Hello!! after a little while away I am back... I've been very busy trying to secure my future (filling out employment applications with all the local school districts) that explains why I was not making new blogs.
For this first post back I want to explain the structure of club soccer here in the U.S. As most of you know I am a big soccer fan, so allow me to indulge myself!! =)
In order to explain club soccer here in the US, the best place to start is with MLS.
MLS stands for Major League Soccer, and it is the highest level of soccer played at the club level here in the US. MLS is still a relatively young league compared with leagues in Europe and Latin America that have almost 100 years of tradition and history behind them. MLS started in 1996 as a condition of FIFA having granted the USA the World Cup in 1994. FIFA said "you want the world cup? fine we'll give it to you but you have to start a level 1 soccer league here in your country." The last soccer league that had existed in the US, the NASL had gone bankrupt in the early 80's as a result of financial mismanagement (among other reasons).
When MLS first started in 1996, soccer fans in the US were happy because we finally had a league to call our own--but the quality of play on the field was poor. I think it would pretty fair to have described it as a "kick and run" league. Today, 12 years later, no one will mistake it for the EPL or Italy's Serie A or Spain's La Liga but it has definitely improved a lot. I think that MLS teams could more than hold their own in The Championship (England's 2nd tier) on an every week basis and could even beat EPL mid to lower table opposition. MLS currently has 14 teams and is slated to expand to 18 by 2011. MLS is definitely going through a good time right now--more corporate sponsors, more tv money, more investors, more owners. The public relations/ media coup was last year's signing of Beckham. MLS plays from spring to fall (April to September) with american style playoffs in October. A lot of fans complain that this is not in keeping with world soccer practices (by which they really mean Europe's Big 4) because there a re other leagues around the world that play a spring schedule. I however love the fact that MLS plays mainly in the spring and summer--it's a very American thing to do and reminds me of playing soccer in high school and college when soccer season always started in the spring. Also by playing this way the only other sport competing on tv is Baseball, if we played in fall and winter we would be competing with the NFL, NBA,NHL, and NCAA football and basketball!! Definitely not advantageous.
So now that you know a little about MLS, here are all the things that MLS teams are eligible to compete in once the season begins. The big prize in MLS (as with any other sports league) is the MLS Cup. The best 8 teams at the end of the regular season compete in the MLS playoffs and the team left standing at the end of the playoffs is the MLS Champion and given the MLS Cup. It's a beautiful trophy with a unique design. The winner of MLS Cup besides having the prestige of being called MLS Champion also gets an automatic berth into the CONCACAF Champions League. The MLS Cup runner up also receives a CONCACAF Champions League berth.
A close second to the MLS Cup is the Supporter's Shield. As it's name implies this trophy originated with the fans of MLS. Many fans used to American sports were comfortable with the playoffs system that MLS uses, but it seems an equal number of MLS fans who had grown up watching the Euro leagues before MLS began, did not feel comfortable with the playoff system to crown a champion. They felt that it was more appropriate to give the award to the regular season champion--the team at the end of the regular season with the most points. Since the MLS used playoffs to officially crown its champion, the fans decided to create a trophy by themselves and unofficially award it, on behalf of the fans, with an on the field presentation ceremony to the team with the most points at the end of the regular season. That is how the Supporter's Shield came to be. It is a homemade trophy and it shows, but it also means a lot to the teams that win it because it comes directly from the fans. For many years the Supporter's Shield was an unofficial award but recently MLS decided to recognize it and give it official league license. MLS and the fans now jointly award it and according to MLS it is presented to recognize "excellence in the regular season", though they are not considered MLS champions. It is more than just a mere recognition though--because the winner of the Shield also gains an automatic berth to the CONCACAF Champions League -- just like the winner of MLS Cup !! Supporter's Shield is definitely not a bad "consolation prize" !!
