I looked at the draw for the SouthAmerican Cup, and if DCU beats Catolica after both legs, their next opponent would be the winner between Banfield (Argentina) and Fluminense (Brazil) in the Quarterfinals. For those who don't know, Fluminense is one of the big teams of Rio de Janeiro who play in the bigass national stadium, Maracana Stadium, which use to have a capacity of 200,000. Banfield is very well-respected in the Argentine league too, having recently made a very good run in the Copa Libertadores. If DCU is really really good and make it past that round and into the Semifinals, they would then play either Rosario Central (Arg), Internacional (Bra), Cerro Porteno (Par), or Boca Juniors (Arg), whichever team advances. Are you kidding me? Can anyone really imagine DCU playing Boca in La Bombonera, or Rosario, or Inter? Un-freakin-believable how fast American soccer is taking it global. Of course, Catolica is as hard as they come. They're currently in first place in Chile's primier league. Getting the opportunity to play them is certainly a privilege for DC United. I at least hope that DCU advance past their first opponents (even though I like Catolica) so as to get the chance to see them play against traditional South American powerhouses. What do you think their chances are? And when will MLS teams be invited to the Copa Libertadores (the real thing)? I know that issue has been beaten to the ground perhaps, but it does puzzle me greatly how MLS gets to go to the "South American" Cup, instead of Liberators Cup. Liberty is synonymous with USA, not "south america". Well, let's hope they make a good run.
I give the first round a coin flip chance. Banfield or Fluminense? They better play really really well to have a chance in hell. D.C. is not the top team in MLS this year unless they get more consistency. Add the fact I'd bet Nowak throws all his first eleven on the field saturday night for the league match. Tuesday turnaround=not good. They played Pumas in the region cup earlier this year playing 5 games in 9 ?days at the beginning of the season, by the time the second leg came around they couldn't complete simple(no pressure) 5 and 10 yard passes in Mexico City (5-0 defeat). I like this coach but Nowak will treat all league games around it with the same importance I'm guessing.
You're right, DC's work will be cut out from the start with Catolica. Being honest, I don't see DCU advancing past Catolica. Catolica has a true team-unified Latin flare that may be challenging for DC. But if they do win, and hoping, it's even harder for me to imagine them getting past Banfield, an Argentine team that plays 95 minutes of non-stop aggression. I don't know too much about Fluminense this year, just know they're still all-Brazilian... yikes.
If we can beat Vasco, we can beat Boca, Fluminese, Roasario, or anyone else. "We want Real" - chant heard in Lockhart stadium circa December, 1998.
Certainly, anyone looking past Catolica just doesn't understand enough about what we're getting into. That is a very nice squad who is playing well. Forget about the loss last night ........... I'm not even sure they played their top squad, seeing that they already had a 5-0 lead. The "good" thing is that Olsen and Jaime are out for this weekends match with cards. So at least those 2 VERY important players are FORCED to be rested by Nowak. If not for that, I think he'd probably roll out all of the starters for both matches. And that would be suicide.
Have they finished the renovations at Maracana Stadium? I was there earlier in the summer and it wasn't any shape to host a game. That's why Brazil's recent WCQ games have been playd around the country. But like you have mentioned they need to get by their first round opponent. Is either one of these games going to be on tv? Here's hoping at least the first leg is on FSC.
Not to put a negative tilt on your bravado, but the United team that beat Vasco was far superior to United '05, and had an additional advantage when Vasco flew from Japan to Miami to play round 2 with very little rest. In my opinion regardless of the circumstances, that home/"away" series win should be MLS moment #1. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that United would at least play well if they ever advance to meet Boca, but a victory in an even competition between the best 11 from both sides may be too big a dream.
Check it out: http://dcunited.mlsnet.com/dcu/pdf/2005/copasudamericana090820052.pdf DCUnited.com put out a current bracket of the Copa Sudamericana. Sweet. Corinthians vs River Plate already?! That's like a final!!!!! Thank GOD I have Fox Sports en Espanol!