A new week of CONCACAF Champions League play starts today. In United’s group, Deportivo Saprissa hosts current Group A leaders CD Marathon. Group B leaders UNAM will take on the Houston Dynamo at 10 p.m. ET and this game can be seen live on Fox Soccer Channel.
Here is this week’s TV schedule (all times EST):
Tuesday, September 30
Group B: Pumas UNAM vs. Houston Dynamo – 10 p.m. on FSC and Telefutura
Wednesday, October 1
Group A: D.C. United vs. Cruz Azul – 8 p.m. on FSC and Telefutura
Group C: CD Olimpia vs. Impact de Montreal – 10 p.m. on FSC and Galavision
Thursday, October 2
Group D: Tauro FC vs. Santos Laguna 8 p.m. on Galavision
Group C: Atlante vs. Joe Public – 10 p.m. on FSC and Galavision
Group D: Municipal vs. PR Islanders – 1 a.m. on FSC
Marcelo Gallardo is back in the district after about two weeks of rehab in his native Argentina. Media spoke with United's #10 and here's a few excerpts, via translation and my poorly written notes:
"I feel a lot better and I hope to finish the season on a positive note... The most important thing was to get rid of the pain I was feeling all the time... I hope to play a few minutes on Saturday, but don't think I'll play tomorrow... It was really hard to watch the team go through that [recent losing streak] and not be able to help... It would have been easy for me to sit back and not play the rest of the season, but I want to work to come back and help as much as I can."
Champions League take three. The team is in need of a positive result and will look to do so on Wednesday against Mexican team CDSC Cruz Azul. Here's a little bit of info about the Blue Machine.
History
The Cruz Azul Coorporation, a cement-making company, first got into the sports world in 1924 with a baseball team. Three years later, basketball, volleyball and soccer followed. The soccer team turned professional in 1960 and four years later, Club Deportivo, Social y Cultural Cruz Azul reached the Mexican First Division.
Champions League Qualification
La Maquina Azul qualified for the inaugural Champions League as the runner-up in the 2008 Clausura tournament. In the preliminary round, they pounded Hankook Verdes (Belize) 12-0 on aggregate.
Current Season
Cruz Azul currently holds the second spot in the standings with a 4-2-3 record and is only one point behind the group leaders. Their captain, Gerardo Torrado, is a National Team veteran, having represented his country more than 80 times. Midfielder Jaime Lozano has almost 30 caps with Mexico’s National Team, while Carlos Bonet and Cristian Riveros represented Paraguay in the 2006 World Cup.
Nickname
During the 70s, Cruz Azul dominated the Mexican League, winning six titles between 1970 and 1980, earning them the nickname of ‘La Máquina’ (The Machine – so far that’s two monsters and one machine). They also often called ‘Los Cementeros’, being born from a cement company.
Winning History
Only four years after reaching the Mexican First Division, Cruz Azul conquered their first championship in 1968. Since then, they have won seven more League championships, out of 13 appearances in the final, and two Copa Mexico titles (1969, 1996). The team has also won the ‘Campeon de Campeones’ title twice (1969, 1973), a championship between the League and Cup winners (in recent times, the Apertura vs. Clausura winners) that determines Mexico’s representative in the prestigious Copa Libertadores.
International Honors
Cruz Azul has been successful on the international stage as well, winning all five CONCACAF Champions Cup (1969, 1970, 1971, 1996 and 1997) they have participated in, obtaining a 20-1-7 record. In 2001, they reached the final of Copa Libertadores but fell to storied Argentine club Boca Juniors in penalty kicks, after a 1-1 aggregate score in which the Mexicans won the away leg.
Historic Players
La Maquina has had some world-class players during its 45 year history including Juventus and Italian National Team midfielder Mauro Camoranesi, who was with the team from 1998 to 2000. Luciano Figueroa, who has played in the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A, was a gold medalist with Argentina’s National Team. Jared Borgetti is a Mexican National Team veteran who has more than 80 caps, while Francisco Fonseca has represented Mexico 42 times.
‘Cementeros’ in MLS
Two of Cruz Azul’s most notable players, Francisco Palencia and Carlos Hermosillo, spent time in the MLS. Palencia played with Chivas USA during their 2005 inaugural season and scored two goals in his debut. He became the team captain in 2006 and was the highest paid player in the League at the time. Hermosillo joined the LA Galaxy for two seasons in 1998 and 1999. He scored 14 goals and 15 assists during this time, helping his team to the playoffs.
