We must qualify for next year's tournament, there is no way the Mexican teams in the tournament next year will not take it more seriously. I think next year will be a much more serious event from both sides hopefully with ESPN or FSC coverage for english speakers. Right now I feel just like I did after the Champions Cup, and we lost over a week ago.
Re: Qualification for Superliga I know this is probably quite late, now that the Inaugural SuperLiga has concluded, but just curious: on what grounds were LA invited to the 1st edition? They have done quite badly in 2006 wasn't it? The other 3 teams were invited based on their good performances in 2006: DCU (Supporter Shield Winners) FCD (Supporter Shield Runners-Up) HOU (MLS Cup Winners) That being the case, shouldn't the 4th berth gone to either: NER (MLS Cup Runners-Up), or CHF (US Open Cup Winners)? Hmmm, LA did finish as Runners-Up in USOC though... Was that why? Or due to Becks?
Re: Qualification for Superliga I think this year it was just completely random wasn't it? For example, Chicago was in it at first and Houston wasn't, but after complaints that the MLS Champion wasn't going to be in the SuperLiga, they got switched.
Re: Qualification for Superliga I wouldn't call it random but it was not based on any particular criteria for 2007. SUM, MLS, the Mexican league, the Mexican TV networks, and TeleFutura-Univision got together to decide who to invite. They came up with descriptions of each team that were an attempt to justify inclusion but it was mostly just putting in the teams that they wanted. 2008 is supposed to be based on qualifying for MLS teams at least but we shall see what happens. There have been rumors of expanding the number of teams so that may change everything. I think everyone should remember that this is mostly a made for TV event that satisfies objectives that all the above groups have. It is not primarily an exercise to determine the best team in the two leagues. Think of things like the pre-season college basketball tournaments or the college bowl games other than the BCS championship game. Those exist to fill needs/objectives of various groups and while giving some appearance of merit mostly serve to sell tickets, hotel rooms, and TV ads. As long as you remember that SuperLiga makes a lot more sense.
Re: Qualification for Superliga Supposedly next year the top 4 MLS teams will get in... in some form or another. As for the Mexican teams they don't know if they'll send the top 4 or just teams that will draw well. Maybe next year the tournament will have some games in Mexico and the MLS will do a much better job of scheduling around the tournament.
Re: Qualification for Superliga Well the announcers last night definitely thought Houston was the best team in the tourney that lost on a "poorly taken penalty" DOH...oh Joseph! Our TA/EB (without being named) for best crowd/atmosphere. Nice job guys. Houston will definitely be in it next year. They (SUM, MLS) now know this is a futbol town and will draw well for TV. Plus now there is a definite rivalry with Pachuca. I don't care what any FMF fan says, Pachuca was was estatic that they won. They were jumping around as if they just won their league again. Calero and Cannon (even tho he isn't even in the top 5 keepers in MLS) played their guts out last night.
Re: Qualification for Superliga We'll see but I doubt if there are any games in Mexico for the foreseeable future. The Mexican teams and broadcasters already have lots of games in Mexico. The marginal return for adding more is pretty small. The U.S. market however is fairly open for Mexican teams. They play just a few games here a year in things like InterLiga. SuperLiga is another way to reach out to potential consumers in the U.S. who have money. I'm sure TeleFutura likes having the games in the U.S. because it is a hook to build their audiences here. Lots of local marketing opportunities for their local broadcast affiliates when you have local games to promote. And, of course, it works great for SUM and MLS to have the games in the U.S. On the other point, I have a feeling the MLS/SuperLiga schedule will look very similar next year to this year. Teams in the SuperLiga will get one weekend off from MLS play so they can play the opening round midweek-weekend-midweek just like this year. The Mexican teams want that round over quickly and during their pre-season. The semifinals and final will stay midweek so it interferes little with either leagues regular season since you don't know which teams will be advancing. That also gives the Mexican broadcasters games when they wouldn't normally have them. I could be completely wrong about all this but I think it makes sense if you look at it from the standpoint of the leagues and the broadcasters.
Re: Qualification for Superliga Don't speak so quickly. If MLS sticks with the top 4 from the announced overall table criteria we might not make it next season. Right now on a points-per-game basis we are in 5th place in the league. People are unhappy this year that the Galaxy were just stuck into the tournament. We don't want to be that team next year, do we?
Re: Qualification for Superliga i was wondering how the teams were decided and now that I know I wish I didn't. [lame]By TV stations?[/lame] I get that they want to include Chivas and America because they're so popular here, but how can you take a tournament seriously that is based on this kind of qualification criteria?
Re: Qualification for Superliga If we giving up points like last week we are not going to the Superliga next year.
