We're so petty, oh so petty

The past few days, I was on business travel in another MLS city. I did, however, pack my united jerseys on the off hope I could make it to a sports bar playing Telefutura at 10PM Eastern on Wednesday night. Alas, it was not to be.

Now, I confront a dilemma. I'm not going to take the "well, that's one less fixture to worry about for congestion" silver lining. It just doesn't work for me. I wanted the Superliga, especially the inaugural Superliga. I wanted just another MLS first for DC United to carve into their cane (which, given the number of notches it has already, probably shouldn't be used for walking support at all.) And part of me still does, which leads me to this psychological dilemma: Should I root for Pachuca, or the Galaxy? Part of me wants to root for Pachuca, simply for the fact that I want United to preserve its chance to be the first MLS team to win the Superliga. That's a horribly small-minded approach, but I can't deny it. This despite the kind words various Galaxy fans have given to United when United when play in Sudamericana, or CCC, or the like. I just want that opportunity again, and it kills me that it might not happen.

On the other hand, I think the Mexican teams kind of laughed their way through this event, and want them to take it more seriously next go-round. Having an MLS side come out on top helps that situation. I know certain people have made excuses about preseason form for the Mexican teams, but those excuses hold exactly as much weight for their teams as it did for ours in the CONCACAF Champions Cup: Namely, not very much anymore. So I want the LA Galaxy to win it out, and thus make everyone take this tournament more seriously next go round.

So, in short, I'm approaching this whole Superliga final from a very selfish place. Which I'm okay with. I still don't know who to support. Do I give in to pettiness of one sort, or pettiness of the other? No idea.

Match Briefing for 12.C.04: Los Angeles Galaxy, Superliga Semis

Match #: 12.C.04

Opponent:
Los Angeles Galaxy

Six Word Novel Preview: Inaugural tournament final appearance is possible.

TV: TeleFutura, TV Azteca, MLSLIVE.tv, 10PM

Radio: None

Previous Meeting: 1-0 DC Win. Weren't you there? Here is The DCenters Debrief.

The Stakes: United travels to the Home Depot center to fight for a spot in the Superliga finals. DC Had the weekend to rest, while LA sandwiched a loss to the Revolution since playing at RFK last Thursday. Beckham has announced he will definitely play, will we have Gomez starting

Previews from the DCUniverse: Soccer Insider, more as we see them...

Previews from the LALALand: I think they're too busy dissecting Beck's injury

Expectations: I fully expect DC to win this game. Watching LA against New England, the team had little spark and seemed very out of sorts. Landon made some dangerous runs, but couldn't do it all himself. Will Beckham + Donovan be enough to get an LA victory? I doubt it. Both Gomez and Moreno practiced with the team, but haven't seen a lot of minutes lately which means they'll be rusty, more so Gomito.

What to look for?

1. Beckham's Ankle - seriously, you won't be able to miss it. Not sure if Telefutura will turn into BSPNDeportes, but for you non-bilinguals at least you can tune out the announcers. Becks says he can play a half, and might start. He had some dangerous passes and setup some dangerous plays last Thursday, so he can be a factor.
   


2. Moreno's Passing - When he's involved in the attack and clicking with the other attackers, DC can string possession together and fabricate some lovely runs and passes. There was a hint of this in the second half of last weeks game, but if we want to score the first goals, he'll have to be involved.
   


3. Killer Instincts - Its such a cliche, but we'll have to finish the few chances we get. That means no more skying the ball over the cross bar in some bizarre homage to the memory of Earnie Stewart. The narrowed field that Yallop installed at the HDC will limit the space United's players have to work with, so they'll have to move the ball quicker, make faster decision, and make runs to anticipate a pass if they want to be effective.

Debriefing for 12.C.03: At Houston Dynamo

Houston Dynamo 1 : 0 DC United

DC United Advances to Superliga Semifinals in 2nd place in Group B
Will Face LA Galaxy on August 15.

Six Word Novel Recap

United squeaks through - "America: F*** Yeah!"

