Mid-week Media Roundup

Steve Davis, the north Texas MLS correspondent, says The Dom may have to start considering changes if we don't start seeing results soon. "Dominic Kinnear has probably forgotten more about soccer than most of us could ever learn. As a player, he studied under Serbian-born tactician Bora Milutinovic. As an assistant, he apprenticed under Frank Yallop during the San Jose Earthquakes' first championship season." The gist: "It's clear that the Dynamo must do two things. One: Don't panic. Two: Prepare to panic ... if things don't turn around in the next two weeks."

The Dynamo website has some insight into a typical training day.

B-Fall suggests that the above article left out a creative adjective in the Waibel quote that concludes the article.

De La Hoya will be fighting in The Toolshed in Carson, CA, while the Dynamo are (hopefully) pummeling Chivas USA. De La Hoya will wear "forever orange" trim on his fighting gear.

Here's a fascinating interview with Ruud Gullit from The (London) Times. It provides some great insight into the soccer culture of the MLS and the US as compared to elsewhere. Some quotes:

• Best sound bite: "I can't play sexy football with this team at the moment because we are not ready for this."
• Standard English insight into US player development: "There is a huge difference between the very good players and some of the average players. The reason for this... is that young players are not being schooled in the way we do it in Europe...Here in the United States they play soccer in the schools and then college and they are 20 or 21 years old and they are coming to me, having been coached straight out of a book. None of these coaches has played at any kind of high level. In fact, if you were a World Cup-winner, if you had all of the medals but you didn't have the universal qualifications to teach, you could not get a coaching job at college level. This is a major limitation when these players come into the professional game and it means that I have to go back to basics with them..."
• Houston gets a mention, but only as a vehicle for Becks: "In the game against Houston, David was excellent, he worked hard, he set an example and he did everything I could ask of my captain...I couldn’t believe that people doubted him about his physical condition before England's game against France in Paris. You wouldn't doubt him if you saw him play against Houston."

Another freakin' Moral Victory

One of the irritating things about soccer is that class and quality don't always translate into 3 points. Sometimes not even to 1 point. Last night, from the opening kickoff, Dynamo-Houston played like the home team. They were confident. They were creative. They played like professionals, particularly in the midfield. They controlled possession and territory. While Columbus was hesitant and forced to react to the play around them, and were left hoping for a break on a set play.

Well, you got that break, Columbus. Congrats on your 100th win, Sigi!

You think I'm a homer who is trying to paint the best picture of his team after a bitter loss? Well, you're right. But here's a quote from the opposing coach who apparently also realizes that the Dynamo are a class above his team: "We might have set a league record for blocked shots by a team tonight...They're a good team and when you look at it from a soccer aspect, maybe they had a little more of the game." At least Sigi's post-game soccer analysis isn't as myopic as Steve Morrow's is after FC Dallas games.

Here are some examples of the class of the Dynamo:

• Right on the 6:00 mark there's an excellent combination: DeRo on the right drops the ball to Mulrooney, who touches it square to Clark and falls back to create a good angle. Clark drops it to Mulrooney who passes it to DeRo who dummies the ball then breaks down the line. Mullan gets the ball and pushes it forward to DeRo down the line who is facing a very disorganized Crew defense, but a desperate sliding tackle from Moffat pushes the ball into touch for a Dynamo throw in.
• 10th minute: DeRo just left of center pushes the ball through to Davis on the left. A one touch pass to Barrett, then a Barrett-Davis-Barrett pass exchange opens up the defense a bit, then Barrett threads a pass to DeRo who makes a one-touch flick to an onrushing Barrett, who gets fouled right on the left boundary of the penalty box.
• A minute after the second half restart, an excellent 3-person passing combination freezes the Crew defense giving Clark an opportunity saved by Hesmer.
• In the 89th minute, a aerial cross to Ching is headed down to Holden, who lays it off again to set up a dynamite sliding shot by Barrett that was heading to the upper 90, only for Hesmer to make an outstanding jumping dive to catch the rocket.

These aren't the only chances we had, of course. We had 15 shots (to the Crew's 9), and probably another 10 more dangerous opportunities that didn't result in shots. Besides some of the plays mentioned above, there were:

• 2nd minute: Caraccio nods a free kick on frame, straight at the GK.
• 12th minute: An apparent Davis goal gets waived off due to an offside DeRo.
• 34th minute: Davis chips a ball in to Carracio. The ball is mishandled by Hesmer, and Caraccio tries to pick up the trash before a general scrum forms on the goal line. Hesmer is able to get his hands around the ball in the middle of the writhing orgy to stop the play. I've got a question on this: with O'Rourke and Carroll (and, admittedly, Caraccio) trying to play the ball while on the ground, how is a free kick not awarded to somebody?
• In the 63rd minute, Mulrooney picks up the pieces from a broken Dynamo free kick in the attacking third, gets an aerial to Ching who chests it and...well...how did he not do something better with that one?
• In the next minute, Mullan drives a ball to the far post that a sliding Caraccio is inches away from touching into the net.
• In the 69th minute, a DeRo rocket is bobbled by Hesmer, but the lack of follow up ensures nothing comes of it. DeRo has another dangerous shot in the 74th.
• In the 83rd, Ashe has an uncharacteristically awesome shot heading to the far lower net, which is saved by Hesmer. This makes perhaps the first game that both Barrett and Ashe (who are known for their other attributes) have some of the most impressive and challenging shots on goal.

This isn't to say that the Crew totally stole the game from the Dynamo. They had their chances, but they weren't the result of impressive play. In fact, as with much of the LA game, the Dynamo looked like a professional team playing against reserves. Still, this is the MLS, and individual brilliance or a well-orchestrated set play can make the difference.

In the 22nd minute, the Crew take advantage of the only corner kick they get in the first half. BoBo makes a booboo and kind of hangs out in no-mans land. As Clark and DeRo run by him with their respective marks, BoBo sees -- too late! -- that Marshall is free and keying in on the incoming ball. BoBo gets there -- too late! -- and the ball is headed in bouncy-fashion towards the goal. Ianni is there, deflects it, then tries to heel flick it out of danger before Moreno manages to pick up the trash and knock the ball past Onstad and Barrett. BoBo didn't really have that bad of a game, but he is responsible for this goal. And, ironically, if Ianni hadn't done what a defender is supposed to do (that is: block the shot), Onstad would have easily gotten the ball as he was perfectly positioned for it. Fate worked against us, though, and the blocked shot set Moreno up for a typically scrappy Moreno goal. One corner = one goal for the home team playing like a visiting team.

