Beckham's Penalty Shootout Curse

Even in MLS, Mr. Posh Spice can't catch a break in a penalty shootout.

After being a part of English teams that lost in penalties in the 1998 and 2006 World Cups, as well as the Euro 2004 championships, David Beckham felt the sting of another shootout loss in the MLS Cup final. Beckham fired in his penalty, but saw Landon Donovan sky a Baggio-esque effort and Nick Rimando continued his PK heroics for Real Salt Lake, your 2009 MLS Cup champions.

The game was fairly decently played, particularly the first 65-70 minutes, even though quality chances were somewhat lacking. LA scored a well taken goal in the first half, with Beckham springing Donovan down the right, and Donovan providing a perfect cross to Mike Magee on the back post to volley home from close range. RSL answered in the second half after a shot by Yura Movsisyan bounced around and fell to Findley from about six yards out to the left, where he fired home.

Findley provided glimpses of why some people are hoping he can fill the void at US striker caused by Charlie Davies's absence. He has speed and always seemed to be something of a threat when he was running at the LA defense. Unfortunately RSL, despite having a lot of possession, particularly in the second half of the game, did not have a good creative type to provide telling service. Kyle Beckerman produced another quality display leading the midfield, but he lacks the imagination in the final third that was expected to be provided by Javier Morales, who was lost to injury in the first half.

Interestingly, Donovan may have portended his penalty miss in an podcast interview with ESPN's Sport Guy Bill Simmons last week. He said that usually he picks a side, but that sometimes he'll just sort of see where the keeper is guessing and change his kick to the other side for the easy goal. He made a comment to the effect that this can cause problems because anytime you change your mind late, you don't hit it as well and you get those shots that are up the middle. Rimando guessed to Donovan's right, which seems to be his preferred side, and Donovan probably tried to change where he was placing it, ultimately hitting a very poor shot that skied high. For US fans' sake, let's hope the usually spot-on Donovan got this miss out of his system now rather than if he's called upon in the World Cup.

It would have been nice to see Andy Williams clinch the shootout when he stepped up for his kick. He was something of a sentimental favorite to win for those he know about his trying year with his wife suffering from a rare form of leukemia. Unfornately that was not be, but he was bailed out when Edson Buddle stepped up for LA with a terrified look on his face like he was about to crap himself. Rimando saved, RSL made the clinching PK and it was celebration time. They showed Williams's wife in the box during the celebrations and she seemed about as excited as she must have been when she got her diagnosis. Would've expected a little more emotion there, no?

The final comment goes to Seattle, which everyone reporting from MLS Cup says the City embraced the final as a big time event, coming out in strong numbers (over 46,000), the best MLS Cup showing since 2002. Too bad it's still a turf field, one that seemed to cause footing problems with numerous players falling and slipping randomly as if sniped down. It'd be nice if a great soccer scene such as Seattle could also have an appropriate playing field. Still it was a nice event, only if next time it could have a kickoff that starts before 9pm on a Sunday night, Eastern time. The expansion draft is coming up Wed and then we can put MLS on the backburner with other big events coming up around the World in the next two weeks (important Champions League action mid-week; El Clasico, the Merseyside Derby, and Arsenal-Chelsea this weekend; World Cup draw next Fri).

What We Learned This Weekend

We learned little this weekend, most judgments pending further outcomes.

We learned the US has some defensive depth because Jonathan Spector is versatile and can play center back in a pinch. And I hope we can get a chance to see what we have in Edgar Castillo on Wednesday against Denmark (especially seeing as Bornstein was poor against Slovakia). Building defensive depth is never a bad thing (though Clarence Goodson does not count as defensive depth).

We learned were reminded that the US has no attacking depth. In addition to an uninspired Jozy Altidore, Bob Bradley called upon Conor Casey, Eddie Johnson, and Jeff Cunningham to lead the attack. That's otherwise known as the striker pu pu platter. Granted with unavailable players limiting his choices, Bob Bradley didn't have much to work with. MLS playoffs kept Robbie Findley and Brian Ching from getting looks. And more importantly, Landon Donovan and Stuart Holden were absent, meaning that probably the US's next best option at forward, Clint Dempsey, remained in midfield rather than moving up top.

