The Road to MLS Cup XIII, Week 1: FCD vs Chivas USA

Early season MLS matches have a bad reputation. And for years, it wasn't just talk: they were low-scoring, scrappy, sloppy affairs. They were tough to watch. And even tougher to care about when you knew that almost all of the teams would be making it to the post-season.

So MLS began doing a few things to improve the season: changing the playoff format, restructuring compensation to reward victories more and, of course, expanding the league, which made playoff spots more valuable. And, oh yes, beginning to spend just a tiny bit more on the players.

Last season, it appeared that the early season quality of play had indeed benefitted from these changes.

After seeing the week one games in the new MLS season, I'm pleased to say it was not all a mirage. There were some real highlights.

1. Great goals. If great goals have a way of redeeming even ugly games, then Cuahtemoc Blanco's late equalizer against Real Salt Lake put the proverbial lipstick on the proverbial pig.

2. The more things change... I didn't expect Houston to go down three goals to the New England Revolution. I didn't get to see that match, but what happened? Weren't the Revs supposed to miss Pat Noonan and Andy Dorman?

3. the more they stay the same.Some players, like Juan Toja, Mikel Galindo and Luciano Emilio (despite not scoring a goal) picked right up where they left off. Toja, who faded briefly from the FCD-Chivas match was everywhere. He made one highlight reel run through half of the Chivas team, reminding everyone that he's got moves to go with his great motor.

And the Galaxy still are struggling. They resemble the Madrid Galacticos of the middle half of the decade in a couple of ways. For one, both teams had David Beckham. For another, both teams were woefully unbalanced. Madrid, because it was foolish enough to let Makalele go off to England. The Galaxy because... well... if you went through a list of good players the Galaxy discarded on their way to becoming Galacticos, I wonder if you wouldn't end up having a decent MLS team? Despite predictions of a high powered attack, the Galaxy may find it's awfully hard to play offense in soccer without the ball.

4. But anyway... back to the quality of play. I really enjoyed the FCD-Chivas match. Dallas looks a little like a work in progress-- and despite the signing of a major international defender, Duilio "Can I Buy a Vowel?" Davino, their defense looked a little lost at times. But what do they do? They quickly realize they can't keep up with Chivas and respond by playing really compactly. They had 10 men behind the ball for much of the match, but guess what? I loved it. MLS teams haven't been great at reading situations and changing in response, but Dallas did just that. Chivas striker Ante Razov was reduced to firing his shots into the shins of FCD players instead of the usual "over the crossbar" as a result.

But I still really how Chivas played the game, especially how they played out of the back. The defenders really tried to build the attack from deep in the field. They weren't reckless-- they were just surprisingly comfortable on the ball. And this is not a particularly talented group of defenders without Claudio Suarez:Shavar Thomas and Jim Curtin are, in their own ways, journeymen: players who have floated around the league despite good potential. Lawson Vaughn, a Chivas lifer, isn't really on the radar of many. But they put a solid, attractive defensive game together. And this, despite the quiet game that Chivas USA's key midfielder, Panchito Mendoza, had.

So kudos to the no-name defenders at Chivas-- they made the game for me.