The second annual Superliga kicked off last weekend with the top four teams from last season’s MLS campaign taking a break from domestic action to face Mexican opposition. Clashes between US and Mexican sides often produce passionate battles characterised by flair versus physicality. From the opening night it was clear that the intensity of this tournament has already stepped up from its inaugural year.
With the start of the Mexican season still a fortnight away, the timing of Superliga presents MLS teams with a glorious opportunity to prevail against their southern neighbours. Whereas the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup sees MLS clubs still in pre-season, Superliga is scheduled when the Mexicans are still in warm-up mode. The playing field is levelled by the wealth of talent at their disposal compared to the salary-capped rosters of MLS.
Pachuca, Mexico’s oldest team, claimed last year’s trophy after edging Houston Dynamo and L.A. Galaxy on penalties. The Tuzos have enjoyed remarkable success since being promoted to Mexico’s top flight in 1998 with five Championships, three CONCACAF Champions’ Cups and a Copa Sudamerica added to their burgeoning collection. They began their defence back at Home Depot Center, the site of last year’s final, against Chivas USA in Group B.
Any signs of rustiness from the visitors quickly subsided after a turbulent opening period. Claudio Suarez missed an early penalty for Chivas before Ante Razov gave them a 16th minute lead. Suarez’ night worsened as his own goal levelled the scores before Gabriel Caballero gave Pachuca a 2-1 lead shortly before the interval. It was an advantage they would not relinquish.
New England Revolution, currently sitting top of MLS, brushed aside Santos 1-0 in their opening match in Foxborough. The Revs gained a numerical advantage on 40 minutes when Juan Pablo Rodriguez was dismissed for felling Gambian teenager Sainey Nyassi with an elbow. Nyassi has been in scintillating form on the right side of New England’s midfield this season. He provided the cross for Zimbabwean striker Kheli Dube to score the game’s only goal on 70 minutes.
New Mexico manager Sven Goran Eriksson was present to evaluate some of his potential players and he remained in the Boston area for New England’s midweek meeting with Pachuca. No doubt if Steve McClaren, his successor in the role of failed England manager, had recently been hired by El Tri, he would have chosen the sunnier climes of Southern California and the chance to hang out with Becks.
The Revs triumphed by a single goal again which owed much to the incompetence of officiating in the CONCACAF region. Five minutes of injury time had elapsed when Nyassi drove his cross into the midsection of Pachuca defender Julio Manzur. The ball accidentally struck Manzur’s arm as he shielded his body but referee Walter Quesada saw fit to award the softest of penalties. Khano Smith remained calm and stroked home the spot kick to clinch a fortuitous win.
Group A opened with a pulsating encounter at RFK Stadium between D.C. United and C.D. Guadalajara. The visitors, better known as the original Chivas, have won more Mexican championships than anyone else, have never suffered relegation and are renowned for their policy of fielding only Mexican nationals. Their popularity among the Hispanic community north of the border led to the formation of sister club Chivas USA in 2004.
D.C. United are in the process of making their own history. The most successful franchise in MLS contain their fair share of talented individuals with Brazilian striker Luciano Emilio benefiting from the wily creativity of Jaime Moreno. Despite missing the experienced Argentine international Marcelo Gallardo, D.C. produced an impressive display and were unfortunate not to claim a point in a narrow 2-1 loss.
Trailing to goals from Omar Arellano and Gonzalo Pineda, D.C. fought back with a wonderful individual effort by Emilio on 72 minutes. The Brazilian was hauled down in the penalty area minutes later to present Moreno with a chance to convert his 21st consecutive penalty. The law of averages finally caught up with the little Bolivian as Luis Michel produced an excellent save to secure victory for his team. It was Moreno’s first miss in over four years.
Houston Dynamo turned in the most impressive display from the opening round, scoring four unanswered goals to easily see off Atlante. The men in orange led 3-0 within 29 minutes after Dwayne De Rosario’s close range header and a brace from midfielder Stuart Holden. Brian Mullan’s second half strike completed the procession.
