Major League Soccer Talk

This week’s Thursday night feature match saw Rocky Mountain Cup rivals Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids meet at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. In a physical yet mostly midfield affair, it was the at home Rapids who found their touch in the final third to take a 2-0 victory and maintain its hold on the top spot in the west.

The first half saw few opportunities on either side, with both teams combining for only five shots on goal. The best chance came in the 24th minute when a Colorado corner kick from Christian Gomez was hit perfectly to the head of Omar Cummings. However, goalkeeper Nick Rimando was able to collect the resulting header after he blocked it to the ground. Two minutes later, Salt Lake’s Chris Wingert was given the game’s only yellow card for a late tackle on Jacob Peterson.

The second half started with Colorado dominating possession but unable to get any shots on the net. That finally changed in the 65th minute when Herculez Gomez found Colin Clark on the run down the left side. Clark then delivered a centering pass right at the feet of Omar Cummings, who was able to angle it inside the far post for Colorado’s first goal of the game and Cummings’ third of the season.

Real Salt Lake had a chance to level it at 77 minutes with a corner kick, but Kenny Deuchar’s header soared over the top of the goal. 5 minutes after that, Colorado was awarded a penalty kick after Salt Lake’s Matias Mantilla handled a Rapids’ pass inside the penalty box. Christian Gomez took the spot kick and beat the keeper on the left side, giving Colorado the two goal advantage. Salt Lake would get one more chance in the first minute of stoppage time through a free kick just a yard outside the box, but Fabian Espindola’s effort was successfully picked up by Bouna Coundoul in what ended up being RSL’s only shot on goal in the second half.

By winning, the Rapids stay in the lead in the Western Conference with 12 points from 4 wins and 4 losses. Colorado has won three of four matches at its home stadium this year. Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake gets their fourth loss of the season and remain on 8 points after 8 matches. RSL is one of only two teams in MLS, along with D.C. United, who has failed to keep a clean sheet in any match this season.

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Pundits around Britain will no doubt be discussing Fulham’s great escape in the upcoming weeks. Seemingly dead, the London side strung together some improbable results, particularly away from Craven Cottage to escape relegation on goal difference. Was it Jimmy Bullard’s return from injury, the timely striking of Dionmansy Kamara or even the managing of Roy Hodgson, a man left on the dust bin of British football but one of the few English managers of the last 15 years to really make it outside of the U.K? Truth is it was all of the above and something more: American Grit.

Fulham is after all the closet thing we have ever had or will ever have to an “American team” in Europe. The Cottagers have now for years been buying players from MLS, and for years have done enough with what they had to avoid relegation. It all started in 1999 when Fulham bought Marcus Hahnemann and Eddie Lewis from MLS in a push to move to the Premier League. The side had just been promoted to the old first division at the time. Lewis stayed with the team until they were finally promoted in 2001 to the Premier League, and that was the start of Fulham’s now eight year run in the top flight. Since then the club unlike many in Europe has not hesitated to scout and ultimately purchase American players from MLS clubs.

That’s why despite downplaying the significance of Fulham’s survival effort several months ago, I have felt the last few weeks Fulham had to escape relegation to keep going any positive momentum the US has created perception wise in Europe. Fulham’s failure could easily be pinned on its American contingent. Today Fulham’s success can just as easily be credited to the character of its American legion, led by none other than arguably the greatest and most important footballer our nation has ever produced, Goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

Keller hasn’t played for the most glamorous clubs or for the most titles. In fact Keller has never once played in a Champions League match. However, he is as I have stated repeatedly before, perhaps the best keeper I have ever seen and if I had to pick a stopper for any odd one off match it would be him, even 38. He’s a keeper that has played at smaller clubs and excelled at those clubs. Four of the clubs Keller played keeper at are now in lower divisions than when he minded their nets. That’s how important he has always been to the teams he has played for. Keller is one of the great goalkeepers internationally of the last fifteen years. No greater star than Romario was so dazzled by Keller’s performance against Brazil in 1998 that he actually said “it was truly an honor to be on the field with him.”