The team is now winless in its last six games (0-5-1 in all competitions). Luciano Emilio went off in the second half with an apparent hamstring strain. Jaime Moreno got red carded late in the game. And the team's current standing leaves it out the post-season. I wish there were positive things to report, but I'm not sure there are.
There are four regular season games left - to go along with four in CONCACAF Champions League - and the guys are going to have to make the most of them if they want to salvage the season.
UPDATE: Here are a few (literally) post-game quotes out of Dallas...
D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn
on the game:
I was disappointed in our effort in the first half. Obviously, everybody knows the importance of this game. We talked all week and said the right things but that doesn’t mean much when you don’t execute. We came out flat. I don’t think anybody worked. I adjusted things at halftime and it was better but you can’t afford to waste a half. On hot days like this, the first goal usually dictates who wins the game.
D.C. United midfielder Clyde Simms
on the game:
It’s frustrating. I think it was a good opportunity to come in here and get a good result today. Unfortunately, our first half was pretty bad, effort wise. The second half was much better. I felt like we put some good pressure on them. But still, we’re missing that final pass. It’s definitely a frustrating day.
FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman
on the game:
We played so well in Chicago and challenged the boys to produce back here at home for the fans. It was a great result because of the heat and a great result because we were going up against a great strike force. I thought in the first half we played very well. They sure did come at us for a while, which I think shows the strength of our defense. I thought Dario had an exceptional game today. So, again, you know it’s a great victory for FC Dallas and I thought it was another great team performance.
FC Dallas defender Drew Moor
on the game:
It’s a great result for us, to get three points. What I think we is the most positive thing we can take away from this game is how we finished the game. We didn’t just give up early and let them come back in it. We played consistently well for 90 minutes.
Coming to you live from Dallas, er, Frisco... actually, I'm in D.C. and my esteemed colleague, Boris Flores, is at Pizza Hut Park today. Regardless, here's the starting lineup the coaches have decided on today.
Bench: Zach Wells, Gonzalo Martinez, Joe Vide, Rod Dyachenko, Mike Zaher, Ryan Cordeiro, Craig Thompson.
So, Jaime Moreno, Gonzalo Peralta and Santino Quaranta all make their return to the starting lineup after missing time. Joe Vide is also available for the first time in a few weeks.
United is in Dallas today for its second match against their Western Conference foes in just over two weeks. With a win, the team would leapfrog the fourth place New York Red Bulls who fell to Colorado last night 5-4. Following this afternoon's game, the team will return home to D.C. and - once again - turn its focus back to CONCACAF Champions League for a Wednesday evening match with Mexico's Cruz Azul.
Today's game kicks-off at 3 p.m. ET and can be seen live on TeleFutura.
With all of this week’s CONCACAF Champions League matches played, several teams established themselves as early front-runners to advance to the next round of the region’s most important tournament.
In D.C. United’s group, Marathon took the top spot with the 2-0 win against the Black-and-Red. Group A also saw Cruz Azul thrash Saprissa 4-0 on Tuesday night.
Wednesday night, UNAM defeated Firpo to take Group B’s top spot. The other MLS representative, the Houston Dynamo, played a scoreless draw with Panama's San Francisco to earn a road point.
Group C saw Impact de Montreal and Atlante play to a scoreless tie and put themselves atop the group, while Olimpia topped Joe Public 3-1.
The Puerto Rico Islanders continued their surprising run Tuesday night by defeating reigning Mexican Clausura champions Santos Laguna 3-1, giving the Islanders the early lead in the Group D standings. Last night, Tauro defeated Municipal 2-1.
The National Soccer Hall of Fame has added a 2008 U.S. Open Cup display to honor United as the tournament's most recent champion. Luciano Emilio's game-worn and autographed jersey, Fred's game-worn and autographed shoes and the game ball signed by the entire team flanks the Dewar Challenge Trophy with a newly minted 2008 champion's plate.
The National Soccer Hall of fame is located in Oneonta, NY. Go visit.
Here are the updated group standings, following last night's matches:
Group A
Marathon (HON) 2-0-0, 6 pts.
Cruz Azul (MEX) 1-1-0, 3 pts.
Saprissa (CRC) 1-1-0, 3 pts.
D.C. United 0-2-0, 0 pts.
In Group B, UNAM defeated Firpo to take the top spot. Group C saw Impact de Montreal and Atlante play to a scoreless tie and put themselves atop the group, while Olimpia topped Joe Public 3-1.
There's one game today, Group D's match between Tauro and Municipal, which will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on Galavision.
