The New England Revolution Win Superliga. No, Really

Last night was the final match of Superliga between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo and I decided I needed to make a personal appearance. This was predicated on three distinct factors. One, the match was only available on a Spanish language television network that I don’t think exists. Two, it was probably the only chance I would ever have to actually see a Championship live and in person. Three, I had such a great time at the first Superliga match that I attended; so I just needed to make an appearance.

For those of you who don’t know what Superliga is, the top 4 teams in the Mexican league and the top 4 teams in Major League Soccer go at it in a poor man’s version of the UEFA Cup. Amazingly, the MLS version of the Buffalo Bills actually won the hardware this year, after beating the Dynamo in a shootout after the full 90 minutes and two 15 minute OT periods.

Instead of a cut and dry rundown on the 120 minute match (plus final shootout), I’m going to hand out awards in a manner I hope you will all find fun and entertaining (or hopelessly boring).

Best Goal of the Match – This is a tough one. On the basis of pure prettiness, you have to go with Steve Ralston’s goal in the 41st minute. It came at a nearly impossible angle and I was sure that even if you shot it, it would hit the side of the net. On the basis of momentum, it goes to Shalrie Joseph’s goal at the 102nd minute, only 4 minutes after the Dynamo went up 2-1 in the extra period.

Most Annoying Fan of the Match – The Englishman who sat behind me and commentated the whole match. It was extremely annoying. My personal favorite was when he said the EPL was better than the MLS. Gee, really? Next thing you know, he was going to tell me that the sun rose in the East that morning.

Worst Clearance of the Match – No doubt about it, it goes to Rev’s defender Amaechi Igwe. The Dynamo sent a long free kick into the Rev’s penalty area, which Igwe ran onto and flicked back over his head (I have no idea why) and it just stopped dead. Dynamo Forward Nate Jacqua, who was making his run, happened upon this gift and easily put it past Matt Reis in the 18th minute.

Player of the Match for the Revs – As much as I hate giving it to the guy with the stats, it has to go to Steve Ralston. He had the pretty goal to even it at 1-1 in the 1st half, and then served up the assist off a free kick to Joseph’s head to tie it at 2-2. Number two would be forward Mauricio Castro. Only played 70 minutes, but he was running all over the field, causing havoc for the Dynamo defenders. That’s the stuff you don’t see on the score sheet.

Worse Man-Crush of the Match – The Englishman behind me had a huge crush on Dewayne De Rosario. Everything he did was “pretty” or “amazing” or “outstanding”. I mean, he’s good, but this guy was about 5 minutes away from picking out a China pattern.

Player of the Match for the Dynamo – Man-Crush aside, I have to give it to De Rosario. He did all the things you want. He opened up the offense, he made runs, he caused fits for the defenders, and he kept going for the full 120 minutes. Number two would be Rev’s defender Amaechi Igwe. He did everything to help the Dynamo. If the game had gone any longer, I’m sure he would have scored an own goal.

Best Quote of the Match #1 – As the second OT period was winding down, I turned to the Duchess and said “If this goes to a shoot-out, it’ll be like Man U/Chelsea, except on a much, much smaller scale.” She rolled her eyes. Hey, what are girlfriends for?

Best Quote of the Match #2 – Near the beginning of the match, the aforementioned Englishman was asked by his daughter which player was De Rosario. His answer was “The one with the ponytail.” Um, there was no player on the pitch with a ponytail. This was nearly as classic as the Trinidad & Tobago/US World Cup Qualifier I was at when some guy was praising Dwight Yorke for some play that Stern John had made. When I finally pointed out this error to him, he stayed quiet for the rest of the match. Good times.