Also, can we just pray that Donovan doesn't get injured, because let's face it there is little creativity and menace to the US attack without him and if Jozy isn't having an A game. Holden can add that element, but again he wasn't there, though he will be against Denmark. Robbie Rogers hasn't hurt himself with his displays, but I don't think he's a starter and he's definitely not someone who should be expected to be the fulcrum of the US attack. And unfortunately Torres won't be playing Wed either. Feilhaber and Bradley controlled the midfield well, though some of that was due to the extreme defensive look Slovakia was playing, but they never really carved out a truly threatening final pass.

We learned that Brad Guzan looks like he will continue to provide excellent back up in the net despite still playing behind Brad Friedel at Aston Villa. His Cup heroics for the Villains are not flukes.

We learned that FIFA knows how to give out toothless punishment. Two month ban for Maradona for his explitive-laden rant means his can't be present at the World Cup draw and he misses one friendly match. Tough.

We learned that Uruguay will be joining said World Cup draw. Sure they still have the second leg to play, but Costa Rica has been in a free fall during qualifying and there's no way they will overturn a 1-0 home leg defeat in Montevideo on Wed. The World Cup is better off for having La Celeste rather than the Ticos.

Nothing was settled in UEFA qualifying, though we did learn another reason to hate the French, what with Lassana Diarra causing some sort of ruckus and being "unclassy" with the Irish. The World Cup would be better off having the Irish fans and their team's spirit there, but in pure talent, the country that gave us Michele Platini and Zinedine Zidane are the better bet. They outclassed Ireland in Dublin, and players like my man Joann Gourcuff, Thierry Henry, and Patrice Evra do qualify as classy footballers in my book. The 1-0 away win is a great result, and while the Irish won't go down without a fight, they have long odds at this point.

Russia also has some classy players, with Andrei Arshavin (in my book the main reason why Arsenal are looking like a real threat this season) leading the way. Having Guus Hiddink in charge pretty much guarantees some nice attacking football and probably a good World Cup showing if they make it there, but they need to be wary after Slovenia grabbed an away goal. Still, I couldn't name you a single player from Slovenia. Elsewhere, Ukraine and Greece played to a 0-0 draw, fitting for a match that is drawing the least amount of attention of all the playoffs. And Portugal will continue to make things difficult for themselves. While a clean sheet victory at home is usually a great way to start off a tie, the slender advantage means there will be stressful times in the second leg in Bosnia. I'd love to see one of Bosnia's superb strikers get a goal to really open up that match. All neutrals may want Portugal to win so Ronaldo can play in the World Cup, and even though I'm inclined to want the same, deep down don't we know that Portugal is just going to disappoint in the World Cup anyway?

Finally, we also learned our 2009 MLS Cup participants! Landon Donovan and David Beckham can get you a long way in MLS, so the LA Galaxy have to be favorites for MLS Cup. For the second straight year an unexpected team got hot at the right time to make it to the playoff championship, this year being RSL. Salt Lake has players to like (Findley, Yura Movsisyan, Kyle Beckerman, Clint Mathis) and Nick Rimando had flashbacks to his 2004 Eastern Conference Final penalty kick heroics (one of the great matches I've ever attended). I think it'll be a good Cup final, and the Seattle crowd should be a good one, hopefully giving the MLS season a nice send off.

Over-coaching Does Not Work

The first MLS playoff tie is over, with Salt Lake defeating the Columbus Crew last night at Crew Stadium 3-2, for a 4-2 aggregate victory. The victory is a big upset for RSL, but probably the biggest subplot for the series was the over-coaching by Robert Warzycha.

