USSoccerPlayers' Graig Carbino takes us through the opening round of the MLS playoffs focusing on the big stories that will play out over the next few weeks. Can Columbus extend their League-best play into the postseason? How bad off is New England? Does RBNY have a chance? Read on.
By Graig Carbino
ALBANY, NY (Oct 29, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- The mundane has ended and we can finally get down to business. The days of over scheduling and calling in players off the street have ceased and the “money” games are about to begin. Yes, the MLS regular season has ended at last.
No, I am not really that jaded. Like most of you, soccer is a huge part of my life, and regular season MLS games still make the cut. Let’s be honest though, the season does kind of drag on, doesn’t it? From playing over international fixture dates to creating tournaments that the average fan just cannot get into, this MLS season has been the definition of a marathon.
With the second season scheduled to start in a matter of hours, it seemed appropriate to compile a list of a few things I will be looking for over the next couple “meaningful” weeks. In no particular order, it will be interesting to see if….
Columbus Is For Real
Make no mistake, the Crew has been awesome this entire season. Who among us actually saw this coming? The Crew went into this year with Well Hesmer as their starting goalkeeper. Yes, that Will Hesmer. He has only gone out a proven everyone, including myself, wrong with steady play between the sticks. Veterans like Frankie Hejduk and the resurgent Brian Carroll have also provided some steel in defense allowing playmaker Guillermo Barros Schelotto to pull all the right strings in midfield. Schelotto had 19 assists this season to lead Major League Soccer while Alejandro Moreno lead the team with 9 goals.
I have a difficult time believing that Kansas City will mount any sort of serious challenge to the Crew’s quest for a spot in the Eastern Conference finals. Still, the Wizards do possess attacking talent with Claudio Lopez always capable of providing a spark. They are also dangerous from set pieces as evidenced by defender Jimmy Conrad’s 6 goals this season. So is Columbus for real? We’ll find out soon enough.
Chicago Finds A Way To Screw This Up
The Fire must take this two-legged conference semifinal series against the New England Revolution. No if, ands, or buts about it. New England is decimated by injuries and suspensions while Chicago has stormed into the playoffs on the back of their recent 5-2 dismantling of the New York Red Bulls.
Forward Chris Rolfe seems to be rounding into form at just the right time while Cuauhtemoc Blanco is still conducting the orchestra from central midfield. He many not run much anymore and his physique looks more like Kevin James everyday, but damn can he still pass that ball. Brian McBride will be as industrious as ever and will be looking to get on the end of crosses from John Thorrington and Justin Mapp.
On the defensive end, the Fire have, for my money, the best central defensive pairing in the league. Wilman Conde and Bakary Soumare are absolute monsters in the middle of the field. Goalkeeper John Busch has also risen from backup purgatory and was recently named the team’s most valuable player. The Fire seems to have everything going for them. They wont mess this up, will they?
How Badly Houston Runs Over New York
Probably not the nicest way of putting it, but let’s get serious for a minute. No one out there actually thinks the Red Bulls have a chance in this series, right? I waxed poetic on my disdain for New York last week, so I’ll focus on Houston today. In the simplest terms, they are just way too good for RBNY. They attack, they score goals, they have a creative yet tough midfield, the core of their defense has been together for years, and in Pat Onstad they have the best statistical goalie in the league.
Brian Ching and Nate Jaqua will lead the line up front with Dwayne De Rosario playing just behind them. Ricardo Clark will provide the muscle in midfield with Brad Davis and Stuart Holden most likely running the wide channels. The back four of Richard Mulrooney, Wade Barrett, Bobby Boswell and Eddie Robinson looks as solid as ever. So solid that veteran Craig Waibel is finding it difficult to even get into the line-up. Pat Onstad is 40 years old and if he stays in this form he might play another ten years. Count me as shocked if Houston doesn’t take these two legs by at least four goals.
Rio Tinto Is The Difference
Can a new stadium really get a team over the hump? I’ve had the Chivas USA-Real Salt Lake match up circled as an upset special ever sense the final standings finally took shape. Not that I am down on Chivas. They have some nice attacking players in Sacha Kljestan, Atiba Harris, Ante Razov and Alecko Eskandarian that are capable of causing any defense in this league fits. Still, in the back of my mind I just see this Salt Lake team making a run past the first round.
They have a buzz about them, and it has a lot to do with their new place of residence. Rio Tinto stadium is an absolute gem (trust me, I’ve seen the HD commercials) and it’s almost as if the team has taken some momentum from finally getting off the turf and into some new digs. They haven’t lost a game in over a month and just scraped into the playoffs on the back of a last minute goal by Yura Movsisyan against the Colorado Rapids last week. There is something about this team; something I cant quite put my finger on, but it just feels like they have more than two games left to play.
So there you have it, the story lines in my mind for the beginning of the 2008 MLS playoffs. What are you most interested to see? What stories will you be following? Who do you have winning? Let's talk about it.
Graig Carbino covers American Abroad and writes a weekly column for USSoccerPlayers. Contact him at graiger11@yahoo.com
