This week’s edition of What’s Going On takes us to the Superliga. For those of you who don’t follow North American soccer, the Superliga is a competition between top clubs from the Mexican Primera Division and the American/Canadian Major League Soccer. Even though this tournament officially died to me when D.C. United was eliminated, I’ll give it some keystrokes.
Theoretically, the Superliga should provide a little American revenge for the CONCACAF Champions Cup (soon to be Champions League). The reason for this is that the Champions Cup (and soon, the knockout stages of the Champions League) take place during the MLS pre-season, so while the Mexican clubs are in top form, the MLS clubs are in pre-season form. This situation is reversed in the Superliga and the MLS clubs participate in this tournament in mid-season form.
This didn’t hold true last year’s premier edition of the Superliga. Pachuca, winners of the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2007 and 2008, maintained its dominance over its northern counterparts by winning the premier Superliga trophy, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy in the final, thanks in part to Landon Donovan’s failure to finish a penalty kick that would have won the match for L.A. This year, however, the MLS clubs have played well and the Superliga finals is an all-American affair as the participants in the past two MLS Cups face off in the final. The Houston Dynamo have been victorious in both of its finals matchups with the New England Revolution, but this time the Revolution get the chance to face Houston in a final at home.
Will home field advantage be enough to change New England’s luck or will Houston continue its domination of its northern rival? To find out, you’ll have to watch. The final is 8:00 pm eastern time Tuesday night, August 5. It will be televised on TeleFutura in the United States in Spanish and can be viewed in English for free on the intertubes via the Superliga and MLS websites. A $1 million prize awaits the winner.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
8:00 pm – Houston Dynamo at New England Revolution (Superliga Finals)
(Ed. Note: What’s Going On is being published a little early this week for two reasons. Firstly, because the match that is the subject of the entry is on Tuesday. Secondly, because the WCR Pre-Season Top 25 ranking will be published on Monday or Tuesday and I didn’t want the two entries to interfere with each other.)
Theoretically, the Superliga should provide a little American revenge for the CONCACAF Champions Cup (soon to be Champions League). The reason for this is that the Champions Cup (and soon, the knockout stages of the Champions League) take place during the MLS pre-season, so while the Mexican clubs are in top form, the MLS clubs are in pre-season form. This situation is reversed in the Superliga and the MLS clubs participate in this tournament in mid-season form.
This didn’t hold true last year’s premier edition of the Superliga. Pachuca, winners of the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2007 and 2008, maintained its dominance over its northern counterparts by winning the premier Superliga trophy, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy in the final, thanks in part to Landon Donovan’s failure to finish a penalty kick that would have won the match for L.A. This year, however, the MLS clubs have played well and the Superliga finals is an all-American affair as the participants in the past two MLS Cups face off in the final. The Houston Dynamo have been victorious in both of its finals matchups with the New England Revolution, but this time the Revolution get the chance to face Houston in a final at home.
Will home field advantage be enough to change New England’s luck or will Houston continue its domination of its northern rival? To find out, you’ll have to watch. The final is 8:00 pm eastern time Tuesday night, August 5. It will be televised on TeleFutura in the United States in Spanish and can be viewed in English for free on the intertubes via the Superliga and MLS websites. A $1 million prize awaits the winner.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
8:00 pm – Houston Dynamo at New England Revolution (Superliga Finals)
(Ed. Note: What’s Going On is being published a little early this week for two reasons. Firstly, because the match that is the subject of the entry is on Tuesday. Secondly, because the WCR Pre-Season Top 25 ranking will be published on Monday or Tuesday and I didn’t want the two entries to interfere with each other.)
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