Soccer update

[andrewjackson]

My condolences, Snaxx. That was a bizarre series with the home date swap, the own goals, the snowstorm, a disqualified PK, the red cards. Just bizarre.

And, yes, my Dynamo really had to hang on there in KC. Very scary in person after Sporting got the first goal but we did it!

So my Undefeated banner gets to come out again this Sunday. I'll also be traveling to DC the following weekend. I'm glad we have a week to plan this one. And I know the team is looking forward to some rest. Sunday will be our 4th game in 12 days.

[Snaxx]

Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy had strong showings in their respective home (first) legs of the conference finals. Houston takes a two-goal lead to DC while LA takes a three-goal lead into Seattle. Barring a big comeback in either series, we would have a rematch of last year.

For now I'm well south of DC, but on Sunday, match day, I'll be dumped off by the Auto Train in Lorton VA, not far south of DC, so I may not be far away at all.

Hopefully I'll soon see this non-MLS team site for real (i.e. when they are playing a game)

Spoiler

[Snaxx]

Congrats to the Dynamo who are going to either LA (more likely) or Seattle for the finals on December 1! They earned a 1-1 draw in DC and that was enough since MLS uses aggregate scoring and Houston won 3-1 at home. They showed a few people from the visiting Houston section on the NBC Sports (cable) telecast. Late tonight (Eastern) we find out if LA Galaxy can do the same in Seattle and earn the other spot in the finals.

[Bob78164]

Congrats to the Dynamo who are going to either LA (more likely) or Seattle for the finals on December 1! They earned a 1-1 draw in DC and that was enough since MLS uses aggregate scoring and Houston won 3-1 at home. They showed a few people from the visiting Houston section on the NBC Sports (cable) telecast. Late tonight (Eastern) we find out if LA Galaxy can do the same in Seattle and earn the other spot in the finals.

They did. They stayed within 1 goal at Seattle, and with their 3-goal win at home, that was easily enough. --Bob

[andrewjackson]

The big Orange train just keeps rolling! Houston will be in LA for the MLS Cup on December 1 and I'll be there! This year is a rematch of last year's final which LA won, 1-0. Houston is going for our 3rd Cup while the Galaxy will be trying for #4. We have our best player, Brad Davis, back who was out injured in last year's final and we have added another great midfielder, Boniek Garcia, so I think we can get it done this time.

Our playoff success is getting ridiculous. This is the 4th final in 7 years for the Dynamo. We have been in the conference championship 5 times in those 7 years losing only once. That one loss still burns. It was in 2009 at the Home Depot Center in LA. The lights in the stadium went out a couple of times halting play. Both times were when we were controlling the game and really bringing the attack. Then we scored a late goal that was disallowed for reasons that were never explained. The Galaxy wound up winning the game, 2-0, in overtime.

The Dynamo have had 15 playoff rounds (either a 1 game knockout or a 2 game home-and-away) in total. We have advanced or won the Cup in 12 of those. Especially impressive since we have had almost a total roster turnover in those years. We only have 3 players left who made the move from San Jose in 2006. And one of those was in Europe for a couple of years in between stints with Houston. And we have one of the lowest payrolls in the league. We'll be going for 13 out 16 in a couple of weeks!

[andrewjackson]

I've neglected this thread.

The Dynamo lost the MLS Cup to the Galaxy back in December. Again. Very disappointing.

The new MLS season is off and running. Houston won last Saturday to extend our home undefeated streak to 33 games in all competitions. If we get a win or tie this Saturday against San Jose we tie the MLS record set by Real Salt Lake back in 2009-2011. We are also about to catch RSL in regular season home games without a loss. That record is 29 and we are currently at 27. We haven't lost a home game since June of 2011.


Last Friday night I was in Denver for the USA-Costa Rica World Cup qualifier. I will always remember that game mostly for the conditions. Definitely the snowiest soccer game I've ever been to. The US won the game, 1-0.