The Yellow Ones would have more chances -- In the 2nd minute the Dynamo handed the Crew a free freekick when Onstad picked up a back pass from Mulrooney (it came to naught); Padula had a rocket that just missed the mark in the 35th; a Houston defensive breakdown gave Onstad a chance to show his awesomeness with a flying save in the 47th; in the 55th minute Robbie Rogers dribbles down and gets off a shot that is easily corralled by Onstad (if that had been Moreno dribbling, he would have flown through the air as Mullan engaged him in the hopes of conning the ref for a free kick); in the 74th Moreno jumps around Ianni to head a corner kick on frame and forcing a goal line clearance by Barrett -- but they were mostly the result of individual talent or nicely executed set plays. Those are certainly components of good soccer, but not the definition of good soccer.

Of course, being shut out isn't anywhere in the definition of good soccer. Nevertheless, the Dynamo played inspiring soccer in every aspect but the scoring aspect. I'm sure many fans are tired of this. It's a moral victory, but an actual loss.

Let's switch to some off-the-field observations.

• When did the Columbus crew take out stands behind the north (?) goal to put in a stage. I guess that's the standard for Hunt SWICS (remember?: Soccer-When-It's-Convenient_Stadiums): kill some of the passion by placing a barren concrete platform that permanently reserves a quarter of the stands for non-soccer activities. Both Pizza Hunt Park and Crew Stadium sport this abomination. It looks like this happened between last season and this one. The Columbus Dispatch says: "The Crew appears to have lost few of its most ardent supporters, some who were supplanted from their home in the stadium's north end by the new permanent stage."
• Props to the remaining Crew faithful who made Davis' job difficult on those corner kicks in front of the supporters. Kudos to Davis for not succumbing to the pressure.
• Janette Fernandez is simply awful in sport interviews. Please, somebody, give her some prepared and intelligent questions for halftime and after the game.
• Chivas got skunked by LA last night. Maybe we'll be able to score against Chivas next week at The Rob. Last year's goalkeeper of the year (Brad Guzan) isn't doing much better than last year's defensive squad of the year (that is us, y'all).
• The League's bottom dwellers at this writing are today's San Jose and yesteryear's San Jose. Is that some sort of poetic statement?

Media roundup:
The MLS game review, and article.

The Chronicle article. And player ratings.

Going Back to Ohio

Dynamo-Houston trek to Columbus, OH, tonight. The Crew aren't their usual pushover selves, especially when Guillermo Barros Schelotto is on his game. In the 4-game history of the two teams, the Dynamo have won only once (in Columbus, not The Rob) with the remainder being draws. It's hard to predict who wins tonight, although one might think that Houston is due its first win of the season, but I don't think the odds work that way: adding up until a particular game is a gimme. You could easily argue that the Crew are due their first win of the Houston/Columbus series. Maybe a draw is the most likely conclusion.

All's I know is that Alejandro Moreno will probably score a goal; he has netted one every time he's faced Houston since his departure from Houston. And I will say unequivocally that Moreno will earn his team at least 2 dangerous free kicks. That's how he rolls. Still, I feel that Houston should win if they play like they have been. Here's hoping for a game like the first half versus LA, only with more scoring for the orange.

Here is the MLS game preview.

Caraccio has been a long-time admirer of Schelotto. Tonight is a great chance for the young gun to impress the old maestro.

A brief note about the defensive line. This will be the first time this season our back line will have the same personnel lining up in consecutive games.

Did you know that Sigi Schmid coached The Dom on the USNMT years ago? Sigi said Dom was on the "World Cup Team" but Dom wasn't on the final roster for the 1990 team. Maybe Sigi was the assistant coach and Dom was with the team through the build up, then was cut before the final roster was made?

Also, do the Dynamo want to be the team that gives Sigi his 100th win? (Read the fourth bullet under Item #5 here. Also, Item #1 talks about the weird knuckling action of the MLS ball; could unfamiliarity with the MLS ball be the reason for Caig's slow start? That would be nice if it were true; and it might explain why his last few games have been better. But: (1) that wouldn't explain one of his apparent weaknesses, which is his hesitancy as to when to come off his line and (2) it wouldn't explain the performance in Saprissa, where they don't use the MLS ball and he still struggled.)

A final (?) word on Donovan and His Angry Face
Shaka Hislop has an interesting take on the Dynamo's reaction to Donovan's vocal showmanship last week: the complacency is a sign that all is not well in Dynamoland. He feels Ianni should have confronted Donovan and the Dynamo should have supported their teammate. Instead, Donovan "had to be led away by one of his own team-mates - all the while, no one from Houston, not even Ianni, cared to confront the LA forward...It portrayed a real lack of camaraderie from within Houston's ranks, which is very concerning given the pre-season favourites' precarious position at the bottom of the Western Conference, without a win to their name." Personally, I think Ianni handled the incident quite professionally, and camaraderie is one thing that doesn't appear to be a problem with the Dynamo. I do agree with Hislop's later accolades about The Dom.

Another factoid from the Hislop piece: In Portsmouth "the fans are famous for their vehement support, so much so that the number 12 was reserved for the crowd - no player would wear the No12 shirt." Cool tradition, that.

Another brief aside on the Stadium

The US Soccer Players blog has a take on the Houston Stadium situation from an outsider's viewpoint. "This hasn’t gone down well with anyone. From the Mayor who said he doesn’t respond well to threats, to the fans who have supported their club at Robertson Stadium, and even the far removed from Houston neutrals like this Grown Man. The prestige of the league would suffer a blow if its second dynasty franchise was moved for the same reason twice."

And Fox News talks about a possible "new ally" for a Downtown Dynamo stadium: TSU. (Not TSU, TSU.) "'TSU athletics and its football program would be excited to be able to participate and partner with all entities involved in the project to ensure Texas Southern has a state of the art football facility,' said Charles McClelland, the schools' new athletics director."

Donovan and his Angry Face

Tonight on Glenn Davis' excellent weekly radio broadcast, he brought up the Donovan-Ianni exchange that took place after Donovan shook off Ianni to head in an excellent goal off an excellent feed from Lord Beckham.

The outline of events:

• ~60th minute: Barrett heads a long ball back to Caig. Ianni runs with the ball to make sure it makes it to his keeper's hands. Donovan pursues the pass with the slim hopes of getting to the ball first or, more likely, of pressuring Caig into making a mistake. Ianni shields the ball by stepping in front of Donovan, and the Balding One goes flying through the air like a rag doll and grabs his head and writhes in pain in an amusing homage to his ailing teammate, Carlos Ruiz.
  
  Ianni later said, "I wanted to kind of protect my goalie. He's running full sprint at our goalie and so I'm trying to get in front of him just to cut off his run and I gave him a little nudge. It's part of the game...."
  
  
• 67th minute: Beckham has the ball on the right side of our penalty area, and Donovan makes a run toward goal. Ianni is checking Donovan the entire way, but Donovan dives and knocks Beckham's cross into the net to tie the game at 1. With Ianni lying on the turf, Donovan bends over the fallen defender and scolds like a bitter virago. Ianni gets up and walks back into position like a professional and looks like he doesn't even hear Donovan's yelping. Ianni later said, "I don't know. I heard him saying something."

