Thursday, July 26, 2007

MLS Remains Super

It's now four matches without a loss for MLS clubs (2-0-2) in the inaugural Superliga. Last night at RFK, DC United got an early goal off a free kick from Christian Gomez, but conceded a late score from a 10-man Monarchas Morelia squad to settle for a 1-1 draw. In Houston, Nate Jaqua scored the only goal of the match in a 1-nil victory over Club America. After one round, here are the Superliga standings:

Group A
LA Galaxy 3, +1
Chivas Guadalajara 1, 0
FC Dallas 1, 0
Pachuca 0, -1

Group B
Houston 3, +1
DC United 1, 0
Morelia 1, 0
Club America 0, -1

Next Matches:
7/28: FC Dallas-Pachuca, LA Galaxy-Chivas
7/29: DC United-America, Houston-Morelia

Andrea Canales, writing at Soccer 365, has a message for Superliga haters to give this tournament time to grow. As the MLS regular season winds down, the fight for next season's Superliga spots will give league's the top teams more to strive for once playoff berths are clinched. Also consider a Copa Libertadores spot to the Superliga champ may be a few years away.

One interesting wrinkle to the strong MLS start of the tourney is the possibility that MLS clubs could be three or all four of the semifinalists. MLS would certainly win some respect down South, but the possibility could kill TV ratings for the semis and finals. As with the US National Team's rivalry with Mexico... this is only going to be a rivalry if the FMF sides start getting some results.

2 comments:

Eric PZ said...

CONCACAF Champions Cup--MLS Preseason
SuperLiga--FMF Preseason.

To get a true indication of how MLS teams compare with those to the south, the timing of a competition needs to be worked out.

Mr. Fish said...

I agree, but a little payback is nice to see. Also, shouldn't some of these matches be played in Mexico?

Anyway, it's what the FMF signed up for. I can't believe they're super happy to be winless at this point.