Portuguese Liga

Ajax 2, Feyenoord 0 (Eredivisie, Feb. 15, 2009): In the battle of the former heavyweights in Holland, Ajax broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when poor Feyenoord defending allowed a free kick to be converted by Thomas Vermaelen. In the final stage the visitors had Dwight Tiendalli sent off, and Urby Emanuelson rounded off a good day for the Amsterdammers with a second in injury time.

NEC 1, Heerenveen 1 (Eredivisie, Feb. 15, 2009—longer highlights here): Heerenveen’s new Swedish import Viktor Elm continued to settle in fast at his new club, heading in the opener at NEC after just three minutes. NEC levelled with a Youssef El Akchaoui penalty after keeper Vandenbussche flattened Janssen in the box.

Groningen 2, Heracles 0 (Eredivisie, Feb. 15, 2009): Gonzalo Garcia put the hosts ahead after 40 minutes with a shot from the edge of the box, and two minutes later his free kick into the area was converted by Marcus Berg.

Sparta 0, Vitesse 0 (Eredivisie, Feb. 15, 2009): In a drab clash between two teams hovering just outside the relegation zone, neither side could find a way through as strikers at both ends were guilty of poor finishing.

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Porto 3, Rio Ave 1 (Superliga, Feb. 15, 2009): Lucho Gonzalez’s first half penalty gave Porto the lead, but it was cancelled out by Fabio Coentrao’s screamer in the 72nd minute, which ripped into the top corner. But Porto staged a late fight, Ernesto Farias restored the lead from Gonzalez’s cross in the 86th, and the forward completed the win three minutes later from a pass by Lopez, who had entered the field in the 74th.

Benfica 3, Pacos Ferreira 2 (Superliga, Feb. 15, 2009): Oscar Cardozo put the Eagles in the lead in the 69th after an error of judgment by Pacos keeper Cassio. Ruben Amorim extended Benfica’s lead with a curling shot in the 73rd, but the visitors pulled a goal back through Jose Ferreira two minutes later. Angel Di Maria scored the third goal in the 87th with a wonderful long-range shot before Chico Silva’s injury time goal set up a nervous ending for Benfica.

Trofense 2, Naval 2 (Superliga, Feb. 15, 2009)

Maritimo 1, Amadora 0 (Superliga, Feb. 14, 2009): Jose Ytalo's well-struck shot just before the break was the difference between the sides.

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Trabzonspor 1, Besiktas 1 (Super Lig, Feb. 15, 2009): Gokhan Unal put the hosts ahead in the 29th minute, with Bobo equalising in the second half with a fine header from a corner.

Bursaspor 1, Sivasspor 1 (Super Lig, Feb. 15, 2009): Sivasspor conceded to Bursaspor’s Tadeu in the 50th minute before levelling through Ibrahim Ozturk’s own goal seven minutes later.

***

Charleroi 0, Anderlecht 1 (Jupiler League, Feb. 15, 2009): Anderlecht needed a solitary goal to win in Charleroi, and it was Hungarian defender Roland Juhasz who provided the decider on 49 minutes. Anderlecht are now two points behind leaders Standard de Liege, but do have a game in hand.

***

OFI Crete 1, Asteras Tripolis 1 (Greek Super League, Feb. 15, 2009): Zdravko Popovic’s free kick missed everyone to nestle in the net for Crete’s opener. But Marcelao brought the visitors level with an equalising penalty at the start of the second half.

Panthrakikos 0, Larisa 1 (Greek Super League, Feb. 15, 2009): Stelios Giannakopoulos’ return to Greek football with Larissa continues to prove profitable, as the midfielder bagged his third goal for Larissa against Panthrakikos with a back post volley.

