Houston Dynamo

Where: Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL
When: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 7:00 PM
What: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying semi final Round
Prediction: U.S. wins 2-0

The U.S. kicks the home section of the semi final round of World Cup qualifying with a game with Trinidad and Tobago in Chicago. The U.S. is in an interesting group with Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala.

The teams play a round-robin schedule with the top two teams advancing to next year’s regional finals, which will produce three World Cup qualifiers and a fourth team that goes to a playoff against the number five nation in South America for another berth.

While the U.S. will be favorites to take the top spot in the group it will not be easy with trough road trips to Cuba (first time in 61 years), a date at Guatemala’s intimidating Estadio Mateo Flores on August 20th and a test in Port of Spain against a resurgent Trinidad and Tobago.

With such difficult road games it is essential that the U.S. get maximum points from all its home games.

This World Cup game is perfectly timed for the U.S. as the European season will be underway, and the MLS season is still in full swing. That means all the U.S. players who play in Europe will be available for selection including Tim Howard, DaMarcus Beasley and Freddy Adu.

In exhibition games this earlier this summer against England, Spain and Argentina, it was very apparent that the U.S. was lacking a quality goal scorer. Whether Brian Ching or Kenny Cooper can step up and fill that role will determine how far the U.S. gets in South Africa in 2010.

The Soca Warriors of Trinidad and Tobago are trying to recapture the kind of form that saw them reach their first FIFA World Cup finals two years ago in Germany.

T&T hopes took a big hit in the summer when Kenwyne Jones of Sunderland was injured against England and he will miss this game. T&T is led by Stern John of Southampton who is the country’s all-time top scorer and finished only two strikes behind Mexico’s Jared Borgetti in the race for CONCACAF’s top marksman honors in the qualifiers for Germany.

Other Trinidad stars expected to be in the squad for this game are Gary Glasgow, Densil Theobald, Avery John and Carlos Edwards and Marvin Andrews.

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Stadium Location:
Toyota Park
7000 S. Harlem Avenue
Bridgeview, IL 60455
708-594-7700

Parking Fees: Cars $15; Limos $30; Buses/RVs $30

Directions:
Toyota Park is centrally located approximately 15 miles southwest of downtown Chicago in Bridgeview, Ill. The stadium is easily accessible from the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) and the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) and is approximately 5 minutes from Midway Airport.

From Chicago:
Use I-55 South and exit to Harlem Avenue. Turn left at Harlem Avenue, and continue south 2.5 miles to the stadium entrance.

From North:
Take I-294 East to I-55 North and exit to LaGrange Road south. Merge left onto Archer Avenue, continue east on Archer Avenue 2.5 miles, and turn right onto Roberts Road. Follow Roberts Road south to 71st Street, turn left, and proceed east to the stadium.

From West:
Take I-55 North and exit to LaGrange Road south. Merge left onto Archer Avenue, continue east on Archer Avenue 2.5 miles, and turn right onto Roberts Road. Follow Roberts Road south to 71st Street, turn left, and proceed east to the stadium.

From Southeast:
Use 79th, 87th or 95th Street to access Harlem Avenue. Turn right onto Harlem Avenue. Continue north on Harlem Avenue to parking lot entrances at 70th and Harlem.

From South:
Use I-294 West and exit to 95th Street. Turn left at 95th Street, continue west to Roberts Road, and turn right. Follow Roberts Road north 3 miles to 71st Street and turn right. Proceed east on 71st Street to the stadium.

From Southwest Suburbs:
Use LaGrange Rd. or Harlem Avenue. to 95th Street. From Harlem Avenue, go west to Roberts Road and turn right. Follow Roberts Road north 3 miles to 71st Street and turn right. Proceed east on 71st Street to the stadium

From 95th St. and LaGrange Road go east to Roberts Road and turn left. Follow Roberts Road north 3 miles to 71st Street and turn right. Proceed east on 71st Street to the stadium.