And that was pretty much it. A little drama. A little passion. Not much fireworks. But a good contrast between a professional attitude and a childish one, between a young player who is just doing his job, and a formerly young player who needs a chip on his shoulder in order to succeed. Apparently the incident held enough drama that it was covered immediately after the game in the article quoted above. And apparently some fans voiced displeasure at the conduct of Donovan.

Landon Donovan says "Nanny, nanny, boo-boo."

Tonight Glenn took the stance that people are blowing this out of proportion and fans just need to chill. Now, I usually agree with Glenn and I am truly appreciative of what he's done for soccer (and the Dynamo) in this town, but:

• First, I don't know why he's surprised with the response. The incident was notable enough that it was immediately covered by Glenn's peers in the fourth estate. It was recognized as a newsworthy event almost immediately. And newsworthy events get discussed.
• Second, I don't know why he is decrying the passion of the fans. Glenn repeatedly calls for more passion on the field, in the stands, and in soccer conversation. The outcry against Donovan's behavior is good passion. This sport needs heroes and villains, and Glenn shouldn't want to extinguish the passion of this particular conversation just because it is directed against one of his favorite players.

I posted my thoughts on his blog (and, professional that he is, he even emailed me an "atta boy," even though I disagree with his position on this), but let me see if I can expand upon and clarify my thoughts here.

Donovan's outburst — emotionally exploding against a player who may one day play with him on the USMNT — isn't a big deal in and of itself. It wasn't illegal. It wasn't a faux pas. It sure didn't faze the Dynamo players, including Ianni. I think only the spectators cared. And what's wrong with that? Fans SHOULD care.

Some say that the fans' reaction is simply due to the fact that Donovan is the subject, that fans wouldn't say anything had any other player done what he did. No argument there (unless the player was another high profile player, like Taylor Twellman). The Balding One has been anointed the "face of American soccer." Anyone in that position receives scrutiny that others do not. And if he cannot handle the scrutiny then we truly have a flaccid face for American soccer and it's time for the marketing hacks at MLS and SUM to anoint someone who understands and accepts that with the benefits comes accountability. Donovan apologists who want Donovan to be treated like any other player are usually guilty of the same sin by hyping Donovan as an ubermensch — a person and a player beyond his peers — who is allowed the special accolades, but not the special critiques. He is ubermensch when convenient, and "just another player, guys, go easy on him" when convenient.

Donovan has terrific athleticism and skill (and receding hairline) beyond his years. Unfortunately, he also has the emotional maturity development of someone younger than his years. It's good that some fans are content with that. It's also good that some fans care enough to passionately voice their opinions that they expect more of elite players.

Soccer journalists and the Powers-That-Be trumpet the statistical accomplishments of players, as they should. But, as in anything in life, it takes more than good data to be accepted by those who ultimately pay the players' paychecks: the fans. Refer to Eric Wynalda: his scoring ability is respected, particularly since it was during the otherwise grim days of US soccer, but his arrogance and self-promoting have ensured that he will never be a revered icon.

Contrast Wynalda with Brian McBride. Americans have a thing for hard working, talented individuals who do their job well and without histrionics. That why we like Clint Eastwood in his role in the spaghetti westerns so much, and why we admire Brian McBride for more than just his accomplishments.

Fans are perspicacious enough that they can see through marketing hype. And they are sophisticated enough that they can separate their respect for accomplishment from their respect for players. Accomplishments are easily supported with data and statistics, but respect (and especially Biggio-like reverence) for the player himself falls under separate criteria. The cacophony that we heard after Donovan's meltdown is an indication that soccer fans respect Donovan's athleticism, but that he has a long way to go if he wants to become a venerated legend. (And, no, being elected to the Hall of Fame -- which will happen one day with Donovan -- doesn't make one a legend.) The clamor shouldn't be silenced, but should be understood as a good barometer of the widespread view held by the hoi polloi, rather than the concocted insider views of the "soccer intelligentsia."

There was a series of events that led to Landon falling out of favor with fans. First, after he returned to the MLS in 2005 from a stint with Bayer Leverkusen that lasted the duration of the MLS off-season, he was falsely judged as not being good enough for Europe when, in fact, he just wasn't a fit for the system his team was playing (and wasn't patient enough to pay his dues). Then, in what seemed to tie Landon to the good ol' boy politics of the MLS, Landon ended up not returning to the team he departed (San Jose), but through the machinations of the MLS, he went to the LA Galaxy, the bad boys of the league. On the national side, Landon's anonymity versus any opponent except Mexico has exasperated supporters. Then there were his endless quotes in the media, which, perhaps in reaction to the negativism he was experiencing from fans, were heavy with self-aggrandizement and haughty arrogance.

Then there are smaller events like these recent on-field histrionics. Perhaps it wouldn't be so irritating if Donovan were more consistent and these histrionics were a mere eccentricity. Perhaps it would have been more acceptable had Donovan vented on a seasoned veteran rather than looking like an upperclassman hazing a young player. And maybe this is the new Donovan, the one who will give it his all for 90 minutes and whose explosive play will spill over into an explosive personality. (See #3 here, although Donovan only stuck one in Ianni's ear, the other was in Mulrooney's.)

In fact, Donovan is talented enough to be The Great One. But in addition to maturing his game and his focus, he needs to mature emotionally. That's hard to do when people treat you with kid gloves and tell you how special you are all the time. Ask my niece!

Ahem. Anyway.

Some may say it's better to have passion rather than stoicism on the field. I hope those are the same people saying it's better to have passion rather than apathy in the stands. Let the fans rant, fer cryin' out loud.

And take time to raise a pint to Brian McBride.

Winless through 4

The Dynamo let 2 points slip through their fingers last night. Twice. As the only winless team in the MLS, our draws have kept us tied with DC United and San Jose for last place. We're behind Toronto, RSL, Colorado, and Columbus, among others. That's pretty embarrassing, but the season is young and I still don't see us being out of the top 8 teams that make it to the MLS Cup post-season tourney. That Supporters' Shield thing might be a long shot though.

The play of the game last night: Caraccio's excellent hustle in the 17th minute to win the ball from an onrushing Cronin and send a perfect slow-rolling cross across the face of an empty goal. Only, there were no other forwards or midfielders pushed up in the center where they might be, you know, dangerous. Where was Ching? Where was DeRo? As slow as that ball was rolling, the indefatigable Barrett could have sprinted the length of the field in time to tap it in. 2-0 at halftime, but it wasn't to be.

Thank you Caraccio for being the most dangerous Orangeman on the pitch last night, at least in the attacking third. Besides that beautiful play, you touched a perfect pass to Ching in the 2nd half that Ching fired straight at the keeper. You also had the game-winning and then game-tying goal with 11 minute remaining.