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Houston Chronicle, Ronnie Turner: "The key proved to be the combination of forwards Brian Ching and Nate Jaqua, who propelled the Dynamo to a 1-0 victory...Jaqua set up the score by flicking a pass to Ching, who split two defenders near the top of the penalty box."
The Washington Post, Eric Barton: "United, which could have clinched a berth by beating the Dynamo, got in through the back door."
MLSNet, Jeremy Rakes: "Chasing the equalizer, United started to apply more pressure as Dynamo began to retreat deeper into their their end. Fred won a free kick some 30 yards out from goal on the left that Gomez again stood over, and Wells again tipped over his curling effort aimed for the back post."
The Edgell Supporters: "Houston is good. They finish. DC is not bad, but we do not finish."
QuarterVolley, I-66: "It was promising to see Guy-Roland Kpene and Jaime Moreno get significant minutes, indicating perhaps that at least the latter is ready, or will be ready soon, to contribute regularly to the first team."
An American's View, Brian Garrison: "That was pretty bad. DC United looked listless out on the field. It almost looked like there were 20 guys out there in Orange and about 7 guys in black. The guys in black looked like they didn't know how to pass with each other. It was a bad match."
Poplar Point Perspective, JCM: "DC United needs Moreno on the field."

The Good

1. Play Smart: The phrase "cagey" was used to describe the opening 15 minutes of this match. Awkward and boring would also have been accepted by the judges, but it was still an important 15 minutes. While United was finding what was working for them, they also noticed how Houston was going to attack, and they adjusted accordingly. This was tactically one of the more interesting games I've seen United play, since they didn't just change gears once, but multiple times each half. They sent in early balls from the wings, they would pass around the top of the box, they'd try down the middle, they'd try running along the goal line. It was interesting to see the team as versatile as I think they've been.
   
2. Jaime Moreno: This is why I like him in a rotation. Before he left for Copa America and for the injury, the knock was that he didn't have 90 good minutes to give. I still think he doesn't. But in a situation where he only has 30 minutes to give, he made all of them count. While I would like the full 90, I prefer 30 in a stretch to 30 spread across an entire game.
   
3. Houston: They are a very good team. A commenter asked if the stadium helps them - of course it does. If you look at what they do, they really attempt to disrupt passes up the middle by charging to the ball and hoping the other player doesn't check to the ball in time. Why does the field help that? Because if they don't disrupt the pass and start their counter, they're caught out to some degree. We saw this happen a few times. However, the damage is limited because the defenders behind them have less wing space to cover, and someone is more likely to get over. By the way, contrast the way Houston plays the midfield defensive game to United. United will let midfield players collect the ball, then try and take it off them, and occasionally foul them, a reason for the some of the foul imbalance you see. It's a risk/reward issue, and Houston plays the riskier strategy.
   

The Bad

1. Black to Fade: How is DC United like the Sopranos? 'Cause there's no real finish! (Ah, Dan Loney called, and he'd like his schtick back. Sorry Dan. Clearly you're better at this.) United had some great chances, and some were spoiled due to luck (the Kpene to Luciano play that ended being blocked), skill (Zach Wells save of Christian Gomez's free kick) and some were just poorly executed (Dear Brian Carroll, if someone is sliding you a ball on the grass from a free kick, you really can't put it that far over the bar. Keep it low son.)
   
2. Speed Kills: Allowing Brian Ching the space and lanes that we allowed him was bound to kill us, and it did. Brian may not be the fastest jet, but he's fast enough. Sometimes people make a difference between "fast" and "quick." It always seemed silly to me, but perhaps there is something to it. Similarly, you can't give DeRosario that much space when Houston is executing simple push and pass tactics. I'd much prefer the fouls we gave up to halt his progress, even with some of the free kick skills and DeRosario has.
3. Telefutura: I know, the goal was a quick one, but you can't cut to a replay like that. Made ESPN look good.
   

Man of the Match

N/A

Karma Bank

It is a separate Karma Pool from the MLS Season. Anyways, it is -1 for Stuart Holden's shot getting the post after it sneaked under Perkins' hands, +1 for Moreno not getting a foul called after he got mugged, +1 for some good, creative soccer to create chances, and -3 for each goal America scored to get us into the semi finals. -2 for the match, which combined with the karma for Morelia (+2) and America (E), leaves us at no karma earned or owed entering the semifinals.

Final Thoughts

I think the reviews are generally one of relief. Most of us (An American's View excepted) don't think United played that badly, and I agree with that sentiment. Here's the issue. I have said that this is an average to good team, not a great team. The thing is, we're used to teams that are good or great, so this is a step down. And while I can accept that for this season, it isn't something I want to become accustomed to. Before the season began, the changes that were made never convinced me that this team was going to be great (thus the "rebuiding" concept), but I want to see progress toward becoming great. This is acceptable for now, but not for the long term. United has the rest of the MLS Season and the Superliga (and the Copa Sudamericana) to prove they are progressing once again to elite status. That's the goal. I may not expect it this year, but I want to see the evidence that it is the final destination.

Also, and I know this is bad karma (which I don't believe in, even if I track it) but is anyone else relieved to be playing LA instead of Pachuca in the next round? I am. Pachuca looks like a team getting better with each game, and I'm not sure about LA even after golapalooza. If I were unkind, I would say that Houston - Pachuca may well be the real final of this tournament. But you never know...

First Impressions - Houston Dynamo 1 : 0 DC United

The better team won. You might not see it from the box score, but Houston was the better team. Let's go father than that - Houston is a pretty damn good team that does what champion teams do: They beat other good teams.

And tonight, DC United was a good team. Not great, but good. They threw enough at Houston that they might have stolen a result. Emilio is still snake-bit, and Christian, Guy-Roland, and even Jaime weren't fortunate enough to convert their chances. The defense showed well, even if they did give up some counters, including the one that led to the goal. The passing wasn't perfect, but it was better than many games I've seen this year, including other games we've won. It could have gone our way. It didn't. That's not unfair.

If we're out of Superliga because of this, then that's the way it is. I feel better about this team for the end of the MLS season now than I did when this tournament started. Part of that was seeing injured players like Moreno, Kpene, and Namoff return to the line-up. Part of it was seeing Marc Burch make the most of his minutes. But most of it was seeing a team that, for the first time this season, seems to be coming together. And make no mistake, this team is coming together. After a choppy opening 25 minutes where Houston nearly caught United out multiple times, the team played smart football, slowed the game down a bit, and started to influence the game in their favor by changing gears. It worked. Yes, a slip-up of perfect proportions gave Houston their goal. McTavish was beaten to the header than sent the ball through to Ching. Boswell was much too casual in how he positioned himself in relation to Ching. Josh Gros was too late to be of any help. But chances like that are going to be given to very good teams like Houston, they will find a way to create them. All you do is try to limit their chances, and create your own. DC did that. There's reason for optimism, even if Morelia pulls out the win tonight and the tournament is over.

First Impressions - DC United 1 : 0 Club America

If you read some of the other blogs, you'll notice many comments after the Morelia game of "You could feel the equalizer coming for Morelia..." This game, superficially, had the same look. United got an early goal, saw the opposition pick up a red, and for about five minutes even United looked a bit unsettled, as if they were saying to themselves "here we go again..." Yet, after that first five minutes, they settled down, and slowly and inexorably killed the game. After the 60th minute I felt certain United was in complete control of the match. They played football that might have seemed a tad boring, but was exhilarating from the perspective of watching one team shut another down. Club America had only two shots the entire match, and Perkins didn't need to make a save on either. United just dominated, and I felt that the game was going to be won. Yes, even after Emilio missed two shots from close range. Even after Boswell missed his headers. While the Morelia equalizer was unlucky, America grabbing a draw would have been Faustian in the depths of its tragedy. This was a good, solid win.

There's a lot of good to see in this game, but part of it must be balanced against two things: America not looking particularly threatening when they went forward, and the entire "They're in preseason form" thing. Still, United in preseason form during the CCC was better looking than either Morelia or America, so that's something as well. United got a good win tonight. If Houston holds on to the lead they have now, then United will need at least a draw to be sure of advancing to the next round. Works for me.

Debriefing for 12.C.01: Monarcas Morelia

D.C. United 1 : 1 Monarcas Morelia

Six Word Novel Recap

Finally, the artificial infield costs us.

Photo Gallery

...From Kyle Guftason

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Washington Post, Steve Goff: "Gomez swerved a 28-yard shot around the wall and just inside the right post to give United the lead. But with Morelia creating little of substance and forced to resort to chippy tactics, including an undetected cheap shot to Fred at midfield, D.C. could not pull away."
UnitedMania, Mark Martin: "United failed to extend their lead despite the lion’s share of the play in the first half. The closest United came was a lovely play started by Fred out wide on the left. He played a perfect ball deep into the box to Dyachenko, who promptly laid off a perfect square pass to Emilio to finish into the open net. Unfortunately, the turf gremlins had other ideas and Emilio’s effort was swept well over the goal as the ball leaped up at the last moment."
The Washington Times, Mark Medina: "Martinez eventually paid back United with a goal from the corner of the penalty box in the 79th minute. The ball sailed high into the left corner of the net as United goalie Troy Perkins had trouble tracking the ball. His dive fell substantially short."
MLSNet, Charles Boehm: "Tempers erupted in the 55th minute when Landin and Bobby Boswell clashed near midfield. The Mexican looked to have fouled United's center back first and Boswell kicked out in response, but the hot-heated Landin upped the ante by shoving his adversary...After an interminable delay in which the referee consulted both the nearby linesman and fourth official Alex Prus, he finally produced a straight red card for Landin and a caution for Boswell as the RFK crowd roared its approval."
BlkDgRd, BDR: "I can't blame lack of effort or lack of will or lack of heart, but once the infield stole Emilio's sitter, once Fred one-timed his sitter over the bar, who didn't know the game would end up tied? (And Craigqatar called it at half-time, over Harps, before Fred's gack.)"
An American's View..., Brian Garrison: "DC United let their fans down tonight. "
QuarterVolley, I-66: "All things considered, with a backline of Gros, Boswell, McTavish, and Burch, 3 of whom we never would have thought would be in defensive starting positions at the beginning of the season, the defense performed admirably."
BobbyBoswell.Com, Bobby Boswell: "I just stepped in to win the ball and he got a hold of me, in a spot that no man likes to be gotten a hold of. And maybe I overreacted a bit but the ref didn’t’ call it and he was going to be going the other way so I did my best to stop him and maybe I kicked him a little harder than people would have liked."

The Good

1. The Christian Gomez Free Kick: That was a pretty goal. As a rule, set piece goals can't be considered for Goal of the Week/Month/Year honors, but if there were an award just for goals from dead ball situations, I'd have to put that one on my list. The perfect amount of curve to swerve around the wall and then just tuck inside the near post.
2. Many Flavors: There are games you draw 1-1 because you just aren't creating a lot of good attacking moments. This was not one of those games. We made some good, really good chances. And as much as the Big Soccer Hive Mind is complaining about United forcing balls down the middle, it isn't true at all. We came in from the flank, down the middle, had a few chances from corners... United was opportunistic in the way it created its chances.
3. Fight for the Shirt: In the last game, I complained about how easily United was beaten to aerial 50-50 balls. This game was much better, with United really imposing themselves when they got into tight quarters. Much better on that front. In that sense, I completely disagree with Brian Garrison above and anyone that opens up their review questioning United's heart. They had heart. They just, at the same time, aren't as good as you think they are.
4. 
   

The Bad

1. The RFK Infield: It cost us the match. I know there were other chances, but that one was by far the easiest to convert, and it didn't happen. That it has taken until the third year of cohabitation for a match to really cost us is probably a blessing, but it had to happen at some point, and now it did.
   
2. Referee Courtney Campbell: Miserable. Utterly miserable, and utterly biased officiating. This is worse than Abbey, because Abbey's mistakes are usually against both sides. However, the standard for a foul in the run of play was tilted completely to Morelia for the match, as if Campbell felt he had to atone for allowing the early free kick goal to United.
3. Bobby Boswell and Nuts of Doom: Bobby, it wasn't how hard you kicked him, but where that kick was heading. I would have given you a straight red. That being said, while BDR is upset with your play, I thought your presence on the back line was fairly decent last night.
4. Pass the ball like you're playing against someone: Too frequently, again, United seems to pass the ball as if the opposition won't attempt to step up and take the ball the other way. The passes make complete sense if you're only looking at black shirts, but there are two teams on the field.
   
5. Rod Dyachenko: Trading a first round pick to get him back from Toronto was a bad deal. Mo Johnston fleeced us. Yes, I don't even think first round picks are worth that much unless it is the overall number one or two. We still overpaid.
   

Man of the Match

N/A

Karma Bank

If I was tracking the Karma Bank through Superliga, this would have been a huge game to tally. It would have been +1 for Gomez's free kick, +1 for the non-call on Fred getting clocked, +2 for the turf spoiling Emilio's sitter, -1 for the shot off the post, -1 for Bobby not getting ejected. If I were keeping track.

Final Thoughts

Your perception of this game depends on your perception of United. If you think this is a truly elite team in MLS, then you should be furious about this match. If, like me, you think they're an average team, then you can walk away from this match and curse the poor luck we saw. While United's level of play won't win many games against Houston, or even Club America on Sunday, it was still better than Morelia, and the draw was unfortunate in the fact that United was good at controlling the ball, and getting the ball back. The fact that they were whistled for some of the smallest bumps didn't help matters, but they played through it. I'm disappointed, but not murderous. Kinney and Oscar may disagree.

First Impressions - DC United 1 : 1 Monarcas Morelia

Earlier...

Ryan Zimmerman is shaded slightly to second base, but now in his second season he's still prepared when the weak roller starts running up the third base line. It's not hit hard enough to turn the double play, but he knows he's going to first base. He'll have to hurry though. Charging the ball, he takes it barehanded just inside the foul line. His momentum carries him into foul territory as he torques his body, foot planting where the dirt and grass come together. The force of this unnatural twist tears at the grass, his arm snapping around as he makes the throw across his body to Robert Fick. There's a snapping noise as the ball finds the first baseman's mitt, the runner out by a step. Ryan nods to himself as the side is retired, heading back to the dugout only to pause and dig some of the dirt and grass out of his cleats.

Later...

The ball is perfectly angled, too far for the first defender to lunge to his right, but just not too far for Rod Dyachenko to take it and accelerate across the box. Out of the corner of his, he spies Emilio making a run to the far post, and there's just one defender to beat if he can get the pass there. As soon as it leaves his foot, he knows he pulled it off. Right in stride for Emilio, the two converging in smooth lines taking dead aim at one point, as if guided by some AEGIS radar system. Then, just as the ball reaches Emilio's foot, the ball hops slightly. Emilio's shin clangs awkwardly into the ball, the shot skies above the cross bar. It shouldn't matter, they're up a goal, but the second would have been pretty. Better make do with the one goal lead. Sure, they've been playing well, but there's a chance Monarcas Morelia might catch them on the counter, or some ridiculous volley from distance. One more will be needed, but there's still time.

Match Briefing for 12.C.01: Monarcas Morelia

Match #: 12.C.01

Opponent:
Monarcas Morelia

Six Word Novel Preview: First Superliga game, we need points.

TV: TeleFutra/TV Azteca, 8PM

Radio: WMET 1160AM

Previous Meeting: First meeting ever in a competitive match.

The Stakes: The stakes really depend on what the Superliga becomes in the future. Right now, the tournament is in its first year and a lot of people are writing it off. I think this is a mistake. This tournament could eventually supplant either the CCC or the Interliga, or both. SUM is obviously throwing a lot of money at this and wants it to succeed. There are many sub-plots to this tournament that might make it very interesting in the years to come, the most important being the US/Mexico rivalry. This rivalry has never really extended into club matches, but the Superliga could change that.

I know many fans won't care about the Superliga until it does become a big tournament (if it ever does) but remember that DC United has always been about winning things first. Payne is a big proponent of the Superliga and I think he really wants United to show well. They basically have to beat Morelia to do that as both America, and away to Houston are probably harder matches and only the top two in each group advance. To put it simply, this game will set the stage for the rest of DC's tournament.

Previews from the DCUniverse: DC United Offside Blog, An American's View, The Edgell Supporters
Previews from the Moreliaworld:
Previews Updated as we find Oscar to translate them

Expectations: Basically anything can happen. I am hoping that Morelia fans are saying "But it was our pre-season" this time tomorrow, but I don't know if that will be the case. Frankly, I just don't know enough about Morelia to answer this. If DC United was clicking and hard charging I would probably expect a win, but they aren't. Morelia on the other hand is in pre-season, how important do they see these games being? If Morelia takes the tournament seriously then a tie is probably the most likely outcome, though a DC loss is definitely a large possibility. If they decide to take the New England Rev route to international matches then I think United can get the three points. Somehow I think they will care a bit more than Steve Nicol, hopefully United will be up for the test.

What to look for?

1. Starting Line-up - Moreno, Kpene, and Namoff are all still sidelined with injuries. The line up Soehn trots out will tell us a lot about how United is going to play. Will Fred be out wide or used as a withdrawn forward? Will Olsen take the d-mid spot or go out wide? Who will the starting defenders be?



2. Morelia's Fitness - How does Morelia come out at the beginning of the game? Are they ready to play or do they let United get into a rhythm? Also, look to see if any of the Monarchs tire late. Hopefully there will be a bunch of them, but I am not counting on it.



3. DC Defense - I think all United fans need to watch out for defensive lapses. They have been a bit to frequent of late. If they occur early in the game you should probably hope United scores a bunch.



4. Gomez! - Christian has flourished against teams that don't man mark him with their d-mid. This takes two things, a decent d-mid and a scouting report. Let's hope Morelia is lacking at least one of those.



5. Mexican fans - Hopefully there will be lots of Morelia fans there. The real fan attraction is against America this weekend, but a good showing of Morelia fans on a weekday will be a nice bonus. I never like opposing fans in Estadio RFK but they are the reason SUM has put this tournament together. The idea is to show them MLS sides that compete (or destroy?) their Mexican clubs, and then maybe, just maybe they will come out an watch MLS games a bit more. This is what is needed, MLS shouldn't pander, it should showcase its quality.

Wednesday Afternoon Coffee Break

Superliga Arrives: There wasn't too much early buzz because of a certain superstar, but there are lots of good previews that you should check out. Unfortunately, the official Superliga site needs some work. The first matches were yesterday with LA beating Pachuca in a surprise upset and Dallas tying Chivas. DC United plays Morelia at 8:00 EST tonight while Houston takes on Club America at 10:00 EST.

Designated Player Clearance: Completely missed this but Grant Wahl reports that designated players signed half-way through this season, i.e. Beckham and Blanco, will only count $200,000 towards their team's salary cap.

Goff Chat: Steven Goff had a nice little chat with the fans this afternoon. No real new news, but fun stuff that you should check out. He seems to stand by the more depressing version of the Poplar Point talks that the Washington Post reported on last week.

Adu to Benfica: According to multiple sources, MLS and Benfica have worked out a deal to send Adu to Portugal for 2 million dollars. The amount is a little light considering Adu's U-20 World Cup performance, but I think Freddy needs to move on. The only hold-up seems to be Adu and Benfica agreeing to "personal terms." I don't know what that entails but I am hoping they get it figured out. Remember that DC United will receive a $200,000 allocation if he leaves before the end of the season. If Adu stays until the end of the season United only gets a draft pick.

Drew Carey on Letterman: Mr. Price is Right spent almost all of his time talking about soccer.