Most orange marches taking place on the 12th of July involve some form of scuffling and this was no different. A momentarily lapse in discipline by De Rosario shortly before half-time saw the Canadian playmaker react to growing provocation. The Canadian playmaker was dismissed along with Javier Mustafa after a bout of mild jostling.
De Rosario’s suspension was compounded by injuries to Holden and US international duo Brian Ching and Eddie Robinson for the visit of Chivas three days later. Nonetheless, head coach Dominic Kinnear’s makeshift line-up more than held their own in a gripping contest watched by nearly 29,000 fans at Robertson Stadium. The large Latino community in Houston guaranteed a raucous following for the visitors with those wearing the famed red and white stripes at least matching those dressed in orange.
After a scoreless first half, Houston created a number of opportunities early in the second period that were thwarted by Michel in the Chivas goal. Having survived two attempts cleared from their goal-line, Chivas took an unexpected lead on 71 minutes after a Brad Davis tackle inadvertently sent Arellano clear on Pat Onstad’s goal. The baby-faced striker, on one of the rare occasions he managed to remain upright, beat the goalkeeper at his exposed near post to score the game’s only goal.
Second defeats for D.C. United and Santos leave their semi-final hopes looking precarious, but with no team assured of qualification or elimination going into the final round this weekend’s action is sure to provide further excitement.
Superliga Results and Standings (after two matches)
Group A
D.C. United 1 Chivas 2
Houston 4 Atlante 0
D.C. United 2 Atlante 3 (Shock win for visitors sealed by magnificent Bermudez strike)
Houston 0 Chivas 1
After two rounds:
1) Chivas – 6 points, 2) Houston – 3 pts, 3) Atlante – 3 pts, 4) D.C. United – 0 pts
Group B
New England 1 Santos 0
Chivas USA 1 Pachuca 2
New England 1 Pachuca 0
Chivas USA 1 Santos 0 (In-form Razov scores for fifth consecutive game)
After two rounds:
1) New England – 6 points, 2) Pachuca – 3 pts, 3) Chivas USA – 3 pts, 4) Santos – 0 pts
With the start of the Mexican season still a fortnight away, the timing of Superliga presents MLS teams with a glorious opportunity to prevail against their southern neighbours. Whereas the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup sees MLS clubs still in pre-season, Superliga is scheduled when the Mexicans are still in warm-up mode. The playing field is levelled by the wealth of talent at their disposal compared to the salary-capped rosters of MLS.
Pachuca, Mexico’s oldest team, claimed last year’s trophy after edging Houston Dynamo and L.A. Galaxy on penalties. The Tuzos have enjoyed remarkable success since being promoted to Mexico’s top flight in 1998 with five Championships, three CONCACAF Champions’ Cups and a Copa Sudamerica added to their burgeoning collection. They began their defence back at Home Depot Center, the site of last year’s final, against Chivas USA in Group B.
Any signs of rustiness from the visitors quickly subsided after a turbulent opening period. Claudio Suarez missed an early penalty for Chivas before Ante Razov gave them a 16th minute lead. Suarez’ night worsened as his own goal levelled the scores before Gabriel Caballero gave Pachuca a 2-1 lead shortly before the interval. It was an advantage they would not relinquish.
New England Revolution, currently sitting top of MLS, brushed aside Santos 1-0 in their opening match in Foxborough. The Revs gained a numerical advantage on 40 minutes when Juan Pablo Rodriguez was dismissed for felling Gambian teenager Sainey Nyassi with an elbow. Nyassi has been in scintillating form on the right side of New England’s midfield this season. He provided the cross for Zimbabwean striker Kheli Dube to score the game’s only goal on 70 minutes.
New Mexico manager Sven Goran Eriksson was present to evaluate some of his potential players and he remained in the Boston area for New England’s midweek meeting with Pachuca. No doubt if Steve McClaren, his successor in the role of failed England manager, had recently been hired by El Tri, he would have chosen the sunnier climes of Southern California and the chance to hang out with Becks.
