I just hope that DC gets an awesome crowd on the 15th and they jump out to a big enough lead that they can easily protect when they go to Chile. I'm thinking they'll need a 3 goal advantage heading into that game in order to be somewhat comfortable. Catolica has awesome fans and that game will not be easy to win on the road. I hope all you DC fans pack the place on the 15th. btw, i do realize that there is one more leg to be played but with a 5-0 advantage i'm banking on catolica to come out on top.
Damn I ready to hop on that plane right NOW to see My Boys play in Chile!!!! I'll be the only dumb@ss there cheering on DC ( other than my mom and future wife)
See those 3 guy to the right of the pic in RIOT gear they will be my new drinking buddies. And i'll tell some thing they are a HELL of lot better than the CSC we have at home.
Walker also played for Colo Colo, the biggest team in Chile, before moving to Cato for only I one season (I think). For what it's worth, I think I saw him play the game of his life when Colo Colo and Universidad de Chile drew 0-0 and Walker made a half dozen unreal saves (and despite the fact that Colo Colo was up a man nearly the entire game because "Faustino Asprilla" is Spanish for "Clint Mathis."). Cato is very good. It's gonna be a tough series. I wish I could go to the away leg.
I have a feeling that this guy Dario Conca on Catolica is going to be a pain in the butt for DC. He looked pretty sharp. Also, It'll be interesting to see how C. Gomez and F. Erpen play in the away leg since they are somewhat use to that type of atmosphere.
The other way around, actually. He played at Catolica from '99-'02 and then Colo-Colo in '03. As for the roadtrip, Chile should just be starting to feel the first breezes of spring when we head down there and I wish like I hell I could go. Catolica indeed have some very vocal fans and it would be great if we could get support in numbers from both sides for each leg. Now I'm not sure if anybody has already done a scouting report on this or not (I just noticed a lot of my posts start off with that disclaimer) but here are my unfinished thoughts on Catolica: Team Dynamic: -Versus Alianza they were clearly the dominant force. They showed flashes of very lucid attack-building and remained decently organized and focused. Where Alianza were confined to counterattacking, Catolica preferred posession and spent a lot of time building through the midfield. Use the wings well. Players to watch: -Their captain, Eduardo Rubio (forward), is a Chilean national teamer and has scored three goals in the last two Sudamericana games (two by way of penalty though). -Dario Conca (midfield). Their #10, he's a left-footed creative attacker and takes all the corners and freekicks. He's a Kyle Martino type with decent hustle and good ball skills and vision. A bit on the small size, though, and can be pushed off the ball relatively easily with physical marking. How to beat them: -Play our game, simple as that. The overall team is MLS calibre at best in terms of skill level and competitiveness. -The defense has to be solid and coolheaded. They like (and are quite good at) drawing penalties and freekicks for Rubio and Conca to line up on. -Frontline must put away chances. The keeper, Buljobasich, was never truly tested by Alianza but looked a little stiff in some situations. He's tall but very beatable. -The key to the game will be how our midfield matches theirs. We are both posession-oriented passing teams and Alianza's demise came from not being able to deal with the keep away game. DC is made of considerably tougher mettle than Alianza and our gameplan should be to shut them down in the middle third.
Looks like I'm going, too. I'll be in Argentina from Sep. 7 through Oct. 4, and I think I've convinced my wife to take a side-trip over to Santiago for the game. I'm planning on contacting DC United regarding tickets, since I assume that a certain number of seats are set aside for visiting fans, even if only a half-dozen or so show up. We should coordinate via bigsoccer, so we end up in the same section.
I love Chile, and I was in Santiago last fall and watched the Classico at the National Stadium. But there is no way I would go into that lion's den and root for the opposing team - there just aren't enough riot cops there to protect my ass!! But I can assure you the atmosphere will be unbelievable. I hope you have a great time.
Bad Llama, entirely correct -- I got his teams mixed up. Just another reason why posting while in a client meeting is a bad idea Doesn't Cato play in San Carlos de Apoquindo rather than the national stadium? I seem to recall seeing them playing way the hell outside Santiago against some Paraguayan team in a Libertadores match.
Yep, they do. Universidad de Chile plays in the National Stadium. Upper90s: you shoulda seen my first draft! I really should waste less time at work
Whoa! It was Alianza Atletico they beat, not my beloved Alianza Lima, Good Luck btw, I would love to see an MLS side against Boca or River. I'll make the trip to DC for that. As long as Cato doesnt score in DC (since it counts for two for the away team) and go to Chile with a wine and knowing that if DC scores it would count for two also.
Are you Pepe? If not.. then.. A guy from La Norte is going to go with about 4 others... so you won't be along... and he's taking the small LN Banner... (you know, the World Famous one now thanks to EA Sports? *stops gloating*)