Group 2 Herediano (CRC) Real Salt Lake (USA) Tauro FC (PAN) Group 3 Olimpia (HON) Houston Dynamo (USA) FAS (SLV) Group 4 Seattle Sounders FC (USA) Marathon (HON) Caledonia AIA (TRI) Group 5 LA Galaxy (USA) Metapan (SLV) Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR)
for consolidating the groups. Paul Calixte and I noticed that there was more traffic when there were more groups per thread. I assume that's because the discussions were easier to get to, with less threads to keep track of. I'm not expecting any surprises this CCL, however, I do worry about record low attendance due to the unpopularity of the new format. socawarriors.com is a good site to see what the Trini fans are saying about this upcoming Concachampions.
Ok you Catrachos. I'm looking to visit Tegulcigalpa for the Olimpia v Houston Dynamo game on 8/30/12. I'm looking for travel tips, ticket acquisition tips, etc. I've got my airfare arranged. What is the best hotel? The Intercontinental Real looks close to the stadium. Is the area safe for a gringo to walk in? For any fans of either FAS or Olimpia who fancy attending the games in Houston I will be happy to help including helping you get good tickets, etc.
Wondering who is going to be the mls spazzo this season to come hear and say the Galaxy is superior to all the mexican teams LOL..........jk no seriously i`m waiting for it
LA Galaxy group is the easiest one! Isn't Metapan the team that was ridiculed 8 - 0 by UNAM? and 6 - 0 by Santos not too long ago? I'm sure Galaxy will beat them 12 -0 minimum!
I think Seattle and LA get through pretty easily. Houston and Salt Lake (especially after that loss) are gonna have a tough time but I think can do it. I don't see Toronto beating out Santos (though they did look fantastic yesterday)
I'm assuming Herediano is the real rival for winning the group over RSL. By holding Herediano to only one goal in Costa Rica, RSL prevails by winning all three remaining games including beating Herediano at home by 2 goals. I think that is doable. I don't have a feel for the probability but very doable. My point is that the one-goal loss on the road to the main rival is not that bad a result for RSL. You indicate as much when you say RSL can advance -- I'm just thinking outloud as I analyze how exactly they can.
Tauro kept it close with a 0 - 0 at the half, but RSL kept the pressure and eventually was able to score 2. Beckerman with a bad challenge, gets a straight red card. Good call IMO, a bit unlucky for Beckerman.
Metapan doing pretty well in the losing effort, they are not getting dominated, they have been dangerous in the second half.
Keane deserved that red. Yes it was a bad call saying he dove, but his crap of remonstrating and wagging his finger is pure BS. Then acting like he won't play because of the ref? Unacceptable. Wish MLS refs would not put up with it.
Apparently four Metapan players were denied a visa to travel to the US. This has been happening to CONCACAF clubs for years. I first read about this issue 2005. It's hard to know the root cause of this since obviously no reason is given for a rejection. Maybe the teams could do a better job with the application, maybe the US State Department is just looking for reasons to reject applications from "certain" countries. The bottom line is it puts the visiting team at a clear disadvantage and I'm sure there would be quite a bit of outrage if Donovan for example would be denied entry to El Salvador in a reverse situation.
I would assume persons with criminal records or tat do not make enough money to qualify for a VISA, maybe confusion and their names are similar to some names on a "black list".
As I mentioned on the MLS forum I've got no problem with genuine cases. The sheer number of these incidents over the years however lead me to believe that at least some of these decisions stem from political bias. As a sports fan I hate to see politics interfere with team rosters and therefore the results of a sporting event.