PBP: 2023 MLS Cup Final PBP Thread {R}

Great venue. In addition to football, it's the indoor track and field venue, winter tennis courts, was the basketball arena (pretty neat impermanent stuff), and they even let me reserve the space for pickup soccer in the Fall.

Here's a great article from ESPN, "An ode to the Kibbie Dome, college football's weirdest stadium."

 

Also the rapids are going to try to sign all the goalkeepers. Who wins a game between a team with all goalkeepers against a team without a goalkeeper?

Good final, and congratulations to Columbus on winning the cup with a 22 year-old in goal making 88K a year.

Sorry for the tangent. Congrats Columbus!!

 

And.....cue Steve Cherundolo blaming MLS roster rules for that. To be fair, they had to play a ton of games, but 1) how did they get to those finals in the first place if the roster rules are so debilitating, 2) 2 of the 3 were at their home. And with the intl break in November they should have been pretty well rested for this game.

Bottom line - no excuses - they had 3 chances to win championship games and they didn't get it done, and yes, Steve, *you* were the coach of those teams. I see where he's saying that you shouldn't lump the team's finals together for a cumulative finals record for the year "because they're all different" and then he made somewhat condescending remarks about the press for doing so. Well of course they're all different, otherwise they'd be the same final, but they were all finals. Win and you win the championship. That's what they have in common.

 

I’d ask Steve why he allowed Nagbe and Morris to boss the midfield like it was the varsity vs. the junior varsity, without making any adjustments.

Id have given the MVP award jointly to Nagbe and Morris. Completely dominant performance. An all timer.

In the late 1970s there was a Superb Owl between the Broncos and the Cowboys. The Cowboys’ defensive line sacked the quarterback over and over again and made it basically impossible for the Broncos to move the ball. That year the MVP went jointly to two defensive linemen. Watching the final reminded me of that.

 

I think I remember that Superb Owl (gotta love autocorrect).

I think Crew fans would agree with you, while also understanding that forwards or midfield maestros almost always win MVP recognition in these games. That said, the true MVP on this club is Nancy.

 

Not autocorrect just a fun thing I like to write

 

#LAFC fans throwing beers off the balcony after getting one back. pic.twitter.com/oGYuungpZ3

— Eli Lesser (@EliLesserTV) December 9, 2023

 

Hard to pick out one Crew player - lots of good performances but no one really stands out among all of the good. I'd consider Yeboah for that great run and finish (on a great pass) - the game-winning goal. Cucho and Rossi didn't actually have real good games - did not have the finishing boots on, and well, you're supposed make PK's. I also like the Nancy pick, or the Nagbe-Morris pick.

 

Cucho is a straight-up bad finisher, but he makes up for it by generating a ton of shooting opportunities.

He only scored 11 non-penalties on a non-pen xG of 16.3 this season.

Outside of the penalty, he didn't find himself in good scoring positions very often - this was a well below-average game for him.

 

What a season. LAFC had nothing but heartbreak from the beginning till the very end. I wonder if Vela leaves and if he does would a team like Houston try and sign him along with Chicharito? A one year deal with an option to reunite these former Mexican national team players could be interesting.

 

Wow, -5 G to xG, that's a lot. He also doesn't seem to have met a shot he doesn't like. That said, would I want him on my team? Heck yeah.

 

It’s interesting that someone mentioned Yeboah…before the goal, I was eyeing him for Worst Crew Player. Lots of poor touches when a good play would have meant a high quality chance.

If we’re giving accolades for the GWG, how about Amundsen? Unbelievable pass. If it had been Messi delivering a ball like that, the Apple crew would have literally come in their pants. Not figuratively literally, but literally literally.

 

Amundsen had the pass, several more great long passes, and a great tackle that ended up being offside.

 

The pass was great.

 

The pass was great but so was the run and finish - the timing, speed, touch, shot, all perfectly executed. Those kinds of 1v1’s with the keeper are blown a *lot* and here it was against a really good keeper. If that was Messi finishing a Busquets pass the Apple crew would be praising the pass but going completely googly-eyed over Messi’s finish. But Yeboah’s play before the goal is a fair point. I wasn’t paying that much attention to him.

 

In chronological order:

Russell: 1968, Boston Celtics, player/coach.
----------24 years
Gaston: 1992, Toronto Blue Jays.
------15 years
Dungy: 2007, Indianopolis Colts
------16 years
Nancy: 2023 Columbus Crew

 

Too lazy to look it up, but didn't Dusty Baker win a World Series as manager?

 

Yes, but only in 2022. Not the first by a long shot.

 

Ah, "first" & "only".
Reading is indeed fundamental!