The Start of the SuperLiga

By: Bob | July 24th, 2007

Traditions have to begin somewhere. Tuesday night marks the opening of the newly created SuperLiga tournament. Featuring four teams from MLS and four teams from the Mexican Premier Division, the competition is an interesting experiment. The winning team will get a million bucks in addition to a newly minted trophy that would look really good as a hood ornament on a pimped out car.

I think the timing of this tournament is nearly perfect. As MLS continues to grow and as its teams improve in quality, they should be more than capable of competing with clubs from Mexico. The league is also actively trying to win over Mexican soccer fans. Given the rivalry that exists between the United States and Mexican national teams, and the large crowds that Mexican teams are able to draw in the United States, it is only natural for MLS to try to tap into it. It is also natural for Mexican clubs to want to build their fan bases within the United States.

The only drawback I see to the set up is when the tournament is held. The Mexican teams have been on a long summer break and are only now gearing up for their season. MLS teams are in the middle of their season and their players should have better game fitness. Will the Mexican clubs treat the tournament like a preseason exhibition? Will the MLS teams protect some of their players for their own seasons? Those are the million dollar questions, as in will a million dollars make this thing competitive.

We should get an indication of how things will play out Tuesday evening with the LA Galaxy taking on Pachuca and FC Dallas hosting Chivas. Brush up on your Spanish because it is being shown on Telefutura.

Group A
Chivas de Guadalajara
L.A. Galaxy
FC Dallas
CF Pachuca

Group B
Club América
D.C. United
Houston Dynamo
Monarcas Morelia

SUPERLIGA TV SCHEDULE
On TeleFutura
(all times ET)

TUESDAY
SuperLiga DALLAS-GUADALAJARA (live) 9 pm.
SuperLiga LOS ANGELES-PACHUCA (live) 11 pm.

WEDNESDAY
SuperLiga D.C. UNITED-MORELIA (live) 8 pm.
SuperLiga HOUSTON-CLUB AMERICA (live) 10 pm.

SATURDAY
SuperLiga DALLAS-PACHUCA (live) 8 pm.
SuperLiga LOS ANGELES-GUADALAJARA (live) 10 pm.

SUNDAY
SuperLiga D.C. UNITED-CLUB AMERICA (live) 8 pm.
SuperLiga HOUSTON-MORELIA (live) 10 pm.

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Category: MLS, Mexico, World Football

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James

As a fanatic of mexican football I'd like to apologize for the horrible performances from certain teams.

Also.. I think they just tossed mexican teams in a hat and chose them like that. Seriously how the #$%@ can Morelia take part? Tigres, Toluca, or Cruz Azul should've taken part, those are the teams to beat!

Pachuca, America, and Chivas are strong teams but they don't take the MLS teams seriously and that makes them lose.
boca juniors!!!

hey thanks lucas
Lucas

@boca juniors - This being the inaugural SuperLiga, the spots were all filled by invite (though last season DC did win the MLS Supporters' Shield, Houston the MLS Cup, and Pachuca the 2007 Clausura). According to MLS, "The four MLS teams with the best regular season records in 2007 will qualify for SuperLiga 2008."

No word yet on how the FMF will select their teams, but it's worth mentioning that Monarcas finished 4th in group and 10th in league in the 2007 Clausura.
boca juniors!!!

can anyone tell me why la and dc are playing in this? i can see why houston and dallas are because they are on the top of the standings. maybe there is a fan based reason for them playing. and univision usually plays the same games as telefutura usually
Clint

No me gusta. You're tellin me I can't hear Tommy boy call these games? How on earth will I enjoy a goal call without the words "ol'" and "onion" in it?
Lucas

I'm very excited about SuperLiga, I just wish it were being shown on a channel my cable company offers. Any idea if the Univision website will be showing it, like they did for Copa America games?