Re: Qualification for Superliga I've never understood all the hand-wringing about the qualification process. Who cares if all the teams are selected by the organizers and sponsors for commercial reasons? So long as you end up with a good set of teams that people want to watch, then who cares if they didn't qualify through some league standings or similar method? This tourney isn't qualifying anyone for anything right now. It's just entertainment. If the thing ends up qualifying the winner or finalists for the Sudamericana or something else, then maybe Conmebol or the like will want some assurances about how teams are chosen. Even so, the likes of Conmebol may be perfectly happy so long as the clubs are competitive and bring some fan interest. This whole notion that a tourney is only worth watching if there's some qualification criteria announced well in advance is just a preference. If enough people agree that a tourney isn't worth watching if the participants are selected for commercial purposes, then the organizers and sponsors will get the message. The old Concacaf Giants Cup was a similar attempt and it failed. Of course, it was "organized" by Concacaf and was no where similar to Superliga in organization and promotion. If SUM and the owners of the big Mexican clubs continue to pick the participating clubs, and sponsors continue to fund the thing, and fans continue to show up at the stadiums and provide great ratings for TeleFutura, then what's the big deal?
Re: Qualification for Superliga I think the 4 teams for next year should be Houston LA Dc United New England Dallas sucks they could not win one game.
Re: Qualification for Superliga You make some fair points. It is a matter of preference. The hosts and sponsors of the tournament can select whoever they want. IMO it's a more meaningful tournament if you take the best 4 out of each league, and have a competition to see how they compare. How much does the tournament mean if it's always Chivas & always Club America for the simple reason that they are popular in the US? As an exhibition tournament such as the "World Series of Football' like they had out in LA I suppose it doesn't make a difference. But if they want this thing to be serious, and stay interesting to the fans of more then just a few teams then I would support some form of earned qualification. Just my opinion though.
Re: Qualification for Superliga I think the US/MLS v Mexico/MFL aspect distinguishes even an all-invitation Superliga from a tourney like the World Series of Football. Random European teams coming over for these events bring less of an edge than having MFL teams come into an MLS stadium. The sort of environment created by having teams like America or Guadalajara - and their fans - in an MLS stadium is just different from a friendly with most European teams. For example, when the America fans started chanting "ole, ole" at the beginning of the Superliga game in Robertson, that got to the Dynamo fans. And when we chanted "ole, ole" as we won at the end of the game, it got to the America fans. That's the sort of edge that the nature of the Superliga provides that some of these other attempts at invitational tourneys haven't been able to accomplish. Even if say America and Chivas are in the tourney every year, I still think it doesn't lose that edge. America and Chivas will always bring good teams and they're the most popular teams in Mexico. Their fans come out and the atmosphere in MLS stadiums is electric for those games. I guess it boils down to the question of what we mean when we say "meaningful". The CCC and Libertadores, for instance, are considered meaningful by most people because the winners qualify for the FIFA world tourney, the participants are usually qualified through a process within their own countries, sponsors and TV take it seriously (at least in the case of the Libertadores ), and the fans take it seriously. I think that the first two characteristics are nice, but not necessary conditions to making a tournament "meaningful". If the fans and teams take the tourney seriously - and the business end of things is serious - then I think that makes it a serious, meaningful tournament. Obviously, people can discount the Superliga if the teams are invited. That's a perfectly reasonable way to look at things. I'm not suggesting that everyone would, or should, regard an invitational tourney as meaningful - hell, I don't even regard the Copa America as all that meaningful. But I think the US/MLS v Mexico/MFL angle gives the Superliga an edge that would keep most fans interested regardless.
Re: Qualification for Superliga I think LA and Houston are lock in for the tournament every year. The locations is very important. America and Chivas are lock in for the Mexican side. come on who would want to see salt lake vs. atlas?
Re: Qualification for Superliga They could have games in Houston even if the Dynamo aren't in it. This year Colorado and Chicago both hosted games even though neither team participated. Of course the organizers would probably rather use an stadium where they'll get more money, but it would be possible to have games here.