If we could have stuck one person, say Barrett, on Donovan and taken him completely out of the game, then played 10v10 with the rest of the two teams, we win the game. Becks is good, but if no one is at the end of his crosses no one scores, and Lan-Don is the only one who can feed Becks balls that he could score with.

Unfortunately, Donovan-Becks can beat any MLS team if given the chance, and we gave them the chance by not finishing our opportunities and not closing down one of the two dynamic duo on two occasions.

A side piece on Donovan: he's is a talent, no doubt; perhaps the best American on the pitch at the moment. But the older he gets, the whinier and more classless he gets. The foul he tried to draw by running into Ianni was comical; something he picked up from his teammate Ruiz I'm sure. The claim that he (and Becks in postgame comments) makes that the ball went over the line when Ianni headed it off the line, well that is poor gamesmanship which is understandable when it's said at the instance of occurance, but to keep the lie up after the match is pure scumbaggery. (Not a word, but it should be.)

As for the game, the first half showed how we are still the class of the league. The second half showed that we need to be quicker to adjust to our opponents' adjustments and keep the foot to their throat. When we have a makeshift defense/goal tender, we need to score often to give the defense a comfort zone as they gain their chemistry.

I don't blame the defense or Caig for this loss; all credit goes to the skill of Donovan, particularly on the first goal.

I do blame Ching for not being where he should be in the 17th minute.

Media roundup:
The Chronicle Recap

Another MLS article.

More later...

Trip to LaLa Land

Tonight it's Houston vs Hollywood. The LA Beckhams will pit their offensive prowess against a Dynamo defense that will be playing without ERob and has yet to prove it's up to the standards it set in 2007. On the other end of the field, the Dynamo should have plenty of opportunities on goal due to a porous Galaxy defense.

The official game preview. Not-so fun factoid: "In seven games in all competitions in 2008, the Dynamo have been shutout in five. In the other two, they scored three goals in each."

An article about our goalie for the game. Caig says, "It will be nice to get more touches because unfortunately my first touch with this team was picking up the ball out of the back of the net." Onstad says, "He's helping me along. It's a good relationship, and I think it's going to help the club." I say the term "admirably" should have been left out of the headline until Caig has had more than one good showing. No better time to have a good game than tonight in LA.

The Galaxy should provide plenty of opportunity for Caraccio to have a good outing. He says "It is obviously a different game here [in the US] because we run more. It's more dynamic, but soccer is soccer and little by little I am getting more rhythm." He also admits, "I am here to score goals and win games. It hasn't happened yet, but we are working toward that." The Galaxy backs will provide the chances, will young Caraccio be able to take advantage? Will Ching or DeRo?

Goal.com says "In a two-on-two matchup of the Galaxy’s Landon Donovan and David Beckham against Houston’s Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario, the home side probably wins. However, nine other players will be on the field for each side and that’s where Houston has a resounding edge... L.A. will score, but not as much as Houston will. The Dynamo’s midfield was given a boost last week by the return of Ricardo Clark, one of the best two-way midfielders in the game. With De Rosario in front of Clark and those two flanked by Brian Mullan and Brad Davis, the midfield of Los Angeles will be overrun."

Here's one supporter's view of the Dynamo's struggles early in the season.

Fox Sports has a game preview. "Even struggling teams are finding a way to break out of an offensive slump against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Not many clubs have had as much trouble scoring goals than the Houston Dynamo." Ouch. I'm sensing a consensus among the journalistas.

The journalista at the LA Times notes that Lan-Don has "irked" some Dynamo fans. Of course, the irked fans were responding to an informal blog, just as the LA Times is trying to rile up the Galaxy fans by reporting this in a blog. Hey, who is the cool guy who wrote that witty-but-too-lengthy thing about "The coddled team that apparently needs more special breaks"? Whoever that was, he sure sounds intelligent. Good looking too.

More Dynamo Stadium Dreaming

All this hullabaloo about the stadium has got me to thinking: once we get a stadium, what do we want it to look like? What are the qualities of a good stadium? What do I want to see in the Home of the Dynamo?

Here's what I want.

First, I want Dynamo Stadium to be a soccer-specific stadium (SSS, or, as they're called in England and elsewhere where soccer is the primary sport, "stadium"). There aren't too many SSSs in the US nor even in the MLS. The Home Depot Center? It's a soccer-when-it's-convenient stadium (SWICS). Last summer I drove past the HDC and the field was covered with mounds of dirt and curvilinear superstructures for the X-games. The field took some time to recover from that affair. And remember during SuperLiga when the Galaxy had to limit the number of tickets it sold for its game, which was scheduled on a school night for the landlord, Cal State Dominguez Hills? And then there's the SWICS in Frisco, where a concrete stage takes up the entire space behind one goal line. (Can't they put bleachers on the stage during game day?) Dynamo Field will surely host its share of concerts and non-soccer events, but it would be nice if those would be secondary to the primary use of the facility: soccer. In fact, if the ancillary events could be limited to sporting events, there might be less wear and tear on the field. I want the pitch to look like a pristine park on every game day.

And speaking of the pristine pitch; the field is perhaps the most important component of the stadium. Soccer is much like baseball in that variations in the field composition and even dimensions can affect gameplay, hopefully to the benefit of the home team. The field must be natural grass, foremost. I also prefer a much larger pitch, like the field at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, which boasts the largest field in the MLS at 120x80 yards. This wide field actually plays to the Dynamo's strengths as a flank-attacking team (and minimizes their weakness: finding room to pry open bunkered defenses). The Dynamo's field at The Rob is one of the smallest fields at 115x70 yards -- dimensions that actually work against the Dynamo's strengths in my mind. The mile-high DSG Park also has excellent drainage. Last year Dynamo Houston played in a freezing deluge, and the field stood up very nicely. We need that with the monsoons we sometimes get here in the Bayou City.

Seating should surround the field. I've already condemned the concrete stages that take up half of some stadia. There shouldn't be any place where opposing keepers can relax and feel they're out of the spotlight. Seats should surround the field and come as close to the field as possible, much like at The Rob. I differ from many fans in that I do want actual seats to sit in, but it would be nice to have bleachers at the end lines, or at least along the end line where the Texian Army and El Batallon sit stand. The seats should be orange (for television purposes) and on tiered concrete, although having the supporters on metal bleachers would ensure their percussive stomping thunders throughout the stadium.

The stands need a roof above to shield the sun, divert the rain, and trap the noise. While a retractable would be nice (and maybe I should throw that in since this is just a wish list anyway), I'm completely fine with the partial roofs you see at the HDC and DSG Park. I would consider something like that to be a necessity.

