The Dynamo are no strangers to being behind, all you have to do is look back to last season in the playoffs against Chivas USA, Colorado, and in the final against New England. All come from behind wins. They will have to do the same this Thursday in College Station against Puntarenas of Costa Rica who hold a 1-0 lead.
But now they have even more incentive. If they can advance into the semi-finals of the Concacaf Champions Cup they will take on Pachuca of (provided they get past Marquense of Guatemala) the current Copa Sudamerica Champions. The home leg would be played at Robertson Stadium on Wednesday March 14th at 7:30 PM.

John Terry kicked in the head: Chelsea vs. Arsenal

If you saw this past weekend’s Chelsea 2-1 win over Arsenal in the Carling Cup you saw a pulsating match that ended with a melee and a number of ejections, you also saw some great soccer.
It all meant nothing when John Terry was stretchered off in the second half after accidentally being kicked in the head by Arsenal’s Abou Diaby.
The incident was sickening as Terry’s head snapped back and my first thought has he snapped his neck…..This was one of the worst and most dangerous moments I have ever seen in a soccer match. Terry’s courage put him in an akward area, an area where boots fly.
Terry has little re-collection waking up in a hospital and amazingly being discharded after an hour.
Is this guy super-human.

Dynamo heroes Zach Wells and Brian Ching will join Glenn Davis this Tuesday at 7pm on 790AM radio .
Wells and Ching will be in studio taking calls at 713-212-5790 a few days out from their crucial Concacaf Champions Cup match against Puntarenas of Costa Rica. The Dynamo are down 1-0 on aggregate and need a win by two goals to advance.
International soccer updates plus more .
Contact Glenn at GlennDavis@thesoccerhour.com for questions concernning the show.

Hi everyone, this has been another great week of training games here in Dallas. This week we played quite a bit going to goal, from 6v6 to 11v 11. I love the week we had not much fitness and lots of playing. I don’t mind fitness but I feel the best way to get in to “soccer shape” is by playing (head coach Steve Morrow has done a good job of letting us play).
Today we leave for Brazil and I am really looking forward to the trip as it will be my first time visiting.
It should be a good trip for us as a team and we have several games lined up that will help prepare us for the upcoming season.
Pre-season gets long so going to a great soccer country like Brazil can really get guys energized.
Well I hope you enjoyed last weeks games from Europe. My boys Arsenal lost to PSV but I think they will take care of business back in London. Until next time, Chris Gbandi of FC Dallas saying enjoy your family and your football.

Univision currently is the only network that holds rights to this summer’s Superliga.
The hope is that MLS will pursue English language broadcast rights to these matches through other networks.
The event is an exciting one that will pit MLS clubs against Mexican clubs for bragging rights. With a purse of a million dollars the tournament will adversely effect the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and you might just see some teams like the Dynamo and DC United fielding reserve teams in the Open Cup. With so many competitions going in the 2007 season the depth of many teams will be tested and many players at the back end of rosters will have to shine in the spotlight that David Beckham’s signing is bringing. This is a huge year for the league to capitalize and jump forward in the sports culture in the United States.
It is also a year hopefully more pressure will be put on clubs like Columbus, Kansas City, Colorado and New York to stop dragging the league down and become more important and relevant in their markets.
The New York Red Bulls are serious and manager Bruce Arena stated on my radio show last Tuesday that they will have the best youth set-up in the country. (790.thesportsanimal.com and Houstonchronicle.com to hear podcast)
I have concerns around Columbus and Colorado. Colorado is claiming global yet with their recent alignment with Arsenal yet have not marketed locally or have created strong ties in their community. Stop the smokescreen in Colorado and be relevant in your market before taking on the world. I hope that they are not living and dying by a new stadium?
Columbus you need life, no excuse not to be better in your market. Fact is Beckham’s signing , new youth initiatives, more pressure from media , important international competition, and new ownership is increasing the urgency and those who can’t get it done will more than likely get exposed this year. For players it is the year of opportunity…….
Ok back to the Superliga and tv rights. MLS must get English language rights or risk making this a purely hispanic event.
This event has to be showcased also very strongly to the American fan.
Glenn glenndavis@thesoccerhour.com

