MLS Conference Finals Review: And Then There Were Two

By: Daryl | November 11th, 2007

Taylor Twellman Matt Reis Busy week in MLS. Bruce Arena got canned (apparently it was the only way to separate him from Claudio Reyna) while on the other coast Frank Yallop took a very wise sidestep to San Jose, with Ruud Gullit coming in to replace him. Not sure what Ruud brings to LA except for a questionable track record and a limited knowledge of how MLS works, but good luck to him anyway. Official word was that MLS will announce Seattle as the 2009 expansion team, news which basically announces Seattle as the 2009 expansion team. There was also some actual soccer played, with Eastern and Western Conference finals being fought out.

New England Revolution 1-0 Chicago Fire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElPVma-Wyd0

Say what you like about MLS, but it surely has more bicycle kick goals per game than any other league on the planet (unless these guys have a league.) Taylor Twellman won this game for New England with a beauty of a bike, somehow getting his shot away from between two Fire defenders without kicking either of them in the face. Great composure and a goal good enough to send the Revs to the MLS Cup Final backed up by some solid defensive work from Michael Parkurst (who could soon be biking it across the Atlantic) and Jay Heaps.

Chicago must take some comfort from making it this far after the start they had to the season. But we’ve definitely found Cuauhtémoc Blanco’s Achilles heel, and it’s cold weather. Even with extra layers underneath his red jersey, Blanco looked like he was about to freeze to death in New England. He was always looking for the ball and he’s been involved in much bigger occasions, but he looked genuinely surprised to see his own breath and failed to impose himself in an effective way. The other problem was that Blanco’s love of the direct through ball wasn’t suited to the type of smart, compact defence New England were playing, so Chicago were either giving up possession easily or forced into optimistic long shots.

Houston Dynamo 2-0 Kansas City Wizards
It was depressing to see such an important game of soccer fought out on gridiron, with the word “Cougars” emblazoned across the penalty area. But still good work from Houston Dynamo, who can now claim to be the most successful MLS franchise ever, on a seasons played to MLS Cup Finals reached ratio. They got there via Nate Jaqua and Dwayne De Rosario. Jaqua delivered a thumping header to put Dynamo up, and an equally thumping forearm to the Jack Jewsbury’s face to put the Wizards man down. Double J eventually got up, but it looked bad for a while there. De Rosario delivered the killer blow (to Kansas, not Jewsbury) with a classy near post finish late in the game.

Wizards never really looked like getting any further than this. Which probably won’t upset too many MLS neutrals who are getting understandably frustrated with KC as a franchise. Jimmy Conrad was his usual self but Eddie Johnson didn’t do anything to really impress visiting Premiership scouts. I’m a big fan of EJ but genuinely worry that while he feels too much like a big fish in a smallish pond in MLS he doesn’t quite have enough fire in his belly to make the step up and be a regular size fish in the Premiership ocean. Let’s not take that metaphor any further, but basically he’s never consistently scored in MLS the way a less talented or physically gifted but more aggressive player like Taylor Twellman has.

New England Revolution vs Houston Dynamo
RFK Stadium, Washington DC
Sunday, November 18th 2007, 12pm, ABC
I’m pretty excited about this as a final. First of all there’s a good narrative to it. The repeat of last year’s final (where Twellman and Ching traded goals in extra time before Houston won 4-3 on penalties) makes it interesting, with old rivalries being renewed. New England’s recent always-the-bridesmaid history makes good copy too as it’s interesting to New England fans for obvious reasons, but also to regular MLS fans, to the Eurosnobs who deign to lower themselves by glancing at MLS Cup Final and maybe even to the clueless couch potatoes who will get accidentally exposed to soccer next weekend. My NFL knowledge is almost non-existent, but even I’ve heard of the Buffalo Bills.

Secondly, the repeat final suggests the playoffs aren’t as random as we think. Maybe some teams are just better equipped to build momentum at the right time and handle the playoffs, and this is two of those teams.

Finally, for all the hype and hooplah about Beckham, Blanco, Angel and all the other Designated Players we have a final without any of them. Just two well run teams with good spirit and quality coaches, proof that whatever else happens around the league and within the clubs, those are always the things that win championships.