-          David Hume

The Kansas City-Portland game Saturday night was a prime example of why I love Major League Soccer. It didn’t feature Cristiano Ronaldo (who scored quite the game-winning goal this week) or Lionel Messi. It didn’t feature any reasonable facsimiles of those two.

It wasn’t beautiful by the standards that many people set for our game. The passing sequences were few and far between, there weren’t many individual players that stood out for dazzling skill, and the only goal of the game was nothing less than a defensive catastrophe that resulted in an own goal.

Obviously, I’d like to see the best players in the world in MLS. And I can appreciate the skills that separate the great players from the mediocre ones (and certainly, MLS needs more creative players). But as you saw the anguish in Kei Kamara’s face as he tried in vain to keep his team’s unbeaten record intact, and you saw Diego Chara running all over Jeld-Wen Field to try to help his squad hold on to their lead, I was captivated.

Two teams – in front of a sell-out, loud crowd – played their hearts out, challenging every ball, battling for every inch of space, until Portland eventually held on 1-0. Yes, the play was physical, but there was nothing dirty about it (like we saw from Philadelphia against Chivas USA, for instance); it was good, hard play.

And when you get a game like that, I’m entertained.

Onto the week that was in MLS. Here is the current table as we stand:

SATURDAY

TORONTO 2:3 CHICAGO

What we learned:

It’s just a horror show in Toronto right now. Aron Winter starts Torsten Frings in the middle of a 3-4-3, and he promptly gives away a goal in 25 seconds. Now you can’t blame Winter directly for that, but TFC really didn’t look comfortable for the opening kickoff. Richard Eckersley, used to playing in a back four, didn’t know if he could go forward or not, and Adrian Cann on the other side is a natural center back and played accordingly. Ashtone Morgan and Matt Stinson, the two wings, did decently going forward, but didn’t cover enough in the back to help their back three. As Kyle Martino pointed out, if Frings was questionable for the game and hadn’t practiced much, how often did they get to run through the formation?

Aside from that, it’s just simple things. Reggie Lambe had a stellar day offensively with a pair of goals, but somehow let Gonzalo Segares get behind him on a free kick from near midfield for the second Chicago goal. On the winning goal, it’s a classic counter and no defensive midfielders anywhere to be seen, Eckersley not sure where to goal, I could really keep going. And that’s how you get 28 (?!?) shots in a game and still get no points. TFC was much, much better when Frings moved to midfield and when Danny Koevermans comes back, they should be pretty lethal offensively. But when Winter comes out after the match and says, “We need to find better defensive players,” when he left someone like Doneil Henry on the bench as an unused sub, tells me that he might be just out of his element in this league. He could figure it out, but it’s looking less and less likely with each passing week.

Meanwhile, three points on the road is always good, but Chicago didn’t exactly make anyone think they’re ready for a title run in this one. Arne Freidrich may come into better form, but he was a bit lost here. Ironically with Dominic Oduro and Patrick Nyarko around, there’s little pace anywhere else in the lineup and that could be a problem going forward. Pavel Pardo was good, but he’s probably going to play more of a leadership role on the field to help them keep the ball a little more.

Man of the Match:

Dominic Oduro – This was honestly a tough one in this match, but Oduro – despite being handed a gift in the opening seconds – still had to finish the first goal, and his pass that set up the winner was just about perfect. He was not a factor for long periods, but with his improved finishing, he’s always a threat, especially against a struggling defense like Toronto.

Anti-Man of the Match:

Terry Dunfield – Again, a few candidates here, but Dunfield – again – looked a step slow in the midfield, and by virtue of the fact that the team significantly improved with him off the field, he wins here. If Winter wants to go with a back three, he needs a Dunfield or a Julian de Guzman to sit in front of them and not allow them to be exposed, and that clearly didn’t happen here while Dunfield was around.

Next up: Toronto – at Real Salt Lake; Chicago – vs. Seattle

DC UNITED 4:1 NEW YORK

What we learned:

There will be plenty of time to delve into what ails the Red Bulls, and that will be the bigger story that comes out of this one, but let’s give some credit to Ben Olsen, who looks like he might have an Eastern Conference playoff team on his hands. We have barely heard from Dwayne De Rosario yet and DCU sits in second in the East. Offensively, they can match up with just about anyone, certainly in depth, and Perry Kitchen has become a huge cog in a defensive midfield role, just about a month after his U-23 team’s failure with Kitchen at center back. There are still some questions about the back, but other than Kansas City, no one is better in the East right now.

I don’t like to pick on managers, but Hans Backe really started Victor Palsson over Joel Lindpere in this match? I know Lindpere is not a natural holding midfielder, but c’mon now. Of course, this performance goes much deeper than that. New York has conceded more goals than everyone else but Montreal (who has played more games), and no one is coming close to blaming rookie goalkeeper Ryan Meara, which should tell you how bad it is in the back for New York right now. Wilman Conde made them better, but he’s out, and it’s hard personnel-wise to see where the answers are going to come from in the short term. Thierry Henry’s body language told you all you needed to know, but he’s been pretty vocal about how bad the defending has been from his angle on the field as well.

It’s still very early, but New York was fairly lucky to get a point at home against San Jose last week. Their three wins are over Colorado, Montreal, and Columbus, none of whom are in any kind of decent form right now. That makes next week’s game at home against New England a fairly big one, no?

Man of the Match:

Chris Pontius – I thought Kitchen was fantastic, but it’s hard to deny a guy who gets a hat trick. There were some comments about Pontius getting on Jurgen Klinsmann’s radar, but he’s just trying to stay on Ben Olsen’s right now. Remember, last week at this time, he wasn’t a starter. Then he came off the bench and scored a game-winner against New England, and now this. His third goal showed off some pretty awful defense, but give him credit as well. And his first goal might be Goal of the Week in MLS.

Anti-Man of the Match:

Victor Palsson – Let’s examine: Palsson has been in the Liverpool youth teams, but he couldn’t find a regular game for Hibernian (and the Scottish League is not as good as MLS, no matter what some people will tell you), and has yet to have a cap for the senior Icelandic national team, either. He still may be worth a shot for the Red Bulls, he doesn’t turn 21 until next week, and with some seasoning, could be a solid player in this league. But right now he’s a liability on a team that doesn’t need any more liabilities.

Next up: DC United – vs. Houston; New York – vs. New England

Elsewhere:

SATURDAY

Columbus 2:2 Houston – This was actually a very entertaining second half. Robert Warzycha pretty much overhauled the lineup, and I thought the Crew were better. But it still took a wonder goal from Eddie Gaven and one of the biggest defensive miscues you’ll ever see to get a point. Brian Ching and Will Bruin are working well together and that could be a big problem for opponents once the Dynamo get back to full strength and finally get home.

