Preseason catches up with team in tourney

The Los Angeles Galaxy’s David Beckham came away unscathed, so I will consider the Pan-Pacific Championship in Honolulu a success.

Fans in Houston are also breathing a sigh of relief that Dynamo striker Brian Ching came out of his home state without any complications after playing on an outdated artificial surface at Aloha Stadium.

Staging the tournament in Hawaii and pitting teams from Australia and Japan against MLS squads could one day prove to be a visionary move. Yet the timing of this event puts managers, clubs and players in a predicament.

The inaugural edition was nothing more than a warmup tournament used differently by the participating teams.

“It is always good at preseason to get games in,” Beckham said. “You can do all the training you want, but match fitness from games is important.”

It might be preseason, but the tournament was promoted as a serious competition and was broadcast at the national and international level. Combining preparation for a season and results is tricky business. And while promoter Soccer United Marketing is consistently looking at ways to create awareness of soccer, there is inherent risk in putting MLS teams into these competitions too quickly.

Early stumble
That risk played out when the two-time defending MLS champion Dynamo were hammered 6-1 by Gamba Osaka of Japan in the final.

Little good comes out of a 6-1 defeat. Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear even alluded to the fact it might have been his worst loss.

Preseason or not, Dynamo fans are not accustomed to seeing their top defensive squad scored on six times. Yet were they aware that Gamba was the highest-scoring team in the J-League last season? Were they aware that they are three weeks ahead in preseason preparation? Were they aware that Gamba was without several starters, as were all the teams in the tournament?

After a solid performance by the Dynamo in a 3-0 victory over Sydney FC….For more on this story check out Glenn Davis’s article at chron.com