By Andrew Dixon - MIAMI, FL (Nov 13, 2009) USSoccerPlayers --
Hey you might not have heard, but there's an MLS playoff game on tonight.
No, Seriously. Houston Dynamo and the LA Galaxy.
Yeah, tonight. ESPN2. 11pm Eastern.
I hear that guy David Beckham might even play.
Yes, I know.
RSL is on the verge of something real special.
Every match might be C. Blanco's last in MLS.
Dennis Hamlett has the chance to become the first Black coach to a take team to MLS Cup.
But c'mon, tonight's Western Conference showdown between LA and Houston could be most watched conference final, well ever, actually. Not saying it'll be the best game ever, but given the soap opera LA has been and the recent success of the Houston Dynamo it'll probably be the most watched.
No doubt, there'll be a lot of talent on the field for both sides. Ching, Clark, Holden, Onstad, The Truth, Beckham, Ricketts, Buddle.
The one thing I don't think enough people are taking note of is the match-up on the sideline. The League hasn't been around long enough for coaches to become legends like a Ferguson, a Shankly, a Michels, a Bianchi, or a Mourinho.
While Bruce Arena has a what's described as a prickly personality, you don't see him engaging in any kind of sports pages trash talk with anyone else to create the coaching rivalries we've seen in England. That said, it's this Grown Man's Opinion that when you talk about tonight's coaches - Arena and Dominic Kinnear - you're talking about coaching royalty in MLS. These are the two coaches who played major roles in the League's two dynasties: Arena with DC United and Kinnear with San Jose v. 1.0 and of course the Houston Dynamo.Bruce Arena's resume is the success story for an American coach, at least in the big picture. After establishing the University of Virginia as a college soccer powerhouse, he moved to DC United in 1996. After a slow start to that first season, Arena helped set the standard for success in MLS. He was the one who figured out how to mold diverse talents from the US and Latin America into a dominant, stylish team that won the first two MLS Cups, a US Open Cup title, Inter-American Cup and a runner's-up medal.
He has the longest tenure as National Team coach, taking over after the disappointment in 1998. It was Arena in charge of the team that made the '02 quarterfinals. '06 didn't turn out as well, and his time at Red Bull NY is forgettable.
Here's the big point about Arena. For a coach that has had so much success, the RBNY experience could've been it. Heck, even this year some people were wondering if he still had it given LA's mediocre start. Before he took the Galaxy job, I wondered if he even wanted to get back into coaching and would instead concentrate on the front office side of things.
With the Galaxy as coach and general manager, he's done both. He's rebuilt the team around several veterans like Eddie Lewis and Greg Berhalter while showing confidence in young players like Rookie of the Year Omar Gonzalez. The result was his second Coach of the Year award.
While not as high-profile or vocal, Dominic Kinnear has simply gone about the business of winning. He was an assistant to Frank Yallop in San Jose on two Championship teams. When Yallop left to coach the Canadian National team, Kinnear led the Quakes v. 1.0 to the 2005 Supporter's Shield (winning Coach of the Year Honors) then cemented his status as a top MLS coach by winning back-to-back MLS Cups in '06 and '07, the first time that had been done since... Bruce Arena.
This year, he weathered a number of international call-ups during the summer as well as international tournaments in the fall (times when MLS coaches really earn their paychecks) to once again have Houston near the top of the standings.
LA's win over their cross-hall rivals was Arena's first playoff victory in 11 years. Tonight, he'll be coaching in his biggest domestic match since MLS Cup '98. He's going up against a coach who's apparently similar in his forthright manner with players and unquestioned in his success.
Kinnear's ability to keep his teams consistent and get results have been a hallmark of SJ/Houston's success under his reign. They don't dominate and aren't miles better than anyone (Houston has yet to win the Supporter's Shield). They're just good enough to beat your team when it seems to matter most.
That being said, you KNOW Arena is relishing this chance to stick it to his doubters once again. To show he can build a team around two stars and coach it to success, something he only showed glimpses of in New York. What better way to do that by taking down the second dynasty?
Games are won on the field, but the sideline match up we've got may be the biggest the League has ever seen. This is evidence of the potential for this league to produce not just good players, but coaches as well.
No it isn't Fergie v. Wenger, but it doesn't have to be.
Andrew Dixon is a soccer writer based in Miami and a weekly columnist for USSoccerPlayers. Contact him at: golnoir@golnoir.net