Colorado 1:2 Los Angeles – Not dominant, especially in the second half, for the Galaxy, but that was the team we saw – at least on the road – for the majority of last season. David Junior Lopes was called for one of the more dubious penalties you’ll ever see, but even more shocking, somehow Ramon Hernandez never booked David Beckham for a protest of the call that lasted almost two minutes and featured his finger in Hernandez’s face, screaming at him just inches away, and stomping around the penalty box while Omar Cummings was getting ready to take it. Unbelievable, really.

Vancouver 1:0 Dallas – It was hard not to watch this game and not think that the Whitecaps are a better team, and that could be a big problem for Dallas’ playoff chances. No Ricardo Villar, no David Ferreira (obviously), and Fabian Castillo never recorded a shot in 90 minutes. Meanwhile, Vancouver seems to be about one midfielder away from being a major player in the West.

Chivas USA 0:1 Philadelphia – I give Peter Nowak begrudging credit for getting three points with nine men, but this was ugly. Ug-ly. Keon Daniel, Nowak, and Gabriel Farfan could face the next few games off after being sent off. It was one moment of brilliance, and it was brilliant from Michael Farfan and Freddy Adu that won the game, but it’s hard to see them doing that consistently. A tip of the hat to referee Juan Guzman, who I thought had a good game in tough circumstances, after struggling in his first year last season.

Portland 1:0 Kansas City – I loved this game, as you know already. The goal was a disaster, but I guess we’ll give Sporting one of those after the way they started the season. The Timbers knew they needed a result, and were excellent, Hanyer Mosquera looks like he might mean a lot to their defense, and that was the best game I’ve seen Diego Chara play this season.

San Jose 3:1 Real Salt Lake – When you get an early red card (deserved on Fabian Espindola), it’s hard to read too much long-term into the game. When you play with nine men, there’s really not much you can do but hold on. I thought Jamison Olave’s red was very, very harsh, especially if you look at the replay, but that’s life. And life in the now says that San Jose is leading the West, and they deserve all the credit in the world for doing so.

Dear Mr. Hill,

First things first, I would like to thank you for the mention on your blog and that you value me as a colleague.  I admire your fight to end match fixing in the sport of football and as soon as I get around to it, I will definitely be reading your book “The Fix”.

While reading your blog post, entitled “Why Turkey Should Not Be Chosen to Host the European Championship or the Olympics”, I was surprised by a few things, most notably was the official story which has been cast into doubt as the scandal has progressed.  With respect to you, I wanted to propose a few questions in response to your post…

Why did the arrests occur in July after the national elections took place in early June?

If the prosecution knew that the last few matches in the previous season were fixed, why didn’t they make the arrests at the end of the season?

If they had pictures of people supposedly negotiating the fixing of matches, they why didn’t the authorities make the arrests right then and there and catch the perpetrators red handed?  Are these pictures enough to convict anyone of match fixing?  They aren’t because it would be considered circumstantial evidence, yet the prosecution is still considering this as incriminating evidence.

Would this current match fixing scandal have ever erupted if Trabzonspor won the league championship last season?  The main prosecutor of the case, Mehmet Berk (who’s also worked on the Sledgehammer case), never confirmed nor denied as such when he was asked that very question.

Reports from the initial arrests and continuing throughout the summer, were that 19 matches were suspected of being manipulated.  Yet when the official indictment came out, there were 13 matches listed as being manipulated.  So where did six of the supposedly fixed matches either come from or were considered to be fixed?

If the investigation was supposed to be under the “confidentiality” rule, then how did some of the papers get the supposed evidence?

Speaking of the indictment, if the investigation was supposed to have started in the fall of 2010 and the prosecution made the arrests in July, why did it take five months before the official indictment was released?  Shouldn’t the indictment have been released at or around the same time as the arrests were made?

Korcan Celikay was reported to have let in a “controversial goal” during the final match of the 2010-11 season when Sivasspor played Fenerbahce in one of the matches assumed to have been manipulated.  This goal was scored by current Arsenal player Andre Santos.  Much of the evidence at the time showed a slow motion replay from the back of Celikay.  But where was the real time replay?  That has never been shown anywhere.

Trabzonspor chairman Sadri Sener was detained and had to pay two hundred thousand Turkish liras as bond to get released from jail over the summer.  He had a travel ban placed on him by the authorities.  After Fenerbahce was pulled from the Champions League by the Turkish Football Federation, and UEFA selected Trabzonspor in their place as the next best candidate for Turkey’s automatic Champions League group stage spot, Sener’s travel ban was lifted.  Is this a coincidence?

The TFF ethics committee was given a redacted form of the evidence before the season started rather than the full amount of evidence.  Could the ethics committee give out a fair decision from the sporting aspect?

While I was not in favor of the reduction of the sentences for match fixing that were passed by the Turkish Grand National Assembly, why would a bunch of parties, always against each other in regards to a diverse array of issues, were virtually unified in getting this legislation passed?

Although Turkish president Abdullah Gul rightly vetoed the amended law, saying that it was designed to save certain people (theoretically referring to Aziz Yildirim), why would the different parties come together and override the veto?  One would think that Gul’s former party, the Adalet ve Kalkinma (or Justice and Development in English) party would vote against the override.

As you know, Fenerbahce has submitted a case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, listing the TFF and UEFA as defendants.  They cite that they were unfairly removed from the Champions League due to lack of evidence against them.  In a statement to CAS, UEFA Chief Counsel of Legal Affairs Pierre Cornu was told during a dinner with then TFF chairman Mehmet Ali Aydinlar, then TFF vice-chairman Lutfi Aribogan and then TFF chief of legal affairs Ilhan Helvaci, that Fenerbahce were “100% guilty” of match fixing.  Aribogan and Helvaci’s response was to Cornu’s question of whether there was “even a 1% chance that Fenerbahce did not engage in match fixing.”  Both Helvaci and Aribogan are well known Galatasaray supporters and Aydinlar is well known as a Fenerbahce supporter.  If Helvaci and Aribogan told Cornu this, this leads me to these questions…

Why weren’t Trabzonspor and Besiktas pulled by the TFF and allowed to compete in European competitions, even though both those clubs were under suspicion at the time of Fenerbahce’s pulling and are listed in the indictment released in December?  Even UEFA gave a statement to CAS saying that they would have gladly accepted Fenerbahce into their Champions League, if the TFF felt that there wasn’t any evidence, from the sporting aspect, that Fenerbahce engaged in the manipulation of matches.

