MLS Goes to Washington

The finish line is November 18th at RFK Memorial Stadium.

It may seem ages away, but for each team it is a mere 30 matches and two playoff rounds away.

As Major League Soccer begins it’s 12th league campaign, there are many stories that could be focused on. The addition of expansion side Toronto FC puts the MLS brand north of the border for the first time. New owners in Toronto, DC, and Kansas City bring a new outlook to the league as their teams move forward. New coaches are taking control at Toronto, DC, KC, and Chivas USA. Sponsorship deals including Citibank’s multimillion dollar shirt sponsorship deal with Los Angeles Galaxy are bringing fresh cash into the league, and new stadiums in Toronto and Colorado are enabling teams to keep it. And perhaps the biggest news of the most eventful MLS offseason in recent memory is the Los Angeles Galaxy’s acquisition of David Beckham.

But after all the off-the-field stories this past winter are concluded, there’s still a 30 game league schedule to play, and trophies to be won. The MLS Cup playoffs have been tweaked slightly this year, with teams playing unbalanced schedules, and a new rule that gives automatic playoff berths to the top 2 teams in each conference, then the next four best teams regardless of conference, perhaps allowing one conference to send 6 teams to the playoffs. So let’s take a look at the East.

2006 Finish: DC United, New England, Chicago, New York, Kansas City, Columbus

In the East, despite losing USA international Clint Dempsey to the English Premier League, New England have retained most of the core team that has been to the MLS Cup Final the past two years. Taylor Twellman has been locked up with a new contract, and the Revs certainly have the talent to get back to the title game, backed by arguably the best goalkeeper in the league in Matt Reis.

DC United looked awfully good in their dismantling of CD Olimpia in the CONCACAF Champions Cup in February, despite several losses in the offseason. They lost goalkeeper Nick Rimando to New York (although his understudy Troy Perkins is more than apt.) Freddy Adu was lost to Real Salt Lake and perhaps most importantly striker Alecko Eskandarian was lost to Toronto FC. United have signed Brazlian Luciano Emilio from CD Olimpia, and his performance in the Champions Cup against his former club indiciates that he may be a more than viable replacement for Eskandarian, and may be one of the more exciting players in the league. The key for DC is how well new coach Tommy Soehn will be able to command this group with the same authority that Peter Nowak did in leading them to an MLS Cup in 2004.

Toronto certainly looks like a playoff team on paper. Skippered by coach Mo Johnston, who got a really raw deal in New York, and backed by over 13,000 season ticket holders, Toronto could be poised to make a run like the 1998 Chicago Fire. Canadian international Jim Brennan has returned from England, and has been bolstered by some smart moves in the offseason, such as picking up DC United striker Alecko Eskandarian, Irish midfielder Ronnie O’Brien, and New England’s feisty Jose “Pepe” Cancela. Recent pickups of USA International Conor Casey from Germany and capable netminder Jon Busch from Columbus make this a team to be reckoned with. It will be a very interesting summer on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Chicago didn’t do much this past offseason, and that may cost them. Salary dumps to free up room for a Beckham Rule player have left the Fire young. They lost their leading goalscorers in Nate Jaqua (LA) and Costa Rican international Andy Herron (Columbus), but the team returns a talented, deep, young lineup that earned them their first trophy in 3 years last season. Chad Barrett will finally get to play forward in Jaqua and Herron’s absence. Sophomore Calen Carr also looks poised to pick up some solid minutes off the bench, and perhaps even start as an attacking midfielder. The Fire are also starting anew between the sticks as 25-year old Matt Pickens takes over for aging veteran Zach Thornton, who didn’t play another minute after giving up a 50-yard strike from Dwayne DeRosario in a 2-2 tie last August. Youth is served in Chicago.

RBNY frankly does not deserve to go to the playoffs. They lost Youri Djorkaeff and Amado Guevara. Their offseason was lackluster at best (How long before Claudio Reyna’s knees are totally shot on the Giants Stadium turf?). They also signed aging goalkeeper Ronald Waterus from Holland. Waterus will turn 37 in August, so I believe that they will be a bit slow on the line. So why have I picked them to make the playoffs? Frankly, because there are not a lot of good teams this year. Colorado might pass them for the last playoff spot. So might RSL, but I can’t believe Bruce Arena will allow that to happen.