Brian McBride also a gritty veteran, now going on 36 is equally significant to Fulham’s great escape. McBride was always to me a bit of a mystery. Why was a guy who was so critical and outstanding for the US National Team, also so average and injury prone at times in MLS? It seemed McBride’s injury problems hurt him in MLS but also seem to have ironically lengthened his career once he went back abroad. (McBride played in Germany for another American loving club, Wolfsburg before MLS began play in 1996.) McBride’s game changing ability has faded but his leadership and grit are as sharp as ever. McBride retired from the US National Team two years ago, but it deserves mentioning that he is still the second best active American field player (behind Landon Donovan). That is a credit to McBride and a damning indictment of the state of the US National Team’s current talent pool.

The rest of the American contingent at Fulham demonstrate why I firmly believe that the United States is in a dip on the international scene until the generation led by Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu, Michael Bradley and Robbie Rogers takes charge of the national team. Clint Dempsey is a player whose spirit and story I love and is uniquely American. But Dempsey is a limited player who often times disappears for long stretches in matches. That was the case in MLS and has been the case at Fulham.

Carlos Bocanegra’s club career is clearly in a tailspin. Bocanegra who has the distinction of being the only American player ever to score two career goals against Brazil, was largely responsible for Fulham’s defensive problems last season and his poor play continued this year. The mere fact that he is a scoring threat on set pieces has earned him more love than he’s truly deserved for both club and country. Roy Hodgson rightfully has kept him on the bench late in the season.

Eddie Johnson is at best an average player in Major League Soccer, and in the English Premier League, probably one of the worst transfers in recent memory. Anyone who watches Johnson as regularly as I have in both MLS and for the national team realized he wasn’t good enough to play at the Premiership level: or at the level of any major European first division. Yet Johnson remains quite possibly the best US striking option. How’s that for scary?

Fulham both honors the great strides the United States has come as Soccer playing nation since the late 1980s in Kasey Keller and Brian McBride, and the current malaise on the national team with the other three players. Fulham honors our proud recent past and our uncertain future. Regardless of what any American soccer fan told you today, Fulham’s result was the most important and most emotionally gut wrenching for those of us that love soccer in our country. The Cottagers remind us why the US got the quarterfinals of World Cup 2002 and why we beat Brazil, Germany (twice) and Argentina in a fifteen month period not long ago. But Fulham also reminds us why the US is a Landon Donovan or Tim Howard injury away from potentially missing our first World Cup since 1986. (With the fifth place COMNEBOL finisher facing the fourth place CONCACAF qualifer, the margain for error that both the U.S. and Mexico have had been reduced and right now I have sense that neither will actually win the Hexaganol, leaving if my gut is correct no margin for error for either. Mexico though could go to South America and win a playoff match. The US cannot. )

What has happened the last few weeks is remarkable. For many of us who have been fans of the sport we have chosen country over club as MLS wasn’t until recently far enough evolved to encourage a loyal fan culture and European football while important was distant. I’ve followed Manchester City Football Club for almost two decades now and consider them my favorite international club, but have always consider the plight of the US National Team far more important than any club’s fortunes. But now, I have joined so many Americans who also pull for Fulham because it seems the gritty group from London are in so many ways a microcosm of American Soccer and have made us all proud in so many ways to be an American and to enjoy the world’s most beautiful game.

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DC United’s slide from continental superpower to also ran in what is certainly not the strongest CONCACAF league continues in full view of the nation. What’s most striking is that the consistency of players and philosophy that was a trade mark of the red and black has given way to something else. What DC United is today in inexplicable and I am beginning to wonder if they will in fact right the ship this season.