Panserraikos 1, Xanthi 0 (Greek Super League, Feb. 15, 2009)

Iraklis 0, Panathinaikos 0 (Greek Super League, Feb. 15, 2009)

***

Luzern 2, Young Boys 3 (Swiss Super League, Feb. 15, 2009)

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Apollon 0, APOEL 1 (Cypriot First Division, Feb. 15, 2009)

AEK Larnaca 5, Atromitos 0 (Cypriot First Division, Feb. 15, 2009)

PSV 2, AZ Alkmaar 2 (Eredivisie, Feb. 14, 2009) (Longer highlights here): Stijn Schaars set up Gill Swerts for AZ’s opening goal in the 12th. Maarten Martens then doubled the lead for the visitors in the 29th. Demy de Zeeuw missed a penalty for AZ before Danny Koevermans pulled one back in 49th, and then Koevermans levelled for PSV in the 83rd off Francisco Rodriguez’s pass.

Twente 2, Volendam 1 (Eredivisie, Feb. 14, 2009) (Longer highlights here): Paul de Lange put Volendam ahead from the penalty spot after six minutes, but the turning point came when Gerry Koning was shown a red card 12 minutes later. Marko Arnautovic equalised for Steve McClaren’s side on 28 minutes, and Blaise N’Kufo then scored a penalty in the 34th minute.

Den Haag 1, De Graafschap 0 (Eredivisie, Feb. 14, 2009) (Longer highlights here): Den Haag suffered an early blow when Christiaan Kum was sent off in the 14th minute. De Graafschap could not capitalise on their numerical advantage, and Berry Powell netted the decisive goal for Den Haag three minutes before halftime.

NAC Breda 1, Roda 0 (Eredivisie, Feb. 14, 2009) (Longer highlights here): Nourdin Boukhari scored the crucial goal after 42 minutes, while Davy de Faux was sent off for Roda early in the second half.

***

Belenenses 1, Sporting Lisbon 2 (Superliga, Feb. 14, 2009): Marcelo’s diving header put Belenenses ahead. Simon Vukcevic drew Sporting level, and Helder Postiga completed the comeback for the visitors.

Braga 0, Leixoes 1 (Superliga, Feb. 14, 2009) Midway through the second half Leixoes broke down the right hand side and whipped a ball into the centre of the box, where Nuno Frechaut inexcusably sent a diving header past his own keeper.

***

Standard Liege 4, Tubize 0 (Jupiler League, Feb. 14, 2009): Igor de Camargo gave Standard a 1-0 lead on 35 minutes, and Steven Defour doubled the gap four minutes later from the penalty spot. After the break Christian Benteke fired in the third, leaving Hirac Yagan to add a fourth just before full time.

Lokeren 2, Roeselare 1 (Jupiler League, Feb. 14, 2009)

***

Antalyaspor 1, Galatasaray 0 (Super Lig, Feb. 14, 2009): Ahmet Kuru got on the end of a cross on the hour mark to give Antalyaspor the three points.

Fenerbahce 7, Hacettepe 0 (Super Lig, Feb. 14, 2009) (Longer highlights here): Fener ripped Hacettepe to shreds in the first half. Alex opened after 10 minutes, and he added a second four minutes later. Lugano, Senturk, and Deivid da Souza all got in on the act before the break, and in the second half Senturk bagged his brace while Alex completed his hat trick.

***

Olympiakos 2, Aris 1 (Greek Super League, Feb. 14, 2009): Weak defending allowed Predrag Djordjevic to put the hosts ahead in the first half. Olympiakos won a penalty in the second half; Sifakis stopped Galletti’s initial spot kick as well as a rebound by Papadopoulos, but Galletti eventually scored the second. Vassilis Torosidis’ own goal gave the scoreline more respectability for Aris.

Levadiakos 0, PAOK 3 (Greek Super League, Feb. 14, 2009): On a bog of a pitch at Levadiakos, PAOK’s Sergio Conceicao picked up on a loose punch from the keeper to roll the ball into the empty net. After the break, an attack built by Muslimovic and Canceicao was finished by Olivier Sorlin, and Vladan Ivic added a third from the spot.

