The Western Conference Finals was a long, hard slog between the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo.&nbsp; With an 8:30 starting time to accommodate ESPN2’s college football schedule, two blackouts that interrupted play in each half, and a half hour of overtime, the Galaxy did not trudge off the pitch with their Western Conference trophy until almost midnight.&nbsp; Some thoughts from the Home Depot Center:
Houston did everything they wanted to do, except score.&nbsp; The Dynamo came in with a plan – don’t give David Beckham or Landon Donovan any room to maneuver, and use speed create opportunities to score.&nbsp; They executed their plan well, especially in the defensive half.&nbsp; Beckham struggled to find time on the ball all evening, and that cutting pass that has been so effective lately was just not there.&nbsp; Donovan was invisible for large parts of the game, and when he had the ball at his feet, it was never near goal and all his passing lanes were cut off.&nbsp; Ricardo Clarke was up for the game, and was full of hustle and challenge all night.&nbsp; It all worked well.
But Berhalter, Gonzalez, and the crossbar kept Houston out.&nbsp; Greg Berhalter and Omar Gonzalez were just terrific anchoring the Galaxy back line.&nbsp; Between them, they rarely put a foot wrong, and Houston’s Brian Ching and Dominic Oduro were denied service for large stretches of the game.&nbsp; Oduro, who has been NASA hot the past month, was a non-entity and subbed out in the 72nd minute.&nbsp; Ching’s one decent chance came shortly after that when his header from a Brian Mullan cross was pawed by Donovan Ricketts onto the cross bar and out.&nbsp; Gonzalez in particular was outstanding.&nbsp; After recovering from his nightmare playoff debut against Chivas USA two weeks ago, he has come out focused and confident, and the Galaxy have now gone 250 playoff minutes without conceding a goal.&nbsp; Other than the 20 minute flurry of possession that the Dynamo enjoyed in the second half, chances were at a premium for Houston.
Fleet of foot Alan Gordon created the Galaxy chances.&nbsp; Most of the time, watching Alan Gordon dribble the ball is like watching Andre the Giant do the Charleston.&nbsp; It ain’t pretty.&nbsp; But when Alan Gordon came in six minutes into the first overtime, his fresh legs looked like Maradona’s compared to a clearly gassed Rico Clark.&nbsp; A few minutes after coming on, Gordon received the ball 20 yards from the box and turned on Clark who could only grab Gordon and take him down.&nbsp; The subsequent Beckham free kick was headed by Gonzalez into the mix and found its way to Berhalter who stabbed it into the net for the critical first goal.&nbsp; Ten minutes later, Gordon took a breakaway ball into the box and again jigged past Clark who could only muster enough energy to stab out a hopeful leg that sent Gordon straight into the turf.&nbsp; The stone-cold penalty was converted by Donovan, and that ended the match as a competitive encounter.&nbsp;
Was that the real MLS Cup game?&nbsp; Many observers would say that Houston and Los Angeles were the two best teams left in the playoffs.&nbsp; Combined, they have four wins, three draws and a loss against Real Salt Lake and Chicago this season.&nbsp; Both western teams have that critical combination of experienced veterans and rising stars, and the both build their attacks from the back with a solid defense distributing the ball forward.&nbsp; Both teams have&nbsp;successful coaches who know how to prepare teams for big games.&nbsp; With LA booking its flight to Seattle for the MLS Cup, they are going to give either Real Salt Lake or Chicago nothing but problems to plan around, and will feel that anything less than a victory will be a failure.&nbsp;
Final open quiz question – If the Galaxy win the MLS Cup, will Beckham have become the most successful club player in history?&nbsp; He will have won top honors in this third different league (EPL with Manchester United, La Liga with Real Madrid and MLS with the Galaxy)and will also have won the Champions league (with Manchester United).&nbsp;&nbsp; Has any other player ever done that?&nbsp; None springs to my mind.&nbsp; Maradona won two leagues (with Boca Juniors and Napoli) and Zidane won two leagues and the Champions League (with Juve and Real Madrid).&nbsp; I can think of a few other Zelig-like&nbsp;players like Geo Van Bronckhorst who won in three leagues (with Rangers, Arsenal and Barca) but I can’t think of anyone who has won in three leagues and the Champions league over their career.