Public Transportation:

CTA – Orange Line
Fans may take the CTA Orange line to Midway. At Midway, you can connect to the “TOYOTA PARK Express” PACE BUS. The bus will drop you off at TOYOTA PARK and will also be available to bring you back to the Midway stop after the conclusion of the game.

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The past two days have seen two American teams face two Mexican teams.  The result: An all American Superliga Final.

In the end, the United States will tie Mexico in the Superliga Championship standings, each with one.  The question that has yet to be answered however is: What American side will be crowned the Champions?  

Will it be the Beast of the East, New England Revolution? Maybe it will be a team that got off to a slow start in the West but has been playing extremely well of late, The Houston Dynamo.  Either way, this will prove to be a very exciting match.
 
In the MLS Final last fall, these two teams battled, and in the end, while one of them was going to have to fall short, you thought they both deserved the glory of victory. This game also pits two teams trying to achieve different things.
 
Houston is a team that has high expectations, but due to a slow start, is just hoping to make the playoffs, let alone win the regular season, or even the Western Conference.  Then they will go from there.  New England has consistently been one of the MLS' top teams, but doesn't have a championship to show for it.  

They have actually only won one trophy, the 2007 US Open Cup.  New England has a chance to go for not only the Triple Crown this season (Superliga, MLS Regular Season, MLS Cup) but are now in the semifinals of the US Open Cup.

Will New England finally be able to put some trophies in its case, or will they continue to plagued with adding to the list of runner-up honors?

Back to Houston, they were in this game last year, but fell on penalties to finish as the runner-up.  But they don't have a shortage of trophies winning the MLS Cup.  They have proven they can win the Cup, going 2-0 in their championship history.  Ironically, the last two finals have been between Houston and New England.  

This will be the third, and probably not the last, final between these two squads.  They always play a good, entertaining game, and I am sure this one will not disappoint.

The Semifinal Results:

Houston 2 - 0 Pachuca CF

New England 1 - 0 Atalante

My prediction:

Halftime:  0-0

Full Time: 1-1

120 Minutes: 1-1

Penalties:  New England 4 - 3 Houston

The final will take place Tuesday August 5 at 8 PM in Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

World Football may not be familiar with names like Pat Onstad, Dwayne De Rosario or David Beckham (sorry...couldn’t resist that one), but that doesn’t make their appearance in our All-Star game any less impressive.

Admittedly an All-Star game is not very football-like. You expect an All-Star game from Baseball, American Football, Hockey and Basketball, but football, or soccer if you prefer, is just not an "All-Star game" sort of sport.

I get that.

And, you know, I’d hate to see a Premiership All-Star game or a La Liga All-Star Game, but I can’t help getting excited about what the MLS does every year.

It has given North Americans a chance to see some great teams, like Chelsea and Celtic, who manage to make a competitive match of it even though they are in their pre-season warm-ups.

Some would say that the competetiveness of these matches reveals the lack of quality in the North American game, but it needs to be remembered that the MLS All-Stars have only played together as a team for two days of practice before they face their friendly rivals, which does mitigate their fitness advantage to some extent.

Regardless, the games are often very entertaining, and last night’s All-Star game at BMO Field, the home of Toronto FC, was another example.

The MLS All-Stars defeated Alan Curbishley’s West Ham United by a score of 3-2 in a game that was packed with almost everything a fan could want.

Dean Ashton opened the scoring with a cracking shot to beat MLS and New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Ries. Then West Ham almost immediately conceded an equalizer when Colorado Rapids Midfielder Christian Gomez struck a near-carbon copy of Ashton’s goal at the other end.

Just before the half, the Chicago Fire's Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who had already made Gomez’s goal, struck the goal of the match from the edge of the box, curling the ball around the outstretched gloves of Robert Green.

