SuperLiga 2007: The Semifinals Set as Ching Says So and Club America Helps Out D.C.

Tuesday, August 14

Houston Dynamo vs. Pachuca - Robertson Stadium (Houston, TX) - 10:00 p.m. ET

Wednesday, August 15

LA Galaxy vs. D.C. United - Home Depot Center (Carson, CA) - 10:00 p.m. ET

Group A
TEAM	W	L	T	PTS
LA Galaxy*	2	1	0	6
CF Pachuca*	1	1	1	4
CD Guadalajara	1	1	1	4
FC Dallas	0	1	2	2
Group B
TEAM	W	L	T	PTS
Houston Dynamo*	2	0	1	7
D.C. United*	1	1	1	4
Club América	1	2	0	3
Monarcas Morelia	0	1	2	2

Houston 1, D.C. United 0

Brian Ching catapulted Houston into first place and secured a match-up against Pachuca in the next round. This left D.C. with their fate in Club America's hands.

Match Report from SuperLiga2007.com

Club America 3, Morelia Monarcas 2

Another back-and-forth game, but not of Los Angeles/FC Dallas proportions. Both Salvador Cabanas and Frederico Insua scored the most important two goals for Club America. They leaped out to a 2-0 only to be tied up Uruguayan Gonzalo Choy and Luis Landin equalized. Argentine Insua, who last year plied his trade for Borussia Moncheongladbach, provided the winner and salvaged some dignity in the standings for America.

Match Report from SuperLiga2007.com

What's Goin' on in Dallas? More Goals in One Half than a whole Premiership season!, 4 more in the second half

Los Angeles wins 6-5 over FC Dallas. LA moves onto the next round as FC Dallas is eliminated.

Goalscorers (so far):

I had to drive some where and miss the first 15 minutes - look what I missed, 4-1 Los Angeles at halftime and it's not like man-for-man the defense isn't bad.

1st Half
LAG: Gordon (2) 3'
LAG: Klein (1) 12'
LAG: Gordon (3) 15'
LAG: Harmse (1) 18'
FCD: A. Alvarez (2) 43'

2nd Half
FCD: Juan Toja (1) 78'
FCD: A. Alvarez (3) 82'
LAG: Donovan (2) 84'
FCD: C. Ruiz (2) 90+'
LAG: C. Pavon (1) 90+'
FCD: A. Thompson (1) 90+'

Donovan assisted the first two goals and was sprung from the back by Ante Jazic on a breakaway with Sala; the FC Dallas goalkeeper cut the angle down nicely and blocked Donovan's bid for a goal to go with his two assists. Half ended 4-1 and you thought most of the action was done. No - the 2nd half didn't want to be outdone by the first as the goal clinic continued (and Cannon even had a pretty decent game). Six goals peppered the 2nd half with Alvarez grabbing his second (he is quickly becoming a vital part of that squad) and Toja got into the mix. Donovan added the necessary goal to quell the crowd and dash the hopes of FC Dallas. Then came injury time - the most goals I have ever seen in one as Dallas kept clawing one back through lucky bounces, lackadaisical defending, and shots on the frame. But 2 goals in injury time was not enough as Pavon's 1st goal for the club ended up being the gamewinner (who would of thought?)

To be honest, I thought this was the best quality high scoring game I have seen in a long time. They were spreading each other out, tiring each other, and taking rips that all seemed to find the goal. The 22-year old Arturo Alvarez was lights out and Donovan had a better game, all in all I wish I had taped that so I could go back and watch it right now. Oh but wait - I can - thank you MLS.

SuperLiga 2007: DC wins this time only to see Houston cough up 2 points

Quick Note: This tournament is quickly turning into a huge success. Each game looks destined to break out into one massive brawl but yet it never quite does. Both D.C. and Houston had altercations tonight - Brian Mullan sticking up for Wade Barrett and Bennie Olsen getting things done all on his own. We need more rivalries like this in the MLS.