UEFA said that they never pressed the TFF to pull Fenerbahce.  Also, after being pulled from the Champions League, Fenerbahce made a request to the TFF that they would self-relegate to the second tier Bank Asya 1^st Division.  The TFF denied this request, citing that it had to be made “in writing”.  So if Fenerbahce were deemed unworthy by the TFF to compete in the Champions League, why were they allowed to compete in the Turkish Super League?

Mehmet Ali Aydinlar resigned as TFF chairman in January, citing that he didn’t have any tolerance left for unethical behavior that serves the interests for a few.  He also was shocked when CAS arbitrator Kismet Erkiner said on a television program before Aydinlar’s resignation, many things that had contradicted official statements from the TFF, including the so called “blanket ban” where UEFA could ban all Turkish teams (including the national team) for up to 8 years.  (This particular concept of the “ban” had been deconstructed on the podcast I produce, Turkish Football Weekly, even before Erkiner had said so).  Was Aydinlar that clueless or was somebody pulling the strings behind the scenes in order to undermine his reign?

With the law reducing the jail time from five to twelve years to one to three years, many people were released, but the men who were accused of “forming an unarmed (or armed, depending on one’s source) criminal organization” weren’t released, including Mr. Yildirim.  So where were the people who were supposed to be saved?  Does being part of an “unarmed criminal organization” have anything to do with the sporting aspect of corruption in Turkish football?

Although Sivasspor chairman Mecnun Odyakmaz is a known Fenerbahce sympathizer, he had mentioned in the initial trial hearings that there was an attempt from Trabzonspor to pay an incentive bonus to Sivasspor players if they beat Fenerbahce. Odyakmaz said that Zeki Masyum Odyakmaz even mentioned that Mehmet Yildiz, who played for Sivasspor at the time and is currently a Karabukspor player, said that he was approached by a Trabzonspor official.  Why hasn’t Yildiz been questioned about this?  Why hasn’t anyone tried to follow up with Yildiz or Odyakmaz?

How come Trabzonspor haven’t been scrutinized as much as some of the other teams in the indictment?  Considering that there are several parts within the indictment where chairman Sadri Sener and vice-chairman Nevzat Sakar speak about putting pressure on the media and politicians, and are now currently pressuring the TFF to “give them their trophy” (their words, not mine), why have Trabzonspor been given a free pass?

It was only a few months ago where AKP MP Erdogan Bayraktar said that “they are subtly working to get Trabzonspor’s trophy”.  While he can be given the benefit of the doubt because he might have been pandering to his constituents, it wouldn’t be the first time that Trabzonspor would be the beneficiary of the AKP government, as Wikileaks would have us suggest.  What is Trabzonspor trying to hide, considering that they have been clamoring for “their title” to be handed to them, when no match fixing has been determined?

Much of the patterns of arrests, evidence and trials have eerily been similar to the Ergenekon and Balyoz (or Sledgehammer) cases.  People in those cases have been jailed for months to years, without any hint of a trial date, much less a conviction.  Turkey is currently ranked 148^th in the Reporters’ Without Borders Press Freedom Index , and jails more journalists that China and Iran.  Perhaps journalist Ahmet Sik’s words that “anyone who touches them will burn” ring true.  The AKP as well as their affiliates in the Gulen movement are taking Turkey down an irreversible path.  They now have their hands in many aspects of Turkish society from the police to the media.  But with the attempt to exert their influence on football, their progress has been slowed.  Much of the evidence in the match fixing case, like with the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer cases, does not add up.  It seems to have been either fabricated or is a weak representation of the case against the suspects, again similar to the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer cases.  Perhaps Aziz Yildirim might have been right when he said that this case never had anything to do with match fixing.

Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t tolerate match fixing in the sport of football.  I don’t tolerate match fixing in the Super League.  However, I am a firm believer that all professional sports are manipulated to a certain extent, whether for ratings on television, to generate more interest, or to maximize revenue.  Speaking of which…

As you are probably aware, the Turkish Football Federation introduced a playoff system to the Super League, called the SuperFinal, for determining its league champion.  The championship group consists of the top four finishers playing a double round robin, with the points from the regular season being cut in half.  This was suggested to the TFF by Digiturk, the Super League broadcast rights holder, because of the season being delayed by the match fixing scandal, back in August.  The top four finishers of the regular season just happened to be Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Besiktas, and Trabzonspor.

With the way the league has played out over recent years, with an Anatolian club challenging for top spots and one winning the league championship two years ago, how come a league that delayed their season due to an attempt to find closure to the scandal from a sporting aspect, happen to have their historic top four clubs finish in the top four spots?  Is this a coincidence or just a conspiracy theory?  There are some people out there who think that Digiturk has influenced the season in some way to have the SuperFinal end up with the championship playoff participants the way they are.

Anyway, while I agree with you that Turkey shouldn’t even host the Olympics or the European Football Championships, I have to respectfully disagree with the rest of your blog post.  I am of the opinion that this match fixing scandal is a farce.  There seems to be too many holes within the case itself for it to be a legitimately constructed case.  While match fixing is a scourge that should be eliminated, there may be more to the Turkish case than meets the eye.

Sincerely,
“The Iron Turk” Ata Dizdar

Anyway, on to soccer, shall we, and let’s talk formations. Toronto – who graces national television in the States for the first time this season Saturday – and Kansas City almost exclusively play the same 4-3-3 setup. Yet, as you’re probably well aware, Sporting KC has yet to drop a point, while TFC doesn’t have one, meaning the squads stand 21 points apart in the Eastern Conference standings in mid-April.

So what gives?

Well, Kansas City has employed a suffocating defensive style that has used the same players for two straight seasons now (with  a few tweaks here and there), and has enough firepower up front to score enough to be the best team in the league. On the other side of the spectrum (and standings), Toronto doesn’t seem to be able to keep its shape, pressure the ball really anywhere the field, or defend set pieces. To add to Aron Winter’s woes, his team has scored only twice in five matches.

The lesson here is that while we talk about what permutations coaches can use and how critical they are to a team’s success, usually the teams with the best players (and in Kansas City’s case, the best combination of players) are going to win the most games, whether they’re in a 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 3-5-2, or some other exotic combination of numbers.

Onto the week ahead in MLS. As usual, all times are EDT:

Toronto vs. Chicago

3:30 p.m., Saturday, NBC Sports

Pts (Games, Place): TFC 0 (5, 10^th East); Fire 5 (4, 7^th East)

When last we met:

Chicago 2:0 Toronto, Aug. 21 – Dan Gargan scored and didn’t exactly follow the “don’t celebrate against your former team” protocol, as the Fire won for the first time in two months (remember all those draws?). All of these TFC losses just blend together at some point, don’t they?

