I watched T&T vs. Honduras last night and it made me wonder how the overall level of play in the Gold Cup compares to that of MLS. So I thought I'd start a poll. In my opinion MLS is better.
The T&T players seemed to give up. In stoppage time they were one goal down and they were walking slowly to get the ball for throw-ins.
I didn't see the game, but in stoppage time they were tied, and probably hoping to settle for 1 point.
A good idea for a poll, but since most of us can't see the games how can we make an informed choice. Not that that doesn't stop BS anyway! Still, watching GolTV, I would be surprised if many of these CONCACAF teams other than Mexico are better than MLS.
Well, I am disappointment. I won't be able to see first round. I only have UNIVISION so Team Mexico wins out. I am cheap to date. I know like twenty matches for Team U. S. A. but I am not please. We should have matches on FSC. The newness could play toll but I do hope. Others will be cover. Team Panama nicely done. P.S. Spanish HBo as well. There is Idea get HBo to host rounds.
My mistake. I wasn't watching the game closely and thought the score was 2-1 in favor of Honduras. Pinche Spanish language broadcasts!
The quality's up and down. National teams are rarely as cohesive as club teams, especially when they're B-teams, so the passing often looks very disjointed. That said, a lot of the individual talent on display is a lot better than your average MLS game. Intensity is also pretty variable... USA-Canada was pretty good, as was Colombia-Panama. But I watched a few minutes of Honduras-Panama during USA-Costa Rica halftime, and found myself thinking "these two teams actually beat Colombia?!" Both teams were simply unwatchable... possibly because they knew at the opening whistle that they were both going through no matter what, with Canada and Cuba both on zero points.
Gold Cup is better. It's not even really that close. While there are some teams that aren't very good, that's the case in MLS too. Top Teams FC Dallas, New England, Chicago, San Jose, Los Angeles, Kansas City vs United States, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, South Africa, Jamaica Bottom Teams Metrostars, DC United, Columbus, Colorado, Real Salt Lake, Chivas USA vs Panama, Colombia, Trinidad, Canada, Cuba, Guatemala Do you really think any of the bottom MLS teams could beat most of the bottom Gold Cup teams? It would probably be a little closer with the top teams, but the Gold Cup is a higher level.
It has to be the Gold Cup. If you lined up the 12 MLS teams from best to worst versus the 12 Gold Cup teams from best to worst, the GC teams would have the advantage in every single match-up. From USA B vs. Revs to Chivas USA vs. Cuba. The difference in quality is not big, but it's there.
Respectfully disagree, i thought the US/Canada game was a snoozer and being on the same day as the MLS games, it was surprising that the MLS teams seemed to play much more cohesive possession football than either the US or Canada. Tihis is interesting since the US team looked almost like an MLS allstar team, but still seemed kinda disconnected, or just not passionate about the game. As for canada,, other than Derosario there wasn't a single player on the squad that looked like they'd get significant playing time in MLS.
I believe Nick Hornby, author of Fever Pitch, is on record as saying that the best club teams play far better than the national teams. They play and practice together every day.
I certainly pick MLS. The Jamaca-Honduras game was just pathetic. A Columbus-RSL game would look skillful by comparison.
Team cohesion is definitely difficult for most national teams. Teams that establish that cohesiveness can play above their weight in the very top-level tournaments. Guys like Bora and Hiddink go around the world teaching teams a very tight-knit, usually counterattacking style of play. Another example, the U.S. had a professional national team based in Mission Viejo in the early '90s. That helped us considerably, too. Watching Canada, I thought they might consider the professional national team route assuming not all of their players are abroad or in MLS. Otherwise, Yallop - who said he would scout anywhere to find the best that Canada has, and presumably did so - is not going to be able to keep his job long.
Yes, and the best club teams are not in MLS. Of course Real Madrid and Chelsea are better, they have the top players from the top countries. First of all, it's Trinidad. Jamaica has looked pretty good. Second of all, have you seen RSL and Columbus play this year at all? RSL can't do anything, and Columbus rarely looks average.
Actually, I ment Guatemala vs. Jamaica. I know the score was high, but both teams passed to the other side more often than a month's worth of MLS games. I was exagerating to make a point, but only slightly. I think either team can easily compete with Jamaica (as long as the RSL game takes place in Salt Lake City).