Blanco was off at the beginning of the second half, and it took a while for the MLS All-Stars to get back to their attack, long enough for Dean Ashton to lace a shot at the net and watch it take a crazy ricochet off Kansas City Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad and past Reis for a Hammers equalizer.

The final drama was left for Toronto native and Houston Dynamo Dwayne De Rosario.

The attacking midfielder drew West Ham captain Lucas Neill into a somewhat rash challenge, took a dive and somehow got the penalty call from the ref.

There were no boos from the hometown fans, however, when he bashed the spot kick against the underside of the crossbar and the ball ping-ponged into the net for the game-winner.

Five goals, some beautiful and some ugly, a dive in the box, a penalty kick, some poor refereeing, some surprisingly effective footwork by David Beckham (LA Galaxy), and some excellent end-to-end football made the 2008 Pepsi/MLS All-Star game a match to remember for the legion of North America’s burgeoning football fans.

That is why the MLS All-Star game is something we should all care about.

It is exactly the sort of forum, odd though it may be, to kindle a love of club football in the psyches of all North Americans.

Every year, more and more fans enjoy the MLS. It may never be their favourite league, particularly when anyone can find a TV package to watch better football from across the sea, but as the MLS quality grows, its drawing power grows.

North American kids may just find themselves loving the team and pitch they grew up watching right in their backyard, and isn’t that what we North Americans are always told is the true heart of being a football fan? Supporting your local side? If that is so, the MLS All-Star game is a key component in our recipe to becoming true fans.

So it’s time that everyone in North America who cares about football picked a North American team to cheer for and got excited about our game.

The more we care, the more the MLS will improve. It will never match La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 or the Premiership, but it could come damn close. And how cool would that be?

As the group round of Superliga drew to a close this weekend, soccer fans saw some important matches.

First off, the Houston Dynamo earned their spot in the semis, and overall victory in Group A, with a 3-1 win over DC United.

The other Saturday match saw Atalante simultaneously punch their semifinal ticket and end CD Guadalajara's Superliga run with a two-nil victory.

Sunday saw a pair of 1-1 draws to determine the semifinalists of Group B.  New England's draw with Chivas USA pits them with the top overall record and the only team with no losses to this point in the competition.

The draw also ended Chivas USA's hope to reach the semis when Pachuca CF earned the one point they needed against Santos Laguna.  That result proved to be all the defending champions needed to make it back to the semis.

The Houston Dynamo and FC Pachuca have advanced to the semis now for the second consecutive year.

Last year, the United States represented three of the four semifinalists, yet still failed to take home the title.

This time around, each side is represented equally, and each matchup pits a Mexican side against an American side.  I think this is what the founders of Superliga were hoping for from the beginning.

Both matches will occur midweek later this month, the Dynamo will host Pachuca on Tuesday, July 29th at 10 PM Eastern.  The following day, at eight PM Eastern, The New England Revolution will host Atlante.

The final will be played Tuesday, August fifth.

Predictions:

Houston Dynamo 1-2 FC Pachuca

New England Revolution 1-0 Atlante

Dear Major League Soccer,

I've been holding this in for some time, but I think it's time I expressed my true feelings:

I hate you.

I know this may seem harsh after the long relationship we've had. From DC United's MLS Championships to Ricardo Clark's assault on Carlos Ruiz. From McBride leaving the Crew to Taylor Twellman crying every year at the finals. It's been a great ride, but I can't hide it any longer. I hate you.

Every weekend I am forced to watch slow, boring, uninteresting and horrific soccer. It's painful. But like an annoying girlfriend that's been around for years and years, it's been hard to sever the tie.

Of course, there are Brian Ching's amazing headers and DeRosario's ridiculous bending free kicks. Then there is the speed of Dominic Oduro and the flying saves of Matt Reis. I won't deny that you give me some action here and there, but it's time you accept the fact that it's just not good enough. The problem is that the breathtaking moments happen rarely.

For the most part, it's terrible.

