our game and don’t make a massive mistake (red card, PK etc…), then I believe we are the favorites.

I don’t exactly follow other teams, but I keep an eye on the league and here is my take on the Union in 2014:

Philly has had a bit of an up and down year in MLS play; a lot of writers feel they have underachieved to this point, having collected 27 points in 23 matches, good for the 5^thplace in the relatively weak Eastern conference. Due to their inability to close out a few games, perform up to their potential with healthy XIs, and their poor standing in the table, the Union fired manager John Hackworth in early June. They replaced him internally with Jim Curtain and the team is getting better results. Philly was active in the transfer window, bringing back a former player, CB Carlos Valdes, that most seem to think is a massive upgrade for a team who has leaked some silly goals at inopportune times in 2014. Amobi Okugo and Maurice Edu, two guys I think of D-mids, have been playing a lot of CB for Philly recently, so it is possible this transfer for a CB actually upgrades Philly’s defense and their midfield. Philly also brought in a good GK, picking up the fella who started in goal for the impressive Algerian squad at this year’s World Cup – have no idea how to spell or pronounce his name, but he’s good. Lastly, Philly brought in a guy who was leading the Jamaican league in scoring. Check out this awesome highlight video if you feel like it:

Some highlights were better than others, but I think Brian Brown could be pretty productive here in MLS. For what it’s worth, in his debut MLS appearance, after being subbed on in the 69^th minute, he scored an equalizer at SKC in the 71^st minute. I believe it was his first or second touch in Major League Soccer. The new CB should definitely play on Tuesday, the GK is a strong possibility and the striker may come off the bench if I had to guess. Like Dallas Philly has been in a pretty good run of form, I saw this on Twitter earlier:

Both the Union and FC Dallas are in extremely competitive playoff races. However, I believe this semifinal is a higher priority for FC Dallas, which had lower MLS expectations prior to the season (new coach + the West is stacked). Philly has a quicker turnaround, playing on Friday night while FCD does not play until Saturday.

Should be a fun match tomorrow night. There is a lot on the line. I’ll take FC Dallas 2-0 in the end. In the other match Seattle hosts Chicago Fire. I give Chicago about a 10% chance.

Speaking of watching, here are a few general thoughts on the coverage of the USOC:

The tournament is still mostly unknown or overlooked (see “Soccer Therapy: USOC Style” below) but it is a little more accessible to viewers across the nation every year. This year, US Soccer has been live streaming the USOC “match of the round” on their website. Naturally, Seattle v Chicago on Wednesday is that game for the semifinal round – the FC Dallas game can be found on either FC Dallas’ team site or Philadelphia’s. The cup final will be broadcast on live cable television! It will be on GolTV, a small Florida based station that shows cool soccer stuff (including “Oh My Goal” and Live Bundesliga matches). GolTV isn’t exactly ESPN, but I did not think the US Open Cup would be getting live matches on cable TV in 2014, so this is a step in the right direction.

MLS All-Star* Game: August 6th, 2014 – Portland, Oregon

Posted on August 6, 2014 by CT

MLS Popular Names vs. Bayern Munich

Notice the asterisk by All Star in the title and the match-up: Popular names v. Bayern. Unfortunately, like the last few editions of this game that I’ve watched, MLS will not be represented by its most deserving performers. Instead we see a player like Landon Donovan selected as an All Star, despite struggling to find consistent form throughout the season – I will say his form improved in a big way when JK left him off the 23-man WC squad. MLS isn’t exactly overflowing with world class players, but most of us who follow the league believe there are more deserving selections than Landon Donovan for this spot, given that he was voted onto the team as a forward. MLS’s all time leading goal scorer is certainly an All Star caliber player in this league and still manages to produce like crazy: he has 4 goals and 7 assists in 17 appearances with the Galaxy so far in 2014. But I think many fans are disappointing to see LD in particular get the nod when Dom Dwyer, the young Englishmen, has been ripping it up with 14 goals in 22 appearances for Sporting KC this season. Omar Gonzalez, the USMNT World Cup vet, is an All Star despite appearing in only eight games for the Galaxy in 2014. I can excuse selections like these due to this being a World Cup year. The league succeeded in its massive push to acquire as many WC2014 participants as possible prior to the start of the tournament. Now MLS is trying to promote their World Cup veterans to boost the league’s profile and the ASG represents one of their best chances to do this. I counted 9 players from 2014 World Cup rosters on the original MLS ASG roster, and that doesn’t even include the likes of Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane, Jermaine Defoe and a fella Nigeria really could have used in Brazil, Obafemi Martins (if you haven’t seen it already, check out this goal, GK’s reaction is awesome):

The All Stars MLS will be showcasing tonight in Portland are an exciting group in terms of names. Many of these big names are deserving of that selection too, and even for those less deserving, I understand why World Cup veterans in MLS get a free pass to the ASG as the league tries to build its brand. But with a large roster, I would like to see a few more spots dedicated to the players who are most deserving of the honor. Breakout performances from unknowns should be rewarded with these kinds of accolades, which mean so much more to a young American trying to make it in MLS than the set-to-retire legend Thierry Henry (19 games, 5 goals and 10 assist for Red Bulls in 2014). In conclusion, I am totally okay with MLS constructing an All Star roster of mostly big names, I understand the reasoning behind it. But going forward, this event could be used as a way to promote some of the young talent around the league and contribute to the building of America’s youth system.