Current form:

Toronto LLLLL; Chicago TLWT

Random fact(s):

Toronto has 17 shots on goal this season, and Danny Koevermans has nine of them, which means he probably means he needs a little more support up top. Ryan Johnson, pushed back to midfield recently, has four, and next is Logan Emory, of all people, with two. Meanwhile, no player on the Fire will likely lead the league in minutes after only playing 66 last week. Very strange.

Player to watch:

Chris Rolfe – A slightly surprising return for Rolfe, who was a mainstay for the Fire just a couple of years ago. He’s not likely to start here, but he’ll probably make an appearance. The long-term question for Frank Klopas is where to plug Rolfe into his lineup. Moving Logan Pause to outside back and plugging Rolfe in there might be the answer.

(LATE NEWS: Rolfe has been ruled out of Saturday’s game with an ankle injury. It doesn’t appear to be serious.)

What to look for:

We could decry the fact that this is our national game of the week, but there’s just something that makes you want to watch Toronto these days, isn’t there? Aron Winter’s job has to be in some jeopardy, and if they lose at home to Chicago – hardly an MLS Cup contender – the pressure will only be even more intense to make a change.

It’s really hard to tell what has gone wrong for TFC on the offensive end, they have players in Koevermans, Johnson, Joao Plata, and Luis Silva to make things very difficult on opposing defenses. To be fair, they had plenty of opportunities last week against Chivas USA but couldn’t take advantage. Torsten Frings may return in this game, and that will help immensely as well. Team him with Doneil Henry and get Julian de Guzman to play consistently, and most of the problems are solved. But will it be in time for Winter?

Meanwhile, the Fire have been fairly mediocre in their stop-start beginning to the season, and would like to get a result here to avoid being near the bottom of the East this early. Their problems, although much less severe this early, are similar to Toronto. They seem to have offensive weapons in Dominic Oduro, Marco Pappa, Sebastian Grazzini, and Patrick Nyarko to score goals, but their back line (especially without Cory Gibbs) is a question mark. But there’s potential there. Maybe.

Toronto’s fortunes have to change at some point, don’t they?

Prediction: Toronto 2-1

DC United vs. New York

6 p.m., Sunday, ESPN2

Pts (Games, Place): DCU 9 (7, 3^rd East); Red Bulls 10 (6, 2^nd East)

When last we met:

New York 0:1 DC United, July 9 – DC United avenged an ugly 4-0 home loss early in the season on a winning goal from someone who was on the other side for the first meeting: Dwayne de Rosario. The Red Bulls had won four of their last five coming in, but this started a skid that would take them a while to stop.

Current form:

DC United TWTWT; New York TWWWL

Random fact(s):

These two somewhat maligned teams, at least in the recent past, are not only second and third in the East currently, but also two of only three (Kansas City obviously the other) with a positive goal differential. Of course, there are only three in the West as well (Real Salt Lake, San Jose, Seattle). Maicon Santos has four goals, but has already tied a career high in yellow cards with three.

Player to watch:

Connor Lade – Never heard of him? You’re probably not alone in this one, but he’ll likely start at left back for New York in this one, which is a key spot against a DCU team that looks to get a lot of its offense from the flanks. Lade, who was a Homegrown signing out of St. John’s, looked competent in his limited action after Roy Miller left with an injury against San Jose last week, and we know New York is going to need depth the rest of the way.

What to look for:

It’s a fairly makeshift lineup for Hans Backe, only this year – as opposed to last – it’s due to injuries (and a suspension) instead of international duty. We’ll see how the Red Bulls handle it, surely Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper will lead the line in a 4-4-2. I would just let Dax McCarty sit in the holding role with Joel Lindpere in front of him with Dane Richards and Mehdi Ballouchy on either side, but hints out of Red Bull camp have Icelander Victor Palsson possibly grabbing the starting spot. Either way it looks like  a vulnerable defense against an offensive club that might just be ready for another breakout performance, especially from a reigning MVP we haven’t quite heard from yet this season.

Ben Olsen rested a couple of players on Wednesday against Montreal and the end result was a sluggish home draw against an expansion team. But it’s hard to kill Olsen too much, he needed to see players early in the season, he seems to be very deep at certain positions, and it’s a long season, no reason to burn people out in April. Still, Olsen needs his team to be more consistent and he knows it. It does appear that the defense is a little more solid, although Emiliano Dudar being out hasn’t helped, but that defense will certainly be tested here.

Prediction: Draw 2-2

Elsewhere:

WEDNESDAY

DC United 1:1 Montreal – Already talked about this one above, the Impact are always battling, and even though it hasn’t turned into many points yet for them, that will pay dividends as the season goes on if they can keep it up. And they haven’t had any suspensions from the Disciplinary Committee yet.

Vancouver 1:3 Kansas City – Paulo Nagamura slid right in for Julio Cesar, as the Kansas City train keeps rolling right along, although their defense looked a little vulnerable at the end. And what was Jimmy Nielsen trying to pull after the Whitecaps’ goal. I know you’re mad they scored on you finally, but even if you’re right, that’s embarrassing.

SATURDAY

Columbus vs. Houston, 7:30 – This doesn’t stand to be pretty, but a good chance for Houston to pick up more points as they wait for their stadium to open next month. The Crew really don’t look like their heading anywhere fast right now and that’s not a good place to be. HOUSTON 1-2.

Colorado vs. Los Angeles, 9 – An interesting tilt between two teams that have some doubts about themselves. Will the Rapids be able to keep the ball at home like Kansas City did against the Galaxy, or can Los Angeles impose its will like it did last year so many times on the road? DRAW 1-1.

Vancouver vs. Dallas, 10 – Martin Rennie is showing some signs of frustration, and this is a tricky game for them after playing in mid-week. After an organized start, the defense of Martin Bonjour and Jay DeMerit has shown some weaknesses, and Dallas may be able to exploit them. DRAW 1-1.

San Jose vs. Real Salt Lake, 10:30 – The first of three late-night battles might be the best. The Earthquakes have had good results on the road before, only to struggle at home. And RSL may not be the best team to see this weekend under the circumstances. REAL SALT LAKE 0-1.

Portland vs. Kansas City, 10:30 – You think that Kansas City’s run has to end somewhere, and it will, but against a team that has some trouble in the back on a narrow pitch like their own? I think Portland might be up against it here. That’s not going to make John Spencer happy. KANSAS CITY 1-3.

Chivas USA vs. Philadelphia, 10:30 – Big game for Chivas here, at home against a struggling team. If they want to be considered a playoff contender, three points would be nice here. But, like San Jose, not so sure they’re ready quite yet. DRAW 1-1.

