Defense Keys Revs 4th Trip to MLS Cup

Taylor Twelllman and Steve Ralston seem to have gotten most of the ink this season for the Revolution, and why not? Ralston broke the all time MLS assists record set by his mentor Carlos "El Pibe" Valderrama earlier this season and Twellman as he did again last night has been breaking opponents hearts with improbable goals.

But last night's 1-0 Revolution victory over the Chicago Fire, a win that sent New England to its 4th MLS Cup title in 6 seasons has to be credited to a stout defense. Avery John, a veteran of Trinidad and Tobago's 2006 World Cup Campaign, MLS Defender of the year Michael Parkhurst, and the always solid Jay Heaps were on form snuffing out several late Chicago attacks on the goal. Shalrie Joseph was awesome as always at the holding midfield position, and most importantly did not pick up a yellow card that would have seen him suspended for MLS Cup.

Cuahatomac Blanco had a nice match for the Fire but didn't have that extra something he seems to have from time to time to break down the Revolution. Chris Rolfe played well for the Fire, and Paulo Wanchope in what is likely to be his last match with the Fire had some decent chances but failed to finish.

Steve Nicol and his largely home grown club (The entire squad either went to school in the United States or grew up in the USA, including foreign nationals who play for other national teams) have once again reached MLS Cup in this era of big name international signings for the league. Could Nicol's team win the Cup and show that despite the internationalization of MLS, ultimate faith still must be placed in American player and others develop by the American system?

Great Atmosphere as Chivas Draws Chicago

In front of what was probably the most lively crowd at an MLS match in sometime, if ever Chicago gave away a lead for the third straight match and Manager Juan Carlos Osorio lost his temper and was shown off the bench by the officials.

The match was tense as Cuauhtemoc Blanco, a long time Club America superstar and Chivas Guadalajara was making his first trip as a member of the Fire to Los Angeles. The sellout crowd was loud from the start and the place erupted when Blanco scored on a wonderful free kick in the first half.

But in the second half controversy ensued as Chivas was given a penalty and Claudio Suarez finished it. Late in the match Blanco appeared to be tripped in the box after a great run by Alex Zotinica, but Blanco who is notorious for fighting with officials choose not to argue the call instead looking to take a quick corner, thus Osorio lost his temper and was sent off. The match ended in a lively draw, but Chicago is certainly leaving the door open for Columbus or Los Angeles to catch them for the final playoff spot.

"Blanco Cam" Debuts Tonight on ESPN 2

ESPN 2 bombed with Beckham Cam, because the combination of injuries and poor supporting play doomed David Beckham' s short stint in MLS. But tonight ESPN 2 is debuting a "Blanco Cam" to follow Cuauhtemoc Blanco's every move on the pitch as his Chicago Fire takes on FC Dallas. The camera will be busy considering Blanco has averaged over 40 touches a game, and has almost single handidly moved the Fire into playoff contention. I'd request our readers to let me know how the Blanco Cam fits into the match since I will be unable to watch the game live due to the Miami-Texas A&M College Football game tonight at the Orange Bowl.

The Blanco Effect

For all the hype around the arrival of David Beckham stateside, no mid-season signing has had the affect on its team than that of Cuauhtemoc Blanco for Chicago. Blanco's signing was far from a sure thing: After all Mexican Internationals have come to MLS and flopped previously, the most notable being Luis Hernandez who spent a miserable year and a half with the LA Galaxy, and many myself included took Ricardo LaVolpe's decision to dump Blanco from the Mexican World Cup Team as a sign that his volatile personality had reached a boiling point.

At 34, Blanco seems to have reached the pinnacle of his career. Despite now being nothing more than a reserve for the National Team, he was the most valuable player in this spring's Mexican Clausura where he led Club America to the finals where they lost to Pachuca. Like a fine wine he seems to have gotten better with age and also dumped his immature and temperamental side, channeling his emotion into leadership for his club.

His arrival in Chicago was not met by the fanfare Beckham's was in LA, but with three goals and four assists in four league games and one friendly he has played, the Fire has been transformed. The team which looked out of sorts for months, now has a genuine playmaker. This has turned the Fire, a team that looked more desperately lost than even the LA Galaxy a month ago into a likely playoff team. Blanco has thus far been able to dictate play with his new team unlike Beckham, and as a playmaking #10 he has made his quality has rubbed off on his teammates.

Blanco has also had a hidden affect on attendance. Unlike Hernandez whose affect on crowds was limited to his debut with the Galaxy (where they did draw 40,000 plus) Blanco has increased Chicago's attendance by an average of 5,000 fans for each home date since he arrived. In addition, larger than usual crowds in smaller markets like Salt Lake City and Kansas City have come out to see him and have loudly cheered every touch he has made during the run of play. When Blanco does play against FC Dallas, Colorado and Houston on the road expect large crowds cheering his every touch once again.

No disrespect intended towards the great David Beckham who has given MLS immense international visibility and credibility or Juan Pablo Angel, but this season's top "designated player" addition to this point has been Blanco. Of course when David Beckham is healthy and the Galaxy actually make an effort to surround him with players that compliment his abilities that may change, but for now Blanco is the key impact "Beckham Rule" newcomer in the league.

What we Learned from the Friendlies

This past week the United States became the epicenter of the club football world with numerous friendlies involving large clubs from all over the world, as well as the unveiling of David Beckham as a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy. Now that the lights have faded and most MLS clubs are back to league action or off to Superliga, let's evaluate what we've learned this past week.