The Dewar Trophy is given to the winner of the US Open Cup tournament. The US Open Cup is the American equivalent of the English FA Cup, or Italy's Coppa Italia, or Spain's Copa Del Rey, or Brazil's Copa Brasil. In fact most, though not all, soccer playing countries have some type of national cup competition. The US Open Cup is a single elimination tournament--which means that if at any point in the tournament you lose, you go home. For MLS teams this means winning 4 games straight--because MLS teams don't start playing until the third round. Third round, quarter finals, semi finals, final--you have to win every single game. It is open to all soccer teams in the US: amateur, semi-pro, or pro. There are 40 berths available--8 berths for MLS, 8 for USL-1 (tier 2), 8 for USL-2 (tier 3), 8 for PDL (semi), and 8 for USASA (amateur). Each league determines how it will allocate the 8 berths alloted to it. As far as MLS is concerned the teams finishing 1-6 at the end of the regular season qualify automatically, while the teams that finished 7 and below have to play each other in a series of qualifying "play-in" games for the remaining 2 slots.
During the years when there was no professional league operating in the US, the winner of the US Open Cup was considered the champion of the US. This included the NASL years because the NASL was not recognized by FIFA as a legitimate tier 1 league. (it's a long story). There would never be a problem with the NASL winning the US Open Cup because the NASL deliberately chose not to enter the tournament. The US Open Cup dates to 1912, so it has a lot of history but it hasn't always had the recognition or exposure it deserves. MLS teams compete and honor the tournament but it seems a lot of them also field their B sides and only take it seriously if they reach the later stages of the tournament. The US Open Cup received a much needed lift a few months ago when US Soccer announced that from now on the winner of the tournament will get an automatic berth to the CONCACAF Champions League. This assures that MLS competition for this trophy will now be fierce. Now if only the tournament could get itself on tv!!
SuperLiga is a tournament that has no analogue any competition in Europe or Latin America. It is one of the tournaments that North American soccer can claim as its own. SuperLiga pits the teams that finished 1-4 in the MLS table with 4 of the best teams from the Mexican League in a mid season, short 3 week tournament in July. Although winning it does not qualify you to any other tournament--it does have a big money prize attached to it. 1 million dollars goes to the winning club--kaching, kaching!!! $$$$$ MLS clubs are money starved because they operate under a league mandated salary cap--so 1 million dollars is a huge incentive. What makes this tournament work is the intense soccer rivalry between the US and Mexico. It is a huge honor to be among the teams that goes to SuperLiga since it only goes to the 1st 4 in the table, and on top of that it gives each team an international platform on which to show their stuff. All the SuperLiga games are televised and have so far garnered tremendous ratings. In order to maximize revenue all games are held in the US. They are very intense games with a very high level of play, and are often very physical too!! Lifting up the SuperLiga trophy is something that must be seen to be believed--the fans and players go nuts!!! Every MLS team wants to qualify for it and have a chance to grab the cash!! This year is its second edition and is currently underway--last year mexican club Pachuca won it all in a nailbiter against the LA Galaxy.
The CONCACAF Champions League is our region's version of the UEFA Champion's League or the South American Copa Libertadores. In otherwords it is CONCACAF'S highest club competition. This year will be its first edition. Before this year it was known as the Champions Cup and used a short tournament knock-off style with 8 teams. This year it will expand to have 24 teams, 16 of which will go on to a first ever group stage. 4 US MLS teams qualify (Toronto must qualify under the Canada Cup)--the MLS Champ, the MLS Cup runner up, the Supporter's Shield winner, and the US Open Cup winner. The winner of this tournament goes on to the FIFA Club World Cup. MLS teams have historically not done well in this tournament--only 2 MLS teams have won our region's highest honor--- the LA Galaxy won it in 2000 and DC United won it in 1998. This tournament has historically been dominated by the Mexican teams and the Costa Rican teams. International competitions like this one are good for MLS as it toughens them up and acts as a good barometer of where the league is at as far as playing ability. The more international exposure our MLS Teams get the better they will get.
The FIFA Club World Cup is every MLS team's impossible dream--a possible shot at international glory on FIFA's highest club stage. It is held every year in December. This year's edition is in Japan. Could you imagine an MLS team going against a Euro team like Man U or Real Madrid? or going against a South American team like Boca Jr or River Plate or Sao Paulo? As impossible as it seems-- it could happen. The road is tough and long but well worth it--only a select few qualify. The FIFA Club World Cup operates with 7 teams-- the champion from each of FIFA's six regions + the league champion of the country hosting the tournament.
5 million goes to the winner plus the title of Club World Champion plus a place in the halls of club soccer history.
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