The team sat in well through the first half and absorbed a few breakthrough chances by Marathon. It also looked as though the team missed out on a penalty call midway through the first half when Luciano Emilio was taken down by the Marathon's goalkeeper. Then, in the second half the guys seemed to gain a little control of the game and saw two decent opportunities for Boyzzz Khumalo. Unfortunately, Marathon broke through in the 67th minute (did anyone else think Clyde was preparing to kick the ball out of bounds because Rod was injured on the ground, only to have a Marathon player slide in and take it? It looked that way to me, but I haven't seen a replay) and scored their first goal, before adding an insurance tally in the 84th (dcunited.com recap here).
United falls to 0-2 in Group A play and will face Mexico's Cruz Azul at RFK Stadium next Wednesday (8 p.m. ET).
The team departs tomorrow morning at 11:30 p.m., has a layover in Houston and lands back in the District around 10 p.m. Another long day of travel, which will leave just two days to prepare for the visit to FC Dallas on Sunday.
Here are some post-game quotes...
D.C. United Head Coach Tom Soehn
On the team’s performance:
We had a plan to make sure our mentality was to not give up too many chances and I thought the first half we hung on pretty strong. We had to make some substitutions and, to their [Marathon’s] credit, they’re a good counterattack team and they have some guys with pace who can hurt you and they created a few quality chances.
On whether or not Marathon’s speed surprised them:
Not at all, we’ve watched them and we knew they were good on the counterattack. We turned over the ball in bad spots and that’s what generated their chances. But, to their credit they finished their chances – which is part of the game.
On whether the team is in a difficult spot at 0-2:
Absolutely. We’ve dug ourselves a hole, especially with the loss at home. Obviously, Marathon still has to come play us, which will also be a tough environment for them. But, we’ve dug ourselves a hole. They’re obviously sitting in a much better position.
On if the weather affected the team:
I think more so the travel did. You know, we had a long flight from LA to get here. Obviously, the conditions are hot and humid, but for some of our guys that’s a comforting thing. So, I think the travel has been difficult more than the weather.
On Central American soccer:
We’ve been up here before and the teams that we’ve faced are very good sides. They play different styles, but Marathon is a good team. Unfortunately, we’re in a situation where we’re still missing some key guys and we’re on the verge of getting healthy, but we’re fighting through some battles – much like all teams do. It takes nothing away from them – they had a good performance today.
On missing Marcelo Gallardo and Jaime Moreno:
Well, missing two guys like that obviously it takes a lot away from our possession game, which we’ve been accustomed to playing. When you have two guys like that on the field it makes players like Ivan [Guerrero] and Fred and Luciano [Emilio] so much more effective. So, it’s a big loss for us, but that’s the reality of sports and we have to deal with what we have.
D.C. United forward Luciano Emilio
On the game:
It was very difficult for us. We came to play well tonight and it was very difficult for us. We worked very hard for the first 45 minutes, played good defensively, but after that it was very difficult.
On being brought down in the box by the Marathon goalkeeper:
He made a mistake – he came outside the goal. He made a mistake and left the ball on the ground and then I dribbled him and he pulled my jersey and I think it was 100% a penalty, but the referee didn’t call it.
On being 0-2 and facing Cruz Azul next week:
It is very difficult – two games we have lost. But, next Wednesday we need to start to win. It’s a home game and I think this is the time the team has to start to win, because if we don’t win Wednesday then the situation will be very bad for us.
D.C. United defender Craig Thompson
On the team’s defensive posture:
We were playing away so we wanted to come in with a little more of a defensive mindset and we did that and in the first half it worked pretty well – we came out 0-0.
On playing at right back:
Playing with the defenders we have in the back makes it a lot easier, because they help you out.If you play with good players they really make your job easy. Playing back there wasn’t that hard of a transition from right midfield because I’m familiar with everybody.
On Marathon:
They were very tough. They’re a very quick team and they made a lot of good runs, they were hard to mark.
On being 0-2 in Group A:
It’s difficult, but we still have four games left and we’re still in it. By no means are we out, so we need to come back and get a couple wins and we’ll be right there.
The bad news is that Santino Quaranta will not be dressing tonight. The 23-year old suffered some pretty deep bruises on his ankle and shin Saturday night in LA and will be held out this evening. Bummer.
The good news is that the guys are all feeling pretty positive and will be coming out in a slightly more defensive-oriented posture tonight, running at type of 4-4-1-1. Here are your starters:
Louis Cratyon; Craig Thompson, Bryan Namoff, Marc Burch, Gonzalo Martinez; Fred, Clyde Simms, Ivan Guerrero, Boyzzz Khumalo; Rod Dyachenko, Luciano Emilio.
