The New York Red Bulls took what their fans hope is the first step towards Toronto and the MLS Cup beating the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 in the first match of Major League Soccer’s home-and-away Eastern Conference semifinal.
Estonian midfielder Joel Lindpere goal in the 55th minute was the difference between the two sides. San Jose failed to clear a cross from Juan Pablo Angel. The ball fell to the feet of Lindpere, who carefully placed a low shot to the far post and beat goalkeeper Jon Busch.
The 2010 UEFA Champions League Winners Inter Milan will be touring the U.S. again this summer. Details are coming out in dribs and drabs but at the moment Inter has two games scheduled.
Inter will kick off their pre-season with a game against the Premier League’s Manchester City in Baltimore on July 31st. Last summer’s friendly between AC Milan and Chelsea at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore was held in front of a sold-out crowd of 71,000 and I expect this game to sell out also.
Dallas and D.C. are the only two teams left in the MLS without a win and now we’re left to wonder if we should just let the vultures start picking at them this early in the season.
Dallas. Dallas. Dallas. Last season I praised you for an attacking style that erupted into a 6 goal effort one weekend. You pushed hard but couldn’t make it stick. I even said “You should keep attacking because it’s working”. What have done since then? You’ve gone and hid in your shell.
Today I’m reading an article at MLSnet.com about Dallas committing to what the writer called “attacking” soccer. I like to call it “Soccer at warp speed”.
Let me give you some background. Soccer was the only sport I played as a kid and I played like a lunatic. We ran hard, we kicked hard, we tackled hard (I even once broke a kid’s leg slide tackling him. It was probably just bad luck our parts, but I wasn’t messing around and neither were my teammates.)
The odds on FC Dallas sneaking into the MLS playoffs got longer today with the news that they have agreed to sell Kenny Cooper to Bundesliga team TSV 1860 Munich. As per MLS policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cooper, 24, has spent three seasons with FC Dallas, racking up an impressive 40 goals in 90 appearances, which is good for the team’s all-time top spot. He was also voted the team’s MVP for 2008.
FC Dallas, to me, will always be the Dallas Burn. That’s why I refer to them often on this site as the Former Burn, though that sounds like the remnants of some sort of painful rash. The team has played like its infected with disease for most of its existence though, and it only has one major trophy (the 1997 US Open Cup) and has never reached the MLS Cup Final.
Dallas has been one of the more financially strapped clubs over the years, and maybe that is why they have never been able to procure the talent needed to finally compete for major titles. Their initial lease with the Cotton Bowl was so punitive that they ended up playing at a public high school stadium where no alcohol could be served.
The FC Dallas 2012 schedule has been released and we have tickets to every big Dallas match, both home and away this season. You can also buy your FC Dallas tickets directly from your iPhone or Android phones with our new ticket app.
FC Dallas 2012 Schedule
March 11 New York Red Bulls – Buy FC Dallas Tickets
March 17 Portland Timbers - Buy FC Dallas Tickets
March 25 at Sporting Kansas City - Buy FC Dallas Tickets
March 30 at DC United - Buy FC Dallas Tickets
April 5 NE Revolution - Buy FC Dallas Tickets
April 14 Montreal Impact - Buy FC Dallas Tickets
April 21 at Vancouver Whitecaps - Buy FC Dallas Tickets
April 25 Real Salt Lake - Buy FC Dallas Tickets
April 28 at LA Galaxy - Buy FC Dallas Tickets
Recap: Dallas was a mediocre team in 2008. They were just good enough to force draws (a league leading 12), but not good enough to win games (a last in the league 8). Overall, it was a disappointing season and they failed to make the playoffs because they could not play consistent soccer. They get a C for 2008.
Offense: Dallas got its offense cranking as the season went on and it ended the year tied for third in goals in the league with the Dynamo. Cooper played very well, and his emergence was a huge part of their offensive turnaround. Cunningham also looked good late in the year. Overall, Dallas did well offensively, so they get a B.
Dallas is currently tied for the last spot in the playoffs. Well, not really…
Even though both Dallas and Colorado have 34 points (and Dallas has a huge goal differential lead), they were 0-2-1 against the Rapids this year, so they’ll lose the tiebreaker even if they finish neck & neck in points.
They need to win outright. It could happen.
They finish the year with Toronto, Salt Lake and L.A., none of which are in the MLS elite. But, two of those games are away, which has been bad news for them this year (3-5-5).
Then again, they have been finishing very strong. No losses in five straight results.
Forbes.com recently released a report that looked at the economic side of MLS and also put a value on each of the Major League Soccer franchises.
At a macro level, things are looking up for MLS. Seven of the league’s 14 teams play in soccer-specific stadiums, five of which have been built since 2002. Expansion franchises in Seattle and Philadelphia recently agreed to pay $30 million each to join the league, three times what Toronto FC paid to join MLS three years ago. Commissioner Don Garber says the next two expansion teams, to be announced in 2009, will cost $40 million. Some team owners are even floating a $50 million price tag.