Kansas City and Columbus are shit this year. I will be very surprised if either of them make the Cup playoffs.

Out West
2006 Finish: FC Dallas, Houston, Chivas USA, Colorado, Salt Lake, Los Angeles

The big news of the offseason was naturally David Beckham’s move to Los Angeles, but what the mainstream media forgets is that ONE PLAYER CANNOT CHANGE A TEAM, especially in a sport with 11 players on the field, fortunately for the Galaxy, they are in very good shape, even without Beckham. The Galaxy will suffer through the midsummer National team absences for Landon Donovan just like last year, but this year, they have added some key acquisitions not named David Beckham. They acquired Chicago Fire’s second-leading scorer in striker Nate Jaqua, left unprotected by the Fire in the expansion draft thinking he was en route to Europe. With Beckham coming Stateside, Jaqua seemed to think he could do just fine domestically, and had Toronto trade him to LA. Also suiting up for the Victoria Street outfit is Colroado Rapids goalkeeper Joe Cannon, who shut-out Chelsea in last season’s All-Star game. These two pick-ups I feel are a much better move for Galaxy on the field than Beckham, although Becks certainly opens new revenue doors and has already paid for himself through LA’s shirt sponsorship deal with Citibank. LA has the depth this year that they lacked last year, and a domestic double is not out of the question for Galaxy.

Defending Champion Houston Dynamo looks on track for a solid sophomore outing. They were able to re-sign US international Brian Ching, and keep hold on Canadian international Dwayne DeRosario, staving off interest from Europe and Toronto FC. The only real significant loss they have had is Adrian Serioux in the back line to Texas Derby rivals FC Dallas, and may suffer because of it, but they are largely the same team that lifted the Alan I Rothenberg Trophy in Dallas’s home ground last November.

FC Dallas won the west last season but their midfield has been gutted with the departure of Ronnie O’Brien in the expansion draft to Toronto FC. Dallas still has a fearsome attack that includes USA international Kenny Cooper and Guatemalan international and Goal of the Decade-winner Carlos Ruiz. Dallas is poised to be a strong team, but their reign atop the west looks finished.

If this were last season, RSL would make the playoffs, and who knows? They might even this year. But with the shift in playoff berths, all the power in MLS appears to be in the East, making one of those last at-large playoff berths so hard to snap up. Real has brought in Freddy Adu and Panamanian international Luis Tejada, but foolishly dealt away newly acquired goalkeeper Nick Rimando. Only a few weeks before the season, RSL netminder Scott Garlick has announced his retirement, leaving RSL without a keeper. You have to build from the back up, and RSL’s backup is untested rookie Chase Harrison. Ouch. This season could go either way on the Wasatch Front.

Another team without a netminder is RSL’s Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado Rapids. While still anchored by some solid players, and they should get an attendance boost from moving into a new stadium, they are still one of the lesser franchises in MLS. USA international Pablo Mastroeni brings some spark and flair to the Rapids, but despite a new stadium, new colors, new badge, and new parternship with London’s Arsenal FC, they’re still the “Crapids” and will likely miss the playoffs. Picking up Zach Thornton from the Fire was a good move, but Thornton is old and is definitely way past his prime and somewhat out of shape, but anything’s better than an untested rookie after losing Joe Cannon to the Galaxy.

Rounding out the bottom of the conference is Club Deportivo Chivas USA. While young stars Sacha Klijestan and Jonathan Bornstein are coming into their own, the Goats will lack the veteran presence and goalscoring that Paco Palencia and Juan Pablo Garcia brought to the club. The acquisition of Amado Guevara from RBNY should help allay this, but Guevara has a rocky relationship with coaches, and could be a locker room liability. The departure of head coach Bob Bradley, largely credited with turning around Chivas into a playoff team last year leaves Chivas with even further question marks.

MLS Cup Playoffs
Los Angeles over New York
Houston over Dallas
New England over Chicago
DC over Toronto

Los Angeles over Houston
DC over New England

MLS Cup Final
Los Angeles over DC United