We are in the process of building a Digital Media Department to bring all D.C. United web properties in-house - the primary focus being, of course, dcunited.com. It's due for a re-design and we want good people on board to help us do it (among many other projects).
We've already hired the person who will lead the charge - Mark McClure, our new Director of Digital Media. He's the man behind The Far Post, BobbyBoswell.com and was the lead on creating this very site (among a ton of other work he's done for Navigation Arts over the last several years).
Currently, we're hiring two positions (with more to follow):
Senior Web Developer - We're looking for a gifted coder who is really, really good at front-end scripting web standards, especially with front-end development and unobtrusive scripting. This person should have at least four years experience as a web developer. This person will report to the Director of Digital Media. More info.
Front-end Developer - This person will report to the Senior Web Developer and should be able to create websites that appear and work well on each and every web browser out there. Their main responsibility will be to create sick and cutting edge websites, applications and widgets. More info.
Yes, it's a cliche, but we're looking for people who are down with working in a fast-paced and demanding environment. We believe the reward will be worth the hard work. We want to build some of the best sports websites not only in MLS, but among all professional sports. So, if you're an ambitious, enthusiastic and determined web developer (bonus points if you like soccer), this might be the gig for you.
D.C. United faces Club Deportivo Marathon for the first time in its history tonight at Estadio Olimpico in a game that will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel (10 p.m. ET). The Black-and-Red hope to rebound from a Group A opening 2-0 loss to Deportivo Saprissa last week at RFK Stadium. Cruz Azul, who lost to Marathon in Honduras last week 2-0, defeated Saprissa 4-0 last night in Mexico.
Head Coach Tom Soehn is once again without Marcelo Gallardo, Jaime Moreno, Ben Olsen and Joe Vide, though Gonzalo Peralta may very well be available tonight for the first time in weeks. Time will tell (as will I... later) what the lineup will look like for this evening.
Champions League play resumed yesterday with three goups in action. In United's Group A, Cruz Azul thrashed Saprissa 4-0. The Black-and-Red will look to earn points tonight on the road against Honduran side Marathon. The game will be shown live on Fox Soccer Channel at 10 p.m. ET.
With Cruz Azul's win, this is what the Group A table looks like:
Cruz Azul (MEX) 1-0-1, 3 pts.
Marathon (HON) 1-0-0, 3 pts.
Saprissa (CRC) 1-0-1, 3 pts.
D.C. United 0-0-1, 0 pts.
The other MLS representative, the Houston Dynamo, played a scoreless draw with Panama's San Francisco to earn a road point. Group B play will continue today with El Salvador's Firpo visiting Pumas UNAM (Mexico) at 10 p.m. ET on Telefutura.
The Puerto Rico Islanders continued their surprising run last night by defeating reigning Mexican Clausura champions Santos Laguna 3-1. (Can you tell I'm Puerto Rican?) The win gives the Islanders the early lead in the Group D standings.
Group C will play both of their second-date matchups today, with Joe Public (Trinidad) hosting Olimpia (Honduras) at 8 p.m. ET on Fox Soccer Channel, followed by D.C.'s match. The second game will feature Atlante (Mexico) visiting Impact de Montreal (Canada) at 8 p.m. ET on Telefutura.
The team held its final training session at Estadio Olimpic before tomorrow's match against CD Marathon (Fox Soccer Channel, 10 p.m. ET). Tom Soehn and his staff ran the team through a long warm-up and then some possession and finishing drills. The field looks pretty decent, though the grass is exceptionally thick.
Tomorrow, the guys will prepare by watching the second half of last week's Marathon-Cruz Azul match - after watching the first half today.
I've added a few photos from tonight's training session to the Video & Pics page and here are some quotes from Soehn, Clyde Simms and Louis Crayton...
D.C. United Head Coach Tom Soehn
On tonight’s training session and facing Marathon
Well, you know the field is in great shape. I think given our [past] experience with Honduras this is probably the best field we’ve played on. We know Marathon is a good side and it’s going to be a very competitive match, so we’re excited about the opportunity of playing a good team.
On what the team’s plan is to stop Marathon’s speed
Well, we’ve watched them and studied them and we obviously have a game plan coming into the game, but that’s obviously for us and we’re not going to share that.
On whether or not there is any one player they need to focus on
I think they do a good job on counterattacks and whoever the guys are on the counterattack they add to their strengths. So, it’s not necessarily one, but understanding how they play.
On whether or not they’ve forgotten the Galaxy game
In this business you have to forget and I think the excitement of coming out and rectifying a bad result is always on the players’ mind, so of course we’ll be ready.
