You probably have missed some great soccer as "Superliga 2008" is well underway. Superliga pits the top four MLS teams against the top four Mexican League teams in a "league" much like the Champions League in Europe. To my surprise, the soccer has been excellent. These matches are well-attended (in comparison to MLS matches) and hard-fought. It is clear that the Mexican League teams care as much about winning as the MLS teams do. This makes for some brutal play and tough contests. What is more impressive is how well the MLS teams are doing. Most soccer fans assume the Mexican League is superior to the USA's Major League Soccer. Top to bottom, I suppose they are right. But Superliga proves that the top MLS teams are on par with the best of Mexico.
Last night was a perfect example. Two excellent 1-0 games that featured hard tackles, tons of effort, and fast play. In both cases the MLS team won. Chivas USA beat Santos 1-0 on a nice header by Razov. Earlier the New England Revolution went to 2-0 in league play on a 1-0 victory over Pachuca. Read the game stories HERE. The only downside is that the games are a little hard to find --as they are only on Spanish-language TV. Telefutura is showing the games here and the channel is available on cable and the dish.
This kind of well-attended, well-played soccer bodes well for soccer in America and reflects the huge growth in the skill level played by MLS.
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