Last night the USA tied Mexico, 0-0, in Azteca Stadium also in a World Cup qualifier. I didn't make it to that game.

[SpacemanSpiff]

Last Friday night I was in Denver for the USA-Costa Rica World Cup qualifier. I will always remember that game mostly for the conditions. Definitely the snowiest soccer game I've ever been to. The US won the game, 1-0.

Last night the USA tied Mexico, 0-0, in Azteca Stadium also in a World Cup qualifier. I didn't make it to that game.

Any game at La Azteca that you can walk away with anything other than a loss is a good one.

I watched Friday's game from the comfort of my La-Z-Boy, and was wondering when the goaltenders were going to start building snowmen in the goals. And I rolled my eyes at the thought of a suspension of the game, given how many times we've played in rutty Central American stadiums during monsoons and there never was a second thought about delaying those matches.

[andrewjackson]

Last Friday night I was in Denver for the USA-Costa Rica World Cup qualifier. I will always remember that game mostly for the conditions. Definitely the snowiest soccer game I've ever been to. The US won the game, 1-0.

Last night the USA tied Mexico, 0-0, in Azteca Stadium also in a World Cup qualifier. I didn't make it to that game.

Any game at La Azteca that you can walk away with anything other than a loss is a good one.

I watched Friday's game from the comfort of my La-Z-Boy, and was wondering when the goaltenders were going to start building snowmen in the goals. And I rolled my eyes at the thought of a suspension of the game, given how many times we've played in rutty Central American stadiums during monsoons and there never was a second thought about delaying those matches.

Exactly!

Costa Rica did protest after the game but it was denied by FIFA. They found a procedural out to deny the protest without really ruling on the merits of their case.

Standings in CONCACAF qualifying are a little crazy right now after 3 games of the final round. The top 3 advance to the World Cup while #4 will have a playoff with New Zealand for another spot. Still 7 games to play but very strange to see Panama on top and Mexico in 5th. Mexico has three ties after playing two of those games at home. Kind of unusual for them. Only three points separate 1st from 6th, though, so things will change quickly. The next games are in June. The U.S. travels to Jamaica and then hosts Panama and Honduras. We need lots of points from those games. No team has won on the road yet so the key is get wins at home and not ties.

PAN 3 g.p. 5 pts +2 g.d.
CRC 3 g.p. 4 pts +1
USA 3 g.p. 4 pts +0
----------------------
HON 3 g.p. 4 pts -1
---------------------------
MEX 3 g.p. 3 pts +0
JAM 3 g.p. 2 pts -2

[SpacemanSpiff]

Standings in CONCACAF qualifying are a little crazy right now after 3 games of the final round. The top 3 advance to the World Cup while #4 will have a playoff with New Zealand for another spot. Still 7 games to play but very strange to see Panama on top and Mexico in 5th. Mexico has three ties after playing two of those games at home. Kind of unusual for them. Only three points separate 1st from 6th, though, so things will change quickly. The next games are in June. The U.S. travels to Jamaica and then hosts Panama and Honduras. We need lots of points from those games. No team has won on the road yet so the key is get wins at home and not ties.

PAN 3 g.p. 5 pts +2 g.d.
CRC 3 g.p. 4 pts +1
USA 3 g.p. 4 pts +0
----------------------
HON 3 g.p. 4 pts -1
---------------------------
MEX 3 g.p. 3 pts +0
JAM 3 g.p. 2 pts -2

This is where the old adage of "win at home, go for the draw on the road" comes into play, especially where at least half (if not two-thirds) of the teams in the group end up in the World Cup finals. Of course, we lost our first road game; but Mexico has gummed it up by tying twice at home.

But it's a marathon, not a sprint. Keep on slogging away, guys!

[Snaxx]

Nice to see that AJ made the trip to Denver! And has the proof, as the ESPN folk mentioned that tons of people will say they were there.

