When Superclubs meet: Barcelona-Real Madrid and Arsenal-Chelsea

It is always such a treat to watch the most expensive, most coached, most watched, and most controversial teams play each other. Such was the case with the Barcelona - Real Madrid SuperClasico and the Arsenal-Chelsea London derby. Both games delivered and were worth the millions spent on the teams (not endorsing such exorbitant prices, by the way).

For Arsenal it was perhaps the lack of Van Persie and Adebayor, or just that Ancelotti clearly outmanaged Arsene "Voyeur" Wenger. Or maybe it's because Chelsea is just that good this year. When you realize that the same group of players have basically been marinating in their own collective talents (Lampard, Ballack, Drogba, Deco, Anelka, Terry, the Coles) you have to admit something special could come to fruition. The Drogba-Anelka tandem alone strikes fear into opponents, especially now that they are starting to gel. Drogba, needless to say, is pure magic, and both goals against Arsenal attest to this notion.

In the city of Barcelona, home of the soccer team bearing the city's name, a clash of titans occurred today. It was the "merengues" Real Madrid visiting Guardiola's champions. It was Raul - C. Ronaldo versus Ibrahimovic - Messi. It was Iniesta - Xavi versus Xabi Alonso - Kaka. It was a slow game at times with plenty of defense, but Ibrahimovic needed only one shot on goal. It is the Swede's positioning, opportunism, and clarity in finishing that makes he and this Barca team so dangerous to stellar defenders like Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos and Pepe. Perhaps Real Madrid would wow us with every move if it weren't such a makeshift team put together with a dream of winning everything, but instead coalesced established players around a quality nucleus at midfield (like Barcelona and Chelsea). But, who are we to dismiss any of these teams? They make us cheer, scratch our heads, and appreciate the king of all sports--soccer.

More Liga magic: en route to Sudamericana crown

As if last week's heroics versus River Plate of Uruguay wasn't enough, yesterday's demolishing of Fluminense of Brazil further cemented the Quito team as one of the top club teams in the world, let alone of South America. What can we expect from the final next week? A great showing and maybe a win versus Fluminense in Rio would be nice... else, if there's a loss, nice fireworks at the end of the game for the crowning will be another star for Ecuador club football.

Enjoy the goals by Mendez (hat trick), "el Mago" Salas, and former Ecuador legend Ulises de la Cruz:

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.

Liga de Quito: The new Ecuador Idol

El idolo del Ecuador. That was Barcelona of Guayaquil. Might it still be? With me being away from my home country for 19 years, it's hard to say. With recent events, however, it's tough to argue with the fact that Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito is the best club team Ecuador has ever produced. We measure this not just in the domestic league (9 titles, behind Nacional, Barcelona, Emelec), but on an international level. Liga won the Copa Libertadores last year, was a finalist in the Club World Cup against Manchester United, and won the Recopa (match between Libertadores and Sudamericana winners).

Today was another high point for the Quito team. They won with an amazing score of 7-0 against Uruguay's River Plate in the 2009 Sudamericana semifinal. This means they advance to yet another international final against Fluminense of Brazil (curiously, the same team they faced in last year's Libertadores final). That's four finals over the course of two years. Truly a noteworthy accomplishment.

As much as it may pain me as a native of Guayaquil and a hardcore fan of Emelec, I must admit to this: Why shouldn't Liga be the new idol? The little kids in the country without a team of their own need only watch television to assert their allegiance. This is a team that boasts former Ecuador internationals De la Cruz, Reasco and Edison Mendez. What young Ecuadorian footballer doesn't want to play alongside them?

Enjoy the highlights of this record-breaking game:

World Cup teams set, scheming begins

Vive la France. Vive les Bleus. France are in after Henry "handed" them a victory thanks to his pass for William Gallas. It's tough to argue that significant dividends will come from the French's inclusion in next year's tournament. Add Anelka, Benzema, Henry and Malouda and you start to see the economic impact. This also sets up another possibility for Brazil to not win the tournament. For the past six World Cups, only France and Argentina have been able to knock off the "verdeamarela." France-Brazil in quarterfinals of Mexico '86 and Argentina-Brazil in the round of 16 in Italia '90 are some of my best memories.

Another economic success is Portugal's entry into the tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo will be in the World Cup after all. After a poor showing at home versus Bosnia in a match that the Bosnians deserved to win (3 hits on the post), the Balkan team collapsed at home due to player suspensions and saw their chances of advancing come to an end on a sad night in Zenica. Portugal won without CR9 by the minimal score away from home.

Welcome back, Greece, Slovenia, Uruguay, Algeria. Greece, the unlikely Euro chanps in 2004, enter their second World Cup since their debut in 1994. This a stronger Greek team full of defensive potential. They are the new Italy of defensive football. Out is Shevchenko's Ukraine, which failed to win in Donetsk. Slovenia also managed to knock off another former Soviet republic--Russia. Guus Hiddink failed to qualify a young and promising Russian team that had raised a few eyebrows during the last three years.

Uruguay are back thanks to a playoff versus relatively weak Costa Rica. The team is loaded with attacking talent in Bueno and Forlan. Then there is Algeria, appearing in its first World Cup since 1986. They are a country rich in soccer history (Zidane's family is from Algeria). They battled against Egypt on neutral soil in Sudan after tying in every statistic in their respective African group. The match was a gut-wrenching 90+ minutes full of joy and sorrow. I caught the Egyptian-based signal and it was sad to hear the tones of voice emanating from the announcers even though I couldn't understand a word they said.

The next phase is Friday, December 4th in Cape Town (ESPN2 at noon), where the draw will take place that will decide the groups for the initial stage in next summer's tournament. Who will be in the "group of death"? Who will have an easy "group of life"? What group will the USA land in? It will be a fun couple of hours .

Henry gives France a hand

La main de Dieu. La mano de Dios. The hand of God. Not Maradona. Thierry Henry. Easily one of my favorite players, but even they can fall from grace. And so he did. Kind of. At least in Ireland and most places that don't fancy the French and/or their national team. He handled it, no doubt. He probably thought he would get called on it, yes. In the end it wasn't really his fault. It wasn't the referees'. It was the game.

For some time now, maybe 40 years, there have been calls for video playback to be included in the officiating of matches. FIFA was slow to act and simply never did it. It would be useful for handballs, dives, goal-line decisions and other important calls that might change the result of a game. True, it might hamper the flow of the game. True, it might lengthen the game. But how long are we going to watch travesties such as today's to continue when we have the technology to circumvent this problem?

I propose this: With NFL rules as a start, why not allow two "challenges" to each team that can be reviewed by the officiating crew? This way it will only be a limited amount of calls, adding potentially another 4 minutes to each game.

But now it's just the result that matters. France are back in the World Cup, and with it the millions of dollars in sponsorship deals and media contract. Out is Ireland. A country proud of its sport, whose warriors on the field were handed an unfair result. But that's football.