Also, there was a very interesting article I read somewhere today. Over the last month of preseason, SKC players have been sleeping in altitude tents over their heads and chests at night to simulate the thinner air, to get their lungs adjusted. It's amazing to me, what modern MLS teams are coming up with in the form of planning and technology. EDIT: @Excellency linked to it above.
Again, this series is over. You guys are living in the MLS of the past. Toluca is done. They are not outscoring this KC team by 5 goals from here on out.
Which shows how much the league has progressed in just five years. that 2012-15 SKC team was the most dominant team in club history. More than the 2000 and 2004 clubs - and over a period of years, too. But, yeah, last year's club and this roster is so much deeper and more solid than even 2012-15.
Wow. I love this. SKC playing deep in their own end, under considerable pressure, and they are still connecting pass after pass to keep control and move the ball up rather than panicking and booting it forward blindly. So much more confidence - especially on the road in Mexico - than past teams.
Recently, yeah. They're on a 7 game losing streak. And they've been losing badly. 3-0 in KC followed by a 4-0 loss on the weekend to Santos that got the coach fired.
Yeah. I've seen series where the MLS team sat back and absorbed pressure for 150 minutes, snuck a goal or two on the counter, and then just fell apart once the Mexicans erased that lead and they had to come out of their shell. I don't think I've ever seen at any level a team that's been bossing the game like KC has blow what is basically a 5 goal lead.
Hate to correct you, but I remember those CONCACAF games. SKC didn't go up 1-0 away. They were getting crushed by waves of attacks and went down 0-2 at Cruz Azul early. (SKC down 1-2 Aggregate) Benny Feilhaber then clawed one back against the run of play to make it 2-2 aggregate right before halftime (SKC advance via away goal). Then the wheels (SKC lungs?) fell off in the second half with 3 Cruz Azul goals (could have been more). Unlike that game though, SKC isn't being blown off the field here in Toluca, plus with our more advanced possession play, I feel WAY more comfortable about SKC tonight than 5 years ago.
Game is just keep away at the moment. This. This is THE go to example of association football ref lore in our part of the world. It's a story, wrapped in another story. The rivalry between U.S. clubs versus Mexican clubs legacy, then capped with the Trinidad refs not showing up, underscoring CONCACAF ref lore. The two reds and the two PK's Andy speaks of were phantasm in nature. Those local refs were not going to let Santos lose to a pinche gringo team! HA!
Five years ago, Liga MX clubs could score at will on MLS clubs. You could scratch and claw your way at home to a win and then be torn apart away. Sort of like what Atlanta just did. I just don't see it happening any more.