Despite winning their second consecutive Supporters Shield trophy, the Crew were inconsistent down the stretch, finishing 1-3-1 in the month of October (including a CONCACAF Champions League match). The Crew were struggling to score, so Warzycha constantly changed lineups, leading to the inexplicable decision to sit reigning MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto in the first leg 1-0 away defeat. He claimed he wanted to find a new combo to spark the offense. What?!

Starting the second leg, all Schelotto did was score two goals. Of course Warzycha balanced out that obvious move by not starting Robbie Rogers. This type of decision making is common, and in MLS the perfect example is Tom Soehn, formerly employed by DC United. He may have had some unfortunate circumstances (injuries, extremely busy schedule), but coaches need to stop over-thinking and develop a best team (usually that means your best players) and ride them for important games. I think the playoffs qualify.

(By the way, the MLS playoffs are just stupid. Why have a conference system for the playoffs? I understand for the season due to the traveling a straight table would require, but the if you're not going to keep all the teams within their conference for the playoffs by giving the the last two spots to the teams based on best record regardless of conference, just do a straight up seeding of the top 8 teams. We now have RSL, a Western Conference team, playing in the Eastern Conference finals, one year after playing in the Western Conference finals! Great job MLS.)

Another coach who was long derided for his rotational policy was Rafa Benitez. He seemingly got things right in the Champions League, prior to this season anyway, but was also changing his squad so that they never gained any consistency in the Premier League. A thin squad didn't help, and at this point the squad is even thinner, with Gerrard likely needing surgery and Torres probably the same, even though he's toughing it out and playing injured. Benitez basically has no choice but to start the same 11 players because he no one to choose from. Not that that stops him from doing things like starting Andriy Voronin and constantly subbing Yossi Benayoun even though he's been Liverpool's most effective perform not named Torres recently.

Now I understand the need to rotate players some when you have so many games as teams like Liverpool and Manchester United. Certainly Alex Ferguson is guilty of odd choices now and then, but he's choosing between players like Anderson, Scholes, Giggs, Carrick or Fletcher, or between Owen, Macheda, or Berbatov. A little different from choosing between Andriy Voronin and Ryan Babel. Or picking the immortal Emilio Renteria and Steven "Blond Sideshow Bob" Lenhart over Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

Not that I'll complain about Liverpool having a disastrous season, despite my affinity for the wonderful atmosphere at Anfield and the Kop for big matches and my man crush on Steven Gerrard. Monday Liverpool take on Birmingham at Anfield, and if they don't win that one, not only will they not be winning any hardware this season (not that they will even if they win), but there's really no way Rafa can stay on. Sometimes a coach's tenure just runs its course. He'll win elsewhere, just not in Liverpool.

Lineup selection and tactical choices very well could play a big part in the weekend's big match between Chelsea-Man U on Sunday at the Bridge. While a win could very well boost the victor's psychological edge in the title race, but not even being halfway through the season and only a two point difference between them, let's not make this out to be a title decider quite yet. It'll still be great theatre (I hope) and it's the match of the weekend (with the Sevilla-Valencia match another highlight, especially after Los Che have found their form in back to back 5-0 and 4-1 victories over Tenerife and Lazio). Chelsea have a fairly set best 11, but SAF's starting 11 could be telling as it's their biggest match so far this season and we don't quite know what his best 11 looks like. Let's hope he doesn't overthink it.

MLS Season Review

Tonight marks the beginning of MLS's second season, the playoffs. Expansion Seattle FC and their smug, coffee drinking fans take on the Houston Dynamo before the remaining three pairings start this weekend - Real Salt Lake v. Columbus, New England v. Chicago, and Chivas USA v. LA Galaxy (boy is MLS happy they get to have a playoff edition of the LA Derby -- note, it is not the Super Clásico! That is reserved for Boca-River and only Boca-River).

So, now is as good a time as any to review what was unfortunately a somewhat ordinary MLS season.