D.C. United midfielder Clyde Simms
On the team’s preparations
We haven’t really done much coming off the LA game so we just wanted to get some touches – obviously, it’s a different ball that we play with – so, we need to get used to the ball again and get the flight, the long trip out of our system and get mentally prepared for tomorrow.
On playing with so many players out
We’re going to have to change our mentality even more and we know we’re on the road and of course we’ll be missing some guys and we might even have to change the formation and really sit in and let the game come to us and make them break us down.
On the team’s mentality of playing on the road
I think it’s something that we need to work on, especially here recently, but I think we’ve really concentrated on it coming into the game tomorrow. Basically, we need to have our defensive line not start as high as we do at home and really try and make the team play through us.When you’re on the road you want your offense to be more of a counterattack.
D.C. United goalkeeper Louis Crayton
On the game and preparations
Well, first of all we watched the first half of the game that Marathon played against Cruz Azul and they had a very good game and they have a lot of fast players on the team.Having seen their game and knowing the way they play, I think the coaches are prepared with a strategy that we will go out there tomorrow to at least leave this place with a point and to be able to bounce back from all of our difficulties over the last few games.
On the team’s approach on the road
I think we know it’s going to be very crucial to perform well individually, as well as collectively, and I’ve spoken to some players on the team knowing what we ought to do out there tomorrow. Like I said, what we need to do is at least get a point out of here which will help us to be able to come back in the Champions League and to rebuild our morale coming into our game against FC Dallas.
On playing without Devon McTavish
Well, I mean I’ve been around the club and the team for some time now and I’ve played with every player. Devon being out is a big hit for us, but I believe anyone who is going to play before me tomorrow is aware of his responsibility. We’re just going to work together collectively as a team and see how we can pull out a positive result tomorrow.
Today, Luciano Emilio sat down for a live online chat with one of the most popular media outlets in Honduras, Diez. What follows is the translated (thanks, Cris Cruz!) version of an article that includes excerpts from the chat (Spanish version here).
You can also see few photos of Luciano being interviewed on the Video & Pics page.
“Honduras can go to the World Cup”
The Brazilian was the League’s leading goal-scorer four times
The love Honduran fans have for Brazilian forward Luciano Emilio was again evident.
D.C. United’s star chatted on Diez.hn and replied to fan questions. “Chano” talked about the National League, D.C. United, his long-awaited naturalization as a Honduran citizen and many other things.
The striker was happy to be in contact with the people who chanted his name across stadiums in Honduras for a long time and told Marathon fans that he might score a goal against them tomorrow.
“I know Honduran soccer very well, I think I can score against Marathon, I’m always going to think I can score on any team, if it wasn’t like that I would retire,” he said.
A fan asked Emilio about the rumors circulating about the money for him to be able to become a naturalized Honduras, to which the player responded:
“We didn’t even talk about money, I would come as any other Honduran to contribute to the National Team,” and added that: “I feel a great joy when I see the National Team’s jersey, Honduras has a great team and a good chance to go to the World Cup.”
The idea of finishing his playing career in Honduras is already taking shape because according to the forward, Olimpia manager Osman Madrid has already made him an offer and he accepted, although he admits it’s still a long time from now.
Distance with Real España
The subject of Real España has been a sensitive one since the D.C. United player left the team to play with Olimpia, and today Luciano clears the air, saying he came here to make friends, not enemies, and that “the reaction of Real España’s fans is understandable, I don’t have anything against them.”
Time went by and Luciano had to say goodbye. An Olimpia fan said in behalf of the supporters’ group, Ultrafiel, that they would cheer for D.C. United and not Marathon, because of how much they care about him.
“I’ll be happy to see the ‘Ultra’ again. This will grow the relationship between Luciano and you guys. This is something that will never end.”
Emilio will be part of the D.C. United team that will face Marathon tomorrow in the second Group A matchup of the Concacaf Champions League. The game will kick off at 8 p.m. at Estadio Olímpico.
The CONCACAF Champions League continues tonight with three group stage matches. In United's group, Saprissa travels to Mexico to take on Cruz Azul. The Costa Rican giant currently sits atop Group A, while Cruz Azul lost their first game 0-2 against CD Marathon (Honduras). Galavision will air this game live at 10 p.m. ET
Group B will feature the Houston Dynamo's first game in the tournament, as they travel to Panama to face San Francisco FC. Houston's first match last week had to be postponed due to the hurricane, while San Francisco earned a 1-1 draw at home against Mexican club Pumas last week. Watch this game live on FSC at 8 p.m. ET.
