MLS Cup 2009: When Antifutbol wins tournaments

If you are a fan of MLS, then you fall in two categories: either you were going for LA and Beckham and Donovan and greater respect for the league when the "superclub" wins it all.... or you hate MLS's direction (Beckham included) and you wanted the Cinderella team to win it all. Yesterday it was Jason Kreis' team that won the battle, but they won it by chance and by the psychology of penalties and the well-poised Rimando.

It is antifutbol, yes. This word has been coined in Latin American soccer media through the years as a way to describe overly defensive teams and penalty kick decisions. When given a chance, any psychologically motivated goalkeeper is tough to contend with. After riding high on last week's win versus Chicago, Nick Rimando was as sure of himself as Goycochea was for Argentina in 1990. It would require more power and placement than Galaxy players could. Landon Donovan, always so sure on penalties, was not to be undone by Rimando. And he wasn't. Instead, his first penalty miss in quite a while went over the bar.

It is also true that although they may have felt an edge as favorites, the Galaxy star players looked tired and injured. Such was the case of Beckham, who disappeared late in the game, and Ricketts, whose injury aided in RSL's equalizer.

And then there's Real Salt Lake. A blue collar team, grassroots from its inception and full of young, hard-working talent. Jason Kreis may have been the apprentice compared with Arena, but he has now become the master. Out was Morales early in the game and constant was the pressure from the Galaxy attack. Movsisyan, Beckerman and Findley probed a fragile Galaxy defense often and hard... especially in the extra time. They held their ground, forced the tie, and eventually lifted the trophy.

The penalties were just what they are supposed to be: a game of chance and psychology, the epitome of antifutbol. Salt Lake City now has a bona fide champion, a beautiful cathedral of a stadium and a fan base that isn't going away, not after yesterday. Maybe a designated player looms in the horizon--Blanco, I'm looking in your direction. For the Galaxy, it's back to square one, back to solidifying their defense, back to re-sign Donovan or search for another star to feed of Beckham, back to asking themselves if they really can become a superclub.

Prelude to MLS Cup 2009

The MLS season has built up to this day. It is LA versus Real Salt Lake. The dream final of Chicago - LA didn't happen thanks to Nick Rimando's penalty kicks heroics, but Beckham and Donovan highlight a rebuilt, refurbished and focused Galaxy team under the direction of Bruce Arena.

MLSers out there had been waiting for this game ever since the English ace first signed with the league in 2007. Maybe what he and the team needed was to be away from all the hoopla and to focus on the games, how to win them, and how to play defensive soccer while at the same time highlighting the magic of its offense.

Things are different for the Salt Lake City team. On their 5th anniversary, with a stable, workman style crew, Jason Kreis is hoping for a Cinderella story that will propel them to the top of the league. Robbie Findley and Kyle Beckerman highlight the team's attacking style. They were lethal at home but terrible on the road. But they found a way to win outside of Rio Tinto Stadium at just the right time--the playoffs.

There are plenty of European-minded soccer fans in this great country that greatly dislike playoffs and a single "final." But keep in mind that this isn't necessarily the case in plenty of other countries in the Western Hemisphere. Mexico, for example, also has a "liguilla" that is in playoff format (they are currently in their quarterfinal stage). MLS is now 14 years old and has morphed into a bona fide talent developing institution (Howard, Altidore, Donovan, Dempsey). Tonight's game will be just what the league needed: An awesome, star-studded team (LA Galaxy) against a Cinderella (Real Salt Lake), all against the backdrop of the best atmosphere in the league--Seattle. The Sounders broke all sorts of records in their debut season, and although they aren't in the final, their fans sure are and the city has welcomed soccer fanatics from all points in the nation.

Cheers, Seattle. Thank you, Salt Lake and Galaxy. Let's have a great match and may the best team on the field win.