I also like the way that the Rapids' stadium's roof has the added quality of being a design feature that reflects its environment. The DSG roof is slanted and tiered like the rising slabs of rock of the nearby Rocky Mountains. In Chicago/Bridgeview, Toyota Park has brick tied to its exterior (though I don't think it's to be found inside the stadium anywhere) which makes the stadium feel like it belongs among the brick buildings of that area. I think that's called idiomatic design. Likewise, I want the Dynamo's home to look unique and reflect the character of Houston. It shouldn't be a soulless metal structure like in Columbus or a featureless hole in the ground like in Frisco. Material should be stucco, to reflect the coastal style, or limestone and beams, to bring in a more "hill country" flair. The Rob has palm trees and hedges inside the stadium (where they are enjoyed while watching a game, not just when walking up to the ticket counter), and similar flora would add to the park-like setting established by that pristine green pitch. I'd like Dynamo Stadium to be more than a place to play soccer. It should be a visual enhancement to the downtown area, a timeless edifice that will be appreciated for years to come. It should be as appealing on the interior as the exterior, with the team adding to the atmosphere with its energy and a few championship banners fluttering around.

A highly visible niche should be created for El Capitan. We'll have it often, and we need to display it whenever the Frisco team comes to town. It should also be fired whenever we score or win versus FCD, much like what UT does with "Smokey the Cannon."

I'd like some vendors beyond the usual hotdog fare. BBQ, fajitas, and maybe even Christian's Burgers (!) should be represented, sure; but I'm more interested in getting some beer selections that extend beyond Bud and Miller. The Home Depot Center, to its credit, has a booth selling Guinness, Harps, and Smithwick's for only $2 more than the usual stadium swill. Shiner would be a good start and St. Arnold's would be a great addition to the tap line.

It looks like Downtown is the likeliest location for Dynamo Stadium, and that would be best for all concerned: fans, team, front office, the city, everyone. Centralized for easier access, near the activity of downtown, and actually in the city it's named for. Add a light rail line and it's like you're living in Europe. Almost.

Finally, and this is at the bottom of the list, but how nice would it be for the stadium to reflect the name of the Dynamo or a feature of Texas or Houston, rather than just being a bland name of a corporation that evokes no images of soccer or of the town whatsoever. (Okay, Enron Field was connected to Houston, and that just furthers my argument.) I realize that this is just pie in the sky dreaming, because naming rights are one of the ways sport franchises make money, and they don't want to cut off that revenue stream (and particularly not if "they" is "AEG") for mere sentimentality. Heck, what's in a name anyway? Nevertheless, it would be nice for the stadium to be named in way that integrates it into the city rather than making it a fancy billboard for commuters on US 59.

This has been therapeutic. Now about that St. Arnold's...

Post script: Here's an article in Forbes regarding "Super-Stadiums." It includes some beauties. On the soccer side, that Red Bulls Park looks nice.

Stadium haggling

Within perhaps minutes of the announcement that the team-formerly-known-as-the-Earthquakes was coming to Houston, there began talk of a new permanent stadium for the eventually-to-be-named-Dynamo. As we know, "talks" continue. Occasionally we'll hear something positive from Oliver Luck, but then someone from the soulless AEG conglomerate will speak out of both sides of his mouth. First they will say that they're fronting all the money, with only utilities being funded publicly. Next, they'll say they expect 35%-40% of the cost to be publicly funded. AEG may know numbers, but they sure are ham-fisted when it comes to dealing with people. It's amazing that they've been able to complete so many publicly-financed deals already, but maybe that's due to their effective use of relocation threats if not even more unsavory tactics.

Now they've got Don Garber writing velvety threats that insult the intelligence of everyone involved. Does the Commish really think the key players don't understand the ramifications of not getting a deal done? Of course not, he's just trying to be intimidating. Unfortunately for him, the MLS isn't really a heavyweight so his threats may do more harm than good.





If they keep this up they'll drive Oliver Luck, the best GM in the league, out of the footie industry in search of a less flaky organization. It's too bad that we can't find a local owner with class that matches the class of the team.

Mayor White doesn't want to use public funds for obvious reasons. But he also may not be able to do so. Restrictions on public funding were written into the Toyota Center charter. That seems mighty presumptuous of Les Alexander and the Rockets: "Give us public funds to provide infrastructure for my private venture, and sign this agreement forbidding you to help anybody else." Sounds like the City got taken on that one.

Luck has a better feel for the local situation that AEG's Tim Leiweke does. Luck has said: "Although we have not reached an agreement with the city of Houston, we are anxious to come to closure on the terms of a public-private partnership with the city and we are willing to assume responsibility for a much higher proportion of the costs than any other team owner has had to assume in Houston."

He also had to scramble to put together a save-the-face press conference, which didn't really say much, but was intended to sooth sore feelings.

At any rate, B-Fall states there isn't much news at the moment. Stayed tuned to The Chronicle. UPDATE: B-Fall has an article with more explanation, plus a blog post with some informal thoughts. Glenn Davis agrees that Don Garber fluffed the kick on this one. (I know, I know: Garber has never kicked a soccer ball in his life, but since he's the Commish of the national soccer league, I thought I'd use a sport-relevant idiom to sound clever and give me a chance to parenthetically state that Garber has never kicked a soccer ball in his life.)

Meanwhile, it looks like AEG is continuing with the design work just in case the company's relationship-building impediment doesn't kill the deal. The project manager for the stadium, IKON, is basically a subsidiary of AEG. As integrated as AEG is into the MLS, it's no surprise that IKON is behind several of the MLS stadia: Home Depot Center, Toyota Park, Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Red Bull Park, Real Salt Lake's stadium, and numerous non-MLS stadia in and out of the US. Here in Houston, IKON has apparently selected a short list of firms to design the new stadium. The article also says that the MLS "is close to working out a deal with the City of Houston which is close to finalizing the acquisition of a chunk of prime acreage near Minute Maid Park for the $80 million stadium, which could open as early as 2010." Well, we'll see about that.

The fact is, everybody is posturing right now. Soccer fans should feel lucky that Oliver Luck is the proxy mediator between the politicians and the corporate suits. If anyone can see this thing through to the finish, it's Mr. Luck.

Caig Mans Up

I like to think of myself as an independent thinker. A guy that doesn't jump at the latest trends. A guy that isn't stuck in the childish phase of needing to have the latest toys. In other words: I don't have HDNet and couldn't watch the Dynamo last night. Some might say that makes me more of a Luddite than a man of principle, and really the truth does lie somewhere in between.

I also was unable to make the trek across town to the known viewings of the game. That's due to me being a boring family man.

But I DID get to listen to the game on the radio. Steve Mark, the "Voice of the Dynamo" (VOTD), isn't the best play by play guy. He doesn't use natural soccer terminology. He doesn't keep up with play. He leaves painful gaps in the monologue while he figures out what's going on. So listening to the game through his eyes isn't the best way to enjoy the game, but I still managed to enjoy the experience. It seems nostalgic to listen to a game on the radio, particularly with a local crew and local perspective, and I rarely do it anymore. It's how baseball used to be followed by fans before cable, and how the English followed their football teams before the EPL made televised broadcasts ubiquitous. The game took on a sentimental flair for me.