The Revs triumphed by a single goal again which owed much to the incompetence of officiating in the CONCACAF region. Five minutes of injury time had elapsed when Nyassi drove his cross into the midsection of Pachuca defender Julio Manzur. The ball accidentally struck Manzur’s arm as he shielded his body but referee Walter Quesada saw fit to award the softest of penalties. Khano Smith remained calm and stroked home the spot kick to clinch a fortuitous win.
Group A opened with a pulsating encounter at RFK Stadium between D.C. United and C.D. Guadalajara. The visitors, better known as the original Chivas, have won more Mexican championships than anyone else, have never suffered relegation and are renowned for their policy of fielding only Mexican nationals. Their popularity among the Hispanic community north of the border led to the formation of sister club Chivas USA in 2004.
D.C. United are in the process of making their own history. The most successful franchise in MLS contain their fair share of talented individuals with Brazilian striker Luciano Emilio benefiting from the wily creativity of Jaime Moreno. Despite missing the experienced Argentine international Marcelo Gallardo, D.C. produced an impressive display and were unfortunate not to claim a point in a narrow 2-1 loss.
Trailing to goals from Omar Arellano and Gonzalo Pineda, D.C. fought back with a wonderful individual effort by Emilio on 72 minutes. The Brazilian was hauled down in the penalty area minutes later to present Moreno with a chance to convert his 21st consecutive penalty. The law of averages finally caught up with the little Bolivian as Luis Michel produced an excellent save to secure victory for his team. It was Moreno’s first miss in over four years.
Houston Dynamo turned in the most impressive display from the opening round, scoring four unanswered goals to easily see off Atlante. The men in orange led 3-0 within 29 minutes after Dwayne De Rosario’s close range header and a brace from midfielder Stuart Holden. Brian Mullan’s second half strike completed the procession.
Most orange marches taking place on the 12th of July involve some form of scuffling and this was no different. A momentarily lapse in discipline by De Rosario shortly before half-time saw the Canadian playmaker react to growing provocation. The Canadian playmaker was dismissed along with Javier Mustafa after a bout of mild jostling.
De Rosario’s suspension was compounded by injuries to Holden and US international duo Brian Ching and Eddie Robinson for the visit of Chivas three days later. Nonetheless, head coach Dominic Kinnear’s makeshift line-up more than held their own in a gripping contest watched by nearly 29,000 fans at Robertson Stadium. The large Latino community in Houston guaranteed a raucous following for the visitors with those wearing the famed red and white stripes at least matching those dressed in orange.
After a scoreless first half, Houston created a number of opportunities early in the second period that were thwarted by Michel in the Chivas goal. Having survived two attempts cleared from their goal-line, Chivas took an unexpected lead on 71 minutes after a Brad Davis tackle inadvertently sent Arellano clear on Pat Onstad’s goal. The baby-faced striker, on one of the rare occasions he managed to remain upright, beat the goalkeeper at his exposed near post to score the game’s only goal.
Second defeats for D.C. United and Santos leave their semi-final hopes looking precarious, but with no team assured of qualification or elimination going into the final round this weekend’s action is sure to provide further excitement.
Superliga Results and Standings (after two matches)
Group A
D.C. United 1 Chivas 2
Houston 4 Atlante 0
D.C. United 2 Atlante 3 (Shock win for visitors sealed by magnificent Bermudez strike)
Houston 0 Chivas 1
After two rounds:
1) Chivas – 6 points, 2) Houston – 3 pts, 3) Atlante – 3 pts, 4) D.C. United – 0 pts
Group B
New England 1 Santos 0
Chivas USA 1 Pachuca 2
New England 1 Pachuca 0
Chivas USA 1 Santos 0 (In-form Razov scores for fifth consecutive game)
After two rounds:
1) New England – 6 points, 2) Pachuca – 3 pts, 3) Chivas USA – 3 pts, 4) Santos – 0 pts
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