Group D will also be in action today, as the USL-1 regular season champs, the Puerto Rico Islanders host Mexican side Santos Laguna. Both teams are coming off wins in their first group stage matches. You can catch this game live at 8 p.m. ET on Galavision or at 11:00 p.m. ET on FSC.
Well after 12-plus hours of travel, we've finally arrived in Honduras. It was a long day to be sure. Everyone gathered at the team hotel this evening upon arrival for dinner - meeting Louis Crayton, Luciano Emilio, Fred and Boyzzz Khumalo who had come a day early to make sure their visas were in order. Tomorrow, the team will have brunch and lunch together ahead of an evening training session at Estadio Olimpico, the home field of CD Marathon.
I'll be back tomorrow with an update and some thoughts from the guys the day before the game...
As United gets ready to face their next opponent in the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League, here's some information about the Honduran champion, CD Marathon. The team is on their way to Honduras today and will face Marathon on Wednesday. Following a home loss to Saprissa last week, the Black-and-Red will look to earn crucial road points against a tough opponent.
History
Club Deportivo Marathon was born in 1925, when a group of friends gathered in Eloy Montes’ store in the city of San Pedro Sula and decided to form a soccer club. To get the club started, Montes ordered a 'futbol' ball from Chicago mail order company Montgomery Ward, but when the package arrived, the group found instead an American football. Though it wasn’t what they had asked for, one of them saw the word “Marathon” inscribed on the ball and thought it would be a great name for their new team. Thus, CD Marathon was born, symbolizing resistance, endurance and heroism.
Champions League Qualification
As the 07-08 Apertura tournament winners, Marathon got the chance to earn a spot in the inaugural Champions League. In the preliminary round, Marathon defeated El Salvador’s Isidro Metapan by 4-3 aggregate score to advance to the group stage.
Current Season
Marathon currently sits atop the standings in the 08-09 Apertura tournament of the Honduran National League with a record of 7-1-3. Striker Saul Martinez, who played the 1999 season with the MLS’s Miami Fusion, leads the team with five goals and is tied for fourth best in the league.
Winning History
Though the club is more than 80 years old, Marathon first began to experience success later in their existence, winning the National Championship for the first time in 1979. They followed that win with a 1985 championship and didn’t win again until the 2001-2002 Clausura tournament. Since then, Marathon has been to the finals of the championship eight times, winning the 2002-2003 Clausura, 2003-2004 Apertura and 2007-2008 Apertura.
International Honors
Though the team prides itself for its wins against international clubs, Marathon has never won an international title. During the 60s and 70s, the club was known as the ‘executioner of foreign teams’, as they defeated teams like Saprissa, 4-0, and Pachuca, 2-1. In 1981 they became the first Honduran team to ever beat a Mexican team in an official match, defeating Group A rival Cruz Azul 3-1. The Green Monster also claims a win over River Plate, when they defeated the Argentine powerhouse 3-1 in 2002.
Mascot
Marathon has perhaps one of the most interesting mascots ever, a dinosaur, earning them the nickname of ‘el Monstruo Verde’ (the Green Monster).
It's 5:30 a.m. in Los Angeles and the team is in for a long day of traveling. We're set to gather on the bus at 6 a.m. PT and will arrive in San Pedro Sula, Honduras after 7 p.m. CT - after a layover in Miami. That's a long day.
Reserves had a brief training session yesterday morning, while those that played Saturday night just had a short recovery session. The rest of the day was free, as players took a little time to explore LA.
The team will train tomorrow evening at CD Marathon's home stadium - Estadio Olimpico - in advance of Wednesday night's important Group A match in CONCACAF Champions League play.
No comments from me tonight on the game. We're in LA all day tomorrow and will leave for Honduras first thing Monday morning. Things aren't going to slow down, that's for sure. Here are your post-game comments. You can see highlights of the game here.
D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH TOM SOEHN
On the match:
"They had a lot of life. Landon and Beckham obviously add so much to the team. They caught us in spots in counter attacks. And Landon did a good job of finding the holes and we didn't account for them. They did pretty well and they exposed some of our weaknesses."
On the red card:
"We all saw it, it was an absolute travesty. Especially when we were fighting to come back and we actually had a good part of the game. Lots of times they wouldn't call it because of who it was. Everyone looked at that and said it wasn't a red card. What are you going to do?"
D.C. UNITED DEFENDER MARC BURCH
On the match:
"I think when we get one goal up on the road we should have everyone settled. Make them beat us, and not us beating ourselves by spreading out and letting them break through. You know, Landon is a great player, he's fast. We missed some of the long balls. Marking up those guys up top is hard because they're fast, with Landon running through the midfield. But you know, I think in the second half we were playing well."