You know what else was nostalgic? The clean sheet. You remember those? You just have to look back to last season to see our calling card of clean sheets and defensive dominance. The clean sheet was particularly welcome after we've been conceding three goals per game.

Hats off to the the defense and particularly to Caig who made some solid saves, intercepted some crosses/passes, and didn't make any howlers. I wish this was the Caig who played vs FCD, but beggars can't be choosers and I'm just glad that the Caig that Dom knows made himself known to the Orange faithful.

I hope this means that the defense is beginning to get in sync. We'll need them next week at the Toolshed when we face the LA Beckhams. The LA defense, which is fundamentally pathetic, should also give our forwards plenty of opportunities. I hope our attack makes the most of the chance. They scored in spades versus FCD, but not in any other MLS match yet. Let's reverse that trend next.

Media mining:
Dynamo recap. The overall summary: "Both teams played smothering defense in what was a well-played match. Each side tried to make opportunities on goal, but it was a struggle for both throughout."

The MLS recap from the KC side.

Another Dynamo summary. "'I think overall we dominated the game,' Caig said."

Quotes from both sides. Curt Onalfo says the Dynamo are "hard to play against. They're very direct. They compete, they make you stay in every single play. I thought our guys did a good job of that. We had some good chances to score and we didn't, and they did as well. Overall I thought it was an evenly played game."

Barrett made his 200th consecutive start last night. He is the ironman.

Kansas City Star's recap. "But there are also times when you settle for hard-earned draws. You can probably count playing against the two-time defending MLS Cup champions on a windy, freezing night as one of them." Here's a factoid: "It was the first scoreless draw for the Wizards since Aug. 9, 2006, when they played New England scoreless at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass."

Taking on the Wiz in Kansas

Tonight, Dynamo-Houston treks to Kansas to face the Wizards. (Game preview.) This'll be the first time we face KC in Kansas, with previous meetings being held at cavernous Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri. We play at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, a minor league baseball park that is home to the unaffiliated Kansas City T-bones. How's that for a team name?

The park should be an intimate affair with fewer than 10,000 spectators, but they will be louder than anything heard at Arrowhead. And the Wizards should be tougher than we remember, given their upgrade with some imported talent. KC historically relied on American talent (Preki being considered American, but that might be a stretch), but this season Curt Onalfo has taken a page from DC's book to create KC's roster. The team had an impressive start to the season, but stumbled in their last game. It will be interesting to see how both teams respond to mid-week disappointments, although Dynamo will be harder pressed given the amount of travel they've done this week and the fact that they're still hamstrung by injuries.

Oh yeah: Caig will be between the posts. Does that mean we're spotting KC 2 goals? Or will Caig man up and show us he's worthy of wearing Orange? I think he can be a success, but I have little proof to back me up thus far. How about starting with stopping the shots that should be stopped and intercepting some crosses?

My mission today: find a sports bar with HDNet and no hesitation to playing soccer on its screens.

The Rookie makes good

Young Geoff Cameron, the rookie Orangeman from the University of Rhode Island,* won the adoration of the Dynamo faithful with his stoppage time equalizer versus FC Dallas last Sunday. Turns out, he also won goal of the week honors with this same strike, his first ever MLS netting.

There were some good goals up for the award, but Cameron's was the justifiable winner for a variety of reasons.
1. It was a high quality, well-struck laser that would have beaten the world's best goalkeepers.
2. It was a difference-maker, giving his team a point and denying their rivals 2 points.
3. It was dramatic, being literally a last minute catharsis for the home crowd.
4. It was a result of solid combination play rather than fluky happenstance or the result of winning a simple footrace with poky defenders.

You know which candidate's strike didn't deserve the award? That's right: Beckham. His was a decent goal, but a pedestrian one without flair or the other surrounding qualities that make a goal meaningful. The only reason his was at the top of the voting was because it was made by Beckham. That's kind of embarrassing, because it suggests that MLS fans can't recognize quality, we just vote for the popular face as if we've never learned from our puerile selections of prom queen and cutest couple in high school.

And, no, just as I'm not one to applaud a deed simply because it was performed by Becks, so also am I not one to decry a feat simply because it was performed by Becks. I merely believe a respectable sports league should provide recognition based on merit, not on popularity. I know that differentiates me from Don Garber, but that's not always a bad thing. Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be if Beckham was talking with his mates over in England and he is forced to sheepishly say "Yeah, basically I paffed the ball into the net, and the boll went frew Cannon's legs. I'm not too proud of it, weally; but, since I won, apparently it waf better than anyfing any Americans in the League could do."

* I'm told that Rhode Island is a county in New England that has been pumped up to statehood status.

Emerging from the Belly of the Beast

Once again, there won't be an MLS team in the CONCACAF Champions final. Dynamo lose to Saprissa 3-0 last night. Saprissa's win is a fair indication of the performance on the field, but the magnitude of the result doesn't quite tell the story. I felt Saprissa played well enough to win, but I think the Dynamo acquitted themselves quite well, especially if you consider how they seemed to be forced to play under the Mark of Cain last night.

The Dynamo were hamstrung from the beginning. They were without four starters, including the vital Pat Onstand, and lost a fifth starter mere minutes into the game when Craig Waibel pulled up lame. They played with a shaky GK and no true centerbacks for the rest of the match.

Still, the Dynamo held its own for a majority of the first half, and did so in one of the most formidable stadia in Central America. They didn't threaten much, mainly due to an inability to connect passes on the slick artificial surface, but they easily absorbed pressure. They should have gone into the half tied, but for a soft goal conceded by the Dynamo near the end of the half. Even then, Carraccio could have even the score at 1 just before half, but his shot went wide and he had no support in the center or right to follow up on the open goal.

The first 15 minutes of the second half were dismal for the Orange. That was the only stretch where they looked like they were overmatched, but even then it took ball watching defense (in our penalty box, no less -- unpardonable!) with Mulrooney leaving his mark and Mullan not picking the mark up to enable Saprissa to score on a blistering shot that Caig had no chance on.

After the 60th minute, the Dynamo cranked it up a notch and played like the team that they are. Ching nearly halved the deficit with a rocket headed towards the right corner, but a brilliant save by the Saprissa keeper, who was woefully out of position mere seconds before as he tried to clear the ball, kept a clean sheet.

As the game approached the 80th minute, Saprissa scored their third and final goal off a fast break counterattack that caught Caig in no man's land. Fast break goals have proven to be a weakness of the Dynamo this season and preseason. They better find a way to overcome this weakness.

Saprissa will now face Pachuca in the final. Pachuca, you'll remember, eliminated the Dynamo from the CONCACAF Champions tourney and the SuperLiga tourney, winning the championship of both in the successive game.

Pachuca got into the final after losing to DC 2-1 last night, but winning the aggregate scoring by 3-2. DC won the moral victory. I'm tired of the MLS winning only moral victories, how about you?

