The Dynamo against Saprissa this Wednesday night at 9pm is a hugely important match in the short history of the club.
International competition has become an extremely important vehicle of promotion for MLS not to mention a credibility earner.
So the Dynamo have knocked off Municipal of Guatemala but the degree of difficulty scale will rise tonite. Couple that with injury problems and the Dynamo will be challenged .

The Dynamo have yet to get their two wide players Brian Mullan and Brad Davis healthy and playing together and it shows. Davis will not be available for the Saprissa match. These two players have a direct influence on striker Brian Ching and the chances he gets with their delivery and wide play.

As for Saprissa it is a squad with numerous Costa Rican internationals but the Dynamo will catch a break as one of their more talented players Walter Centeno will miss the match due to suspension . Having had the pleasure of calling “Ticos” games in the World Cup I always was draw to the play of Centeno.
Winning this game will be key going back down to Saprissa next week and the Dynamo will need a lift from their passionate fans after a 3-0 loss to NE in their league opener last weekend. During an interview with Cory Ashe during “Dynamo All Access” he mentioned the squad is not getting caught up in scorelines but just getting a winning result.
I like that attitude.

Just got finished watching DC United and unfortunately they took two goals at Pachuca. We all know Chaco Gimenez, Gabriel Caballero and Andres Chitiva but now you may just know Luis Montes who scored both goals. Left sided, tricky and can hit a ball with power Dynamo goalkeeper Zach Wells got caught cheating on the first goal giving too much of his near post away and Montes scored from an oblique angle. The second goal was really a killer with Gimenez driving a free kick toward the back post with Montes heading home inside the six yard box.

I like many caught the Champions League today and saw Manchester United’s huge win in Rome. The 2-0 win over a Francesco Totti-less Roma puts them in the pole position to advance. Just the other day I was listening to a commentator speaking about how Cristiano Ronaldo is not good in the air and I was speechless. I have seen him score numerous goals off his head and he is a danger attacking crosses from deep positions. Low and behold Ronaldo scored a magnificent header that was all about movement after a great Paul Scholes cross…..Wayne Rooney produced a second goal and United looked better in the second half when Alex Ferguson shifted to a 4-4-2…..

Barcelona produced a 1-0 win over Schalke to set up what looks like a Manchester United/Barcelona semi-final but both clubs have crucial second legs next week. Youngster Bojan Kirkic scored after a cross from Thierry Henry in the 11th min. Barcelona have only won one game out of their last seven in all competitions and some are calling for manager Frank Rijkaard’s head. Of course he’s not going anywhere as long as they keep producing in the Champions League .

Arsenal meet Liverpool three times amazingly in the next three days between two Champions League games and an EPL game on the weekend. Bizarre…..it will be interesting to see how Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez handle these three important games.

Chelsea is also at Fenerbache who is playing in one of the biggest games in their history. Fenerbache is coached by former Brazilian great Zico.

Soccer often brings moments of awareness and enlightenment.

This column could be dedicated to MLS’ opening weekend or the drama that is unfolding in Europe’s top leagues or the critical CONCACAF Champions’ Cup match the Dynamo have against Saprissa on Wednesday.

But it’s not. It’s dedicated to something much larger.

It’s a story of renowned doctors, selfless nurses, soccer moms, children fighting the ultimate battle, unsung heroes and the sport itself. It’s a story about how compassion, will and desire are combining with the most unifying sport in the world to make a difference here in Houston.

Not far from Robertson Stadium, home to the two-time MLS Cup champion Dynamo, stands the Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

I have visited the center on numerous occasions and two years ago came up with the idea of bringing MLS players to visit patients after meeting Drs. Patrick Thompson and David Poplack, who is the head of this globally recognized facility.

Players from FC Dallas, the Kansas City Wizards, the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Dynamo joined in during the offseason to visit ……to read more on this story check out chron.com

So Hugo finally reaped what he has sown fired as the manager of the Mexican national team.
I can only think that if Sanchez had more control of his ego , he may just still have his job
But Hugo is about bold predictions and grand statements. He set himself up for failure.
This day and age coaches rarely get the time to put together their squads and are shuffled in and out loosely.
In fairness to Sanchez he did not have all of the players of the “Golden Generation” during qualifying but then again U.S. coach Peter Nowak didn’t have all his best players either.
So what happens to Hugo who by the way never beat the U.S., failed to win the Gold Cup and ultimately failed to qualify Mexico for the Olympics?
Hugo could end up back in the Mexican league which would be a safe move for him now that his dream to coach Real Madrid has stalled with the Mexican national team firing. Or he could do something bold, or for that matter MLS could do something bold.
Go get Hugo Sanchez to coach in MLS? Sanchez would be a tremendous boost of public relations for the league, has played in MLS with the Dallas Burn and with the right support system could do well…..Then again he can sit back and revert to his role of criticizing Mexican national team coaches. Somewhere I believe Ricardo La Volpe may be sipping a morning glass of champagne……I have long been critical of MLS putting their teams in international competition in the best position to succeed.
Translation: Lighten their schedule around the times of these critical games. So why did New York and San Jose have off on the opening weekend of MLS? Wouldn’t it have been better to let DC and Houston take a break and prepare for their huge Concacaf Champions Cup games this week?
I remember a few years ago when DC has this ungodly schedule before going to UNAM Pumas and getting crushed 5-0 in Mexico City. They never had a chance. Now I may be missing something here but it has to be pretty good to not put the teams that represent your league in the best position to succeed.
Thanks to all who came out to last night’s live broadcast of “Dynamo All Access” at Stags Head Pub here in Houston.
We will be there each and every Monday night.
Your thoughts on Sanchez and Concacaf?