I hope that one day you will realize that the reason for your lack of quality, dullness, horrible first touches, and never ending turnovers can easily be fixed with one small adjustment. Beckham isn't playing in the United States because of prestige or distinction. He is here for the money, and maybe because the United States isn't a bad place to live and work, especially when your wife is the boss.

He is here because he is making $1,000,000.00 per week. Whether it's endorsements, jersey and ticket sales, Adidas contracts or just plain salary. Beckham makes more in one day than some MLS players make in a year.

It doesn't sound right because it isn't right. It's simple: quality players will leave when they are offered more money.

Adjust your salary regulations and maybe the future Altidores will be happy with their surrounding players, their salary and (oh yes, it IS possible), world class play in the United States. Until then, we are officially on a break and I will be fulfilling my needs with every means possible.

Even if it means watching Mexico's horrific excuse for a league.

Until we meet again, Diego

Canada advanced to the semifinals of World Cup qualifying in the North and Central American and Caribbean region, defeating St. Vincent and the Grenadines 4-1 Friday night. Dwayne De Rosario and Ali Gerba scored two goals each for Canada, which won the home-and-home, total-goals series on 7-1 aggregate.

Canada will be in a semifinal group with Jamaica, Honduras and likely Mexico, which hosts Belize on Saturday night following a 2-0 victory in the first leg.

Mexico strolled into the group stage of the CONCACAF zone World Cup qualifiers with a 7-0 demolition of tiny neighbours Belize on Saturday. They were joined by Costa Rica, who ended a 14-match winless streak by beating Grenada 3-0, and Guatemala, who beat St Lucia 3-1, in the second preliminary round second leg ties.
Midfielder Fernando Arce and striker Jared Borgetti scored twice each to help Mexico to a comfortable win in Monterrey. Carlos Vela and Andres Guardado shared a goal apiece while Belize’s Trevor Lennen put through his own goal as Mexico completed a 9-0 aggregate win.

The game was Mexico’s last under caretaker coach Jesus Ramirez, who will be replaced by former England coach Sven Goran-Eriksson.

Costa Rica, who have qualified for the last two World Cups, completed a harder than expected 5-2 aggregate win over the Caribbean islanders of Grenada. lvaro Saborio and Brian Ruiz scored in the first half hour to put the Ticos on the way to their first win since they beat Chile in a friendly just over a year ago.

Randall Azofeifa added a third in the 89th minute for relieved Costa Rica, who found themselves 2-0 down in the first leg before hitting back to draw 2-2.

Guatemala beat St Lucia 9-1 on aggregate with their win in Los Angeles, where the Caribbean side were technically at home. Two goals from Gonzalo Romero put the Central Americans in charge before Kenwen McPhee reduced the arrears at the end of the first half. Abner Trigueros completed the scoring four minutes from the end for Guatemala, who have never played at the World Cup finals

MLS POWER RANKINGS (06/11):

