MLS Crashes Out of CONCACAF Champions Cup

By: Laurie | April 11th, 2008

I have started to write this post about six times and I keep X-ing out without finishing. It’s just too depressing.

Wednesday morning, MLS had two teams with Champions Cup hopes.

By Wednesday night? Zero.

DC United won the battle against Pachuca on Wednesday but lost the war, taking the final game 2-1 but going out 3-2 on aggregate. Houston, playing against the Costa Rican side Saprissa, did not have as good a night, losing the game 0-3, which was also the aggregate score.

What this means is that MLS last won the Champions Cup in 2000. That was also the last time they even made the finals.

So much for slow and steady progress.

The good news is that both MLS teams made it through the first round. The bad news? The semis are apparently where MLS dreams go to die.

At least DC played relatively well, and even scored two goals in the last minutes of the game. Houston, though, was hampered by injuries and couldn’t even manage one goal. In either game.

So what’s the answer for MLS? Jeff Carlisle at ESPN Soccernet has a few thoughts on what’s not working:

Many have pointed to the minuscule salary cap of approximately $2.3 million as a major impediment, especially given the much deeper pockets of Mexican clubs. This does indeed put MLS teams at a disadvantage, but with the collective bargaining agreement not due to expire until the end of 2009, there is little that will change in the short term. And there is no guarantee that once a new CBA is ratified that the cap will increase enough to make MLS clubs more competitive in international tournaments.

That means it will be up to the clubs to recruit and develop better players, with progress measured in baby steps. The greater reliance on foreign performers and the increased emphasis on international competition has accelerated this process a bit, but it will only go so far as long as the current fiscal constraints remain in place.

He also points out that the timing isn’t great for MLS, with the competition taking place early in the MLS season, before the teams have had a chance to connect. In the new format, MLS will be helped a bit in the early going, when the group stage will take place in late summer. But when it comes to the knockout stages, we’re looking at the same later winter/early spring schedule.

For MLS fans looking for a tiny ray of hope, Pat Walsh at Goal.com has some positive reflections on the games. His conclusion? On another day, given different injury situations, and with a little bit of luck, we could have prevailed.

Or in other words?

There’s always next year.