Re: Qualification for Superliga While Anderson and Newtex make good points, I personally (and a bunch of others in the General and NA forums) would like to see this tournament be serioux and be a qualification tourament. If the rumors of this being a stepping stone to Liber or America or some other tourney are true, we should go ahead and act like this is an "elite" tournament. The promotions for this made it out that way and people will be expecting the best of each league to go at it. While LA played their hearts out, everyone expected Pachuca to win (and wasn't surprised that they did). Besides the whole Donovan angle, the potential match-up of the (then) 2nd worst team in MLS vs the best in FMF isn't that great. Even when LA was "invited" in the off season, they finished off last year horrible. The psopect of seeing the best 4 of each league though has merit and can really make this thing grow. CONCACAF is light on "real" international glory. While that is in no way SUMs and the rest's responsibility, it does give them some room to work with and a void they could fill and reap more money from. If the SL is expanded to 8, that doesn't give players in MLS much incentive to do anything in the league...make the playoffs and you can win the Cup and go to the SL and get all the money, glory, and trophy there too. There's nothing for teams to push higher and be better (line in, say, Europe). Let everyone duke it out for those Top 4 spots...it also makes season matches like the upcoming Hou v Dallas and Hou v Chivas games more meaningful. As for Mexico, I always thought they could just do the Top 2 from the Classura and Apuerta seasons in straight table format. If there is overlap, use the 3rd or somethin. Just my thoughts. I love the SL and want to see it be considered a real thing by everyone and taken seriouxly and spots fought for. And I don't want LA in until they can crack the Top 4
Re: Qualification for Superliga Just to clarify, I think that having a qualification for the Superliga based on regular season standings or playoff outcomes or the like would be fine - maybe even better if it's necessary to get into a Conmebol competition. I'm just saying that the fact that it doesn't have such a qualification (yet) only affects whether it's "meaningful" or "serious" in terms of how we individually decide to define those terms. The Concacaf CC is the tourney in which the "best" teams in each league, and other Concacaf leagues, compete against each other. The Superliga isn't really crowning the best team among MLS and MLF teams. The MLS or MFL team that finishes the highest in the CCC is the best team among MLS and MLF teams. I've seen posts by people who want the Superliga to grow into something like the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Cup. This part of the world already has similar tourneys - the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana. It's just a matter of time before MLS gets regular slots in both of those competitions. I think the Superliga is trying to do something different - offer fans of MFL and MLS teams the opportunity to see interesting teams from those two leagues in a competition against each other. The players and fans seems to have largely bought in and regard it as "serious". All I'm saying is that "serious" and "meaningful" are subjective terms. If the players take it seriously - and it looks like they do - and the fans regard it as meaningful - and it looks like large numbers of them do - then the Superliga organizers and sponsors are accomplishing what they at least initially set out to accomplish.
Re: Qualification for Superliga Am I the only one who things Cannon IS one of the top 5 shot stoppers in the league? If Pat retired tomorrow, and all due respect to Wells, I'd love for us to go after Cannon. He's made more saves than I can count.
Re: Qualification for Superliga He ain't worth it. It'd be a steal if we could do it but LAG would ask for a lot to get him, and I doubt they'd give him up for nothing less than a DP slot. Just the way it is. I'll take Wells over most keepers in the league 'cept: Guzan, Reis, Cannon, Onstad....Perkins would be on that list if he wasn't still in a CCC-funk. Those guys would cost way too much and Wells isn't that much of a drop-off at this point (potential wise).
Re: Qualification for Superliga Didn't know he was being paid larger money. Oh well, I've become a Cannon fan since I've started watching LA a bit more.
Re: Qualification for Superliga I think he got a raise when moved to LA but no, he isn't making DP money. But LA needs him probably more than they need Bex. Cannon and Xavier have done more for this team than any other players on the squad. They won't give him up cheaply and they need a DP slot (insert reason here). I'm not trying to cheapen his skills. He is an awesome GK but not worth us pickin up. Besides, Wells has paid his dues and is worth it and has shown that he is capable of being the best...the CCC showed that.
Re: Qualification for Superliga You were at the Everton-Club America game in Frisco last year, right? We were a couple sections over from the Candle Light, and we went to the Frisco-Rapids game before it started. Cannon was taunting them, too. It was pretty awesome, he took off his jersey and acted like he was going to throw it to them. Then he yelled "PSYCHE!" (not really, but it would've been funny) and walked off the field. He hates Frisco as much as us, he could come here.
Re: Qualification for Superliga Joe Cannon performed even more formidable miracles as the keeper for Colorado during the last few seasons. He's been keeping teams with crappy defenses from getting blown out for years. *** Today's edition of Rumbo has an opinion piece on the SuperLiga, arguing that it's been a pretty good success. It also points out a few things that maybe haven't been widely reported. Superliga, la gran ganadora Highlights: Dominic Kinnear: "Playing the best teams from Mexico helped give MLS more credibility." Ojitos Meza (Pachuca's coach): "We weren't just playing for the money; we were also playing for pride." Attendance averaged 15,500. TV ratings were a pleasant surprise. The biggest ratings, aside from the final, were for Houston v Pachuca and Guadalajara v Pachuca. SUM was very pleased with the sponsorships and believes that the US-Mexico rivalry was a big attraction for sponsors. Mexican media was present throughout the tournament and SUM believes that presence helps MLS in its internationalization efforts. Oliver Luck says that the Dynamo didn't make more than about $50,000 from the tournament because the MLS teams had to pay all of the expenses of the Mexican teams. Luck also says that he thinks the tournament was a success because many new fans came to the stadium. The piece also notes that next year's tourney will probably feature the four "best" teams from each country (implying some sort of qualification, but not saying exactly how).