PLAYOFF TIME!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to rumble? After 34 weeks of ups, down, shots, goals, and more Adrian Healey than most can handle, we have finally arrived at the promised land of American soccer: the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs.

This year will, as I’m sure you know, be different from those past. Under the newly revised playoff format, the top three teams from each conference clinched playoff berths (as opposed to last year’s two), and the next four clubs in terms of total points, regardless of conference, will duke it out for the two wild card spots (compared to last year, where those four clubs would have automatically made it in). Accordingly, the clubs that have earned their spots this year are LA, Seattle, and RSL from the West; Sporting, Phillie, and Columbus from the East; and Dallas, Colorado, New York, and Houston with the four wild card opportunities.

So, who’ll take the Cup? It’s hard to say, and despite general consensus that LA is the best team in the league (with a Supporters Shield to prove it), that often has little importance in the Playoffs, which are known for their lucky runs and surprise endings. Just look at last year, when, instead of the expected New York-LA showdown of giants, we ended up with Colorado edging Dallas for the title. Nobody expected that, not even Rapids fans. So we can only wonder, who’ll be this year’s Rapids?

We’ll, we can start by looking at the teams themselves.

LA is, well LA. They’ve got Donovan. They’ve got Beckham. They’ve got Keane. They’ve got Ricketts. Even as I type this, it’s hard to imagine a team that could beat the Galaxy. There’s no reason Arena and the boys shouldn’t take the title, and I’m left wondering if this’ll be the year when the one team that we do expect to march through the playoffs does, in fact, do so without any slip ups or Cinderella stories. Their forwards produce, their midfield is undoubtedly the strongest in the league, and, with top players and the best goalie in MLS, their defense is air tight. Donovan’s mastery makes them as dangerous on the ball as Beckham’s curve does on set plays, and even their bench is strong, with a slew of young faces made appearances in their final match against Houston. Sure, underdog victories are nice now and then, but David’s beaten Goliath one too many times in the past few years to make it so notable. The Galaxy can, should, and deserve to win the MLS Cup.

Then there’s Seattle and RSL, the second and third finishers in the West. Don’t let these teams, or the degree to which I just brown-nosed LA fool you; they mean business. Seattle may have gotten to a shaky start in 2011, but their resurgence has been huge (can you say “USOC Threepeat?). The Sounders know that their work is only beginning, as they’ll be looking to make a deep playoff run with Freddy Montero up front, Mauro Rosales in the mid, and Kasey Keller guarding the goal one last time. RSL’s just as strong, but has skidded recently, having not found a single win in a month. Despite Jason Kreis’s mastery on the sideline, Kyle Beckerman’s strength in the midfield, and Álvaro Saborío up front, Real’s dropped from what was a very solid 2011 season into quite the slump as we enter the playoffs. But I’m fairly confident that they can rally, or at least get lucky, as they gear up for the Cup race.

Then there’s the East. Yes, it’s still there. Sporting’s had among the best seasons in franchise history on and off the field, as beside clinching first place in the East (which would equal clinching 5th place in the east, but, hey, who’s counting?) they’ve seen a massive jump in attendance thanks in no small way to their new home, LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. Kei Kamara isn’t exactly Messi, but together with Teal Bunbury and Graham Zusi they make a pretty convincing offense. And hey, when all else fails, they’ve got Aurelien Collin, the current league leader in yellow cards. Philly, too, has made some huge improvements from last year, and the Union are now looking to make an impact in their first Playoff series. Freddy Adu definitely isn’t a little kid anymore, and with Sebastian Le Toux’s help something could definitely happen. Danny Mwanga and Danny Califf, though, are definitely going to have to step up, though, as without their help the team simply may not have enough depth to win their games. Houston, taking the final guaranteed spot in the East, is really a bit more formidable. Clinching the spot in the absolute last minute (literally, ten minutes ago) wasn’t really too much of a surprise, considering the consistent season they’ve had. With Geoff Cameron and Brian Ching leading the attack, it’s really no wonder they’ve gone nearly .500 (which is really something remarkable in our league), and I wouldn’t be surprised if it were Houston that proved to be the big underdog story of 2011.

Most of the wild card contenders aren’t quite as much of a threat; they’re good, but not really good enough. Dallas is obviously the most dangerous of the bunch (they would have finished in first if they’d moved their club a touch closer to the Atlantic), and they proved last year that anything can happen, but, as seen in their 4-2 loss to San Jose, the team’s been plagued by injuries. The weight of the postseason is, obviously going to fall mostly on the shoulders of Brek Shea, the favorite of the US’s new gaffer Jürgen Klinsmann, who is really the only one of the Dallas boys to stand out on a league wide scale. