Posts tagged ChampionsCup at FanHouse

I suspect I'm not the only American soccer fan who stopped paying attention to the CONCACAF Champions Cup after all the MLS clubs bowed out in the semifinals. This competition has a history of not keeping our attention in this country, where USA v. Mexico carries far more weight than MLS clubs v. Mexican clubs. That might be one reason why CONCACAF is dumping the 8-team Champions Cup in favor of a 24-team Champions League format starting this August.

Nevertheless, it's worth noting that Pachuca defeated Deportivo Saprissa 3-2 on aggregate to win the last Champions Cup and a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup for the second straight year. It's also worth noting that there are some wicked saves by the goalkeepers in that highlight reel.

Oh my, isn't that a mouthful of a title? Either way, Das FanHaus and the official unofficial source of all things MLS here at Fanhouse is here to say "Nay" with a hearty dash of name-calling. Dave Warner disses the current state of MLS forever and ever on this side of the world, to which we say "The right gentleman, Mr Warner, is a spanner and rightfully disagree."

Last night's double drubbing of DC and Houston at the hands of Pachuca and Saprissa are certainly disappointments, but they are by no means anything more than a pair of international losses. These things happen, and they should be taken in stride. We have said on countless occasions that MLS is growing up as a league and should no longer be handled with the kid gloves, but this minor setback is not indicative of any kind of future failure: CONCACAF Champions Cup, InterLiga, CONCACAF Champions League, or whatever other falderall our Western hemisphere amigos concoct in this lifetime.

Luciano Emilio shouldn't miss from that close.

Last night, during the first half of the second leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal against Pachuca, the D.C. United striker got the ball four, maybe five feet in front of goal. He aimed for the opposite corner, and the ball went all the way across the face of goal without going in. It was one of many missed opportunities that caused D.C. to lose 3-2 on aggregate and be ousted from the Champions Cup.

It was a better performance than the Houston Dynamo put on in Costa Rica, though. With La Ultra Morada in full voice behind them, Deportivo Saprissa outran and outhustled the Dynamo and eventually leveled them, 3-0, to advance to the Champions Cup final.

This was the second year in a row that D.C. and Houston bombed out of this competition in the semifinals. Get used to it, Major League Soccer fans. When the new CONCACAF Champions League begins, your clubs will be doomed in the knockout stages, and it's all because of the MLS schedule.

If either D.C. United or the Houston Dynamo want to be the first MLS club to be crowned champions of CONCACAF since 2000, they need to serve up their best performances yet tonight in the 2nd leg of the Champions Cup semifinals.

D.C. United left Mexico last week with a two-goal deficit against defending Champions Cup winners Pachuca, and they have to make up that deficit tonight at RFK Stadium. Home field advantage has been kind to D.C. as of late. The club won its last two matches at RFK by a combined score of 9-1. However, those wins came against Harbour View and Toronto FC. Pachuca should be more formidable opposition.

Meanwhile, the Dynamo must do something all MLS clubs have struggled to do in recent years -- win outside of American soil. They travel to San Jose, Costa Rica, to face Deportivo Saprissa. The Purple Dragons left Houston with a 0-0 draw, which was exactly the result they wanted. A simple home win tonight will put them in the final.

Both CONCACAF Champions Cup matches will air tonight on Fox Soccer Channel, starting at 7:30 PM.

The CONCACAF Champions Cup resumes this week with the first leg of the semifinals, and D.C. United and the Houston Dynamo face the question that they don't want to hear -- when will they win a meaningful game outside the United States?

No MLS club has ever won on Mexican soil, which is where D.C. United will be playing tonight as they face Champions Cup holders Pachuca. Last year, D.C. lost twice at Chivas Guadalajara and were bounced out of both the Champions Cup in April and the Copa Sudamericana in October. They have a slight advantage in that they play the second leg at RFK Stadium on April 9, but they could ill afford to fall behind in Mexico -- especially after the Kansas City Wizards showed them up last weekend.

Tomorrow night, the Dynamo line up against Costa Rican champs Deportivo Saprissa, who won the Champions Cup in 2005 and have a rich history of bouncing MLS clubs out of this competition. Houston plays its first leg at home, but they will need a strong showing on the road next week -- especially after last year's 5-2 debacle at Pachuca in the semifinals.

All Champions Cup semifinal matches will be shown live on Fox Soccer Channel.

It took the Houston Dynamo about 135 minutes to break through against Guatemalan champs Municipal, but by the time the smoke -- and the streamers from the Texian Army -- had cleared, Dwayne DeRosario had a brace, and the Dynamo had a 3-1 victory and a spot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals.

Much of the credit for this win, though, goes to Corey Ashe, the former Tar Heel whose pure speed down the left flank gave Municipal fits all night. Ashe set up scoring opportunities for his teammates most of the evening and drew the penalty that led to DeRosario's second goal. It was a crap call, that penalty, and Municipal players hemmed and hawed about it (and everything else) most of the night, but the Dynamo weren't about to turn it down.

The defending MLS Cup champions join D.C. United in the Champions Cup semifinals. They will face the winner of tomorrow night's Deportivo Saprissa v. Atlante match in Costa Rica. Atlante has a 2-1 lead after the first leg in Mexico last week.

When D.C. United traveled to Kingston, Jamaica for the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal against Harbour View, it looked like a side clearly in preseason form. Much of their attack was of the hoof-and-hope variety, resulting in an unimpressive 1-1 draw.

Clearly, that was not the case tonight in RFK Stadium. The MLS Supporters Shield winners looked much more organized, dominated possession against Harbour View, and after an hour of play, the floodgates opened. Luciano Emilio and Devon McTavish scored two goals each to lead D.C. to a 5-0 victory.

Harbour View's shift in defensive tactics proved to be disastrous, as Brazilian midfielder Fred kept getting open in the box and setting up his teammates. He looked like he was attempting to repeat his four-assist performance for the Melbourne Victory in the 2007 A-League Grand Final -- until he scored the fifth goal himself and celebrated by putting a pacifier in his mouth. Carlos Tevez has much to answer for.

D.C. United won 6-1 on aggregate and advanced to the semifinals to face the winner of tomorrow night's Pachuca v. Motagua tie in Mexico. The Houston Dynamo can also advance to the semifinals with a win against Honduran champs Municipal tomorrow night.

MLS Supporters Shield winners D.C. United and MLS Cup winners the Houston Dynamo find themselves in an interesting position this year. Their success last season earned them bids for not one, but two CONCACAF-sanctioned competitions.

D.C. and Houston begin their quest for the CONCACAF Champions Cup tonight. D.C. travels to Kingston, Jamaica, to face Caribbean champs Harbor View in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie, while Houston plays the first leg of its quarterfinal against Municipal in Guatemala City. The second legs for both quarterfinals will be played next week at the MLS clubs' home stadiums.

This is the final edition of the Champions Cup, as CONCACAF launches its shiny new Champions League next August, which everyone involved hopes will become equivalent to the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores. D.C. and Houston will enter that competition at the group stage, while Chivas USA and the New England Revolution will enter the qualifying round.

D.C. and Houston were both bounced out of the Champions Cup semifinals last year by Mexican clubs. Houston's loss to eventual champion Pachuca was particularly painful, as Pachuca scored 5 goals at home in the second leg to topple the Dynamo 5-4 on aggregate.

You can find a full preview of the Champions Cup quarterfinals at SoccerLens. Both quarterfinals featuring MLS clubs will air live tonight on Fox Soccer Channel.