On the red card:
"It's not a red card. He's straight up and he went told the ref that. It's a foul. I don't know how he ended up hitting the sign boards, because I didn't even run into him. I swung for the ball and hit the back of his leg. It comes with bringing him to the league, you know."
D.C. UNITED DEFENDER DEVON McTAVISH
On the match:
"We just kind of got caught in two mindsets, trying to press them at times. And no one was really on the same page. Defenders got caught sitting too far back. Some other players got caught trying to press. There are certain times to press and certain times to sit back. And it's situations when you're on the road and your up one nothing, you just got to sit back and get 10 guys, 11 guys behind the ball and defend. I don't think we did that very well."
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the match:
"First of all, over 90 minutes, being a coach -- you are never satisfied with a complete match. I was disappointed with the way we started the game, but I was very pleased in the way we reacted. We came back and took a pretty impressive lead into halftime. A three-goal lead. The way we came out in the second half and gave up a goal. These are bad habits. These are things we have to get better at. Concentration has to improve. I think the effort, although wasn't perfect, they played as a team today. They worked for each other. I think David had an excellent game. Obviously Donovan with the three goals and I think you can see the value Eddie Lewis is going to offer the team. He's a very good player, very experienced player. Excellent on both sides of the ball. I think our two young center backs showed some good minutes tonight. They did a pretty good job. Overall, I'm certainly pleased with the three points. We talked to the team at the end of the game, and we know that there are certainly areas of improvement."
On Landon Donovan's performance:
"It was certainly an excellent performance. I've seen him score goals in World Cups, in World Cup qualifying and obviously in this league now. I think he's around 19 goals and Landon is expected to do that. It's the big thing I emphasis with Landon you have to play it through ability. He's a goal scorer, he's very a good passer, and he's a good team player. We have to get all the qualities that he has out. That's the expectations. I think the goals were great goals. I think the performance tonight was terrific. We need to see his consistency from here to the end of the season. As we continue to move forward with this team, those are the expectations of every player."
On the win:
"Beating D.C., that part of it isn't important. Getting a win is what was important. We have to be a team that's going to win at home, for sure, and get other wins. That's the type of pressure we want to have on ourselves while we move forward and try to make this team better."
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER DAVID BECKHAM
On the result:
"It's nice to get a win at least. I think that all the players are relieved. We're happy. We knew it was coming; we felt that it was coming. We just had to have a little bit of luck and confidence to go out there and play our football. The way that we know that we can play. Like the coach says, there were a few bad moments and there were a few lapses in concentration but overall the togetherness of the team, the unity of the team is what came out tonight."
On the win:
"It was an important win just to get us going again. I think more than anything because to go so many games without a win, I've never done it before and many of the players haven't done that before. For confidence more than anything it was important that we started well, which we didn't start well tonight, but then we got ourselves back into it. And, then we stayed together to win the game. I think that was the motive tonight. We need three points. No matter how we got it, we needed to get them and we did."
On Landon Donovan's performance:
"I thought it was exceptional. I've seen that a few times with Landon. When he plays like that, no one can stop him. He's a goal scorer and he's done that throughout his career. We're lucky to have a player like that on the team because like I said when he runs at players or when he runs off the ball, no one can get near him because he's too quick. And he's a great finisher of the ball, and he showed that tonight. And it's something that we needed. You need certain players to perform in games, especially when you are going through tough times, and Landon did that tonight."
LA GALAXY FORWARD LANDON DONOVAN
On getting the three points:
"It feels good. It's been a while. You get to the point where you don't even look at other scores or standings because it's just depressing. It's nice to finally move a little, but we're still a long ways away and we realize that."
On the team:
"There wasn't a lot of confidence, but we felt good about our team. We certainly weren't perfect tonight, but our attitude was excellent. Especially after they scored. We continued to put pressure on them as the half went on, and made it hard on them. I was proud of us for that."
D.C. United and the LA Galaxy meet for the second and final time Saturday night at the Home Depot Center (Fox Soccer Channel, 11 p.m. ET). Things have changed a bit since the two team's first meeting on June 29 when United extended their unbeaten streak at the time to six games (5-0-1) with a 4-1 win over the visiting Galaxy.
Since that game, United is 3-4-2 in MLS play. The Galaxy have fared even worse, though, with a 0-5-5 record since the two team's last meeting. Both teams are fighting for their respective playoff lives - United is currently in the final playoff spot, while the Galaxy is four points back of third place in the West - which should translate to a battle tonight. One would expect a few goals tonight, as well - LA is tied with Columbus for the League lead with 44 goals scored and United is second with 39 (the Galaxy have also given up the most goals in MLS this year (49), eleven more than D.C.).