D.C. United 1, Club America 0
RFK Stadium

A 12th minute goal from Rod Dyachenko (a nice one, I'll give him that) sealed the deal for D.C. This time an Oscar Rojas ejection in the 49th minute for one of the nastiest looking tackles I have seen in a while (it was both studs up, looking to tear off some ankles), put D.C. in familiar territory. The Eagles responded well, preserving the lead, and creating more scoring chances, while keeping America to 2 (if you call them scoring chances). Christian Gomez had a feisty and productive game, while Luciano Emilio missed more opportunities than can certainly be comfortably stomached. They held on and now sit in firs

Match Report from MLSNET.com

Goalscorers:

DCU: Dyachenko (12)
AME: NONE

Houston 1, Morelia Monarcas 1
Robertson Stadium

To all Ngwenya doubters (and damn, am I one of them), the Houston striker threw a huge f-you out to his critics and Morelia supporters scoring in 12 seconds. All was solid until a penalty box mix-up forced a tough 50/50 challenge between a Morelia forward and Zach Wells. The ball popped out nicely to the only Morelia attacker in the vicinity (go figure), Marcio Batista, who proceeded to find the hole between three Dynamo defenders. Game tied. 1-1. Morelia still has that chance to go to the second round.

Goalscorers:

HOU: Ngwenya (1)
MOR: Batista (74)

Match Report from MLSNET.com

A Superliga Saturday: Chivas Pulls One Back while the Hoops tie again

FC Dallas 1, Pachuca 1
Pizza Hut Park

You know, most of the time I cringe and get upset when Carlos ' the flopping fish' Ruiz scores. But when he scores against a Mexican team - especially one who dives more than he does - I celebrate. Oh but then I get punished when that age-old 'dive in the box for a PK' trick works - Christian Gimenez converted the penalty kick with about 5 minutes left to tie it all up. Ricardinho had another spirited match showing some decent flashy footwork and running ragged at the Pachuca defense.


Match Recap from the Superliga Website

Match Recap from Top Drawer Soccer

Goalscorers:

FCD: Ruiz (76)
PAC: Gimenez (PK 87)


Chivas de Guadalajara 2, Los Angeles 1
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Landon Donovan continued his wildly inconsistent ways by turning in a rather uninspired showing last night. Despite grabbing back a goal in waning moments of the match, his touch, vision, pretty much everything was off the whole game. The Galaxy were also torn apart by the 6 returning internationals who put the LA defense on their heels throughout the whole game. Both Omars - Esparza and Bravo - had decent games for the Goats. Bravo scored the eventual gamewinner and Francisco Rodriguez finally beat Joe Cannon with a low-driven header to put them up at the beginning of the second half. Cannon was the team's MVP - perhaps for the second game in a row.

Match Report from Superliga

Match Report from Top Drawer Soccer

Goalscorers:

LAG: Donovan (88)
CHV: Rodriguez (59), O. Bravo (82)

Where's Beckham!?

This is either after Alan Gordon or Landon Donovan's goal in the Galaxy's SuperLiga win over tourney favorites Pachuca 2-1. Well, his kids seem to like the team. And now we know Beckham is emotionally invested somewhat in this team. Or it's just a pretty hysterical picture with no real meaning whatsoever.

SuperLiga Starting Lineups: D.C. United vs. Morelia Monarcas

D.C. United

GK: Troy Perkins

Defenders: Marc Burch, Devon McTavish, Bobby Boswell, Joshua Gros

Midfielders: Fred, Christian Gomez, Brian Carroll, Ben Olsen

Forwards: Luciano Emilio, Rod Dyachenko

The only real surprise is Dyachenko starting here, but even that isn't that big. It will be interesting to see what he can do. The other match-up will be D.C.'s Brazilian duo versus Morelia's Brazilian trio (Wanderson de Souza, Wilson Matias, and Marcio Batista).

Only 7 minutes and Christian Gomez has placed a perfect 25 yarder in the bottom right hand corner. Early on, my prediction is a 3-1 D.C. win.

FC Dallas 1, Chivas de Guadalajara 1 - The Hoops are Shafted.

Three Bright Spots of the Match

1. Juan Carlos Toja - the guy works harder than any one in the MLS to rule that midfield; I have not seen one game where Toja didn't look motivated, charged, and ready to contribute; his effort made me take Ricardinho out of this top three even though his debut in a Hoop uniform was inspiring for a 19 year old; the Brazilian has the speed of Oduro (well not quite) but better composure and skill; Toja sprung Ricardinho loose several times on that left side while on the defensive end, the Colombian broke up several dangerous Chivas' counters

2. Arturo Alvarez - his mazy runs left several Chivas defenders embarrassed at times; all his effort and hard work on the wing culminated in the deft chip over Chivas GK Ernesto Michel; Alvarez was still creating chances with the help of Toja and Ricchetti even after Drew Moor's sending off in the 72nd minute