According to MLSSoccer.com, Marquez is ” Facing the Music”…if that’s not the biggest load of bulls**t you’ve read today, you probably have been at work and unable to access the internet. Instead of properly punishing Marquez, the MLSDC capitulated to a perceived star and the idea that people go to the stadium to see Rafa Marquez. It’s basically the same reason David Beckham has repeatedly escaped suspension for reckless and dangerous tackles, the MLSDC appears to be jaded by “star power”.

Marquez tossed a ball at Landon Donovan in the playoffs last season and received an additiona two match ban on top of the red card he recieved for the incident. This time, Marquez rugby tackles an opponent, shatters a bone in his body, kicks him around the face and gets suspended three games?

Here is what the committee said about their decision:

The Disciplinary Committee ruled that “Marquez tackled, fell on and kicked his opponent” in the 42nd minute of the April 14 match against the Quakes and his “actions were viewed as violent conduct that demonstrated blatant disregard for the safety of his opponent.”

You’ll never convince me it’s anything more than some kind of combination of MLS not wanting to take a “star” off the field and being generally chickens**t. They admitted that Marquez tackled and kick Salinas. They admitted that the act was violent conduct and that Marquez disregarded Salinas’ safety. So they suspended him three games. Pathetic.

Ricardo Clark kicked Carlos Ruiz in the chest and received a ten match ban, not that it should matter but Ruiz was unhurt. Brian Mullan executed a late and ugly tackle on Steve Zakuani, breaking his leg and received a ten match ban. Two violent incidents that supposedly set a precedent for this type of behavior moving forward. Instead of using that precedent and properly punishing Marquez, the MLSDC made fools of themselves and further eroded their already shaky authority to properly deal with suspensions.

Of course, the MLSDC will get away with this because that’s how MLS works, but they can also hide behind the flimsy veil of intent. They can claim that they couldn’t prove Marquez’s intent, but it simply doesn’t matter. Marquez tackled Salinas, broke his collarbone and kicked him…I’m not sure it can be any clearer to that, but apparently MLS and their “disciplinary committee” weren’t convinced. It’s becoming clear that they need to learn that they aren’t fooling anyone. Who you are matters when it comes to retroactive punishment and Rafa Marquez is clearly someone.

The venue changes for next week’s second leg as the teams will travel to the Camp Nou with Chelsea knowing what they have to do and Barcelona no doubt realizing that they were wasteful and inefficient and still dominated the first match in every way except for the scoreboard. I’m not writing Chelsea off, far from it, but anyone who believes that was a great result is fooling themselves. It was a good result, but it was a crossbar, post and massive Petr Cech save away from being a disastrous result for the Blues.

Fortunately for Chelsea, they know how to defend and that’s what they’ll have to do with all their might next week in order to survive what is guaranteed to be a onslaught of biblical proportions from the Blaugranes. Chelsea won’t have the friendly confines of Stamford Bridge and it’s narrow pitch that helped to squeeze Barca’s width and force them to play more compact than they would like. At the Camp Nou, Barca will utilize the wide open spaces and being able to stretch out the Chelsea defense a bit more.

The second leg will look virtually identical the first in that Chelsea will sit way back and look to steal a goal on the counter. Pep Guardiola’s men will dominate possession and attempt to break down the nine or ten men that will sit behind the ball in a desperate attempt to hold on to their advantage. Can they do it? Sure. Will they? Probably not.

Barcelona did not play well, despite having a ridiculous amount of possession and you can’t expect them to be as wasteful as they were last night. The biggest advantage Chelsea has is this weekend’s El Clasico which always has the potential to create all sorts of distractions in its wake. Then again, Barca have dealt with situations like this before and been just fine.

Basically, the second leg should be interesting and if Chelsea aren’t on their game from the opening whistle, it could get ugly quickly. The longer Chelsea can keep the lead and muck up the flow of play, the better chance they have of pulling off what is still a massive upset, even with the victory in the first leg.

The match was all Madrid early, but they only generated one really great chance that was thwarted by a wonderful save from Manuel Neuer on Karim Benzema. Despite Madrid’s early dominance, it was Bayern who struck first.

After Ribery had shamelessly dived just a minute earlier, Madrid appeared to lose some of their composure and were immediately punished by the home side. The ball chested down in the box and went right to Franck Ribery who’s shot appeared to take a slight deflection on its way past a diving Iker Casillas.

Bayern took the momentum from the goal and looked much better for the remainder of the half, but other than a close call by Mario Gomez, neither team really threatened to find the net.

After a slow start to the second half, Madrid capitalized on some defensive confusion from Bayern. Ronaldo was denied on a one-on-one by Neuer, but the rebound ended up with Karim Benzima who’s cross was touched back across goal by Ronaldo, bounced off the goalkeeper directly to Ozil and back in to the Bayern net. Not the most beautiful goal Madrid has scored this year, but a crucial away goal in this semifinal tie.

Bayern looked to have their second goal when Gomez got in clear on Casillas. Madrid was saved by defender Pepe who bumped Gomez off his run, giving time for Casillas to make a play. Gomez looked towards referee Howard Webb for a penalty, but the English official was having none of it. Gomez had another brilliant chance later after Ramos failed to properly deal with a clearance, but he skied the shot over the crossbar.

Fortunately for Bayern, Gomez is a persistent individual. In the 90th minute, Philipp Lahm beat Fabio Coentrao and sent a cross in to the box that Gomez buried past Casillas. It gave the Germans a 2-1 advantage going in to the second leg in Spain next week.

The match ended on a bit of controversy after Marcelo chopped down Thomas Muller from behind with a whip kick to the back of his knees. Howard Webb, who famously believes that kung-fu kicks to the best are perfectly acceptable, only showed Marcelo a yellow card despite it being clear to everyone a red card was needed. Horrible officiating from a generally horrible referee, despite the fact he’d done a good job all night of seeing past the large volume of diving being executed by both sides.

Yes, they were at home, and – sure – it’s early in the season, but as I watched the match, I thought it was about time to give credit where it’s due. Peter Vermes takes plenty of abuse for a DUI arrest two years ago, for losing his temper, and for putting a mediocre team on the field in the past, but he is the leader of this bunch and deserves the plaudits for it.

I don’t have time to get into all of it here, but consider this is the basic starting XI that Vermes is putting out there right now, for a team that hasn’t dropped a point this season:

In the back, Seth Sinovic was cut by the Revolution of all people last season, and basically fell into Kansas City’s lap because he grew up there. He’s absolutely transformed himself, and has been one of the best left backs in the league, good enough that when he was taken by Montreal in the expansion draft, they traded their captain- Davy Arnaud to return him to Sporting.

On the other side, Chance Myers looked like a bust as the top pick in the 2008 SuperDraft, but through a change of position or a change of confidence or a little of both, has been one of the most consistent right backs in MLS.