In 2009 I went to all five Hex home matches but it looks like just Mexico in Columbus this year for me (scheduling plus large unexpected dental expenses). I'm also going to the DC friendly vs. Germany.

As for Panama being first, my father compared it to the Mets being first in the NL East at the end of April. However, there is a lot more parity and more jeopardy for the top teams making results important for the U.S. The home matches are at MLS stadiums with US supporting season ticket fan bases to assure a home crowd. At least what I figure are the two hardest matches for the U.S. are in the past: Honduras in the 100-degree heat of San Pedro Sula and Mexico at the Azteca.

[Snaxx]

Meanwhile, a quick MLS update here as the NY Red Bulls are winless (2 ties, two losses) so far. Roy Miller's role in the poor start, including a run into the penalty area giving the SJ Earthquakes a second shot to win, made me glad that his nationality is Costa Rican and that he played for them in the snow and not for the USA.

[andrewjackson]

Meanwhile, a quick MLS update here as the NY Red Bulls are winless (2 ties, two losses) so far. Roy Miller's role in the poor start, including a run into the penalty area giving the SJ Earthquakes a second shot to win, made me glad that his nationality is Costa Rican and that he played for them in the snow and not for the USA.

Yeah, that Roy Miller disaster was made even worse when he claimed he infringed on the PK on purpose apparently not knowing the actual rules.

New York and Seattle have to be the big disappointments so far this season. But things can change.

[andrewjackson]

We are about 1/3 the way through the MLS season while most leagues around the world are wrapping up but the big news today is the new MLS team in New York City. MLS announced today that an expansion franchise has been granted to joint owners Manchester City FC (of the English Premier League) and the NY Yankees for a team to start playing in 2015. The team will be called New York City FC. They are working on a new stadium in Queens near Citi Field but that has not been approved yet. They say they are looking for a site to play games until the new stadium opens.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... ign=Unpaid

NYCFC will be the 20th team in MLS. The most controversial aspect of this is that ownership by Manchester City. People are worried that this team will exist primarily to promote the brand of Manchester City and to develop players for the English team. The current MLS team, Chivas USA, seems to have been built along similar lines by its owner CD Guadalajara aka Chivas of Mexico and is pretty much of a failure with the worst attendance in the league and a very poor record. We'll see what happens with NYCFC.

I like it because hopefully this means the Houston Dynamo will move back to the Western Conference. Where we belong.

Owners of Orlando City SC, currently in the 3rd division of U.S. soccer, have also applied for MLS membership but that application appears to be waiting on approval of a new stadium in downtown Orlando.

[andrewjackson]

CONCACAF World Cup qualifying resumes soon:

Matchday 6* (game moved due to Mexico's participation in Confederations Cup):
Tuesday, June 4
Jamaica v. Mexico

Matchday 4:
Friday, June 7
Costa Rica v. Honduras
Jamaica v. United States
Panama v. Mexico

Matchday 5:
Tuesday, June 11
Mexico v. Costa Rica
Honduras v. Jamaica
USA v. Panama

Matchday 6:
Wednesday, June 18
Costa Rica v. Panama
USA v. Honduras

Home teams are listed first.

[andrewjackson]

The U.S. did it again! The USA MNT beat Mexico, 2-0, at Columbus, OH, in a World Cup qualifier. This the fourth straight time that the U.S. has beaten Mexico by the score of 2-0 at Columbus.

That win and the Honduras-Panama tie last night means that the USA has qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. This will be the 7th straight World Cup for the USA. Costa Rica has also advanced. Mexico is in big trouble.

Current CONCACAF standings:

USA 8 g.p. 16 pts +4 g.d.
CRC 8 g.p. 15 pts +6
HON 8 g.p. 11 pts +0
----------------------
PAN 8 g.p. 8 pts -2 (7 total goals)
---------------------
MEX 8 g.p. 8 pts -2 (4 goals)
JAM 8 g.p. 4 pts -6

The top three go straight to the World Cup. The 4th place team will have a playoff in November with New Zealand for a spot.

