????? I would fire Preki in a heartbeat if he "essentially gave the SS to DC" as you put it. It's so obvious to me I don't know where to even start ... 1) We are playing for CONCACAF championship which is an opportunity to play the best in North America and hopefully the best in the world if we win. Chivas is not. 2) We have a nice shiny trophy to add to our case. Chivas does not. 3) Chivas was eliminated in the first round just like us so that "resting of players" didn't amount to anything anyways. Luckily I don't really think that Preki threw in the towel for the SS. He just showed his inexperience towards the end of the season and he didn't know how to plan for both things and he had some injuries to deal with. In the end he got neither, but I guarantee you that next time he's within a couple of points for an SS he'll definitely put his first team out there.
The posters in this thread have formed two groups Chi/NY fans - DC didn't win the MLS Cup, they might as well have lost every game all season. They suck! DC fans - Yea it really sucked that we didn't win MLS and get crowned as league champions. The SS was cool and all, but we really wished we could have won the MLS Cup. NY/Chi - You guys suck! The regular season has no meaning whatsoever and the SS is useless. DC - Well, while the SS obviously is much less prestigous than the cup, we are going to be able to participate in the next two concacaf tournaments as well as superliga. Chi/NY - ..... *covers ears*You suck, you're the worst team to have ever played!!*shakes head and repeats*
To date, the teams that came closest to winning the Treble (of MLSC, SS & USOC) were: * DCU in 1997, who first won the SS, then captured the MLSC on Oct-26, but lost the USOC final on Oct-29. * LAG in 2002: who first won the SS, then captured the MLSC on Oct-20, but lost the USOC final on Oct-24. * CHF in 2003, it's a pity that they blew it during the MLSC final on Nov-23, having already won the USOC on Oct-16, then the SS on Oct-25 (after SJE drew 1-1 with LAG, eventhough the team themselves were destroyed 6-2 by the already-eliminated CLB a day later. IMHO those 2 games should have happened on the same day to make the SS race far more interesting!). On the other hand, * CHF in 2000 were USOC Winners & SS/MLSC Runners-up. * KCW in 2004 were USOC Winners & SS/MLSC Runners-up as well. (Note that both teams only lost the SS via tie-breakers & their MLSC finals by an odd goal!) Were any other teams being missed out? On the account that the MLSC is surely more important than the USOC, we can say that the '97 DCU & '02 LAG had more satisfying seasons than the '03 CHF, isn't it?
Forgot about the 3-peat on the SS. Cool. So both have a chance for a 3-peat/maybe even a treble in the same year.
Personally, I wouldn't mind winning the SS and not winning the MLSC. It'd suck not to be crowned champ again, but it would get us into the CCL, SS and USOC. I'll take that in a heartbeat as it gives us a chance for more hardware and more glory, specifically international glory. The chance to be crowned the Regional Champ should make the SS worth it right there. Of course, nest year will be interesting. With (we assume) mostly the same teams playing in the CCC as the CCL, if the same team wins both, are they twice the champs?
The CCC is the 2008 confederation champion and gives a berth to the 2008 Club World Cup. The CCL is the 2009 confederation champion (the competition will end in 2009 at roughly the same time that the CCC ends this year) and will give a berth to the 2009 CWC.
Actually, per http://blog.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2007/11/ we_are_the_champions_league.html, the new CCL will start in mid-2008 but end in early-2009. So technically speaking, it will be a championship to be won in another season, pretty much the same way how Euro Champions Cup (straight knock-out) transitioned to Champions League (1st round group stage) in 1992/93. If the same team wins both, it will be considered as "back-to-back" titles,
Yes, but since the SS comes first, I'd aim for that. In fact, Houston was trying to do so until we get knocked out of that race, so we tried for 2nd overall, just in case DC won the Cup (FYI: If DC had won the cup, the CCC berth would have gone to the 2nd highest ranked team in the regular season, which was Chivas). Fortunately, it worked out just fine for us
Do you think say Chelsea will be thrilled to finish 4th this year in the English league? That will get them into the regional championship after all.
The three-peat is more prestigious than the treble. Much as I hate to admit it, when you ask yourself, "Which is more impressive, the 1998 LA Galaxy, or 1996-1999 D.C. United?" the answer is obviously DCU. Not that LA won the treble or DCU had a three-peat, but we're talking the greatest single-season team versus a great MLS dynasty. However, this thread is a trick question and false dilemma; all these honors are but pale ephemera before the mighty La Manga.
Agree, eventhough both have their own merits. One thing to bear in mind is that the legacy of '98 LA could be surpassed many times in future, should future great teams achieve better seasons than them (it'll be difficult however). On the other hand, the dynasty of '96-99 DCU's will stay on for many years to come, even if another team (esp. Houston) manage to put on an even greater run of titles. It is analogous to Winning an Olympic Gold with a World Record (LA won the '98 SS with record PTS,GD,GS,FTW) vs Winning 3 Golds in 4 Olympics. Records can be broken, but Titles can't be taken away...
Similar discussion on Singapore's S.League is also posted on http://www.kallangroar.com/showthread.php?t=804.
Of course the 3-peat is more important. I can't believe this question is even being asked. This is America. There's only one way to be the best and that's to be the CHAMPION. Being the CHAMPION means you can rise to the occasion and kick a$$ when it matters the most. The playoffs is a competition of the best teams. Lose and your season's over. The pressure's on. You can't compare regular season competition to playoff competition in any sport. MLB, NFL, NBA. The only objective during the regular season is to get into the playoffs and be in the best position possible to win the CHAMPIONSHIP. There shouldn't even be a trophy or title applied to the best regular season record. It's absolutely meaningless without an MLS Cup. Honestly I think New England should be the team going to the CCC and SuperLiga. They are the second-best team this year. I predict my beloved Houston Dynamo will 3-peat next year and thus go down in history as the greatest MLS team in ever. If we win the supporters shield along the way woopty doo. Oh yeah and the usoc is a joke too. VIVA NARANJA CABRONES!!!!!!!!!
The thing that makes it good the regular season champ gets a berth to the CCC is it give the two teams in the MLS Cup an all or nothing mentality. If both got the CCC berths then losing wouldnt mean as much.
i think the way soccer is organised and especially here in MLS . is that the championship game being MLS Cup is kinda being de valued if you think about it. i think when you play MLS its unique that you have game which declares you champion of the league not some series of games that are only relevant but dont distinquish you as being the best. ... no Euro league or uefa has that, champions league is de valued most of the major "leagues are devalued" ... as for MLS and for this season its been real great and gonna get better becasue of our format versus europes and even latin americas. yes its not perfect... but it works best here. No team is a champion based on the regular season. DCU ha had a good regular season but fail to deliver when it counts , that is the MLS Playoffs. New england knows this Houston Knows this, the rest of the league knows this. ... if MLS ever does go the single"table" format. One it will do it for the few fans that want and most of those fans do not have american soccer in mind. Two if MLS eliminates playoffs or alter it to suit a euro friendly crowd then the league will fail. ...as for the subject in hand 3peats weight much more its rarely done and championship games are valued high by the teams that compete in them.... ala App state.