Perhaps a nap is in order before tonight's late East Coast kickoff? You should also squeeze in reading the articles below to make sure you've got the latest...
Steve Goff writes about 'Boyzzz' Khumalo and his long path from South Africa to D.C. in the Washington Post.
In the Washington Times, John Haydon talks to Unitd players about LA's struggles this year.
In the Washington Examiner's "Cheers & Jeers," Craig Stouffer says MLS needs to make some changes.
How about some predictions for tonight's playoff-like battle? If you guess the correct score, you'll have a chance to win two tickets to an upcoming United home game. Don't be shy, get in there and guess.
Champions League play continued last night when Honduras' CD Olimpia visited Mexico's Atlante. Playing only four of their regular starters, the home team defeated the visitors 1-0 to put themselves atop Group C along with Impact de Montreal. Read the full report over at concacaf.com.
All teams will play their second matchup of the tournament between Sept 23-25. D.C. United will travel to Honduras to take on CD Marathon and try to win important road points.
With all teams now having played one match (except for the Houston Dynamo and CD Firpo - who had to postpone their match due to hurricane Ike), here are the current standings:
The Screaming Eagles are once again doing their part for the environment and they're inviting all D.C. United fans to join them as part of the International Coastal Cleanup Day.
All ages are welcome to come out and help clean up the riverbank at Anacostia Park on Saturday, Sept. 20 from 9 a.m. to noon.
If you'd like to help out, email David Goodwin or check out more details here.
Anacostia Park 1900 Anacostia Dr. SE Washington, DC Sept 20, 2008 9am to noon
What to bring: sunscreen, bug repellent, a hat and long heavy rubber gloves.
Last night, the two other teams in United's CONCACAF Champions League Group A got their tournaments underway as Cruz Azul (Mexico) traveled to Honduras to take on CD Marathon. The home team came out with a 2-0 victory on the strength of goals from Carlos Mejia (34th minute) and Mario Beata (56th). You can read the full report at concacaf.com.
Marathon - United's opponent next Wednesday - now shares the Group A lead with Deportivo Saprissa at three points apiece, while Cruz Azul and United sit at the bottom of the group, each with zero points. Cruz Azul will host Saprissa next Wendesday.
Here are the scores from the other two games from last night (home team listed first):
Group C:
Montreal Impact 2 - Joe Public FC 0
Group D:
CS Laguna 3 - CSD Municipal 2
There is a single game taking place tonight with CD Olimpia traveling to Mexico to take on Atlante.
Not quite the way the team was hoping to begin the tournament, to say the least. The red card immediately following Saprissa's first goal didn't exactly put United in a good position.
The team will now look towards Saturday's game in LA before heading to Honduras to face CD Marathon in its second Champions League match.
UPDATE: Select photos from the game can be seen here.
UPDATE #2: And here are your quotes. Lots of them.
D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH TOM SOEHN
On Devon McTavish’s red card
I haven’t seen the replay but my first impressions of it were that it was really soft, especially in these competitions where it’s about the play and not about anything else. You want to keep it as fair as possible. I’m going to watch the tape, but my first impressions were that it was a pretty soft red.
On whether McTavish said anything after the card
No, but I asked the referee at half time and he said that Devon came in after the whistle was blown to make a tackle and that’s why he gave him a red card.
On the team’s injuries
We knew it was going to be tough, I think the difficult part has been having to manage getting guys on the field. You’re not having to coach to much, you’re patching up things and it’s pretty difficult. We fought through this – Jaime [Moreno] and Ivan [Guerrero] weren’t available, so you just push yourself a little more. When you’re shorthanded, getting a red card really, really hurts – anytime you get a red card it hurts, but especially when you’re shorthanded. Credit our guys – we didn’t stop fighting even shorthanded. We could have tied up the game, [but] their keeper made some great saves.
On the tournament outlook
There’s five more games, but we need to get healthy. We need some bodies on the field. We have to keep grinding it out until we get there.
On the play of Zach Wells and decision to start him
Louis [Crayton] has had a lot of games and we’ve got a big fight ahead of us on Saturday [against LA]. We had a talk and we’re going to have to manage [players] – not everybody can go. There’s going to be times when we make decisions and his [Crayton’s] knee has been a little bit swollen, so we opted not to play him tonight because he’s had a lot of action of late. Zach’s been getting healthy and I thought Zach held his own tonight. The goals were situations that he couldn’t have come up with it – he made some big saves. He’s been looking sharper. I think it’s probably a good thing having Louis to push Zach a little bit more to get bac
