MLS in the 2012 CCL Group Stage [Continuous PBP]

Here comes stepping into fire again..Love every minute of it and good luck to MLS teams.

Some interesting comments from coaches and players here:

Galaxy looks for CCL breakthrough
concacaf.com

TFC is out of the MLS playoff picture so there is no reason that they can't focus all of their attention on CCL (playing starters in this and resting them in MLS games).

Houston, Seattle and RSL seem to be comfortably positioned for playoff spots right now and also have decent depth so over this small time period they too can probably focus on CCL at the slight expense of some MLS regular season games.

Unfortunately the LAG put themselves in a hole at the beginning of the season in terms of MLS playoffs that they are just now climbing out of but they aren't secure enough that they can focus on the CCL in favour of MLS regular season ... i think they might be the most likely MLS team to falter at the group stage. plus we know how well they do against the PR Islanders.

Don't forget--this competition is now a proven shop window for these players to get signed by MLS. Last year, Galaxy signed Sarvas after playing against him, Dallas signed Carlos Rodriguez after playing against him. I bet the other teams not taking part are going to scout it a little more closely, as well.

Obviously, TFC's realistic chances of advancement need to start off with 3 points against the group fodder on August 1 and hopefully a win that racks up the goal differential. our big match is following that up with a win at home against Santos Laguna (difficult but hardly impossible, we've done fine against Mexican teams at home.) We won't need to win in Mexico - hell, we might not even need a point if they drop any against Aguila. (I'm hoping for this - TFC 9 / Santos 7 / Aguila 1 final standings, making TFC@Santos meaningless.) it'll be hard, but hey, easier than making the playoffs for us!

I was really pulling for Iran in that initial four-nation bid process for the 2013 CWC.

(And why didn't the US get in a bid back in 2011 -- still upset at FIFA over that whole WC2022 thing? And likely when in the next CWC hosting bid opportunity?)

That's not necessarily true. The teams who performed worse in the CCL last season actually performed worse in the league. LA, Seattle and Toronto were all playing their best football in MLS play while making their CCL runs, while Colorado and Dallas performed poorly in both MLS and CCL. So taking it easy on CCL does not guarantee success in the league or vice-versa.

I did think that Colorado would and ended up tanking the CCL in favor of MLS due to their precarious league position at the time last season and it didn't end up helping them much at all. They didn't improve their position and still crashed out of the playoffs early.

conversely, if TFC drops points in either/both of their first two CCL matches, they really could/should perhaps turn their attention back to MLS league play. (They're currently only 12 points back of an Eastern playoff spot with 14 league games remaining. Not at all an impossible task, but certainly a very difficult one, even for a team that currently has a 3-game winning streak in MLS.)

Having said that, look for TFC to be incredibly focused on their first 2 CCL games of 2012-13 within the next 5 weeks.

I really do hope that FIFA starts to commit to having it hosted in different nations at some point. For example, I would like to see Japan have to wait awhile before hosting it again. Unfortunately, I don't think that the interest in hosting it is high enough to deter this from happening again. South Africa would be another country that could host this fairly successfully.

Vamos Tigres... te quiero ver.... CAMPEOOOOOOOOON OTRA VEEEZ!!!!

Lets hope that they take this shiz seriosuly unlike that Copa Libertadores fiasco... ugh

LA-PR will be a fun rematch, though not quite the same with Gaudette and Clarke With gone from PR.

Well, that's a good thing. We don't want to see a host berth become world champ. Many feel they shouldn't be playing for the world title to begin with. It's better that they bow out early, and leave the global prize for teams that actually conquered their continents.

With CCL play looming, RSL not ready to look past 'Caps

Cubero, Herediano look to start fast

Nice to see MLS and CCL start to establish some history (even if it is very recent) to which it can point and on which it can reflect.

Match Day 1 Referee assignments for 2012-13 CCL:
http://www.concacaf.com/page/CL/NewsDetail/0,,12813~2858357,00.html

Are we going to have different threads every week, or is this going to be one super-ginormous thread?

Looking at that schedule, I see ZERO overlap between the MLS teams. Is that a first?

Is it too early to start complaining about the refs?

never.

(in fact, I prefer to start complaining long before I even know who the refs are for a particular game, at about the same time I like to start complaining about the away field conditions and inadequate stadium lighting, and lack of an HD broadcast.)