It’s rivalry week in MLS, meaning that nearly every game this weekend pairs off some of the biggest rivals against each other. In Texas, this means a meeting of the Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas.
In advance of settling things on the field, the two sides have traded video barbs, with the Dynamo supplying the latest effort, a response to FCD’s video we posted earlier in the week.
This is how you trash talk. You don’t get emotional, or out of character; you get creative. You get subtle. You … make a fake infomercial about ‘Crushing the Orange’ a few days in advance of your match against the Houston Dynamo.
That’s precisely what FC Dallas did, and I absolutely love it. Stephen Keel and George John were dead on here as infomercial actors. They managed to be funny while getting their point across: they plan on crushing the orange.
Your move, Dynamo.
Just so you know, I’m all in on Football Manager these days. Not only can the program help you land your dream job, but it can also predict the future – kind of.
Football Manager’s most recent project was to simulate the upcoming MLS Cup between the LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo. By quantifying all the player and tactical variables (nerd jargon, stay cool and keep reading) the program ran results of 10 matchups. And if this thing knows what it’s talking about, and it usually does, it looks as though we’re in for a close contest. Here are the results:
Digging a little deeper we found that the matches went into overtime 50 percent of the time and went to PKs 40 percent of the time.
The only thing Football Manager could not simulate was David Beckham showing up to his final MLS match LIKE THIS then delivering a rousing speech and handing each of his teammates their own pair of H&M underwear. We’re afraid technology just isn’t yet equipped to measure Beckhamness.
Apparently, last season when the LA Galaxy hosted Houston Dynamo for the MLS Cup in its own backyard, someone yelled out: Hey, same time next year?
And so here we are: the MLS Cup turning into a private holiday party hosted by the Galaxy, featuring the Dynamo.
The matchup is sexy, so there’s no complaint there, but the format is flawed. Remind me again why the Galaxy get to host the league title match for the second year in a row? Everyone’s just OK with this?
It’s pretty much unprecedented in a winner-take-all professional championship match that one team regularly gets to treat the game like a regular season home game. That’s taking the term “home-field advantage” a little too far if you ask me.
But, hey, what the glamor team wants, it gets.
Dynamo Eastern Conference highlights after the jump.
The U.S. U20 MNT wrapped up their training camp with a 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo Development Academy squad this past weekend.
Check out the highlights, which include a pair of goals from Villyan Bijev.
MLS is set to get a new stadium this week, as BBVA Compass Stadium opens in Houston.
Before the Houston Dynamo welcome D.C. United in MLS play on May 12 however, the U.S. U17 Men’s National Team gets the chance to open it up when they play the Houston Dynamo Academy on Thursday, May 10.
Take a look at the stadium in the video above to see just what lies in store for the U17 MNT.
At this point you probably already know more than you need to about the U.S. Men’s U23 team. But what you probably didn’t know is that Andrew Luck is driving the U.S. Soccer bandwagon. Check out the picture (above) of him rocking the Team USA shirt during his NFL Pro Day.
A little history on Luck’s affinity for futbol: His dad Oliver was named president of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo in 2005. So his support makes sense. I’m digging it, and I’m also encouraged by the enthusiasm and confidence from the U23 squad. Peep the tweets below:
Game day! Connect with you guys after the game. #USMNT #ADUit
— Freddy Adu (@FreddyAdu) March 22, 2012
Road to London officially starts tomorrow …. #GodIsGreat
— Amobi Okugo (@amobisays) March 22, 2012
Blood starts pumping now. I know they want it just as bad. USA vs Cuba tonight…
— Mix Morningstar (@MixDiskerud) March 22, 2012
“@Bigdsoccer: Make your plans to join me @madtavern on Thursday to watch @brekshea run circles around Cuba in Olympic qualifying.” chyeeaaaa
— Brek Shea (@BrekShea) March 20, 2012
Who doesn’t love a good transfer saga?
While commonplace in Europe, they don’t seem to happen too often in MLS. But this offseason, fans were treated to the tale of Brian Ching (there’s a “CHING! CHING!” Joke here somewhere, but I can’t find it … moving on.)
The longtime Dynamo favorite was left unprotected in the expansion draft last November, as head coach Dom Kinnear took a calculated risk, dangling him there for the Impact to grab. While Ching stated before the draft itself he’d retire before playing for the Impact, Montreal coach Jesse Marsch picked him anyway.
After some fiery words from both parties – and Montreal trying to trade Ching back for a king’s ransom – the back-and-forth between the two teams cooled off. Ching was
dealt to Houston on Thursday for a conditional draft pick in 2013.
So who comes off worse here? Houston, by leaving one of its veterans unprotected, didn’t look great. Montreal now has one less player with MLS experience to rely on in 2012, and Ching himself reportedly trimmed his salary to remain in Orange. If you’re the Impact, perhaps drafting Ching in the first place was a mistake.
But if that had been the case, where else would MLS fans have found their offseason drama?
The 2011 MLS Cup Final will be the sixteenth edition of the MLS Cup championship match held in the United States and Canada. Back on May 10, 2011, the league announced that for a record fourth time in league history, the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA, will once again play host. The match is this Sunday at 9 pm EST, and will be televised on ESPN.
Talk about a home field advantage, how funny would it be if the Galaxy were slated as the away team, and had to use the visitors locker room?
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