After months of waiting following the last kick of the ball in LA's MLS Cup win over Houston at the Home Depot Center, the wait is over and the national soccer holiday of the beginning of another MLS season is finally upon us once more. On this holiday, the MLS schedule makers have hardly disappointed us, for it can be said that each and every game of this opening weekened has its own share of intrigue and talking points.
Colorado v. Columbus
If this matchup looks familiar to you, there is a good reason: Colorado ended the Crew's MLS Cup hopes on a cold night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in the opening round of the playoffs last season. They'd love nothing more than to exorcise that demon and take three points away from their travels.
Columbus is in the midst of a bit of an overhaul this season, with familiar faces such as those of Jeff Cunningham, Robbie Rogers, Emmanuel Ekpo and Andres Mendoza having moved on. There is still strength in the back and in the midfield, but the question to be answered for Columbus is one of where the goals will come from. Emilio Renteria will certainly be relied upon heavily for some scoring punch, and should he not produce, there could be a lot of 0-0 and 1-1 games in the future.
Colorado will look to play with a bit more attacking prowess this season under new manager and former FC Dallas maestro Oscar Pareja. The absence of Conor Casey in the opening weeks as he continues to recover from both Achilles and hernia surgery will be a hindrance to this goal, however, and resultantly Omar Cummings will have to carry much of the load upfront unless the likes of Quincy Amarikwa can help fill the void left by Casey.
Vancouver v. Montreal
Just as we saw last year, Vancouver will be hosting one of their Canadian rivals to begin the season, though Montreal, and not Toronto, will be making this early season trip out west.
Vancouver went through some rather predictable struggles in their first season in MLS, but I tend to think that this season will be one of marked improvement for the Whitecaps. Martin Rennie, who did so well with the Carolina Railhawks in recent years, has his first shot at the big time, and the addition of Sebastian Le Toux has to be seen as something of a coup. Vancouver fans must be salivating while the thoughts of Le Toux and Eric Hassli combining for goals run through their head, and rightfully so. Vancouver should be much improved this season, and I truly think they could be a dark horse playoff candidate.
Montreal will probably endure some of the same struggles experienced by Vancouver last season. They've done a good job of bolstering the backline with the signings of Nelson Rivas and Matteo Ferrari, and MLS stalwarts Bobby Burling and Shavar Thomas are certainly adequate in their own right. Davy Arnaud and Justin Mapp can also provide decent service from midfield, but the ultimate question and potential undoing of Montreal's debut MLS season stems from their lack of options up front. That Sanna Nyassi may be partnering Justin Braun in this opening game only affirms this point.
DC United v. Sporting KC
With one team having fizzled at the end of last season and falling out of playoff contention and the other team having found themselves but one win away from playing for MLS Cup, these two couldn't have had more contrasting paths to take coming into this season.
For DC, Ben Olsen has taken to retooling a roster that just might have needed to be stripped down and freshened up. Clyde Simms has taken his talents to New England, Marc Burch is in Seattle, Charlie Davies is back with Sochaux, and Santino Quaranta has retired, just to name a few. Coming in are Robbie Russell and Emiliano Dudar to help shore up the defense, and Albanian Hamdi Salihi, who arrives as a designated player from Rapid Wien, could be very promising indeed if he replicates the form he showed in Austria and strikes up a good partnership with Dwayne De Rosario, last year's league MVP and golden boot winner. The continued progression of Andy Najar and the return of Chris Pontius could make this edition of DC United one of the more dangerous teams in the league.
Though Jefferson, Omar Bravo and Davy Arnaud have departed, Kansas City still boast the quick and athletic attacking trio of Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury and C.J. Sapong. The biggest addition for Peter Vermes' men in the offseason came in the form of Bobby Convey, who moved over from San Jose. If Convey can duplicate his 2010 form (10 assists), there is no reason to think that Kansas City can't continue to be as dangerous as they were last season in surprising everyone by finishing on top in the East.
San Jose v. New England
While some would look at this game and disregard it as being the least attractive of the opening weekend, such a stance would be rather misplaced. With both teams finishing well out of playoff contention and either at or near the bottom reaches of their halves of the league, both will be looking to get such a bad taste out of the mouths and begin this season in a more promising manner.
There is reason for Frank Yallop to look to this season with some positivity, and like Vancouver, maybe they have a chance to sneak into the playoffs this year as they did in 2010. Chris Wondolowski will once again be expected to carry the scoring load, but Steven Lenhart just might be able to chip in with his share as well. Although Bobby Convey is now gone, the return of Simon Dawkins from Tottenham and Shea Salinas from Vancouver gives the midfield a bit of creativity. A healthy Ike Opara should do wonders at the back as well.
The picture for New England isn't quite so clear, as everyone in Revolution land is wondering just how Jay Heaps will do in his first season in management. Despite last year's shortcomings, the cupboard isn't completely bare. Shalrie Joseph, while getting older, continues to be an imposing presence in midfield, and Benny Feilhaber, as seen in a US shirt, can certainly score some goals and find a good pass. Clyde Simms, newly acquired from DC will also solidify the midfield. The biggest question mark comes in the form of Jose Moreno, who has finally decided to actually turn up and play. Can he score goals for a team that is a bit light up front?
Los Angeles v. Real Salt Lake
Of all of the Saturday games, this one is easily the sexiest matchup, considering that two of the last three MLS Cup champions will be on display. The race at the top of the West is going to be tight between the likes of LA, Salt Lake and Seattle, so three early points for either team might just go a long way.
