Congrats to DC United who, yesterday, won their record fourth championship in Major League Soccer's nine seasons. A pair of goals by man of the match Alecko Esckendarian (including a controversial one following an ignored hand ball) helped DC overcome a 57th minute red card (for a non-ignored handball) for a 3-2 win over Kansas City.
Unlike most observers, I thought DC would win this match simply because they were playing better soccer. Kansas City got to the final on the strength of their defense (2 goals in their previous six matches). So when DC exploded for a trio of goals in a seven minute span, it wasn't surprising that KC lacked the creativity for a fight back. They played the last 10 minutes with no sense of urgency, despite being down a goal.
Frankly, they deserved to lose and DC deserved to win. But it was a fantastic game.
And DC are deserving champions. They struggled early in the season, but once they found their stride, they played the best soccer in the league. They also scored at least two goals in each of their five playoff games, so they didn't exactly back into the final. They won a nervy penalty shootout in the semifinal against New England, following a match many have called the greatest in the league's brief history.
While many American fans sneer at the quality of MLS, it certainly provides some edge-of-your-seat soccer. I've watched a total of 20 European and FA Cup finals and one, maybe two, of them matched the excitement of this match. Last year's final was even better.
Perhaps the fact that MLS Cup doesn't get quite as much media attention as other big soccer finals makes for a BETTER spectacle. Because there's a little less scrutiny, teams feel less pressure to play negative soccer and allow themselves a few shreds of creativity, denied their counterparts in more prestigious finals.
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