1. Chicago Fire [last week 1]: Though the Fire dropped one to DCU, it was because of an extra time miracle goal. While not on top in the East anymore, I still think the Fire are the best team in the league, bar none.
2. New England Revolution [last week 2]: The Revs are rolling. Nicol’s bunch is performing like a well-oiled machine despite playing without three of its four best players from last year. Coach of the Year?
3. Columbus Crew [last week 3]: Ouch. Ronnie O’Brien made the Crew his bitch. What’s happening Sigi? Moreno’s early poise has become panic, and the defense looks confused. Schelotto needs to lead again.
4. Los Angeles Galaxy [last week 5]: Who is that forward playing for the Galaxy, and what has he done with the old Edson Buddle? L.A. ran away with this one, then almost gave it away late, but hung on.
5. Toronto FC [last week 4]: An ugly loss for TFC. Unfortunately, their home heavy schedule early on I think inflated their status in these rankings. Unless they start to play on the road, expect them to sink.
6. New York Red Bulls [last week 6]: Juan Pablo Angel must have sensed the NYRB faithful needed a boost after learning their beloved Jozy would be leaving. He delivered, and NYRB is showing they’ve got scrap.
7. Houston Dynamo [last week 10]: Though rain postponed their game against DCU, HOU looked extremely sharp on Sunday vs. TFC. Ching and De Rosario finally worked together, which is scary for foes.
8. Colorado Rapids [last week 8]: I wanted to drop them. But, everyone below them also looked sucky. The Rapids were beaten soundly and looked frustrated. Gomez needs to worry about his play, not the refs.
9. Chivas USA [last week 9]: While early in the year, a lack of defense hampered the Goats, now that the D is playing strong again, the offense just can’t get it going. Preki needs to put it all together soon.
10. Kansas City [last week 7]: What is happening to the Wiz? They look utterly impotent on offense. The defense still does their duty. Never thought I’d see the day where the loss of EJ looked so devastating. 
11. Real Salt Lake [last week 11]: RSL isn’t over the mediocrity hump yet. They say home is where the heart is, but for the less-famous Lakers, it needs to be where points reside b/c they are awful away.
12. DC United [last week 13]: A nice win, but at what cost? Two ejections, including their offensive and defensive leaders. I’ve heard of playing tough, but DCU and CHI were playing prison rules out there.
13. FC Dallas [last week 12]:  When will it end? The Burn’s season is starting to look grim. They’re not even rebuilding, they have the players, they just don’t have chemistry. Oduro is working, but is anyone else?
14. San Jose Earthquakes [last week 14]: I wanted to bump SJE after a great away win against the Crew, but its just not feasible. They’re still averaging less than a goal a game, but the D will win them a few.

 

Player of the Week: Brian Ching. Left out of the MNT roster pool, Ching may have felt he had something to prove Sunday when he was in Texas and the rest of his mates were in NYC for the big ARG showdown. He proved it alright. Two goals and an assist to boot. Its nice to see Ching play up to his potential.

Tonight, the struggling Dynamo host the schizophrenic former Burn in a Texas battle for steer-sized bragging rights.

If Houston wins, they will get back to .500 on the season and vault past Dallas in the standings despite their ugly start. If Dallas wins, they will shake the Houston monkey off their back and seize control of first place in the West.

It’s as big a game as you can get this early in the year.

At the helm for Dallas is interim coach Marco Ferruzzi, who notched a win in his first game as head manager last week. Ferruzzi has been with Dallas for years and has been embraced by his players in Steve Morrow’s absence.

I am a big fan of Ferruzzi. Why?

Well, it’s not because he was a former MLS first round pick out of UNC. And it’s not because he had the cojones to bench his best player, Juan Toja, for the first game of his coaching regime.

No, it’s because Ferruzzi played for the Tampa Bay Mutiny. In fact, Ferruzzi was on the same Mutiny squad as SJE manager Frank Yallop.

Ferruzzi will likely insert Dominic Oduro into the starting lineup for tonight’s game. After all, it was Oduro who saved Ferruzzi’s hide last week. After being inserted two-thirds of the way through, Oduro took over and scored two goals to deliver Dallas the victory.

Though he played only one unremarkable season for TB (he had a measly two assists), I will root for the Burn and Ferruzzi tonight. The only other alternative is rooting for the two time defending champ Dynamo and their coach Dominic Kinnear.

Where’d Kinnear play again?

Oh, yeah…

The Mutiny.

What were they putting in the water down in T-Town?

And when is someone going to hire Valderrama?

Here are the reports from this weekend's Major League Soccer games. The highlights were the LA Galaxy’s hammering of FC Dallas, the Houston Dynamo’s second consecutive win this season and Chivas coming from behind to win a game for the first time in their history

Los Angeles 5 - FC Dallas 1
The Galaxy scored four goals - including two by Edson Buddle—within a 15-minute span midway through the first half en route to a 5-1 victory over FC Dallas. Buddle went on to complete a hat trick five minutes from the end on a header at the left goalpost off a cross from David Beckham. The win moved the Galaxy (3-3-2) into sole possession of second place in the MLS Western Division standings, while FC Dallas (2-3-3) dropped to fourth in the division with the loss.