Given the incumbent star power of Beckham, Donovan and Keane, many people have been tipping Los Angeles to repeat as MLS champs, and the re-acquisition of Edson Buddle looks to give Bruce Arena a great pairing up top. On the flip side of all of the acclaim the Galaxy have received during the offseason, there is some cause for concern defensively thanks to Omar Gonzalez's absence due to a torn ACL. As seen in the first half of this week's game with Toronto in the CONCACAF Champions League, there are certainly some frailties in the back without him. With all due respect, Andrew Boyens is nowhere near the talent that Gonzalez is. The Galaxy will still be near the top of the league once it's all said and done, but maybe it won't be so clear cut as many would suggest.
For Salt Lake, the cast of characters is largely the same as it has been since they lifted the cup over LA back in 2009. Saborio and Espindola are still there to score for fun, Morales is still there to create, Kyle Beckerman is still there to give the midfield some bite, and Nick Rimando is still around to make saves that he has no business making. Jason Kreis has built a team whose biggest strength independent of its talent is its cohesion, and because of that Salt Lake might just be the leading team in the West that nobody is talking about right now. Beating LA to start the season would shift the bright lights away from Tinseltown quite nicely.
FC Dallas v. New York (NBC Sports)
NBC Sports first MLS game promises to be a good one packed with star power, and like the Colorado v. Columbus match, this is also a rematch of an opening round playoff game from a year ago--New York ran out of Texas with a 2-0 win on that day.
It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that FC Dallas is probably stronger than they were last year. The return of 2010 MVP David Ferreira from last year's horrible injury against Vancouver will almost be like a new signing for Schellas Hyndman, and the addition of Panamanian Blas Perez gives Dallas a better goal threat up front than they had last year with Maicon Santos. Brek Shea should be poised for another season of developing into one of the more dynamic wingers MLS has seen, and centerback George John returns from a muted loan spell at West Ham. It will be interesting to see how focused John is for Dallas following West Ham's decision to not sign him on a permanent basis.
Red Bulls fans had to breathe a sigh of relief when Thierry Henry returned from Arsenal as scheduled (there was some fleeting talk of extending his loan) and uninjured. The fans must also be encouraged by how Henry looked in his Arsenal encore; now he will just need to keep things going on this side of the Atlantic. Kenny Cooper has been brought in from Portland to partner Henry, which could mean that Juan Agudelo's inconsistent playing time will continue, much to the consternation of US fans who want to see him evolve as a strike option for the national team. Ryan Meara will get his first start at goalkeeper, which was obviously such a trouble spot for the Red Bulls before Frank Rost arrived last season, while Rafa Marquez will be missing for a few games as he serves his suspension for his role in the scuffle which punctuated the end of their playoff loss to the Galaxy last season. Some Red Bull fans would argue that Marquez's absence is a good thing.
Chivas USA v. Houston
While Chivas USA floundered near the foot of the Western Conference table for the bulk of the season, Houston was on their way to finishing second in the East before ultimately losing to LA in the MLS Cup final. If the same thing happened this season, I wouldn't be surprised at all.
This season could truly be a testing one for Chivas manager Robin Frazer. Many players were disposed of in the offseason, and the list of players brought in doesn't exactly look all too inspiring at first glance. Once again, Juan Pablo Angel and Alejandro Moreno will be looked to with the hopes that they can turn some scraps into goals, and Michael Lahoud and new signing Ryan Smith will do their best to bring some creative spark to the team. James Riley, who played with Seattle the last couple of years, will at least be a steadying force at rightback.
After last season's brush with another championship, the expectations for Houston will be high enough, but one should think that they are just about good enough to be in the running yet again come season's end. Brian Ching officially returns, though it will seem like he never left since he never actually played a game for Montreal after being selected in the expansion draft, and Macoumba Kandji, he of a physical prowess that has yet to result in much production, has been brought in to give Dominic Kinnear another option up front. Brad Davis will surely continue to whip in inch-perfect crosses fromt he left if he can stay healthy, and Geoff Cameron, who is now getting a real look from Jürgen Klinsmann, will be his usual, consistent self in the back. Houston aren't necessarily a team loaded with stars, but they are loaded with players who fit in and do their jobs well. In other words, it's definitely a Dominic Kinnear team.
The beginning of the season could be tough for Houston, however, as they stand to play several road games in a row before finally returning to Houston to open BBVA Compass Stadium in May. If you haven't seen the stadium, do yourself a favor a look it up. It's going to be a great place to see a game.
Portland v. Philadelphia (ESPN2)
ESPN has surely struck gold by carrying this game on Monday night, and the atmosphere, which is always outstanding at Jeld-Wen Field, will probably be nothing short of electric for such an occasion. It will be hard for neutral sports fans flipping through the channels to ignore the scenes from the stands and the cauldron of sound emanating from the speakers.
It was a decent first season that saw them staying in the playoff race for the majority of the season, but Portland will believe that they can take that step forward and be right in the middle of things out west. John Spencer has opted to keep the core of this team largely intact, but he has swapped Kenny Cooper for fellow Scot and designated player Kris Boyd. If Boyd can come anywhere near the goalscoring form he had at Rangers only a couple of years ago, Portland will certainly be a playoff team that nobody will want to play against by the end of the season.
Philadelphia's offseason would have to be seen as a bit of a puzzling one, especially as it pertains to the trade of leading scorer Sebastian Le Toux to Vancouver. With Le Toux's goals and creativity gone, the time is now for the likes of Freddy Adu and Danny Mwanga to step up and try to make up for the loss. New signing Lionard Pajoy, who has recently had some success in his native Colombia will also be responsible for replacing Le Toux, though it remains to be seen if he'll be able to fill such large shoes. Look for Josue Martinez, signed from Saprissa, to also have an impact up front for Philadelphia.
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