Columbus - 49 pts. For the second year in a row, Columbus wins the Supporters Shield on the back of ageless Guillermo Barros Schelotto. However, indicative of the MLS season as a whole, this year the Crew finished tops with 49 points, whereas last year they finished tops with 57. This was mostly a result of 10 draws this season, as there were an inordinate amount of draws throughout MLS. Parity is rampant and MLS is not the better for it. This is not the NFL, there are other leagues for the best players to go to for better competition and much better salaries.

Indeed, Columbus has a very good team, but they don't really scare anyone or really stir anyone's imagination with their play. Fits the city and stadium I suppose. Schelotto is simply class, and other than Robbie Rogers, the rest of Columbus is merely capable MLS attackers (Eddie Gaven, Jason Garey, Alejandro Moreno). The difference, other than Schelotto, was solid goalkeeping and a defense led by Chad Marshall (despite his missing some games due to injury and the National Team) and Frankie Hejduk (ditto). They have as good a chance as any team to win MLS Cup and repeat as champions, and it's good to see Robbie Rogers hopefully build on his key substitute appearance for the USA against Costa Rica.

Los Angeles - 48 pts. The Galaxy were a team of two halves. Their season started with a ridiculous 1-1-9 record. Just look at that. One win, one loss, nine ties. Like I said, parity. Plus there was this thing about Beckham and Landon Donovan and some book. You may have heard about it.

Anyway, LA finally kicked it into another gear in the second half as their potent offense kicked off and they finished tops in the Western Conference, tied with Houston on points. LA will always be dangerous simply because they have Donovan, who is undoubtedly the best player in MLS. No one in MLS combines his level off skill, speed, goal scoring, and unmatched fitness. Throw in Beckham's passing and set pieces, Edson Buddle being able to finish Donovan's and Beckham's passes occasionally, and you have a dangerous team.

The big surprise in LA is their vastly improved defense. Rookies Omar Gonzalez and AJ DeLaGarza (Terps in the house!) proved to be mature and steady enough right out of college to contribute immediately. Gonzalez was less a surprise because he has the physical frame and potential to be a very very good defender, as well as being dangerous on set pieces. But watching DeLaGarza in college it was unclear whether his size and physical limitations would ever make him a decent pro. You couldn't doubt his heart, character, and reading of the game, and he's managed to do better than I expected.

People also forget that Bruce Arena is a pretty damn good coach. People may have soured on him due to his stint with the Red Bulls (as if anyone could look good with that team) and the USA's 2006 World Cup showing (let's be honest, he got a great performance against Italy, an unlucky game against Ghana where the ref screwed the US, and only the Czech game did the US look unprepared and out-coached). But give him a good team to work with and some continuity and he will surely develop a winner. Many are tipping them to win MLS Cup this year and I might have to agree.

Houston - 48 pts. Houston is pretty much the most consistently good franchise, finishing in the top two of the Western Conference in each year of their existence. They're very solidly built front to back with no glaring weaknesses. Geoff Cameron was one of the top defenders this year, and Bobby Boswell has revived his career there in the back alongside him. The key of course is their midfield trio of Stuart Holden, Brad Davis, and Rico Clark. Holden was always being groomed to take over playmaking duties, and when they traded Dwayne De Rosario to Toronto, they didn't lose a beat with Holden finally showcasing his skills as the lead dog.

If there is a weakness on Houston, it's a true goal scoring forward. Holden and Davis chip in goals, but the leading goalscorer was again Brian Ching. Just the mention of his name must make USMNT fans cringe... Brian Ching. He can hold up play and draw fouls and be a very good MLS player, without ever being considered a finisher. He's like the US Emile Heskey. Like Columbus, it was Houston's tied-for-league-best defense that really sets them apart, not the goal scoring, despite both teams having two of the best attackers in the league.