Dynamo 2 - Fire 1
The Dynamo (2-2-4), has won twice in a row after struggling for more than a month for win No. 1. The two-time defending MLS Cup champions also won for the third time in three games at Toyota Park, and handed the Fire (5-2-1) their second loss at home this season.

Crew 0 - Toronto FC 0
Columbus (6-1-1) had a five-game winning streak ended. Laurent Robert nearly scored for Toronto in the 60th minute, drifting in from the right, beating two defenders and sending a left-footed shot past goalkeeper William Hesner and off the post. Columbus hasn’t lost in six games while Toronto (3-2-2) is unbeaten in five.

Revolution 2 - Earthquakes 0
Kheli Dube scored for New England (5-3-1) in the sixth minute, before Riley’s own goal in the 23rd. San Jose (1-5-1) only had one shot on target and four overall. Taylor Twellman didn’t play again for New England because of an injured ankle.

Chivas USA 3, DC United 1
Chivas came from behind to win a match for the first time in club history. After Marcelo Gallardo put DC ahead in the 30th minute, Chivas’ Jesse Marsch tied the match in the 73rd minute. Jorge Flores scored a late goal to help give Chivas (2-4-2) a two-goal cushion. DC United fell to 2-6 and remained winless in four road games.

Wizards 1, Red Bulls 1
Danleigh Borman’s late goal lifted the 10-man New York Red Bulls to a 1-1 tie with the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night. Borman’s second goal of the season came in the 81st minute, when he took a pass from Juan Pablo Angel and beat Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. Jimmy Conrad gave Kansas City (3-3-2) the early lead when he scored on a header in 20th minute off a corner by Carlos Marinelli. The Red Bulls (3-1-3) extended their unbeaten streak to five games.

The Columbus Crew beat defending MLS champion Houston Dynamo, 1-0.

The Columbus Crew (4-0-1) are now in first place in the Eastern conference after their win at home over Houston. With the win, the Crew passed Kansas City and New England for sole possession of first place. Columbus is off to their best start in 10 years.

In the 22nd minute Alejandro Moreno cleaned up rebound right in front of the net to give the Crew a 1-0 lead. A header was blocked and Moreno was in the right place at the right time to score the game’s only goal.

The win was the 100th career MLS win for Columbus head coach Sigi Schmid, who is only the second coach in the history of the MLS to pass the century marks for wins.

When asked about his milestone after the game Schmid said, “It just means that I have been around for a while. But really what it means is that I have had the privilege of coaching some good players. Players who have helped me achieve that. Obviously some guys have been out there for more of the wins, I am proud of that fact—but I am more proud of the fact that it shows that I have had some good players.”

Crew goalie William Hesmer stopped 6 shots for his eighth shutout of his career and second of the young season. The biggest save by Hesmer came in the 89th minute as Houston was pressing to even the score when Wade Barret sent a scorching shot on goal from 22 yards out, but Hesmer made a great two-handed diving save.

Both teams had several good chances in the game but neither team could find the back of the net. Most of the game was played in the mid-field.

Defending champion Houston (0-2-3) is not off a to a good start and has yet to win a game this season.

“You don’t expect to be 0-2-3," Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear said. "We are disappointed right now but I can’t say it’s because we aren’t playing good soccer. It’s just sometimes you get the breaks, and sometimes you do not. And we are getting punished for mistakes.

"We have to stick together and I know this group and we will bounce back. The pressure to win is within and the expectation is to win. Right now, things are not going the way we want.”

Houston’s next game is next Saturday at home against Chivas USA, while Columbus hosts Kansas City at home on Saturday in a big early season match up of two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.