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Canales Daily: The Point Of Pan-Pacific
No, the Beckham circus is not in town, but that might instead allow for an honest look at how different teams from four young leagues stack up in the preseason tournament.
Feb 18, 2009 2:20:13 PM
By Andrea Canales
On the surface, the idea of the Pan Pacific Tournament made perfect sense when it was set it up - it would allow the Los Angeles Galaxy some preseason action while continuing to use David Beckham in the "good ambassador" role that he'd embraced when he signed with the league. Many of Beckham's fans are from Asia, and the event would showcase teams from that region against his LA squad.
Now, of course, the Pan-Pacific kicks off tonight with no Beckham in sight. The "ambassador" of MLS is trying his best to extricate himself from the contract he signed with the league so he can remain with AC Milan. The Galaxy will also be without Landon Donovan, though he seems likely to eventually return from his loan deal with Bayern Munich.
Yet the Pan-Pacific competition also offers an intriguing look at the different approaches taken by countries who have fledgling soccer leagues. All the leagues involved have less than 20 years of history, so they are basically teenagers in the world's game.
The J-League, Japan's top soccer level, has sent to the tournament Oita Trinita. This club worked its way up through the ranks of Japanese soccer, which has embraced the European style of promotion and relegation, as well as a single-table of points to determine a champion. Oita Trinita only entered the J-League's top division in 2003, after winning the J-2 championship. The team averaged around 20,000 in attendance last season.
In Korea, there is is no official promotion/relegation, as the level down from the K-league is actually semiprofessional. Fourteen teams make up the K-League, and Suwon Samsung Bluewings are the club representing in the Pan-Pacific. Like MLS, the K-league uses a playoff system to determine their champion. Suwon have claimed that title four times and are the defending champions of the league this year.
From the Chinese Super League, Shandong Luneng Taishan are also at the Pan-Pacific as the reigning title-holders. Only four teams have ever claimed the championship, but considering that this edition of the league was founded in 2004, that's actually an equitable distribution among the sixteen teams. Like the J-League, the Chinese Super League emulates the European points style, as well as relegation and promotion.
Last year in Hawaii, the Pan-Pacific featured the reigning MLS champions, the Houston Dynamo, who lost in the tournament final to Gamba Osaka. The Galaxy finished third in the competition, losing to Gamba as well, but defeating Sydney FC.
Galaxy coach Bruce Arena, perhaps unaware of the drawing power of Beckham, seemed skeptical that the original tournament had done all that well. When informed that attendance for the matched measured 15, 128 for the Wednesday game and 23,087 for the weekend matches, he reconsidered.
"That's not bad," Arena allowed. "We're probably not going to do that well this year."
Without Beckham, probably not. But since the tournament is hosted in Los Angeles this time, Galaxy fans will get a look at how their team may look without the figurehead who no longer wants that role. Others, meanwhile, may be curious to see if any of the young leagues is staking a claim for the wisdom of their country's approach to the beautiful game.
Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com USA
On the surface, the idea of the Pan Pacific Tournament made perfect sense when it was set it up - it would allow the Los Angeles Galaxy some preseason action while continuing to use David Beckham in the "good ambassador" role that he'd embraced when he signed with the league. Many of Beckham's fans are from Asia, and the event would showcase teams from that region against his LA squad.
Now, of course, the Pan-Pacific kicks off tonight with no Beckham in sight. The "ambassador" of MLS is trying his best to extricate himself from the contract he signed with the league so he can remain with AC Milan. The Galaxy will also be without Landon Donovan, though he seems likely to eventually return from his loan deal with Bayern Munich.
Yet the Pan-Pacific competition also offers an intriguing look at the different approaches taken by countries who have fledgling soccer leagues. All the leagues involved have less than 20 years of history, so they are basically teenagers in the world's game.
The J-League, Japan's top soccer level, has sent to the tournament Oita Trinita. This club worked its way up through the ranks of Japanese soccer, which has embraced the European style of promotion and relegation, as well as a single-table of points to determine a champion. Oita Trinita only entered the J-League's top division in 2003, after winning the J-2 championship. The team averaged around 20,000 in attendance last season.
In Korea, there is is no official promotion/relegation, as the level down from the K-league is actually semiprofessional. Fourteen teams make up the K-League, and Suwon Samsung Bluewings are the club representing in the Pan-Pacific. Like MLS, the K-league uses a playoff system to determine their champion. Suwon have claimed that title four times and are the defending champions of the league this year.
From the Chinese Super League, Shandong Luneng Taishan are also at the Pan-Pacific as the reigning title-holders. Only four teams have ever claimed the championship, but considering that this edition of the league was founded in 2004, that's actually an equitable distribution among the sixteen teams. Like the J-League, the Chinese Super League emulates the European points style, as well as relegation and promotion.
Last year in Hawaii, the Pan-Pacific featured the reigning MLS champions, the Houston Dynamo, who lost in the tournament final to Gamba Osaka. The Galaxy finished third in the competition, losing to Gamba as well, but defeating Sydney FC.
Galaxy coach Bruce Arena, perhaps unaware of the drawing power of Beckham, seemed skeptical that the original tournament had done all that well. When informed that attendance for the matched measured 15, 128 for the Wednesday game and 23,087 for the weekend matches, he reconsidered.
"That's not bad," Arena allowed. "We're probably not going to do that well this year."
Without Beckham, probably not. But since the tournament is hosted in Los Angeles this time, Galaxy fans will get a look at how their team may look without the figurehead who no longer wants that role. Others, meanwhile, may be curious to see if any of the young leagues is staking a claim for the wisdom of their country's approach to the beautiful game.
Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com USA
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