Check out my recent interview with former U.S. National team head coach Bruce Arena via podcast at www.790thesportsanimal.com or www.houstonchronicle.com
Currently the New York Red Bulls head coach, Arena discusses a variety of issues including a poor schedule prior to the World Cup, Claudio Reyna, Red Bulls organization, on being a broadcaster and what accountability did he have in the 2006 World Cup.
Give me your thoughts on this interview at glenndavis@thesoccerhour.com

DC United crushed Olimpia of Honduras in Honduras 4-1.
The game was in direct contrast to the Dynamo Puntarenas game in quality and conditions earlier in the day from Costa Rica .
Goals from Christian Gomez (2), new Brazilian signing Emilio (formerly of Olimpia) and Facundo Erpen sealed the fate of the top Honduran side who were definetly outclassed in this one.
DC United is now virtually assured with four road goals advancement to the semi-finals of the tournament .
They could still lose the return leg in DC next Thursday 3-0 and still advance. New United head coach Tom Soehn gets a winning result in his first United game in charge and the MLS get an important international win.
The Dynamo and DC will host second leg action next Thursday in College Station and Washington DC respectively.

He didn’t play a minute in MLS last year and spent the season playing reserve games but Dynamo back-up goalkeeper Zach Wells put in a stellar performance for the Dynamo and if it were not for a late goal from Kurt Bernard of Puntarenas he would have secured a shutout.
Thrust into the game after a 22nd minute injury to Pat Onstad wells lived up to it. His first touch came on a penalty kick save on Puntarenas midfielder Bernard that he turned around the post.
Wells also had a personal duel with Brazilian forward Jorge Barbosa who he denied twice with huge saves to keep the Dynamo alive for Thursday’s second leg in College Station.
What was impressive was how close Wells was able to cut down shooting angles on the two saves against the Brazilian.
With depth an issue this year for the Dynamo that issue may not be goal.
Great to see the young goalkeeper come in and contribute so heavily.
Wells clearly was the Dynamo MVP in Costa Rica. Do you agree or disagree, email me at glenndavis@thesoccerhour.com

Poor playing surface, climate, short preparation and a stadium and fans that head coach Dominic Kinnear called a “lions den” in the Houston Chronicle today.
So how do the Dynamo deal with their first game of real meaning since winning the MLS Cup.
Will they be able to play in their normal all out aggressive style for 90 minutes, I don’t think so.
This afternoon’s game against Puntarenas we may see a different Houston Dynamo. A win or a draw is golden in this first leg in Costa Rica.
So how do you manage a game against opposition that is fitter and into their season while you have only three weeks to prepare?
Clearly they will have to be the more intelligent team today.
The Dynamo will have to take account of their fitness, their running will have to be economical and wise.
Above all as a team they will need to stay close to one another, team shape, moving as a group will be vital.
“It’s hard to tell our guys to play easy,” Dominic Kinnear told me from Florida during pre-season. We can’t go in with fear.”
The Dynamo will also have the opportunity to use throw ins, free kicks, corners, goal kicks all as an opportunity to control the pace of the game and relieve pressure. Patience on set pieces could prove to be vital times for collecting themselves. Periods of good ball possession also will be confidence building and help them dictate the game.
Will they have to defend for longer periods of the game? My guess is yes.
I am interested to see how direct Puntarenas play with two very physical forwards with Jorge Barbosa and Mario Camacho. Both the type of forwards that Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson will relish playing against.
Looking back to last year and the LA Galaxy in the Concacaf Champions Cup I remember that down in Costa Rica against Saprissa they had a two goal lead only to falter mentally and physically in the second half and lose 3-2. Saprissa then went on to the World Club Championships to play Liverpool.
A critical time will come during the second half when the challenge becomes more physical and the Dynamo begin to fatigue. Dominic Kinnear will have to rely on substitutes in this one to help aid the cause.
The bench could be a critical factor.
The challenges great the rewards even greater for getting a result over foreign competition. The Dynamo 2007 season is off a running today.
A team that showed this city huge character last year in winning the MLS Cup will start it off today with a great challenge in Costa Rica. This will be good.

Dynamo vs. Puntarenas today at 1:30 pm central on the Fox Soccer Channel.