Galaxy Win in a Long, Dark Night in Carson - World Soccer Talk

Galaxy Win in a Long, Dark Night in Carson

<ul>
<li>Amado Guevara’s signing has turned Toronto FC from a laughing stockinto one of the top teams in the league right now. That’s what a Latin flavored #10 can do when surrounded by legitimate European talent that has survived in tougher leagues than MLS. Moreover, the success of TFC shows that despite boasts of MLS’ improvement, players who are marginal squad members in the English Championship can come to MLS and have early success. While MLS from a quality and skill standpoint is better than the English Championship, players who come from the British Isles are tougher and more understanding of a football culture than most Americans who come from the college ranks, from USL or even from within MLS. No wonder MLS has so much trouble in Continental competitions and proving itself to the more snobbish fans in its own nation.</li>
<li>I don’t want to get into comparisons of leagues on different continents so do not interpret the above statement to mean that I am claiming the League Championship is better than MLS. Major League Soccer has far more accomplished internationals in it than does the English second division, however I am merely stating that the competitive aspects of the game in England that are missing in the US have allowed the British based players that have signed with TFC to compliment a superstar like Amado Guevara more quickly than would a set of American players who come from a less competitive atmosphere. But the key for TFC is Guevara, an MLS veteran, not any of the recent British based signings.</li>
<li>Watching games at Toronto is becoming more and more difficult for me as the field turf at BMO field has a bigger and bigger impact on each passing match. For MLS to be taken seriously, TFC must at a minimum be forced to replace that carpet each year. The same goes for any club that owns or operates a stadium with turf in it.</li>
<li>Steve Nicol continues to prove the doubters wrong with his ability to identify talent and then integrate the discovered players within his system. Shalrie Joseph playing in an advanced role Thursday night was a brilliant tactical move that put FC Dallas on its heels.</li>
<li>Khano Smith has an under appreciated left foot and works hard to find space out wide. I was happy to see him score the winning goal.</li>
<li>Dario Sala had another good game for the Hoops, and Ray Burse Jr. may wonder if his future lies elsewhere.</li>
<li>DC United’s attack looked outstanding against RSL, and while Salt Lake looked dangerous at times, their backline continues to be worrying to say the least.</li>
<li>I was impressed by the flair Santino Quaranta continues to show in his comeback. It is not unreasonable to think Quaranta may be able to work his way back into the US National Team setup after being a teenage flame out under Bruce Arena.</li>
<li>Real Salt Lake has too many attacking weapons to be struggling so mightily. Every time I watch them play they look solid but simply cannot finish and have trouble at the back.</li>
<li>I’m wondering if RSL has chemistry problems with so many above average players but yet no real standout types.</li>
<li>Jason Kreis playing Carey Talley at holding midfielder was an interesting move. It seemed to work at first even when RSL conceded two penalty kicks. But in the end the new formation could not slow down United.</li>
<li>Marcello Gallardo wearing #10 and having longish hair made me do some double takes: I believed Marco Ethcheverry was playing at times!</li>
<li>Columbus has serious problems finishing. We saw it against Red Bull in a defeat and now have seen it in the last three victories. Missing so many easy opportunities gave Houston an opportunity to equalize late, and Wade Barrett was oh so unlucky that Will Hesmer read his shot perfectly.</li>
<li>I did not see Chicago-Colorado, but was happy for John Thorrington, the Manchester United academy and reserve player whose US national team career was a non starter and whose club career was complicated. Thorrington scored a brace against the Rapids.</li>
<li>Sacha Kljestan’s influence on the Chivas USA attack cannot be understated. His free kick goal was a thing of beauty and his ability to create counter attacking opportunities in the first half was important to keeping the Super Classico competitive for a while.</li>
<li>Ante Razov almost never misses from point blank range. That’s something Steve Cronin needs to remember for the next Super Classico.</li>
<li>Landon Donovan is not only the best American player in a generation, he quite possibly is the only difference between a US team today which is moving forward, and the US team of the early 1990s with some skilled players but zero opportunity to consistently play at a high level. Donovan’s performance last night was simply world class. That is an overused term, but that is what Landon Donovan on his day is.</li>
<li>Alan Gordon had a great impact for the Galaxy coming off the bench.</li>
<li>Brad Guzan’s regression over the first month of the MLS season culminated with a totally unforgivable mistake on the go ahead goal for the Galaxy. Guzan looks completely unsure of himself between the pipes. Perhaps it is the shambolic back line and the stalled development of Jonathan Bornstein? Perhaps it is lingering unhappiness about his work permit not being awarded for a move to Aston Villa? Perhaps it is simply a rough patch, but right now Guzan cannot be counted on as a backup to Tim Howard or Kasey Keller in any US World Cup qualifier this summer or fall.</li>
<li>If people aren’t willing to give MLS a chance and feel the intensity and quality of play is inferior to European or Latin American football, they need to watch either a match from RFK Stadium or a Superclassico to understand we do have passion here and we understand the game as well. Oh yeah, and some pretty good football is being played also.</li>
</ul>

Galaxy Win in a Long, Dark Night in Carson

Alan Gordon

Galaxy Win in a Long, Dark Night in Carson

Alan Gordon

Sunday Morning MLS Review; April 27, 2008