So much for SuperLiga’s boost to Major League Soccer’s standing in CONCACAF.
The New England Revolution and Chivas USA both lost the opening legs of their first round qualifying matches in the new CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday night. The Revs fell, 2-1, to Trinidad & Tobago club Joe Public while Chivas USA fell, 2-0, to Panamanian club Tauro FC.
Both MLS teams will host the second legs of the home-and-home series next week.
There aren’t many excuses for either team as both fielded strong squads, with the Revs only missing goalkeeper Matt Reis among its regulars. Chivas USA was missing injured strikers Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo, but still had he likes of Sacha Kljestan, Jonathan Bornstein and Claudio Suarez in the lineup.
With Tuesday night’s disaster behind us, here’s your chance to tell us what you thought:
Do you think MLS teams are doomed to fail in the CONCACAF Champions League? Think DC and Houston will do a better job once the group stage gets under way?
Share your thoughts below.
By the way, I was talking about NE Revs and Chivas USA, not the USL clubs. I think Montreal and Puerto Rico have a much better chance of going through to the next round, but the second leg will be tough for them as well.
I missed the games, but I’m surprised by the results. I mean, both teams played their starting 11. Maybe the games came too soon on the heels of last weekend’s league matches? Did the players look fatigued? However, both teams have struggled recently in league play. I think it’s going to be tough for them to move through to the next round, even with home games for the second leg. I think DC and Houston will fare better.
These fields are worse than DC’S!!!!!!!!
The thing about the Islanders is that in Telesford and Noel they have two accomplished internationals in their prime starting for their national teams. MLS teams barely have two internationals in their prime themselves.
Also I think Colin Clarke got a raw deal in Dallas. I think he was unfortunate that Nunez and Alvarez were such trouble children.
In addition, USL sides as a friend and colleague of mine likes to say are used to fighting for their survival. They know if the team doesn’t draw well or play well the side could end up in USL-2 or out of business and their soccer careers could take a step back. This obviously doesn’t apply to Montreal who has been a consistent A-League/USL-1 side now seemingly forever, but the point is these guys won’t be scared going to Costa Rica the way MLS teams always are.
MLS has 0 wins 8 losses and 0 draws in Costa Rica
USL now hads 0 wins 0 losses and 1 draw in Costa Rica.
Those numbers say alot not necessarily about the quality of the leagues (although I do maintain many USL sides would survive quite nicely in MLS but could never win MLS) but the mentality of the coaches and players in the two leagues.
Wow….USL teams showed well yesterday.
Montreal won 1-0 and Puerto Rico tied 1-1 on the road in Costa Rica.
The difference, both teams showed up to play.
Well USL-1 is a second division, no doubt but what does it say when your second division gets a result in its first time out to Costa Rica where MLS is 0-8 through the years in the champions cup? Fluke, or dumb luck I think the Islanders result tells us a heck of a lot about the character of USL-1 sides and why it has been unwise of many to write of the league as being inconsequential.
Posted by: Kartik | August 28, 2008 at 12:18 AM
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People understimate USL soccer. That is one thing that I am convinced of.
I follow MLS (including Reserve league) and the USL1 &USL2 very closely becaue I have a team that compete in all three.
As an hardcore Islanders’ fan who is obsessed with the club, I can tell you that my boys have a lot of heart. An awful lot of heart. The General Colin Clarke is a hell of a coach. Some of my fellow Islanders fans complain that Clarke has stripped the side of it’s “latin flair” and removed all of the flava from the team. All I know is that the man has gotten our side to a new level. He has done the same with the Sr. Puerto Rican Men’s National Team. He gets results.
Our result was not a fluke. It was a very fortunate result but I knew that we were capable of it. I know what sort of players he has brought in. I’ve talked to a lot of the guys on the roster. Talked to Clarke. He has a clear vision. They are buying into his vision.
In international play, we have played the Jamaican and Trini clubs and other Caribbean teams to get this spot. We’ve had to play almost all of those games away from home.
This year, in USL-1 play we have beat USL American sides that beat MLS sides (I undertsand that they depended on a lot of reserves) in USOC play.
We are at the top of the USL1 table for a reason and our ownership, our management the players and especially Colin Clarke deserve an enormous amount of credit. No matter whether we go through to the next round or not. We did what MLS clubs (including my beloved DC United) have struggled to do–get out of Costa Rica with a decent result.
Superliga is the real Champions League, you fartbag
Posted by: yankiboy | August 27, 2008 at 04:18 PM
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Lame…
I didn’t post that. Not my style. I have never used the last word in my life.
My posts are lame enough without having some impersonater trying to bring me down even further but thanks for the love anyways.
The real yanki-yank
Is the USL “inconsequential” due to people getting on the MLS bandwagon or due to its non visibility to US football fans?
Well USL-1 is a second division, no doubt but what does it say when your second division gets a result in its first time out to Costa Rica where MLS is 0-8 through the years in the champions cup? Fluke, or dumb luck I think the Islanders result tells us a heck of a lot about the character of USL-1 sides and why it has been unwise of many to write of the league as being inconsequential.
If Montreal has a good showing, they will be one of the next MLS clubs.
For craps sake, Claudio Suarez is older than me!!!!!!!!!
In the Joe Public-New England match, Joe could have and should have put the game beyond doubt.The score should have been at least 4-1 on a count of all the chances Roen Nelson wasted, especially in the first half. If only Jamal Gay started..
Good Luck in the second leg!
Props to those fans here with the humility to recognize that MLS is not what most of the people who post here think it is, which is a competitive, world-class league.
The skill is there. But the depth, consistency and tenacious approach to playing the game just aren’t. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the USL teams go considerably deeper in than MLS.