By Justin Shaffer - SEATTLE, WA (Jan 4, 2012) US Soccer Players -- Many a newspaper, website, and fan have spent the past month talking about what we saw in 2011, what they hope to see in 2012, and the big stories they’ll be looking out for this year. Here we take a brief look at the club team events that US fans should have on their schedule. The games that will shape the review of 2012 a year from now.
CONCACAF Champions League
March 6th continues the quest of the three remaining MLS teams (LA, Seattle, and Toronto) towards the Club World Cup. Standing in their way are four teams from Mexico (Morelia, Monterrey, Santos Laguna, and UNAM) and one from El Salvador (Isidro Metapán).
LA was the only MLS team to win their group, allowing them to avoid the Mexican teams. Instead, they start with Toronto which will ensure at least one MLS club won’t make it out of the knockout stage. Seattle will have to find a way past US National Team player Herculez Gomez and his new team, Santos Laguna. If the Sounders advance, they’ll face the winner of LA/Toronto for a spot in the final.
All three MLS teams play their first CCL game on March 7th and. MLS has released the dates for each team’s home opener, so we now know that Seattle and LA will open their MLS seasons at home three days later, on March 10th and then follow those up with the second leg of their CCL openers on March 14th. Toronto doesn’t play its first MLS home game until March 24th, but chances are that they’ll also be playing that weekend of March 10th, making for a very difficult start of the season for all three clubs.
Last year, MLS did some rescheduling to accommodate Real Salt Lake’s CCL Finals run. At this point, nothing’s been announced on whether the same support will be provided to Toronto, Seattle, or LA should one of them make it through to the finals. It almost goes without saying that it's in Major League Soccer's best interest to prioritize the CONCACAF Champions League. It's the only way to get meaningful games against the champions of South America and Europe.
MLS and the Newcomers
January 12th the two-round version of the MLS SuperDraft begins with Montreal Impact selecting first overall. Thus far, MLS has announced a five-man Generation Adidas class, featuring Andrew Wegner, Kelyn Rowe, Darren Mattocks, Sam Garza, and Chandler Hoffman. As it stands, that would be the first Generation Adidas class to not feature a teenaged prospect.
March 10th the 2012 MLS season will kick off with Montreal Impact’s MLS debut in Vancouver at 6pm ET. In Canada the game will get the national treatment on TSN (English) and will also be broadcast in French on RDS. Sadly it does not appear that the renewal of this 20-year-old rivalry will be broadcast nationally in the US.
March 11th the first game of NBC Sports Network’s new three year deal with MLS will see the New York Red Bulls opening their season at FC Dallas. This selection certainly makes for a curious choice, given the poor attendance in Frisco these days. NBC may be counting on the draw of a New York team, Thierry Henry, and Brek Shea to boost their ratings, but a quiet stadium and rows upon rows of empty seats are not likely to make for exciting television. There's no historic rivalry here, no animosity between the two teams, and no real feeling that this is anything but a routine game. Even HBO 24/7 would have issues building this one up.
March 17th will be Montreal’s home opener. While Montreal’s season opener in Vancouver gives fans an opportunity to see what kind of team Jesse Marsch has put together (and Martin Rennie for that matter), their home opener will let the rest of the League what kind of fan support the Impact have put together. The attendance numbers in Philly, Portland, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver have raised the expectations for expansion teams these past few years. Can Montreal match them? Either way, the fans won’t be filling the seats at Saputo Stadium right away, as the renovations will not be complete until sometime in early summer. In the meantime, the Impact will play their home games at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium next door.
May 12th the first game at the BBVA Compass Stadium, new home of the Houston Dynamo. Houston will hit the road for the first two months of the season with a few matches at Reliant Stadium (home of the Houston Texans). While BBVA Compass Stadium is considered a soccer-specific stadium, the Texas Southern University football team will also use it for home games.
UEFA Champions League
The knockout phase of the 2011-12 UCL starts on February 14th. You’ll have to forgive the folks in Manchester if they refuse to tune in. Both City and United will be battling for the Europa crown after finishing third in their respective UCL groups.
Having slayed a hobbling Manchester United, Basel moves on to face Bayern Munich while the remaining England teams, Arsenal and Chelsea, will have to beat a couple of Italian teams in AC Milan and Napoli, respectively, in two of the more intriguing ties.
Naturally, a great many eyes will also be on Barcelona and Real Madrid to see if and when a victory for each might mean another El Clásico draw for this season. Sort of puts the Manchester teams missing out into perspective.
Justin Shaffer joins USSoccerPlayers after regularly contributing to the site's comments section. Look for his byline every other week.