Asia Trumps the US as a Market for European Clubs

Manchester United has clearly determined what Chelsea now should. Having a preseason tour in Asia is a much better way to sell tickets, develop new fans and sell merchandise than touring the United States. Chelsea may have fine tuned the chemistry of their squad on this tour, but they could have quite frankly done that in Europe. Chelsea was overshadowed by Club America in the first match (which happens anytime Club America plays in the US), played in front of a near empty stadium in its second match and got caught up in Beckham mania hype in its third match.

Everton's first match of its US tour, a 2-0 loss to Real Salt Lake provided RSL's second smallest weekend evening crowd since the franchise began MLS play three seasons ago. Chicago's friendly with Celtic was played in front of a half empty Toyota Park and according to some reorts MLS gave away tickets to the All Star game Thursday Night (versus Celtic) to make Dick's Sporting Goods Park appear full on TV.

The bottom line is simple. While a few years back crowds flocked to see European clubs play on American soil, the novelty of these matches has worn off and right now event promoters are better off booking big Mexican clubs who come with a built in fan base wherever they play in the USA than European clubs who may or may not sell tickets.

Chelsea Will Be Alright

Unlike last season when Chelsea's poor performance against the MLS All Star showed the team suffered from post World Cup fatigue and a lack of cohesion, this trip showed Chelsea can find different ways to win matches against different types of quality opponents. John Terry despite a broken toe anchored a strong back line, and Didier Drogba worked to create space up front. While Jose Mourinho still has lots to learn in terms of using his flank players properly (including newly signed Florent Malouda) Chelsea's possession game versus Los Angeles was impressive, and save some great defending by former Liverpool and Everton defender Abel Xavier, Chelsea could have picked its scoreline.

Celtic's Slow Starts are Worrying

Gordan Strachan must be concerned about how lethargic his Celtic team looked in the first half against both the MLS All Stars and the Chicago Fire. Artur Boruc's heroic goalkeeping single handily kept Celtic from being blown off the pitch in the first half of both matches. The latter part of the second half of both games however were dominated by Celtic, which is somewhat confusing considering it was the second teamers that looked sharp. But the fact that Juan Pablo Angel, Juan Toja, and Eddie Johnson found so much space for the MLS All Stars in the first half versus Celtic and that Chicago's Cuauhtémoc Blanco appeared to be toying with Celtic the whole time he was on the pitch for shows Celtic's defense could be severely tested in the Champions League this season.

European style Fixture Congestion Has Come to the US

With the advent of Superliga, and all of these international friendlies MLS clubs are beginning to run into some serious fixture congestion. It was interesting to observe today how both DC United and Houston protected certain players knowing that they will play as many as five non-friendly matches in the next two weeks. The LA Galaxy schedule between the two friendlies this week, the MLS All Star Game, Superliga and MLS Regular Season is nothing short of cruel and unusual punishment. The Galaxy is a mess as it is, but may need two seperate squads to survive this brutal stretch.

Cuauhtémoc Blanco will Improve Chicago

The jury is still very much out on whether or not a specialty player like David Beckham will actually help the struggling LA Galaxy, or whether the team will completely sink in the circus surrounding Beckham's arrival stateside. But today we learned the second highest profile MLS addition of the summer, Cuauhtémoc Blanco has already developed an understanding of his team mates in Chicago and has taken on the #10 role with the Fire. Blanco clearly is relishing being the focal point with the Fire he was with Club America and his performance against Celtic was nothing short of spectacular.

The Galaxy Are Discrediting MLS With Their Performances

In the same week that bottom of the table Real Salt Lake beat Everton and last place Eastern Conference team Chicago drew with Celtic the L.A. Galaxy seeking to become North America's signature football club was humiliated in front of the world's eyes. The British media assembled to watch David Beckham's future club lose to a lower mid table Tigres side 3-0. After this match the Galaxy were described as a "pub team" by one British media outlet. The truth is the Galaxy is not much better than a semi professional team right now and in fact lost to a third division team last week.

The Galaxy is under a microscope and despite the fine performances of other MLS clubs and players this past week the Galaxy are the team the European press is watching and they did little to redeem themselves against Chelsea last night again showing a lack of quality in the attack and poor touches and clearances from the back line and midfield.

South American Signings Have Changed MLS for the Better

Four names for you: Angel, Scheletto, Toja and Emilio. Each of these new additions to the league have a quality and flair that has been sorely lacking in MLS since the early years of the league. Three of these four signings were below the radar so to speak but each player has improved the team he is on. The MLS for marketing purposes and to improve the quality of play on the pitch must continue to mine the best talent it can from Latin America and bring them stateside whether they are young prospects like Toja, old veterans like Scheletto, world superstars like Angel or journeymen like Emilio.

Blanco to Sign With Chicago

Cuauhtemoc Blanco one of Mexico's best all time players, but also a temperamental superstar who was controversially left off the 2006 World Cup team, will sign early this week with the Chicago Fire according to the Chicago Tribune. Blanco will be the 2nd foriegn superstar signed under the so-called "Beckham Rule," and the third player signed overall under the rule.

How will Blanco's signing affect the Fire? Check out our Eastern Conference preview on Tuesday for analysis.

Blanco to MLS?

SI.com is reporting that Cuauhtemoc Blanco, a legendary Mexican striker who was dropped from the national team by former coach Ricardo LaVolpe prior to Germany 2006 (but has subsequently returned to the squad under Hugo Sanchez) is close to a contract with the Chicago Fire. Blanco would be a "Beckham Rule" designated player.