About Caig. The online fan consensus is that Caig is awful. I won't say he's awful, but I will say that he doesn't seem up to a starting GK role. The blame for the loss doesn't rest on his shoulders, but I can see Onstad snagging two of the shots and keeping the game to a 1-point loss. In fact, that's the same ratio as with the FC Dallas game: 1 solid goal conceded due to poor defending, 1 weak shot going in under Caig when he should have easily snagged it, and 1 shot going in because Caig got caught in no man's land. Onstad would have easily got the weak shot and probably wouldn't have been caught in no man's land in both games. Caig had some decent stops, but he also seemed to stay on his line when he should be coming out to punch or catch crosses, and he incorrectly got caught in no man's land there at the end. His poor hands and poor positioning is a suprise, because as one online source says in its pregame assessment "This is a guy that's walked out onto the field at Tynecastle while wearing a Hibs uniform and spent most of the current season watching Gretna implode. Sorry Saprissa, but he's seen worse."

Get well soon, Onstad. We've seen that Kansas City is mortal, and we need you to back us up this weekend.

Media roundup
MLS recap of the Saprissa loss.

The Chronicle recap.

Glenn Davis' player assessment

US Soccer Players says "MLS clubs aren't built for two-leg aggregate goal midweek competitions, with all those qualifiers necessarily in place. It's a depth of squad issue more than anything else. Houston's best available option when forced to make a change early was to sub on an injured player. They join the Revs as already having to start players low on the depth chart three weeks into the season. There's an easy answer...Like any business, if MLS wants to expand opportunities, they need the personnel to cover."

ESPN has a late addition to the fray. Carlisle echoes Davis' comments about the MLS schedule belying the Commissioner's desire for the MLS to do well in international play: "The sight of the Dynamo playing the weekend before Wednesday's match -- on a Sunday afternoon no less -- borders on the ridiculous." Word. Also, the injuries from the FCD thugs and before left the Dynamo with a makeshift side where "The teamwork and cohesiveness that have long been the Dynamo's trademark vanished." Can't argue with that either.

Costa Rica's "Tico Times" weighs in as well, noting the Dynamo's disappointing performance, but also their dominance in the first leg.

And Goal.com posts an article sympathetic to the odds faced by the Dynamo.

Into the Belly of the Beast

So let's get this straight about tonight's match:

1. The Dynamo have had troubles on defense, and the two brightest spots (ERob and Onstad) are out injured. BoBo is out due to yellow card accumulation, so we will have to start our backup centerback and a non-centerback at centerback. And they'll be in front of a new goalkeeper who may be a bit shaky.

2. The midfield has a banged up Mullan who hasn't played a full match in forever, a banged up Davis who is so banged up he can't even start, and then Holden who is so banged up he didn't even make the trip. We'll have the still green Ashe on the left and maybe the rookie Cameron on the right.

3. The forwards haven't gelled yet.

4. Saprissa is the best of Costa Rica. They've won this tourney before. They are so hungry for victory tonight that they rested their players in their league match this past weekend. So they are rested and hungry. And playing at home. And with their best midfielder who missed the first match versus the Dynamo.

5. The venue is Saprissa Stadium near San José, and is renown as an unsettling place for visitors. It has artificial turf, and is far, far removed from the comforts of Robertson...or of the USA for that matter.

No problem. We have Barrett and Waibel in the back, and Mulrooney and Ianni are nothing to sneeze at. Clark will be at his D-Mid position and help snuff out attacks. Mullan will likely start and will instill a lot of energy into the attack, and DeRo will be in his usual spot. Ashe has his speed and Ching has an aerial game that is enhanced by one of Saprissa's weakness. Caraccio is beginning to fit into the system and will feel like he's at home in Argentina when the crowd gets rowdy.

No problem. This is where the stuff of legends is made.

Media Roundup
MLS preview is here.

More MLS coverage.

Preview from The Chronicle. And some more Notes.

Glenn Davis' observations and commentary.

ESPN talks about stacked decks.

Fox Sports (Fox Soccer) is carrying the game tonight, but has no articles or coverage of any kind on their website.

Go Dynamo!

Dallas Drawl

Sunday, Dallas got their first point in Houston. The 3-3 draw came as blessed relief for the Dynamo faithful, because we were looking at no points until the rookie Geoff Cameron hamered home the equalizer in the 90+ minute. Relief aside, the result is actually a poor reflection of how dominant the Dynamo were, except for some overly lax defending and an inability to handle the fast break.

Fact is, Dynamo had solid possession, controlling both the ball and real estate for a majority of the match. FCD relied on a Route 101 philosophy that hoped for some luck on the fast breaks. They got that luck in spades when they took out Onstad and forced our backup keeper, Tony Caig, into an MLS baptism by fire. In retrospect, only one of Caig's goals looked like a complete flub by the keeper, but I'd wager that Onstad would likely have also stopped at least one of the other two goals conceded to Dallas.

I'm pretty disappointed in Dallas' play because I thought with all those South Americans they'd have a strong and creative midfield. In fact, they seemed to by-pass the midfield completely and go straight from defense to blitzkrieg. Maybe it was the heat or maybe it was a desperate road strategy. If they stick with that style of play, it'll be an ugly year for the Frisco crowd.

And the ugly play turned downright criminal with the on-field mugging the Hoops players repeatedly inflicted on the Men In Orange. They took out Onstad and Robinson, who are both tough as nails, and were probably encouraged by the blind eye given by Abbey-O, who continues his tradition of poor and inconsistent officiating. If Dallas knocked Onstad and Robinson out of the Saprissa match this Wednesday, then they are as moronic as they are barbaric, hurting an MLS side's ability to carry the MLS banner internationally.

There was ugly on the Dynamo side as well. The Dynamo defense bears little resemblance to the defense of the 2007 campaign. They're not helping their GK (whoever he may be) very much. They had better find their chemistry quickly in this campaign or the forwards will require superhuman finishing if they wish to offset the GAA. Only 1/15th of the way into the season, they've let in over 1/4th the total number of goals we conceded last year.

Here's what some of the media outlets have to say:
Here's B-Fall's blog in the Chronicle. It has his player grades and links to his game article and game notes. I do disagree in his assessment of the first goal being Caig's fault. While the goal looked ludicrous, Caig was positioned to block the more likely direct shot on goal.

The league's official recap is here.

The US Soccer Players' recap is here. "Gift Houston an own-goal"? Uh, that was no gift. Ching was knocking that ball in whether Moor was there or not, and Moor wouldn't have knocked it in had Ching not struck when and where he did. How about that quote from FC coach Steve Morrow? I think it's great that he continues his blind assessment of his own team's quality: "We're very disappointed. It feels like a loss. I think we should have had the game won by then. We had two or three chances to go up 4-2. We should've finished off the game." Yes, his team managed to score three goals (but were lucky to have two of the three they did get), and yes one or two of his team's misses could have feasibly gone into goal, but those were the exceptions to the Dynamo's dominance. Dallas did not at all carry the play and were more than lucky that the Dynamo did not put away one or two more of their own. Quotes like Morrow's are good news for Dynamo fans: Morrow's continued myopia in terms of his team's failings means he'll be less able to fix the problems. And his reliance on fast breaks will ensure they remain the second best MLS team in Texas.

