|
|
Counterattack: Can Columbus Crew Repeat As Champs?
Two teams have done it before, but can Columbus Crew follow and win consecutive MLS Cups? Goal.com contributor John Mantia and associate editor Shane Evans duke it out in the next edition of Counterattack.
Mar 19, 2009 1:19:23 AM
D.C. United did it, and so did the Houston Dynamo, but with all the
parity in Major League Soccer, returning for another title a year after winning the
first isn't easy.
Can the Columbus Crew repeat as MLS Cup champions?
Shane Evans: After the season they had last year and the fact they lost virtually no one from a team that dominated most of the schedule, I believe that the Columbus Crew have what it takes to repeat as MLS Cup winners in 2009.
John Mantia: I agree that continuity is absolutely paramount for success in the MLS - every squad that has enjoyed sustained success, since the league's inception, passed a backbone of players down year-to-year. The Crew no doubt fit this bill. However, success breeds fixture congestion in MLS. Contending with the CONCACAF Champions League will push the Crew. Then there's an absolutely flooded international calendar this coming summer. Robbie Rogers, Eddie Gaven, Chad Marshall, and even Brian Carrol may all miss significant time away from their club.
Evans: A crowded schedule is never a good thing, but as we have seen in the past, especially with the CONCACAF Champions League, MLS teams seem to not take the tournament seriously, and they lay more chips in the domestic pot than the continental tournaments. As for the international calendar, yes it is flooded, but those players you mentioned have barely got a sniff from Bob Bradley and I'm not convinced that will change this summer, even with the Confederations Cup and Gold Cup set to be played.
Mantia: Even assuming Bob Bradley declines to invite any of the aforementioned players to any of the international tournaments, (something I fail to see) the Crew still face in-conference MLS Cup title contenders in New York and Chicago. Even more so than last year, the East is loaded. Chicago in particular, perhaps to a greater extent than the Crew, managed to improve simply by cutting dead weight. Methinks the Fire will prove too much in the regular season for the Crew, and will flip the home field advantage script on the Crew come the playoffs.
Evans: That could happen. But with this league it's not too much to ask to do what New York did last year and literally sneak into the final, even as a representative of the wrong conference. The competition will be strong, no doubt about that, but this league has more parity than most soccer leagues in the world, and the Crew are just a step above that equality line and will show their class and determination this season. It took three years of Sigi Schmid to show they could make it that far, and in his stead, Robert Warzycha will make sure they realize their potential to do it again this year.
Mantia: Even before the Crew hoisted MLS Cup, it was a foregone conclusion that Sigi Schmid was off to emerald pastures. With Robert Warzycha, the Crew managed to come out unscaled, with a respected professional, competent coach and able motivator. That said, Schmid was Seattle's top choice for a reason. Warzycha will need to stamp his signature onto this group, and it can't be assumed it will be easy because he was Schmid's understudy. Coaching transitions can be good, bad or indifferent, but they always require adjustment. For a team with a target on its back and multiple competitions looming large, the margin of error for the Crew is much smaller than during their run of 2008.
Evans: That is certainly true, but in closing, who better to lead a team like this than someone who has been in Columbus for over 12 years as a player and a coach? The guy knows the system, knows how to make it work and this season he will make it happen with an uber-talented squad that is hungry to be only the third team in MLS history to repeat as champs.
Mantia: Hunger is good. Knowing the system is good. Talent is very, very good. Columbus has all of that, but so do others. Meanwhile, waiting to throw a hitch into the entire season, of not just the Crew's, but all squads, is a terribly crowded summer calendar. Fixture pile-up, an injury, or even a call-up or two turns perhaps the league's most talented squad into a Swiss cheese. Then again, that's MLS, and in that is the greatest challange to win back-to-back.
Do you think Columbus can repeat as winners? Discuss it in the Goal.com Forums.
Counterattack runs every Thursday on Goal.com
Can the Columbus Crew repeat as MLS Cup champions?
Shane Evans: After the season they had last year and the fact they lost virtually no one from a team that dominated most of the schedule, I believe that the Columbus Crew have what it takes to repeat as MLS Cup winners in 2009.
