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.
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Glenn, I sense more promotion from the Dynamo front office for the Sunday FC Dallas game than this one – I’m sure part of it is appeal to the “common fan” and a late Wed. night start time but the international club matches are the most exciting ones we see at Robertson each year and I think for the first time that the full MLS community and fan base understands how important the CCC is to the league (shown by how DC rested guys this weekend for the game tonight). These games are alot more interesting than a Columbus match in June.
It will be interesting to see how the CONCACAF champions league works out and catches attention, especially because although the Dynamo is into the group stage, the matches are not part of the season ticket package and since they are fall mid-week games I would anticipate not playing them at Robertson.
Glenn:
Looking foward to the match tonight. It sounds like they may be playing on a slick field. Hope the weather holds out. It’ll be interesting to see how many make it out to Robertson for the 9pm start.
Re: Champions league… I don’t see anybody slowing ManU down. They have been picking up steam over the past 2 months and look to be at the top of their form currently.
In terms of Arsenal/Liverpool I don’t know how much strategy Arsene Wenger can employ given their lack of depth due to injuries and his refusal to spend on proven players during the transfer window. I think this policy has really hamstrung him this season and their recent dip in form has been due to their lack of depth. Of course… it’s hard to second guess Arsene Wenger so what do I know.
What are your thoughts on Giovanni Dos Santos at Barcelona. With Kirkic’s emergence and their glut of attacking options it doesn’t look like he’s going to get much time there. There was a recent rumor linking him to Manchester City. Do you think he’ll need to change clubs to get time on the pitch?
Some of my friends are calling me a pesimist, some others are telling me I have no faith in my team…but that is not the case today…
I saw a very poor performance from the Dynamo on Sunday against the Revs…we wouldn’t be playing Sapprissa if it was it for a wonderful 2nd half against Municipal, note that I said a wonderful 2nd half, not a complete game…
This team is being hit by injuries, call ups (which cause overload), and consequently more injuries.
We’re also dealing with uncertainty from some our young players…we want to give them the chance to prove themselves but somehow I think this should not be the time for it…but…we have no choice…
In MLS talk, every team looks like an improved version of their 2007 roster…and some are not just showing that on paper but on the pitch as well…We have our hands full this year…hopefully something positive can come out of this overloaded schedule…MLS needs to really rest the teams representing them in International competitions…need to raise the cap…without raising the cap, there will not be enough players to cover 2 or 3 tournaments per season…it’s crazy…
Anyway…on Champions League…this going to be a once of a lifetime semifinal bracket I believe…
JUSt imagine Barca vs ManU
Arsenal or Liverpool vs Chelsea…
Wow…C. Ronaldo keeps playing like the best player in the world…(which he is by the way..)
somehow he always finds his way to the goal chances….
Well Good Luck for the Orange Crush tonight…confidence or not…I’ll be there!!!
9pm sharp…well actually let’s tailgate from 7-9 and get happy before the game..
FenerbaHCe – I’d forgive a one-off typo, but you repeated it (even if it sounds the same both ways).
Even small mistakes like these do absolutely nothing to erase perceptions of the insularity which will continue to hinder the development of the world’s game in the US.