The word "prestigious" doesn't exactly come to mind when I think about the Pan Pacific Championship, but since it involves MLS, I figured I should pay some attention to it.
This year's representative from Major League Soccer is the...Los Angeles Galaxy? I'm confused on this one as well. I'm not entirely sure how the league's worst team got in, especially since David Beckham will not be playing. I understand that it's a pre-season tournament and it means absolutely nothing, but couldn't the league have gotten one of the 8 playoff teams from 2008?
Anyways, this year's tournament is just a two-day showdown between the Los Angeles Galaxy, Oita Trinita of the J-League, Shandong Luneng Taishan FC of the Chinese Super League, and Suwon Samsung Bluewings of the K-League. All matches will be played at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
Matchday One is tomorrow (February 18), with Suwon Samsung Bluewings taking on Shandong Luneng Taishan FC in the first match, and then the LA Galaxy against Oita Trinita in the second match. Matchday Two is on Saturday (February 21), with the two winners advancing to the finals, and the two losers playing a consolation final. If I'm around and can find any streams of the matches, I'll try to post links.
The first PPC took place last February, with Gamba Osaka of the J-League winning the tournament, with a 6-1 thrashing of the Houston Dynamo in the championship match.
If anything, this tournament could give us a look at how MLS stacks up against two of Asia's top leagues in the J-League and the K-League. However, with the Galaxy representing our league, this season, it's a pretty poor representation. I guess if LA wins, it means that the rest of MLS is miles ahead of our Asian counterparts.
Something I liked about last year's tournament was seeing MLS teams against Sydney FC of the Hyundai A-League. Major League Soccer and the Hyundai A-League are very comparable, so I can't say I was too disappointed when both Houston and LA beat Sydney in 2008.
Anyways, this year's tournament is just a two-day showdown between the Los Angeles Galaxy, Oita Trinita of the J-League, Shandong Luneng Taishan FC of the Chinese Super League, and Suwon Samsung Bluewings of the K-League. All matches will be played at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
Matchday One is tomorrow (February 18), with Suwon Samsung Bluewings taking on Shandong Luneng Taishan FC in the first match, and then the LA Galaxy against Oita Trinita in the second match. Matchday Two is on Saturday (February 21), with the two winners advancing to the finals, and the two losers playing a consolation final. If I'm around and can find any streams of the matches, I'll try to post links.
The first PPC took place last February, with Gamba Osaka of the J-League winning the tournament, with a 6-1 thrashing of the Houston Dynamo in the championship match.
If anything, this tournament could give us a look at how MLS stacks up against two of Asia's top leagues in the J-League and the K-League. However, with the Galaxy representing our league, this season, it's a pretty poor representation. I guess if LA wins, it means that the rest of MLS is miles ahead of our Asian counterparts.
Something I liked about last year's tournament was seeing MLS teams against Sydney FC of the Hyundai A-League. Major League Soccer and the Hyundai A-League are very comparable, so I can't say I was too disappointed when both Houston and LA beat Sydney in 2008.
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2 comments:
I didn't realise that Pan-Pacific meant "Asia + MLS". What happened to bringing in a Mexican team? And cutting the A-League is stupid.
I'd love to see Wellington host this tournament, especially since we can't enter either the Asian nor Oceanian champions leagues. Throw in MLS, Mexico and Chile, Asian representatives, and the Canadian Championship winner and I'll be happy.
I'd put my money on the J-League. I'm more interested to see how the Chinese team does as that league is a complete mystery to me.
So for the sake of turning your comments section into a pool, I say the final rankings will be:
1- Oita Trinita
2- Suwon
3- LAG
4- Shandong
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