Seattle Sounders FC - 47 pts. Seattle is a "feel good story" of the year to many observers, what with their inaugural season leading to the playoffs, winning the US Open Cup, and having the best home crowd in the league. Coach Sigi Schmid built a nice roster. Fredy Montero was one of the most exciting players in the league, Nate Jaqua is like the MLS Peter Crouch, a beanpole who's not a true target forward but can score, Steve Zakuani could develop nicely, there's midfield depth, and Kasey Keller can still bring it in goal. Seattle is a beautiful city, they have a nice stadium, if still an NFL stadium with artificial turf, and they have the potential to become a team hated across MLS because they somehow think one season of strong fan support and an Open Cup title makes them the new Real Madrid or Yankees. MLS is more exciting for having them, and it's fun to hate on other teams. Good for you Seattle. At least they're a worthy target. Unlike the Red Bulls. They just suck.

Chicago - 45 pts. Blah. Blanco is good, but he may be headed back to Mexico. Brian McBride is a US hero, but managed only 7 goals and injuries hindered his season, even though he played in 22 of 30 games. Not much else to say, because like Columbus, they don't excite the imagination. They play a dreadfully boring and negative style, though maybe that will change if they decide to not bring back coach Denis Hamlet. Unlike Columbus, they do engender passion from opposing teams because they play a negative, thuggish style. Too bad, they could play better with their talent, and they have a decent crowd at Toyota Park.

Chivas USA - 45 pts. Chivas is an interesting team. They seemed like a young, up-and-coming team heading into the season. Preki had them playing an attacking style. Yet they took a step back this year. A big reason was Sacha Kljestan, who pretty much went into a season long funk. Zach Thornton turned back the clock with a good year in goal, and maybe the most important positive from the season has been the growing connection finally between the team and the LA Latino fan base. Rumors abound that they will look to further that connection with signings, including a Mexican coach, in the offseason. If Preki is let go, he'll immediately be a top candidate for other vacancies across MLS, and I think he'll be a good coach, just this Chivas team was not as good as believed. They finished about right for their talent.

New England - 42 pts. Their season was always going to be somewhat derailed with top forward Taylor Twellman out injured the entire year. Yet credit to the combination of Steve Nichol for being among the best at identifying talent in the MLS draft and the overall brilliance of Shalrie Joseph for keeping them competitive. If only Joseph was an American. Along with that flaming ginger, Jeff Larentowicz, they held down the midfield and got New England into the playoffs. I may have almost fought Jeff the first time we went out drinking at Brown University because of the New England-DC United rivalry, but he's grown on me and I like him as an underrated player who may very well get the Brian Carroll honorary call up to National Team camp at some point. Like LA, the Revs benefited from rookie surprises in defense when Kevin Alston (who played one year at my high school with my younger brothers, it's no surprise he's done well as a pro) and Darrius Barnes (Duke grad, yuck) stepped in after injuries to the back line and more than held their own. This is MLS's perpetual "almost" team - a winning squad that's never won the MLS Cup. Unfortunately I don't really see it happening this year or the next. They need just that new attacker to push them over the edge.

Real Salt Lake - 40 pts. Possibly the worst team name in American sports. I can't get over it. Nice young attackers in Robbie Findley and Yura Movsisyan backed up by hard working Kyle Beckerman. Findley has speed and could find his way into National Team camp with the US lacking a speedy forward after losing Charlie Davies, and I root for Movsisyan because of his last name. Beckerman has slowly over the years become a reliable MLS player and fringe National Teamer. I was never that impressed playing against him when I was younger (as opposed to Oguchi, who we knew was going to be a big time player), but he's become the heart and soul of this team. Don't have much to say about them other than when they played DC United, they never really tried to do much. I hate that.

DC United - 40 pts. Ugh. I have too much to say about them than can fit in this roundup of all of MLS. They were exceedingly disappointing this year because the talent is there. Unfortunately so was Coach Tom Soehn. He should be gone, though he's now using the excuse of injuries, a jam packed schedule with international tournaments and the Open Cup, plus his one year winning the Supporter's Shield with Peter Novak's roster to lobby for another season -- Kevin Payne, do not listen to him! I'm excited for the development of Rodney Wallace and Chris Party Boy Pontius. Santino Quaranta continues to be reborn and started off very strong, and I hope he can make his career turnaround permanent. Big change is still coming, with old folks or underachievers like Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio, Ben Olsen, Christian Gomez, and Fred in limbo. I can't imagine Olsen being gone, even if he doesn't have ankles, and Moreno still provides a different element off the bench. The others -- gone. Good thing my last memory of RFK for the season was the USA match.