In the middle, I saw Aurelien Collin in one of his first games in MLS last year in New England, where he proceeded to pick up nine fouls and get sent off. Vermes said afterward, “he’s perfect for this league”, which led to an internal snicker from me, but I’m man enough to admit he was right on that one. Matt Besler plays the perfect foil, very solid, if not spectacular, what you want out of your center back most of the time.

The holding midfielder in the 4-3-3 is Brazilian Julio Cesar, who did play for Real Madrid and Benfica more than a decade ago, but that seemed like another lifetime, he looked washed up at center back last season when he first got to MLS.  Sure enough, he’s now used to the league, has a home at holding midfielder, and has been nothing short of tremendous in 2012 (unfortunately, he got hurt Saturday, but Vermes does have good cover there in Paulo Nagamura).

In front of Cesar is Roger Espinoza and Graham Zusi, two of the most underrated players in the league, at least by casual observers. Espinoza is Honduran, but came through the Generation Adidas program (via Ohio St.). He has a bit of a reputation for (overly) physical play, but he has done well in a box-to-box role for Vermes, popping up just about anywhere on the field to make a play.

I watch as much MLS as anyone, and I barely knew who Zusi was before he came out of virtually nowhere to go on an absolute tear last season. He’s proven this season that last year was no fluke.

Kei Kamara, C.J. Sapong, and Bobby Convey formed the front line, we know about Sapong and Kamara by now, but it’s worth noting that they weren’t exactly sought after commodities – at least as front-line players – a couple of years ago. Convey has 46 full national team caps, and was in the English Premier League with Reading, but like Cesar, that seemed like another era, especially when San Jose basically showed him the door after last season.

And how could we forget goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen, who made 342 appearances for his hometown team Aalborg in Denmark, only to make an ill-advised move to Leicester City, then go back to Vejle in Denmark, only to be found by Sporting when Vejle got relegated.

So, if you’re scoring at home, there are no Designated Players. But there are seven that came – at least in part – through the American college system (UCLA, Notre Dame, Creighton, Ohio St., Indiana, James Madison, and Cal St. Dominguez Hills for those scoring at home), a French center back that was playing in the English conference a couple of years ago, a Brazilian who had appearances for 13 other clubs before coming to MLS, an aging malcontent who was dumped from his former team, and a Danish goalkeeper who was about to retire until he got a call from Kansas City.

It sounds more like MLS 1.0 then MLS 2.0, but here there are. And here we are.

Onto the week that was in MLS. Here is the current table as we stand:

SATURDAY

PHILADELPHIA 1:0 COLUMBUS

What we learned:

Three shots on goal combined and the only tally comes via penalty? Unfortunately, that’s about what we thought out of this one. Give Philly credit for bringing good energy at home and overcoming Danny Califf getting injured in warm-ups – forcing Sheanon Williams out of position at center back and Raymon Gaddis into his first MLS start. It was a gutsy effort by the Union, but there was nothing that made me think they’re ready to go on a huge winning streak. And then Peter Nowak’s first two substitutions were what I thought were/are his two best players in Freddy Adu and Gabriel Gomez. But what do I know?

On the Columbus side, there were some positive points, too. Kirk Urso, who was underwhelming to me in the Crew’s first few games, was solid and had some pinpoint set pieces that were almost finished. Chad Marshall is in better form and Olman Vargas was their most dangerous attacking player (and had their only shot on goal). But Eric Gehrig continues to be a liability in the center of the defense, and you barely heard from Eddie Gaven, both concerning developments for Robert Warzycha.

Of course, Warzycha didn’t bother to start Emilio Renteria, who after playing 22 minutes off the bench, went nuts in the subsequent reserve match, getting a hat trick, an assist, and a red card, all in the first half. You think he was a little ticked off?  Tony Tchani also played in that game and was ejected, although his was because of two yellows. The Crew could really use a 100 percent Tchani right now.

Man of the Match:

Freddy Adu – It’s hard to give this to someone who only played an hour, but Adu was the creative force that kept Philly on the front for the period that eventually resulted in the penalty and for a stretch in the second half before he was subbed off. He wasn’t getting much help from Lionard Pajoy, but kept working, popping up all over the field and getting a few crosses in, the kind of active performance Union fans want on a weekly basis.

Anti-Man of the Match:

Aaron Schoenfeld – Renteria’s replacement wasn’t terrible, but he also wasn’t dangerous and didn’t create much going toward the Union goal. In 68 minutes, he had one off-target shot. He may amount to a decent striker in MLS, but I don’t quite think he’s ready for primetime quite yet.

Next up: Philadelphia – at Chivas USA; Columbus – vs. Houston

CHICAGO 1:1 HOUSTON

What we learned:

Well, we learned that games are official once they enter the second half as this game was stopped after 65 minutes and a couple of lightning delays. That probably favored Houston because they were shorthanded and Will Bruin’s goal was its only shot on goal, but it was fairly even and the Dynamo were creating things, especially through Bruin and Brian Ching (who combined on the goal).

Chicago’s goal was also fairly lucky. Pavel Pardo’s free kick somehow climbed Logan Pause’s back and the spin took it over Tally Hall and in perfectly. They probably couldn’t do that again in 1,000 tries. Jalil Anibaba and Arne Friedrich didn’t look terribly organized on the goal or in general, really, but it was their first game together. I still have more questions than answers about the Fire, Sebastian Grazzini showed flashes, as did Dominic Oduro, but Marco Pappa still doesn’t defend well, and it’s hard to see them beating good teams on a consistent basis. But it was a tough game on a hideous night to play, so we shall see.

As for Houston, Luiz Camargo was still a little lost in the middle, although Nathan Sturgis played vey well which could leave Dominic Kinnear with some selection issues going forward, at least he hopes Brad Davis will get healthy soon. His defense, though, was very solid, even with Jermaine Taylor filling in for Corey Ashe at left back. It wasn’t pretty, but Houston will probably take the point and go back to Texas with it.

(Silly note: Pardo after the game about the lightning delays, said, “This is the first time I’ve ever seen this in my life.” The Fire coaches also talked about the “new rules” regarding lightning detectors and automatic 30-minute delays, like they have in youth and high schools sports. But I’m curious, I don’t think I’ve ever watched a European match delayed by lightning. I could be wrong, of course, but that quote from Pardo and backed up by Arne Friedrich seems odd. Could be just me.)

Man of the Match:

Will Bruin – He’s been hit or miss in his MLS career, but he was a hit for most of tonight, even beyond the goal. Bruin was extremely active and a handful for the (granted makeshift) Fire defense. When Houston pairs Bruin and Ching together, this is the kind of performance they are looking for. Now can Bruin do it on a consistent basis?