3. Ray Burse, Jr. - I remember a certain FC Dallas fan writing in at the beginning of the season to tell me that Dario Sala was the man and neither Ray Burse, Jr. or Shaka Hislop were worth giving a damn about; he was right about Hislop - but Burse, Jr., who got his audition tonight, responded magnificently looking like - guess who? - Dario Sala in net; his reflexes and speed off the goal line was certainly not indicative of his young age

Worst Call of the Game: It certainly deserves a mention. After a 50-50 challenge went awry, the ball bounced into the path of the Goats' Antonio Olivera who, unintentionally, settled the ball with his hand which then proceeded to bounce favorably enough for Olivera to fire a volley (great shot by the way) that rocketed past

Best Call of the Game: Moor's red card. As much as I wanted Moor to retaliate and a full-out brawl to ensue, he's really got to be thinking about professionalism in this situation. You know the fouled is going to exaggerate - greatly, you know you'll get ejected if you physically touch the guy, but I am sure the handball goal was still fresh in his mind, rendering all things composed completely obsolete. Moor had a decent defensive game beforehand and the Hoops played harder a man down.

I will not be watching the whole Galaxy-Pachuca game - so views and opinions are more than welcome. It is 0-0 in 40th minute, however - with Beckham definitely not playing (as he's sitting in stands) - and Pachuca seems to be getting most of the chances offensively. Abel Xavier has been a rock yet again. Same with Joe Cannon. Once again, however, where is Landon?

Superliga: An SUM Experiment Begins

Here's a quick TV schedule for you. All games are televised on Telefutura.

Tuesday, July 24th

9:00pm FC Dallas vs. Chivas Guadalajara

11:00pm Los Angeles vs. Pachuca

Wednesday, July 25th

8:00pm D.C. United vs. Morelia

10:00pm Houston vs. Club America

Saturday, July 28th

8:00pm FC Dallas vs. Pachuca

10:00pm Los Angeles vs. Chivas Guadalajara

Sunday, July 29th

8:00pm D.C. United vs. Club America

10:00pm Houston vs. Morelia

Tuesday, July 31st

8:00 pm FC Dallas vs. Los Angeles

10:00 pm Chivas Guadalajara vs. Pachuca

Wednesday, August 1st

8:00pm D.C. United vs. Houston

10:00pm Club América vs. Morelia

Tuesday, August 14th

Semifinal 1, (TBD), Time TBD

Wednesday, August 15th

Semifinal 2, (TBD), Time TBD

Wednesday, August 29th

Final, (TBD), Time TBD

Who is going to win? - or will anybody be following this? I've heard this competition called everything from 'cashcow' to 'glorified friendlies' - what's your take on it?

Personally - I see Pachuca as the favorite, but Houston is going to do well, making the final, and eventually winning it all.

Beckham has Arrived but there is yet another reason why the MLS moves forward

So the crowd booed Los Angeles' mayor. And I love how informal means only letting in to the HDC 5,000 screaming Beckham fans (i.e. season-ticket holders). Wonder what formal would have consisted of?

David Beckham then received his Galaxy jersey.while being smothered and unable to spot due to some overzealous confetti.

But guess what? Yet another landmark in MLS history happened recently and yet again it had to do with television deals. This time, the international ones.

Though small, Soccer United Marketing has brokered some international rights deals totaling up to a cool $2 million or so. Does this news outweigh Beckham? No, but it is a step in the right direction nonetheless. There are four deals altogether says Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal.


1. a one-year deal with Cadena Tres, a Mexican broadcaster that reaches over 5 million households. This is for the remainder of the MLS season.

2. ESPN International also signed a 1-year deal that will showcase games with international stars (about 22 to be exact) like Beckham, Blanco, Angel to countries in Latin America, Oceania, Africa, and the Middle East.

3. Mexican media company TeleVisa signed with SUM (the marketing branch of MLS) a revenue-sharing agreement for the televising of the new SuperLiga tournament which is about to get under way in late July 2007.

4. Last but not least, ART - a North African and Middle Eastern company, signed a high six-figure deal to televise SuperLiga.

The last "significant" international deal was back in 2000 when Mr. Lothar Mattheus graced the MetroStar and MLS stage for a brief tragic while. The league has come a long way since 2000 and with the capture of Beckham, Angel, Blanco, Schelloto, these international deals coupled with the strong domestic broadcast deals, I'd say firmly that the MLS has got progress firing on all cylinders and damn is it fun to watch.