Andrew
Dixon sees the value in the CONCACAF
Champions Cup, and hopes everyone else from
the clubs to the fans are with him.
By Andrew Dixon
MIAMI, FL (Apr 8, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- As MLS fans, we constantly look for signs that the league is becoming big time. The realists among us recognize that it might take years for our league to compete with the likes of the top leagues in Europe and South America. Nevertheless, we point to certain things that we feel demonstrate the relative strength now.
Players being sold to the European leagues. Players factoring for the National Team. Signing well known international players. All of these are signs that MLS is increasing the quality of its product and the proof is on the field.
So what’s the next step? What is the next way for MLS to gain greater respect in the eyes of the international soccer community? In this Grown Man’s Opinion, MLS sides need to start excelling internationally. By that I don’t mean playing well against some European side that’s here on vacation trying to get into shape or beating up on them in what amounts to a prestige friendly otherwise known as the MLS All-Star Game.
Rather, it’s time that MLS sides start winning these two-game series against top regional clubs in competitions like the Champions Cup, the future Champions League and the Copa Sudamericana (the NIT of South
American club championships). It's the Champions Cup that's the most disappointing, a statement maker that says MLS can compete with the elite of CONCACAF.
Yes, I know MLS teams have won this competition in the past. DC United beat Toluca in the 1998 version that was played in RFK Stadium. The Galaxy beat Olimpia in the final played in Los Angeles in 2000 and advanced to the ultimately cancelled FIFA Club World Cup.
Since that time, MLS teams have fallen short. While they regularly beat up on Caribbean sides like Joe Public and Harbor View and produce solid displays against most the Central American competition they face, they have consistently failed to get past the top Mexican or Costa Rican clubs.
Stalling at the semifinal stage has become the new standard. In fact, they have occasionally been on the wrong end of some embarrassing aggregate scores (Columbus, 2003, DC 2005). Since 2000, nobody from MLS has made a final.
What has been particularly difficult is the way MLS teams have gone out of the competition. Yes, there have been some blowouts but recent years have also seen some heartbreaking exits. Houston’s loss to Pachuca saw the Dynamo win the opener by two goals only to lose on the return and fall in extra time on the road. DC got the result at home only to surrender away, as they did last year and in 2005. A similar story with Kansas City unfolded that year as well, drawing at home but losing in overtime against Saprissa.
This year’s competition seems to be following a similar story. Houston and DC both had very little problems getting past Caribbean and Central American competition. However, DC lost away to Pachuca after giving up late goals in the second half and Houston did everything but score at home. Now they face a tough away task against Saprissa, a relatively obscure club that has used this tournament to turn Estadio Saprissa into a fortress well known across CONCACAF.
So why does this keep happening? The easy explanation is that the MLS schedule works against its own clubs. MLS is in pre or early season form for the opening stage. The first legs of these semifinals were played between weeks one and two of the MLS season. Expect them to be at full throttle is asking a lot.
The proposed schedule for the CONCACAF Champions League - scheduled to begin play in August - won’t help much either. MLS will be in full swing in the early rounds, but the elimination rounds will take place during the 2009 and ensuing pre-seasons. Once again that creates the in-season vs out-of-season match-ups that prove so difficult for MLS clubs.
An obvious problem is depth. Teams without MLS's financial requirements can afford squads that go well past the starting eleven. That allows them to withstand the kind of injuries that are difference makers for MLS squads. Simply put, you need depth to successfully compete in multiple tournaments. With MLS’s regular season, the US Open Cup and now Inter Liga already on the schedule, MLS sides will continue to be stretched to the limit. They'll need more recovery time during an off season that continues to shrink.
Even with all those factors, with a good tournament team belief counts. Feeling up against the history and away crowds, a team can gel in a way that gets past the problems and the fatigue. The US National Team has shown how that works against Mexico. The US clubs have yet to make that kind of statement.
It’s going to take a breakthrough victory, perhaps DC overturning their 2 goal deficit Wednesday night, to begin fostering that belief necessary for international play. It's also going to take fans respecting he tournament rather than dismissing it, and putting it at the top of the pyramid for North American soccer. After all, it's only our League's regional and ultimately international reputation at stake.
Then again, this is just One Grown Alpha Man’s Opinion.
Andrew Dixon is a soccer writer based in Miami, a weekly columnist for USSoccerPlayers, and host of ‘Back of the Net,’ which you can hear Saturday nights on the Black Athlete Sports Network. Contact him at: golnoir@golnoir.net