• Blanco continues to be a force in this league and the supporting cast is finally finding their roles easier to understand. Chris Rolfe and John Thorrington ought to get another look from the US National Team.
• ESPN’s Pedro Gomes had a great interview with Blanco about the team philosophy in Chicago. Gomes has been a welcome addition to ESPN’s telecasts. A mainstream sports reporter who actually understands soccer. What a novel concept! Gomes, like myself fell in love with the game while growing up in south Florida watching the old NASL Strikers
• Marcello Gallardo plays deeper than Christian Gomez did for DC and does not have his timing down with the United strikers.
• Zach Wells had an outstanding game for DC and if anything prevented Chicago from completing an even more embarrassing score line for United.
• United fans don’t handle failure well for the most part and recent uncharacteristic panicking by Kevin Payne and Co. regarding the defensive performances of Facundo Erpen, Bobby Boswell and Brian Carroll as well as the midfield generalship of Christian Gomez is now being ripped in the Red and Black fan community. Payne has been the best executive in the league’s history, thus DC fans should give this a little more time to work. However, if the team does not turn around soon, Kevin Payne can be added to the number of executives and coaches (including Bruce Arena) who saw an improved MLS pass them by.
• I didn’t see any of the Colorado-Houston match so feel unqualified to comment on the proceedings. While I am away, some matches will be unavailable for my viewing, including all matches on FSC.
• FC Dallas is a team that continues to under whelm. Not only do the Hoops get bogged down in the midfield, but the 3-5-2 Steve Morrow is playing presumably to get all of his skilled Latin midfielders on the pitch is forcing Dario Sala to stand on his head game in and game out. A keeper, even one of Sala’s quality can only be asked to do so much.
• As I have said before RSL has arguably more quality than any side in MLS. The club also has a losing mentality, which winning matches like last night’s can only help to change.
• One player whom MLS has not passed by is Andy Williams. Despite being often traded and discarded Williams has now lasted ten years in MLS which for a senior international under MLS old foreign player rules is remarkable. Williams influence on RSL is plain every time he enters a match and yesterday he helped set up Kyle Beckerman for the game winner. (Translation: while Williams would be discarded by one team another in MLS always wanted his services. It was under old MLS rules always easy to dump foreign players, but Williams despite not getting much love always seemed to find a suitor in the league)
• Williams and Beckerman played together for my dearly departed club, the Miami Fusion. At the time Beckerman was a teenager, and Williams was coming off a World Cup for Jamaica.
• San Jose looked oh so good for seventy minutes. Actually I had planned to discuss Frank Yallop’s counter attacking oriented tactics at length today during that game. But the philosophy blew up in the Quakes face as Robbie Rogers, who has been the best player in MLS this season burned the shell shocked Quakes twice and helped set up a third goal which gave Columbus three more points.
• We all love David Beckham but it is amazing how the big name Latin imports of last season: Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Juan Pablo Angel and Guillermo Barros Schelotto, all seem to consistently have more influence on matches than Beckham does. Whether it is because Beckham plays for a below average team who has dropped more points at home than any other in MLS or simply because Beckham’s game is different is up for debate.
• Further proof the league has evolved and passed some players, managers and front office personal by: Juan Carlos Osorio and his ability outfox opposing managers of all stripes.
• Dave Van Den Bergh is very under appreciated and a key part of why the Red Bulls are surging towards the top of MLS.
• The crowd numbers for the weekend have again been disappointing. It was pointed out on another site where my posting of last Sunday was being taken apart that MLS has more sponsors than ever. I am happy to hear that but unhappy to report the majority of initial MLS sponsors including Snickers Bars which I began partially addicted to, and Yahoo, to whom I became loyal to for internet services have both long left the league behind. I made it a personal policy the league’s early years to patron league sponsors, but today I am not sure who to patron because sponsors come and go quickly and its clear some left because MLS did not deliver the return on investment that was promised.

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IMAGE FROM MLSNET.com

Sorry for my delinquency in covering this subject but it has been a busy few days. Tonight I board a plane for London and onwards to India from where I will be reporting from the next few weeks, culminating in the US-England match from Wembley Stadium on May 28th.

DC United’s new deal with Volkswagen is a massive break through for Major League Soccer. For the first time, a club has been able to break out on its own and sell it brand independentiy of the league to a major international sponsor. Commissioner Don Garber has called DC United the MLS “most authentic brand.” I have news for the Commissioner: Thus far in the league’s history, it has been the only worthwhile truly authentic brand associated with MLS.