Having said that, they ARE in a better position to win El Capitan this year than they have been in past years. But, in addition to playing them once in Frisco (Wed, May 28), we get them one more time in Robertson (Thur, June 26). If we can tie them away and beat them in Robertson (reasserting our natural superiority, natch), we'll keep the cannon.

The neutral folks at Soccer by Ives have a less favorable review of Dallas' performance than the biased Steve Morrow does. "FCD shouldn't be in this game much less winning it. They're proving so far they can defend and score against the run of play." "Nice to see Dallas switch to the 9-0-1 formation."

Now we need to switch our gaze from the second best team in Texas to the best team in Costa Rica. It looks like we'll be without ERob (gulp!). Let's pray that we'll have a healthy Onstad, not to mention a magical DeRo and prolific Ching/Caraccio.

Fighting to keep El Capitan - 2008 campaign

Dallas visits Houston today. Dallas has lost every match it has played here in H-town, including 4 regular season matches, a US Open Cup match, and a playoff match where Dallas had a 2-0 aggregate lead. (Game preview.)

It's up the the Men In Orange to keep this streak alive. We need to do this not only to maintain dominance over our fellow Texans, and not only to keep El Capitan, but just to stay with the competition in the Western Conference, where Chivas already has 4 points, Colorado and LA have 3 points, Dallas and RSL have 1 point, and San Jose and Houston have the big ol' goose egg.

Time for a pointless question: If we have to choose between winning here versus Dallas and winning Wednesday versus Saprissa, which do you choose? Logic says Wednesday, because that's a win or go home affair, whereas we'd have other opportunities to overcome an early loss in league play -- even though it would be two losses in a row. Wednesday would be the logical response, but the emotional response would be hard pressed to accept a loss to Dallas. Good thing we don't have to choose. Let's go with winning both, deal?

Here's a preview from Fox Sports, and it's always best to start with the Chronicle.

Go DYNAMO!

A Draw with the Purple Monster

Last night the Dynamo played one of their most stylish, dominating games ever. They maintained possession and did so not just around the halfway line, but in the attacking half of the field for a vast majority of the game. They revived their Dominating Defense (© Dynamo). They displayed creative back-heels and passing combinations.

What didn't they do? Well, yeah. There's that scoring thing. They didn't do that, and it's probably going to come back to haunt them.

In the CONCACAF Champions Cup, a tie at home is like a loss. Saprissa left the field very happy (did you see their faces tonight?) and have only to score a goal at home to seal the deal to the final, and they proved against Atlante FC that they can score a goal and keep their opponent from doing the same.

So now we need to win the game in Saprissa. If we play like we did last night, we can definitely win. The problem is, we need Saprissa to play like they did last night, and they won't. They'll be more aggressive, more confident, and hungrier.

One might wonder "If we can't score a single goal at home when we're dominating possession, how can we score on the road when we're essentially chasing the game and on our heels." That's a relevant question, and it begs some follow up questions like "Will we get a solid shot on frame this season?" and "Can we cross the ball to the area beyond the goal keeper's reach?" and "Can DeRo keep his shots within the troposphere?"

As irritating as the result is, we should keep in mind that the Dynamo played well. They struggled in the attacking third, sure; unfortunately, they did that for long periods last year and the year before, and we knew the new striker corps would take some time to gel this season. Like all teams, we go through slumps, and this slump just happens to be early in the season. Unfortunately, it coincides with the CONCACAF competition.

Nevertheless, the team has quality and, best of all, it has a strong work ethic. It will strive to improve and, in the meantime, will fight its way through any slump until the good ju-ju returns.

In fact, this team works better when the chips are down. If they're playing a team with 10 players and an immature defense (e.g. Toronto in 2007), they can't score. If they're up by 2 goals in the semifinals of a major tournament (e.g. at Pachuca in 2007), they can't hold on. But if they're down a goal in a win-or-go-home scenario (e.g. MLS Cup Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Final circa 2006, Puntarenas FC in CONCACAF Champions Cup 2007, and MLS Cup Quarterfinals and Finals of 2007) the Men In Orange thrive and come out on top. It may be that the best result last night is the one that happened: a draw. Now they're going to be counted out and dismissed as being only 90 minutes away from being more MLS roadkill on the international soccer highway.

History proves that this is when the Dynamo shine.

And next we meet our Costa Rican friends, we just may have an even better midfield if Holden and maybe even Davis and Mullan are able to play. Maybe by then Caraccio, who showed exciting glimpses last night, will have gelled better with Ching and DeRo and be able to work better with both. Eventually, I hope the three will become greater in tandem than even the sum of their already impressive individual skills. (I also hope that Chris Wondo rises to the opportunity that has been given to him; he has talent.)

Maybe the Dynamo will play in San Jose, Costa Rica, like they used to play in San Jose, California.

And maybe they'll even get a shot on frame.

But first, let's dispatch FC Dallas that the MLS has so conveniently placed between our two draining fixtures versus Saprissa. Sayeth Pope Don Garber I, "We hope you represent us well in CONCACAF. Now here are 4 games in a week and a half to prevent you from being rested and injury free."

Hosting the Purple Monster

Tonight, Robertson hosts Deportivo Saprissa, the most storied team in Costa Rica, in the first leg of the semifinal round of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Nothing short of a win tonight, an preferably by multiple goals, will be considered a success for the Dynamo. By all accounts, getting a win in San Jose is very difficult.

The Chronicle has its pre-match article from B-Fall. Bad news: we'll be missing three key midfielders due to injury: Brad Davis (groin), Brian Mullan (knee) and Stuart Holden (ankle). Good news: Ricardo Clark can play. I guess we'll also have Mulrooney on the right and Ashe on the left. Hopefully Waibel can play right back. Wondolowski will probably start with Ching, with Boswell next to ERob in the middle of the defense. Ching, DeRo, Clark, and Barrett will be in their usual positions, I'd wager. Dom doesn't tinker much when things are going well. (But ARE things going well is the question.)

The article mentions how the MLS really wants Dynamo-Houston (and DC, who played Pachuca last night) to succeed in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. ORLY? Says Glenn Davis. He writes in his blog that if the MLS truly is interested in seeing its teams succeed in these competitions, it wouldn't make the teams play on 3 days rest.

B-Fall has some great pre-game notes. Check out his link to DeRo's twin!

MLS has its pre-game article. And a Saprissa scouting report.

Alright, Dynamo, it's time to put the opening day malaise behind us and show the nation (and Costa Rica) that we are the class of the MLS and the region.