The 2009 MLS Season is in the Can

The MLS Season has come to a close with Real Salt Lake winning the MLS Cup. I've been a bit quiet these past few weeks, but tonight I unleash my thoughts on the Dynamo getting booted from the playoffs, the MLS Cup, the future of the Dynamo, and the impending new CBA.

Music: The theme song of course is from Robbie Williams, but there's Spoon at halftime and then the show ends with Abba v. 50 Cent.

Episode 7 of the Zygo Soccer Report: The 2009 MLS Season ...

The Zygo Soccer Report

Houston Dynamo Round-Up

- Photo by Nigel Brooks


On Sunday November 8th, a crowd of over 27,000 football fans watched the Houston Dynamo battle Seattle Sounders F.C. to a 1-0 victory, giving the Dynamo their first playoff victory since winning the MLS Cup in 2007. The goal came from Dynamo's Brian Ching in the 6th minute of extra-time. This Friday, the Dynamo play L.A. Galaxy in the Western Conference Final at the Home Depot Center. The game will start around 10:00 pm central time and will be on ESPN2.

Instead of a boring write up/review of the match, here's some links to audio and video regarding the match, and the Dynamo in general.

Monday night I did a podcast with Richard Farley, Kartik Krishnaiyer, and Johnathan Starling, in which we discussed the Dynamo-Sounders match as well as other topics. You can listen to that podcast by CLICKING HERE.

My regular post-match report for Major League Soccer Talk is on the latest podcast, which you can listen to by CLICKING HERE.

Meanwhile, the folks over at World Football Daily have audio from Tuesday's Houston Dynamo press conference on their iTunes feed.

Now for some video:

Dynamo-Sounders from Chance McClain on Vimeo.

Todos Bailando - Carlos Tevez, Superstar

I just could not resist putting this up as filler for a Saturday afternoon.

Don't Mess With UNM'S Elizabeth Lambert

As much stick as American fans of football a/k/a soccer get from the mainstream sports media and sports fan, I'm always shocked at how many fans of the Beautiful Game dismiss the women's game. Those of us who take even a passing interest in women's football know it is not a gentle love fest.

Take for instance the damage University of New Mexico's Elizabeth Lambert heaped upon BYU's players in the recent MVN semi-final. BYU ended up winning the match, 1-0.

Tuesday Soccer Notes

The United States

The 2009 MLS Playoffs got underway last Thursday when Seattle Sounders FC hosted Houston Dynamo before a crowd of approximately 36,000 soccer fans. Although the end result was 0-0, it was a thrilling match with both teams battling hard to find the goal. The teams meet for the second leg of their first round tie at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas at 2:00 pm local time this Sunday, and fans should expect a nail biter of a match. Tickets are going fast but are still available through the Houston Dynamo website.

On Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, Real Salt Lake got a surprising 1-0 victory over defending MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew. Salt Lake's goal came from Robbie Findley in the 88th minute. The teams face-off in Columbus on Thursday November 5th at 7pm central time.

On Saturday afternoon, the New England Revolution, who squeaked into the playoffs ahead of the Colorado Rapids, beat the Chicago Fire 2-1. The hero of the day for the Revolution was Shalrie Joseph who got the game winner in the 75th minute. The afternoon's first goal came from Chicago's Chris Rolfe in the 17th minute, while New England's Emmanuel Osei got the equalizer in the 47th minute. The teams finish the first round at Toyota Park at 7:30 central time on Saturday November 7th.

The final match of the weekend occurred at the Home Depot Center, home of both Chivas USA and the LA Galaxy, who were meeting each other for the first time ever in the playoffs. The match proved to be the highest scoring playoff match of the weekend and ended in a 2-2 draw. Chivas' goals came from Maicon Santos in the 4th minute and Maykel Galindo in the 50th minute. L.A. picked up it's first goal in the 14th minute, thanks to Mike Magee, while Landon Donovan picked up the second LA goal in the 41st minute. Chivas and the Galaxy close up the first round of the playoffs at 6:30 pm central time on Sunday November 8th - and of course the match will be at the Home Depot Center.

It's official, David Beckham will be returning to Milan during the winter transfer window on a loan from L.A. Galaxy and MLS. Beckham will play at Milan through the end of the 2009-2010 Serie A season. After the Italian top flight season ends, Beckham will likely be a member of the team that England fields at South Africa 2010. Beckham is expected to return to the Galaxy in July of 2010 or the remainder of the 2010 MLS season.

Chicago Fire's designated player, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, will also be playing elsewhere starting in January when he joins Mexican second division side Veracruz. It is possible that Blanco will rejoin the Fire in July.

Tom Soehn will not be coach of DC United during the 2010 MLS season. Soehn, who's contract expires at the end of this year, has decided to not seek a contract renewal. Reports indicate that Soehn will be involved in the search for his replacement.

MLS announced its finalists for the 2009 MLS Awards. Instead of reprinting it, here's the MLS Net article.

Italy

Are Inter running away with the Scudetto yet again? This past week Jose Mourinho's side beat a feisty Palermo team on Thursday, 5-3, and then beat Livorno, 0-2, on Sunday, giving them 28 points on the season so far, and a solid grip on the top spot on the table. Inter's closest challenger is Juventus, who have stumbled of late. Despite picking up a solid 5-1 victory over Sampdoria on Wednesday, Juve lost 2-3 to Napoli on Saturday. Right now the Old Lady has 21 points on the season, tied in second with Sampdoria who drew 0-0 with Bari on Sunday. Despite a rough start to the season, Milan has 19 points on the season.

Elsewhere in the World

Fernando Caceres, a member of the 1994 Argentina World Cup team, was shot in the head on Sunday when thieves carjacked him for his BMW in Buenos Aieres. Caceres is in critical condition and not expected to survive his injury. In addition to playing for the Argentina National Team, Caceres also played for River Plate, Boca Juniors, and Spanish side Zaragoza.

Currently in Mexico, the leaders are as follows: Toluca with 29 points in Group 1; Morelia with 28 points in Group 2; and Santos with 26 points in Group 3. Meanwhile, Chivas has only 15 points Group 3 and they have sacked their coach, Raul Arias, and are looking for their third coach of the season.