Anti-Man of the Match:

Luiz Camargo – Because of the shortened game, Camargo goes down as the only person subbed out in this game, and it may be a while (if Davis gets healthy quickly) before he gets another start, although the Dynamo really need an attacking midfielder to be able to feed guys like Bruin and Ching. Maybe it was just a bad night with some unusual people around him due to suspensions and injuries.

Next up: Chicago – at Toronto; Houston – at Columbus

Elsewhere:

SATURDAY

New England 1:2 DC United – Got to see this one in person, one of the more open games you’ll see with 42 combined shots (22-20 DC) and almost dead even all the way down the stat sheet. But as it often is, a moment of brilliance from Chris Pontius was the difference. Both these teams are better than last year, and in the East, that should mean staying in the playoff race.

Seattle 1:0 Colorado – Zach Scott scored his first goal in 2,048 minutes and it was enough for the Sounders. Officially the Rapids had 60 percent of the possession, yet got outshot 18-4. Fascinating for those that look at such stuff. If Osvaldo Alonso was waiting for a chance to go after Brian Mullan and Mullan’s late foul was an opportunity to do, that’s fine, but it really wasn’t that bad.

Toronto 0:1 Chivas USA – To be fair, TFC had lots of chances, and – especially with Doneil Henry back in the second half – the defense was serviceable at least, but 0-5 is no way to start the season. Meanwhile, Robin Fraser just might be putting together a playoff contender. Ryan Smith (although he might be hearing from the Disciplinary Committee) and Osvaldo Minda have both acquitted themselves well, ad Dan Kennedy is in All-Star form.

New York 2:2 San Jose – So many talking points, so little time. You know it’s never a good sign when some of their own fans are begging the league to suspend Rafa Marquez. But while his tackle of Shea Salinas is bad in its physicality, it’s worse in its tactics. Somehow Ricardo Salazar missed as blatant a penalty as there’s ever been. I tried watching Marquez in this game, he barely moved defensively. I make fun of David Beckham for his lack of defense, but at least he cares, if he sees an imminent danger, he tries his best to get back to cover it. Not so much with Marquez. It’s likely that Marquez and Marvin Chavez will be suspended, but if Salazar has taken control, it might not have been that way.

Dallas 2:1 Montreal – It’s a Brek Shea sighting. Slightly harsh on the Impact, who worked hard, but committed 17 more fouls in the process. Touching moment when Bernardo Corradi scored a (disputed) penalty and dedicated it to Piermario Morisini, a fellow Italian whom Corradi had played with. Morisini died after collapsing on the field in a Serie B match earlier in the day.

Kansas City 1:0 Real Salt Lake – For the record, Nat Borchers got a header in stoppage time to beak the streak of not allowing a shot on goal. Sporting only had three at the other end, but if you give them 11 corner kicks, you’re probably going to pay, and they did.

Los Angeles 3:1 Portland – Not exactly a performance that makes us think that the Galaxy are back, buy David Junior Lopes was okay and Los Angeles did slowly take this game over in the second half. Still, no clean sheet, and easily could have allowed more than one goal in the first half. Portland is just not a good defensive team right now.

Chelsea advanced to the final after pounding Tottenham 5-1 on Sunday. The game turned on a controversial incorrect goal call that saw referee Martin Atkinson miss both an obvious foul from John Terry and the fact that the ball never actually crossed the line, despite the fact he was standing in the perfect position to see the play. The goal made the match 2-0 and despite quickly pulling back a goal, Spurs were never able to recover and conceded three times down the stretch.

The loss continues Spurs recent struggles that have seen them go from secure in their third place position in the league, to fighting for the fourth place UCL qualification spot with Newcastle and Chelsea.

Liverpool booked their place in the final, defeating rivals Everton in a sloppy defensive game that saw the Toffees take a first half lead thanks to a communication error in the Reds back line. Sylvain Distin’s second half howler allowed Luis Suarez to walk in on Tim Howard uncontested for the equalizer and Andy Carroll scored later after missing a couple great chances to give Liverpool the victory.

It’s the third time this season that Liverpool have defeated Everton.

The final will kick-off at 5:15pm local time on May 5th.

Special Recognition: This week’s edition of TWIST was competitive, with multiple people with two tweets on the list. However, one rose above the rest…and it’s fitting he was a defender. Alexi Lalas is this week’s TWIST Champion, congrats to everyone’s favorite American soccer Ginger.

And you need a little bit of anger to play at you best in most athletic endeavors. However, too much anger can obviously get you in plenty of trouble. Others have jumped on an issue that we’ve talked about here last week, and while I don’t need to go back in depth, I did want to address the discussion.

First, Steve Davis of NBC Sports is very good at his job, and – in my limited contact with him – seems like a good chap, but I think he’s about 180 degrees wrong on the MLS retroactive suspensions. I figured Shalrie Joseph would be suspended for his tackle on Ricardo Villar last week, and he was, so there’s a little consistency there. And we know it’s about player safety.

But when Davis admits “they won’t get it right 100 percent of the time”, that’s okay for a game official who is making split-second decisions. After the fact, though, you’d better darn well be right if you’re going to overrule (and somewhat emasculate) the man in the middle with the whistle.

We know that a five-person committee needs to be unanimous to take action, but to be completely transparent, shouldn’t MLS release the plays that may have gotten a majority vote, but not been unanimous? For instance, to me, Landon Donovan’s late, studs showing tackle of Kei Kamara late in their game last Saturday was almost as bad as Joseph’s, possibly worse because there was a little premeditation. Donovan was given a yellow card, and I presume the committee looked at it, and someone voted to suspend him. But if it was announced that Donovan’s tackle was 3-2 in favor suspension, wouldn’t that be a deterrent as well? The inconsistency is slightly maddening. Slightly.

Davis also points out that it’s better to err on the side of caution, to suspend more people because sitting out a match is better than more injuries. Even if you take that statement as true, to me,  competitive balance is the most important issue any professional league has to address, whether things are fair for all teams.

Shalrie Joseph won’t play this week. Landon Donovan will. If, somehow, the Revs don’t beat DC United without their captain and miss the playoffs by a point or two, they’ll have to wonder, won’t they?

Onto the week ahead in MLS. As usual, all times are EDT:

Philadelphia vs. Columbus

3:30 p.m., Saturday, NBC Sports

Pts (Games, Place): Union 1 (4, 9^th East); Crew 6 (4, 4^th East)

When last we met:

Philadelphia 1:0 Columbus, Sept. 17 – The Union snapped an eight-game winless streak in this match (remember how hot they were to start last season?) You want to guess who scored the game-winner? Some guy named Le Toux. Zac MacMath posted a clean sheet, but it wasn’t the prettiest contest, unfortunately.