As we have discussed numerous times in the past United has been MLS trend setter and it can be strongly argued without the United brand, MLS would no longer exist. No club has had the on the field success of signed the caliber of foreign player consistently that United has. No MLS club has maintain such a clear identity in its existence as United. Scouting has always been a trademark of the Red and Black and almost everything the club has done has not only been first class, but ahead of the rest of MLS. For those commentators who claim MLS is a “mickey mouse” league, DC United has always been the easiest retort.

Now United’s groundbreaking deal with Volkswagen opens the door for MLS clubs to get big time international sponsors. No offense to Herbalife, Amigo Energy or XANGO but those localized sponsors of MLS clubs made the league look decidedly small time. Now VW not only has given DC United a massive sponsorship deal but has also plucked one of its players, because of his international stardom as a spokesperson. Marcello Gallardo helped DC United land this sponsorship deal by all accounts as he will now serve as the company’s spokesperson in South America. United also now will have established links with Wolfsburg, a Bundesliga club owned by VW where Claudio Reyna became a household name in the mid 1990s.

United’s success is MLS’ success. This sponsorship deal should open the door for United to continue to be one of the elite clubs in North America. It could also open the door for prominent European corporations to invest in Major League Soccer. Once again, DC United leads the way to a brighter future for Major League Soccer.

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• A disappointing performance for DC United yesterday was made much worse yesterday by the outstanding performance of Christian Gomez and the goal scored by Facundo Erpen. Neither player would be in MLS if not for DC United’s superior scouting network, yet both players burned DC United on Sunday.

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Marco Etcheverry’s DC United teams gave MLS international respect /photo from MLSNET

Thirteen years into the life of Major League Soccer and for all the signs of progress on the field, the league continues to operate more or less in vacuum as far as the general American sports landscape is concerned. For those people who love European football and do not feel MLS is worth their time, no MLS or even a weaker MLS which is distinctly “minor” in its marketing and visibility threatens the amount of European football available on TV here without paying exorbitant pay per event fees. Soccer’s upsurge in popularity in this country owed itself more to MLS than any other factor but right now the league faces challenges and unacknowledged problems that threaten its continued upswing. Moreover, the amount of European football available to those who do not purchase premium channels is currently at its lowest point since the dark pre MLS days. [Read more →]

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A show featuring Luis Bueno of SI.com is ready to be released. We’re having some server issues but when resolved look for an interesting episode of the show featuring a look back at the Superclassico, the current situation in Mexican Football after the firing of Hugo Sanchez, why Landon Donovan is so good and a look ahead to the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

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Olsen w/ the US Team in a 2006 World Cup tuneup/US Soccer Federatrion

Steve Goff of the Washington Post is reporting that Ben Olsen’s distinguished career in Major League Soccer could be over. [Read more →]

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For years Major League Soccer didn’t attract internationals who had been part of their national team set up at any point. In the early days of MLS, not only did the league attract many active national team players, but the league also sent a number of players from outside CONCACAF to the 1998 World Cup and sent two players to the Euro 2000 tournament. Since then however not a single active MLS player has played for a non CONCACAF nation in either the World Cup or Euro Finals.

Here is the list of current MLS players who have featured internationally for their home countries. [Read more →]

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• Amado Guevara’s signing has turned Toronto FC from a laughing stockinto one of the top teams in the league right now. That’s what a Latin flavored #10 can do when surrounded by legitimate European talent that has survived in tougher leagues than MLS. Moreover, the success of TFC shows that despite boasts of MLS’ improvement, players who are marginal squad members in the English Championship can come to MLS and have early success. While MLS from a quality and skill standpoint is better than the English Championship, players who come from the British Isles are tougher and more understanding of a football culture than most Americans who come from the college ranks, from USL or even from within MLS. No wonder MLS has so much trouble in Continental competitions and proving itself to the more snobbish fans in its own nation.

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