Some very interesting things have happened recently in the world of soccer. To wit:
What A Beautful Game This Is
First Rubin Kazan. Then Alcorcon.
No, Rubin Kazan is not the president of a Russian country. Indeed, Rubin Kazan is a well-coached but uknown top-tier Russian club that beat big bad Barcelona in a recent Champions League match. And this was no fluke. Rubin Kazan played steady, unspectacular soccer to knock off the La Liga giants on Spanish turf! Poor Real Zaragoza. The RZ boys had the unenviable task of having to play Barcelona days later and Barca took it out on their La Liga foes by a 6-1 count.
Alcorcon? It sounds like a corporation name but like Rubin Kazan, this, too, is a relatively unkown squad...OK, it is definitely unkown. Yet, in the first round of the Spainish La Liga's Copa Del Ray, all the Alcorcon boys did was (pick one:) humiliate, embarrass, romp over, cream, whip, all of the above, Real Madrid, 4-0. That's zero, as in nil, nada, zilch, donut. Yes, that's 4-0 over Real Madrid. That's like the New England Patriots getting beat by Notre Dame (I was going to keep this in a tone of soccer and say, "that would be like the New York Red Bulls getting beat by Rutgers but I'm pretty sure the Knights would give the Red Bulls a good match!)
Incredible stuff that makes this game so great!
Not To Be Outdone
Not all of the big upsets were happening on Spanish pitches. Greek power Olympiakos, now under the direction of former Brazilian great Zico, got upended by a 3-1 count at the hands of second division club Panserraikos.
Bad Tweet, Jozy
U.S. National Team Striker Jozy Altidore was fined and benched by his English Premier team Hull for arriving late to a recent match. Being late was bad enough, as Manager Phil Brown required players to be on hand 90 minutes prior to kickoff. Unfortunately, Jozy made the mistake of going public -- sort of -- with why he was benched. Seems in an effort to man-up to the mistake, Jozy tweeted to Hull fans why he did not play. He offered an apology to the fans. Brown preferred keeping the reason within the locker room walls.
MLS = MLP
According to a recent report, the overall 2009 attendance average at Major League Soccer (MLS) games was down 2.6 percent from 2008. A 2.6 drop may not seem like much but it is. And MLS officials should be worried. A drop in attendance equals Major League Problem (MLP).
Rookie franchise Seattle Sounders was the one bright star, averaging more than 30,000 per home match. But look at these figures: New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls and Los Angeles Galaxy all down more than 21 percent. DC United down more than 18 percent. These are four flagship type franchises. Yet, despite the drop in fans, MLS continues to expand.
As a fan of this league I am hoping that MLS officials are not heading down that same dead end road the North American Soccer League raced down. It's time for MLS to take some drastic measures and get the league on more solid ground in regards to its fans.
First and foremost, it's time to get rid of the Eastern Conference, Western Conference format and go with one table, each team playing each other in a home and home series. This will bring a European flavor to the season; however, unlike European leagues, we can keep the end-of-season playoffs. Americans are used to playoffs at the end of a season. Make it the top eight who are seeded according to final standings. One plays eight, two v seven, three v six, four v five. And so on, This will add some excitement to the season.
If some franchises complain that eight is indeed not enough, make it 10 clubs but the teams that finish eight through 10 have a one-game playoff -- 7v10, 8v9 -- with the two winners moving on to the next rounds which would be a home-and-home format.
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