Current form:

Philadelphia TLLL; Columbus LWWL

Random fact(s):

Roger Torres, now out at least a month, has the Union’s only assist this season. Gabriel Gomez has four shots on goal, Lionard Pajoy has two, and no one else has more than one. Kei Kamara leads the league with 14, Thierry Henry has 13, both more than Philly’s 11, dead last in MLS.

Player to watch:

Milovan Mirosevic – In a game that will be screaming for any kind of creative play, Mirosevic – while invisible for much of the game last week against New York – has shown flashes of brilliance in the first few games, and flashes may have to do for this one. But I’ve been surprised before.

What to look for:

For those that are new to this column, the reason why we’re previewing this game and not one of the other (see: better on paper) games is that we always preview the two nationally televised games. The fact that I have to point this out to you should probably indicate that this is not the most attractive game on the schedule. I think it’s something the league has to address in the future, I don’t think everyone wants to see the same teams over and over, but Real Salt Lake-Kansas City and San Jose-New York are much better games, and it would be nice to have the option to switch.

With that being said, this is a big game for two teams that could use a good performance. I hope Robert Warzycha doesn’t take the “road defensive shell” strategy and go with two defensive mids and Mirosevic at the point of a 4-5-1. But he might. And it might be effective against a Union team that has yet to find an identity, particularly on offense. It won’t be pretty, though. Warzycha needs someone to pair with Chad Marshall in the middle if Julius James is out long-term.

With all of the picking on Peter Nowak, and he makes it so easy, this is probably a game the Union should win. Gabriel Gomez looks like a good pickup, and the back looked solid against Vancouver, but up front, it’s just not good right now. We don’t know who Nowak is going to start, we do know that none of them are high on the confidence scale that goal scorers so badly need, and if you can’t score goals, it’s going to be hard to pick up points. Sometimes, though, it only takes one.

Prediction: Philadelphia 1-0

Chicago vs. Houston

7 p.m., Sunday, Galavision

Pts (Games, Place): Fire 4 (3, 7^th East); Dynamo 6 (3, 3^rd East)

When last we met:

Houston 1:1 Chicago, Oct. 1 – Former Dynamo Dominic Oduro scored the tying goal as Chicago continues a fairly impressive late-season run by getting a point in Houston. Colin Clark scored for Houston, although he won’t Sunday. The Dynamo missed a chance to move into first place in the East.

Current form:

Chicago LWT; Houston LWW

Random fact(s):

Houston’s last game was on March 23, meaning it will be 22 days between games, which is obviously more than a little strange scheduling. It has to do with the Dynamo opening a new stadium, but still. Meanwhile, the Fire have also only played three matches (like Houston), while Montreal and Real Salt Lake have played double that many.

Player to watch:

Nathan Sturgis – He’s only played eight minutes this season, but with Colin Clark and Adam Moffat suspended, and Brad Davis extremely questionable, it seems that Sturgis will get the start here. I was high on Sturgis at his first couple of MLS stops: he strikes a good ball and has some good technical qualities, but has never able to put it together consistently to be a starter for more than a short period of time. So a big chance for him here.

What to look for:

Three weeks off apparently was plenty of time for the Dynamo to accrue all kinds of suspensions and injuries, meaning Dominic Kinnear will probably have to get pretty creative with his selections. Expect someone like Calen Carr (a former Fire player) to get thrown into a wide midfield position. The key may be Jermaine Taylor filling in for Moffat in the holding role. In limited action, he’s done a decent job there, but he needs to be disciplined both in his tackles and his positioning. He should get some help from Je-Vaughn Watson, who could do a job in place of Moffat as well with a little change of positioning. We’ll see how Kinnear plays it.

Meanwhile, three games is tough to get a feel for a squad, so the Fire are still a work in progress. Oduro has both their goals, but he’s going to need a little help up front, perhaps from Sebastian Grazzini, who did assist on one of his goals. Cory Gibbs is out with a long-term injury, so that job will fall to Arne Freidrich, who should make his debut for the Fire here. I’ll be honest, I really don’t know what to make of Chicago this early, so I’ll try to play close attention to them on Sunday. And maybe Frank Klopas will make another (Marco) Pappa for (Federico) Puppo sub to make us all laugh again.

What could make this interesting is that Chicago should be able to dominate possession, especially with Pavel Pardo in the middle, but do they want to do that? Kind of limits the countering ability of Oduro,  so it may not be the most technical game in MLS history, but at least it should be very interesting tactically.

By the way, they say all publicity is good publicity, but after watching this, I’m not so sure.

Prediction: Chicago 2-1

Elsewhere:

SATURDAY

Seattle vs. Colorado, 4 – Suddenly a tough road for the Rapids, who were completely outclassed in Utah last week. Does Pablo Mastroeni mean that much to Colorado? The fact they signed Colombian Harrison Henao this week doesn’t make me feel confident about Colorado’s future. SEATTLE 2-0.

New England vs. DC United, 4 – Not a marquee game, but a big game for two teams that feel they might be able to pick off a playoff berth in the East by the end of the season. No Shalrie Joseph means the Revs are going to have to find a way to hold the ball somewhere else. DRAW 1-1.

Toronto vs. Chivas USA, 4:30 – Well, TFC doesn’t have a point yet this season and Chivas seems to be better on the road than at home. Toronto doesn’t need a draw, they need three points, preferably in a decisive way, but Robin Fraser may be sneaking a decent team on the field without many people noticing. DRAW 2-2.

New York vs. San Jose, 7 – Well, this is a good game. Wilman Conde looks like he’s out a while, and therefore New York’s defense may – again – be a big problem. But can San Jose’s improved defense, led by Justin Morrow and Victor Bernandez shut down Thierry Henry and company? Should be some goals here. NEW YORK 3-1.

Kansas City vs. Real Salt Lake, 8:30 – I mean, the fact that this game isn’t on my television somewhere is kind of silly to me, but baby steps I guess. You’d like RSL would be set up perfectly to deal with some of the direct stuff Sporting will throw at them, but it doesn’t always work that way. KANSAS CITY 2-1.

Dallas vs. Montreal, 8:30 – About time for Dallas to start to recapture some form here, you’d think, but the Impact will battle if nothing else, and Dallas doesn’t really look like they can break people down right now. But that could change here. DALLAS 1-0.

Los Angeles vs. Portland, 10:30 – Hey, Bruce Arena. David (Junior) Lopes is going to be the answer in your defense? Really? I’ll reserve judgment, but I don’t know. Like Dallas, this could be a game where the Galaxy breaks out, and I give them a better chance to do so because the Timbers defense is not good right now. LOS ANGELES 4-1.