The final two matches in the Hex:

Friday, October 11
Honduras v. Costa Rica
Mexico v. Panama
USA v. Jamaica

Tuesday, October 15
Costa Rica v. Mexico
Jamaica v. Honduras
Panama v. USA

Teams that have qualified for the World Cup 2014:

Host: Brazil
AFC: Japan
AFC: Australia
AFC: Iran
AFC: South Korea
UEFA: Netherlands
UEFA: Italy
CONCACAF: United States
CONCACAF: Costa Rica
CONMEBOL: Argentina

22 more to go mostly from Europe.

[silverscreenselect]

The U.S. did it again! The USA MNT beat Mexico, 2-0, at Columbus, OH, in a World Cup qualifier. This the fourth straight time that the U.S. has beaten Mexico by the score of 2-0 at Columbus.

Mexico fired their coach after their previous match, a home loss to Honduras, and before the US game. It didn't help.

The US won this match despite having four players sit out because they got multiple yellow cards in previous matches. One of those was given to one of the US's best players, Jozy Altidore, at the very end of the US's previous match against Costa Rica for an argument with the referee, who just "happened" to be from Mexico. That didn't help the Mexicans either.

[SpacemanSpiff]

I was watching the end of this game last night, and stayed up to watch the Panama game, hoping for a tie just to see Mexico slip to fifth place in a six-team table. In the middle of it, I had a big smile because I'd seen how far this game has come in this country, on multiple fronts, and how coverage of the sport had changed -- part of that's technology (twitter, cable TV, etc), part of it interest.

When I started playing soccer in the middle 1970s, it was still primarily an immigrants game; in fact, that's who I learned it from - sons (and the occassional daughter) or rocket folks in Huntsville. When I played on the Alabama club team, I was the only native Alabaman on the squad -- and no one on the squad even remembered any previous ones. TV coverage was nonexistant, save for maybe a handful of NASL games on HBO in its early days, and maybe the NASL championship on CBS. Newspapers generally didn't have any info, unless a local team was involved. I subscribed to Soccer America magazine (then a weekly), and paid the extra bucks to have it sent first class so I could read about what happened within a week of a game. And when the US National Team played at home, it was pretty much the same as being on the road -- the opposition would bus into the games and outnumbered the local fans by ten to one easily.

Fast forward about 35 years, and I see 30,000 United States fans in the stands, cheering on a US team that now has some serious depth to it, and can not only see it live on TV, but see another relevant game at the same time. Not to mention the coverage of foreign club teams that could only been dreamed of a generation ago.

Yes, that was a sweet victory last night, on so many levels.

[silverscreenselect]

And when the US National Team played at home, it was pretty much the same as being on the road -- the opposition would bus into the games and outnumbered the local fans by ten to one easily.

The US still selects the location for home matches carefully to avoid areas that have a high population from the visiting country. That's why this match was played in Columbus, OH, rather than Los Angeles or Dallas.

[Snaxx]

I was there!

I was thinking afterwards that maybe I should have checked the Bored in case AJ was going.

I hung around well over an hour to see the other result come in and the USA team and supporters celebrate.

team celebration

we are going to Brazil chant

Other factors favoring Columbus, as well as suburban KC, Salt Lake City, and Portland/Seattle are strong US fan bases and modest-sized soccer-specific stadiums (except Seattle with its huge fan base that filled the Seahawks stadium). Few if any tickets remain for the visiting side.

[andrewjackson]

That's great, Snaxx.

I wish I could have went but I have a couple of long-planned vacations coming up and I couldn't get away from work. We had 50 people from AO Houston at the game.

[andrewjackson]

That's great, Snaxx.

I wish I could have went but I have a couple of long-planned vacations coming up and I couldn't get away from work. We had 50 people from AO Houston at the game.