AEK Athens 1, Thrasivoulos 0 (Greek Super League, Feb. 14, 2009): Panagiotis Taxtsidis won the match with a 90th minute shot on turn.

***

RB Salzburg 3, Dinamo Zagreb 4 (Friendly, Feb. 14, 2009)

Dinamo Bucuresti 1, Randers FC 0 (Friendly, Feb. 14, 2009): Silviu Izvoranu claimed the only goal with three minutes remaining.

For the third time this season the Chicago Fire defeated the New England Revolution.  The perennial Eastern Conference contenders are currently the top two teams in MLS and both harbor championship hopes.

But on this night—and the previous two meetings between these two teams—Chicago had New England's number. They have won the three games by a combined score of 9-1.

This game was by far the most challenging of the three as the Fire had to come back from an early goal off the head of recently healthy striker Taylor Twellman. But thanks to a sinking knuckleball from Gonzalo Segares and a rebound from Wilman Conde, Chicago got the win and pulled to within one point of first place.

Chicago has been knocked out of the playoffs the last three seasons by the Revolution and the rivalry between these two teams seems to grow every year.

Budding rivalries like the Fire versus the Revolution are exactly what the MLS needs to continue pushing forward and improving their standing in the world of soccer.

Both Chicago and New England have been paving the road for the growth of MLS, especially in the past two seasons.

Chicago made one of the largest splashes last season when they signed Mexican international Cuauhtemoc Blanco. And they have continued their quest for international talent with the acquisitions of the Colombian, Conde, Lider Molina from Paraguay, and recently acquired Marco Pappa from Guatemala.

The Revolution have been one of the top teams in MLS over the last two seasons, finishing runner-up in the last two MLS Cups, and becoming the first MLS team to win the Superliga title.

These two teams are on the forefront, driving MLS in to the future that looks very bright. It is great to see this rivalry grow and blossom.

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.

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

Missing football and being close to the new Arsenal season without Arsenal football, I found myself watching the new Superliga, which pits the top four MLS teams against the top four Mexican Apertura teams in...well...a North American Superleague. It's sort of the Champions League of our continent.

Until last night, only one game was really excellent, and that was the game between Pachuca, the Mexican Champs, and Chivas Guadalajara, the runners-up.

But nothing could compare to last night's epic battle between Houston Dynamo and Pachuca in the first ever semi-final match-up of the new league.

Holy crap! I find myself slowly turning into a Dynamo fan (Ching, de Rosario, and Mullen are making that easy)—and watching the way they struggled and scrapped last night resembled that of George Graham's Arsenal: strong on set pieces, big and scrappy, and willing to do whatever it takes to grind out a win.

They've even perfected the old Arsenal offside trap. Not only are the Dynamo players turning me into a fan, they are also making me a believer in the future of the MLS.

27,000 turned up to watch the semi-final yesterday, so I can't be the only one.

MLS isn't as good as the Premiership (or La Liga or Eredivisie or Bundesliga or Ligue Un or Serie A), but they sure aren't the crap league they were ten years ago when I watched a DC United v. Galaxy game and subsequently tuned out for five years. They deserve a chance—particularly when teams from their league can perform like Dynamo performed last night.

Dynamo got an early red card, but kept on scrapping. They tied the game 2-2. Then Pachuca took a late red card. Then there was extra time.

Then Dynamo got another red card due to a petulant kick from Ashe. And Pachuca got a second yellow for their man.

But the ref pulled a Poll and forgot about the previous yellow, so he stayed on the pitch. Dynamo played with nine, Pachuca with ten. They went to penalties. And finally, Pachuca won.

A great game. The better team won, and they will likely win the first Superliga.

I for one will actually be watching the final. I just hope that Pachuca face Becks and the Galaxy, cause if they do there will be real hope for Superliga and the MLS.