5 Things We Learned from MLS Matches from October 16-19
As much criticism as Major League Soccer sometimes gets for not embracing a single-table format, fans couldn’t ask for a much more exciting finish to the regular season heading into the final week of regular-season play.
In the Eastern Conference, while the five playoff teams are already decided, three teams are still battling for final positions, including who gets to avoid the play-in game and who gets home-field advantage.
In the West, the final playoff position is still up for grabs, as is the battle to avoid the play-in game and the race for the league Supporters’ Shield.
Read about all the action, see video of another great strike from Lee Nguyen and get the latest on the Jurgen Klinsmann-Don Garber feud in this week’s edition of “5 Things We Learned from MLS.”
In the East
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Although it was a mere formality, the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference was finalized early on Saturday afternoon when Toronto FC tied the Montreal Impact 1-1. Needing three points to have any chance of catching the Columbus Crew, Toronto’s season ended with the draw. Now, the inquisition of how the team missed the playoffs after spending $100 million in the offseason to acquire Michael Bradley and Jermain Defoe will begin.
Heading into the final weekend of the season, Sporting Kansas City, the Columbus Crew and the New York Red Bulls will all be battling for third place and trying to avoid the play-in game that awaits the fourth and fifth-place finishers.
Vancouver and Portland Will Battle to the Last
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The battle between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Portland Timbers for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference will go down to the final game. This week, Portland couldn’t find a goal at home while hosting Real Salt Lake and tied the visitors 0-0. For their part, Vancouver tied San Jose on the road 0-0.
Vancouver leads the race by a point and will host the Colorado Rapids in their final game while Portland will go on the road to Dallas to round out their season.
Galaxy and Sounders Tie; Supporters’ Shield Remains Up for Grabs
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In the late match on Sunday night, the LA Galaxy hosted the Seattle Sounders. Both teams entered the match with 60 points.
The Galaxy took a 2-0 lead early in the second half, but the Sounders came storming back to earn a 2-2 draw.
In the final game of the regular season, with the Supporters’ Shield in the balance, they will meet again in Seattle next Saturday.
Seattle, which holds the edge in the tie-breaker, will win the regular season title with a win or a tie next week.
Lee Nguyen Continued His Incredible Season
4 of 5The New England Revolution’s Lee Nguyen continued his incredible 2014 campaign by notching two goals in New England’s 2-1 win over the Houston Dynamo—which also happened to be the final home match for Houston manager Dominic Kinnear, who is departing to take charge of San Jose in 2015.
Nguyen now has 17 goals and five assists in 2014 and is not only a candidate for league MVP, but he is being promoted by many for a call-up to the United States men’s national team.
The Garber-Klinsmann Spat
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One of the more entertaining stories out of MLS this week—although probably not very productive—was the spat between USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann and MLS commissioner Don Garber.
Before the U.S. played Honduras on Wednesday, Klinsmann made some honest comments about Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey—both of whom moved from Europe to MLS in the past year. Klinsmann said: “I made it clear with Clint's move back and Michael's move back that it's going to be very difficult to keep the same level that they experienced at the places where they were. It's just reality. It's just being honest."
Garber apparently wasn’t very pleased about the comments and held a press conference of his own, offering up the following rebuttal.
"Jurgen's comments are very, very detrimental to the league. They're detrimental to the sport of soccer in America and everything that we're trying to do north of the border. And not only are they detrimental, I think that they are wrong. Sending a negative message to any player and obviously to U.S. players that signing with Major League Soccer is not going to be good for their career or good to their form is incredibly detrimental to Major League Soccer.
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But not willing to let Garber have the final word, Klinsmann issued this non-apology apology in an interview with Reuters.
"I’d simply respond to Don that it’s just not the case and I would never criticize the MLS or the clubs. I simply try to help the players understand where they are right now and where they could be, and let them know if I see them taking a step backwards a little bit. I just try to wake them up and say ‘you need to go in the other direction.’
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