[SpacemanSpiff]

Interesting artwork based upon last night's results:



I stayed up and watched the two games, flipping back and forth in the closing minutes. The Mexican announcers were most excited, breaking into English at the end to thank the US MNT for what they accompished.

[silverscreenselect]

I stayed up and watched the two games, flipping back and forth in the closing minutes. The Mexican announcers were most excited, breaking into English at the end to thank the US MNT for what they accompished.

The US did not play a lot of its best players trying to get a better feel for who should make the final World Cup roster.

Supposedly, Mexico stood to lose $600 million in various merchandise and rights revenue if it didn't make it to the World Cup. Now it can at least recoup some of that in the playoff against New Zealand.

And the US total of 22 points (including a perfect 15 for 5-0-0 at home) is a record for the finals under the current qualification system.

[andrewjackson]

That was some craziness last night. We were at the bar watching both games simultaneously. It got nuts at the end.

Final CONCACAF standings:

USA 10 g.p. 22 pts +7 g.d.
CRC 10 g.p. 18 pts +6
HON 10 g.p. 15 pts +1
----------------------
MEX 10 g.p. 11 pts -2
---------------------
PAN 10 g.p. 8 pts -4
JAM 10 g.p. 5 pts -8

Mexico will play home-and-away against New Zealand in November with the winner advancing to the World Cup.


Teams that have qualified for the World Cup 2014:

Host: Brazil
AFC: Japan
AFC: Australia
AFC: Iran
AFC: South Korea
UEFA: Netherlands
UEFA: Italy
UEFA: Belgium
UEFA: Switzerland
UEFA: Germany
UEFA: Bosnia & Herzegovina
UEFA: Russia
UEFA: England
UEFA: Spain
CONCACAF: United States
CONCACAF: Costa Rica
CONCACAF: Honduras
CONMEBOL: Argentina
CONMEBOL: Colombia
CONMEBOL: Chile
CONMEBOL: Ecuador

Still 11 slots to be determined in playoffs in November including five from Africa and four more from Europe.

[andrewjackson]

The MLS season is almost over but the standings are crazy. With just two weeks left only 2 of the 10 playoff teams have officially been determined. Only four teams have been eliminated.

East
1. NYR 32 g.p. 53 pts 15 w. 50 g. +11 g.d.
2. SKC 32 g.p. 52 pts 15 w. 44 g.+15 g.d.
3. HOU 32 g.p. 48 pts 13 w. 39 g. +2 g.d.
4. MON 31 g.p. 46 pts 13 w. 48 g. +2 g.d.
5. CHI 32 g.p. 46 pts 13 w. 44 g. -3 g.d.
--------------------------
6. PHI 32 g.p. 46 pts 12 w. 40 g. +0 g.d.
7. NER 32 g.p. 45 pts 12 w. 45 g. +9 g.d.
8. CLB 32 g.p. 41 pts 12 w. 40 g. -2 g.d.
9. TFC 32 g.p. 26 pts 5 w. 29 g. -17 g.d.
10. DCU 32 g.p. 16 pts 3 w. 21 g. -35 g.d.

West
1. POR 32 g.p. 53 pts 13 w. 49 g. +16 g.d.
2. RSL 32 g.p. 52 pts 15 w. 55 g. +15 g.d.
3. SEA 32 g.p. 51 pts 15 w. 41 g. +2 g.d.
4. LAG 31 g.p. 48 pts 14 w. 51 g. +14 g.d.
5. COR 32 g.p. 48 pts 13 w. 42 g. +9 g.d.
-------------------------
6. SJE 32 g.p. 47 pts 13 w. 33 g. -8 g.d.
7. VAN 32 g.p. 46 pts 12 w. 48 g. +6 g.d.
8. FCD 32 g.p. 41 pts 10 w. 45 g. -5 g.d.
9. CHV 32 g.p. 26 pts 6 w. 29 g. -31 g.d.