Colorado - 40 pts. Probably the worst playing style of any team in the league. Maybe not the worst team overall, but man watching them stinks. And that's despite the fact that they have Conor Casey, who for all the angst over his place in the US Team is still a prolific MLS goal scorer, with 16 goals this season. Another year of below mediocrity for this team. Owner Stan Kroenke also has ownership in Arsenal, so he must just be ignoring this team. Not that the MLS structure would allow him to do much to vastly improve this team. They could go out and sign a designated player. Hey, what an original idea! Hey Colorado, go make yourself half relevant.

Toronto FC - 39 pts. I'm never really sure who's playing for Toronto. They seem to constantly trade players. Maybe that's why they've never settled to become a good team yet. However, I think they make something of a leap next year. They have De Rosario, one of the best players in MLS (again, oh why couldn't he be American rather than wasting his international career with the Canadians), signed Canadian star Julian de Guzman (ditto) from Deportivo de La Coruña near the end of the season, have up and coming youngster Sam Cronin, and the universally despised but highly talented Honduran Amado Guevara. That's a strong midfield. But they've never really found a forward, hoping that O'Brien White will blossom next year in his first full pro season, having missed this one with an ACL tear suffered in college. De Rosario was good again, leading the team in goals, but you need a forward to lead your team in goals unless the midfielder is named Ronaldo. A new coach and another forward will be needed for this team to do better than they did this year. They have a great home atmosphere and a fun city and I think it'll be something to see once they have a team to match.

FC Dallas - 39 pts. Though equal on points with Toronto, we've now reached the dregs. A completely surprising late season run pushed this team to a more respectable level, even threatening for a playoff spot. The key was actually selling Kenny "Franken"-Cooper to 1860 Munich. He may have scored 7 goals in 15 games, but by jettisoning the big man, Dallas opened up space for Jeff Cunningham's ego to be the alpha dog striker. He obliged with a league high 17 goals. They scored the most goals in the league, but also allowed the second most. Will they ever be truly good. I don't know. Not that I really care.

Kansas City - 33 pts. Did I say Colorado was boring. Yawn. So are Kansas City. Claudio Lopez was among the quietest designated players ever in MLS, though he didn't necessarily perform poorly. Josh Wolf scored some goals, and Jimmy Conrad continues to play well enough to get calls for a place on the National Team, particularly with the current center back injury crisis. Still, I can't think of any young talent on this team. Let's face it, they don't even belong in KC. Move them to Saint Louis, OK. Done.

San Jose - 30 pts. Yuck again. Just not a good team. I had to look up who their leading scorer was - Ryan Johnson. Never heard of him? Neither have I. Darren Huckerby, with his English pedigree, was a bright spot in their inaugural season, but unfortunately for San Jose, he had surgery on a shredded hip and promptly retired. Add to that fact that Bobby Convey has fallen harder than even DaMarcus Beasley and you have a recipe for disaster. No real bright spots here.

Red Bull New York - 21 pts. Double, no, quadruple yuck. They don't even deserve a write up. 21 points from 30 games, and that's after a very good late season run after interim head coach Richie Williams took over. Basically their entire season was nothing but waiting for Red Bull Arena to open next year and hope they sign a second designated player to play in it. And since there is nothing worth talking about during the season, other than a continuation of probably the worst franchise in MLS, the real focus is on whether management will drop the interim tag from Williams's title, or will they let him bolt, in which case he'll surely be snagged up by DC United (where he won three MLS cups as a player) or some other team. In fact, what am I saying. Red Bull, you need a high profile coach for your new stadium and to handle potentially two designated players. You need European pedigree. Because if there is one thing the NY/NJ MetroStars/Red Bull New York lack, it's pedigree. And talent. And fans.