John Mantia: I agree that continuity is absolutely paramount for success in the MLS - every squad that has enjoyed sustained success, since the league's inception, passed a backbone of players down year-to-year. The Crew no doubt fit this bill. However, success breeds fixture congestion in MLS. Contending with the CONCACAF Champions League will push the Crew. Then there's an absolutely flooded international calendar this coming summer. Robbie Rogers, Eddie Gaven, Chad Marshall, and even Brian Carrol may all miss significant time away from their club.
Evans: A crowded schedule is never a good thing, but as we have seen in the past, especially with the CONCACAF Champions League, MLS teams seem to not take the tournament seriously, and they lay more chips in the domestic pot than the continental tournaments. As for the international calendar, yes it is flooded, but those players you mentioned have barely got a sniff from Bob Bradley and I'm not convinced that will change this summer, even with the Confederations Cup and Gold Cup set to be played.
Mantia: Even assuming Bob Bradley declines to invite any of the aforementioned players to any of the international tournaments, (something I fail to see) the Crew still face in-conference MLS Cup title contenders in New York and Chicago. Even more so than last year, the East is loaded. Chicago in particular, perhaps to a greater extent than the Crew, managed to improve simply by cutting dead weight. Methinks the Fire will prove too much in the regular season for the Crew, and will flip the home field advantage script on the Crew come the playoffs.
Evans: That could happen. But with this league it's not too much to ask to do what New York did last year and literally sneak into the final, even as a representative of the wrong conference. The competition will be strong, no doubt about that, but this league has more parity than most soccer leagues in the world, and the Crew are just a step above that equality line and will show their class and determination this season. It took three years of Sigi Schmid to show they could make it that far, and in his stead, Robert Warzycha will make sure they realize their potential to do it again this year.
Mantia: Even before the Crew hoisted MLS Cup, it was a foregone conclusion that Sigi Schmid was off to emerald pastures. With Robert Warzycha, the Crew managed to come out unscaled, with a respected professional, competent coach and able motivator. That said, Schmid was Seattle's top choice for a reason. Warzycha will need to stamp his signature onto this group, and it can't be assumed it will be easy because he was Schmid's understudy. Coaching transitions can be good, bad or indifferent, but they always require adjustment. For a team with a target on its back and multiple competitions looming large, the margin of error for the Crew is much smaller than during their run of 2008.
Evans: That is certainly true, but in closing, who better to lead a team like this than someone who has been in Columbus for over 12 years as a player and a coach? The guy knows the system, knows how to make it work and this season he will make it happen with an uber-talented squad that is hungry to be only the third team in MLS history to repeat as champs.
Mantia: Hunger is good. Knowing the system is good. Talent is very, very good. Columbus has all of that, but so do others. Meanwhile, waiting to throw a hitch into the entire season, of not just the Crew's, but all squads, is a terribly crowded summer calendar. Fixture pile-up, an injury, or even a call-up or two turns perhaps the league's most talented squad into a Swiss cheese. Then again, that's MLS, and in that is the greatest challange to win back-to-back.
Do you think Columbus can repeat as winners? Discuss it in the Goal.com Forums.
Counterattack runs every Thursday on Goal.com
Inside Goal.Com
-
EURO 2012: Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi and Van Persie named in Goal.com's dream team XI
Goal.com put together its dream team for this summer's European Championship in Poland and Ukraine
-
RIGG: Anelka struggling against the current in Shanghai
Nicolas Anelka went against the grain when he moved to Shanghai. Now he's finding that coaching and gelling tactically is like swimming against the tide.
-
ROGERS: Bradley should command a bidding war among Serie A teams
Chievo is currently shopping the American midfielder and several Italian clubs have shown interest.
-
ISOLA: Neymar-led Brazil should be considered the 2014 WC favorite
Neymar was brilliant as Brazil easily handled the United States with early World Cup preparations officially underway.
-
LATHAM: Mexico using summer friendlies to build depth
With World Cup qualifying to begin in June, Mexico is using three U.S.-hosted friendlies to build squad depth.