Speaking of young talent, MLS introduced a new concept to the All Star festivities for this year: The Chipotle MLS Home-grown game – great sponsor. With the All Star festivities starting over the weekend and wrapping up tonight with the match v. Bayern, the homegrown match actually happened on Monday night in front of a pretty solid crowd from what I hear. The game was streamed online, I certainly did not watch, but heard good things about it on Twitter. The matchup featured Portland’s U23 side vs. a selection of the best homegrown players from MLS academies across the league. I was skeptical about the concept at first, but the league promoted the game really well and I think going forward, this will be a much bigger deal. For all those out there wanting to see the USMNT program grow from the ground up, a homegrown game is a great idea. It encourages MLS clubs to strengthen their academies so that they can get those homegrowns on the pitch for MLS action and then get them into this “U23 ASG” of sorts. Not shockingly, the little lads played out to a 0-0 draw.

One of the reasons for my optimism about this homegrown game going forward is that MLS has done a brilliant job turning their All Star game into a huge event and city wide party. I remember watching MLS beat Chelsea 3-2 in Philly’s gorgeous riverfront stadium in 2012.

I enjoyed the match and thought it was good for the league to get some exposure on the World Wide Leader. Americans have shown for years how much they enjoy watching big European clubs in the summer months. Playing these high profile opponents is good for the league, but more importantly, MLS found a way to make soccer cool and fun with their All Star Game “festivities” model (that is what I am calling it). Last year in Kansas City was a completely different animal. Media members and club supporters from around the country flooded the City of Fountains for a series of events that turned KC into Soccer City USA for a few days – this occurred in 2013, but try to recall those viewing parties ESPN kept showing in the Power and Lights district of KC during their World Cup coverage, Kansas City loves them some soccer. Participants flew in over the weekend and many attended a Gold Cup final viewing party on Sunday night. There was a concert with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on Monday, and finally the All Stars got their pants pulled down by Totti and AS Roma on Wednesday night. Despite the beat-down, the concept of All Star Festivities, rather than just a game, was a huge success. Like Philly in 2012 and SKC in 2013, Portland Timbers were awarded the right to host the 2014 All Star Game because of their sellout crowds and incredible fan base.

MLS is using the ASG as a way to incentivize its clubs to create world class, European soccer atmospheres inside their stadiums. This year, it seems like even more soccer people around the country are joining in the All Star festivities. The schedule is similar to last year: the Flaming Lips put on an outdoor concert but the addition of the homegrown game on Monday was great touch. MLS is not only incentivizing clubs to create great atmospheres with their All Star Game location. By selecting markets like KC and Portland, which have unbelievably passionate but still classy supporters, MLS ensures their All Star event will be fun and buzzing with excitement emanating from that local fan-base. I honestly think Bayern Munich has been impressed with Portland and MLS from a business, marketing and supporters standpoint. This is a unique game for MLS simply because they were able to draw the Bavarian Giants. Something about the super snazzy Germans coming to the relatively small Portland media market is bizarre to me, in a good way though. Bayern Munich playing in the MLS ASG seems to be raising more eye brows in my little soccer world than when a big time Premiere League team does so. Maybe that is because BPL teams have been making stateside tours for years now and Bayern feels a little fresher. Maybe it is because Bayern is perceived to be (and probably is) stronger than all the English sides. Major League Soccer’s top priorities are building the brand, establishing credibility and increasing viewership. The league has literally selected the best ASG opponent on the planet for achieving those goals.

Now to the game: No analysis needed. It is Bayern Munich. The only question is can Julian Green get a goal? And, are the MLS players able to stay healthy? At least FCD didn’t send anyone! I’ll go 5-1 Bayern, with a Julian Green goal, for the girls (see below).

Excerpt from some SI article:

“While the German players who played in the World Cup won’t play more than 15 minutes, Green should get more playing time on Wednesday, according to Guardiola. “He’s going to play a little bit more — for the fans, for the girls,” Guardiola said, clapping a hand on Green’s neck and smiling. “Yeah? Do you want to play?”

Green responded “yes” with a shy smile.”

Soccer Therapy

Because I have no one else to tell

Category Archives: MLS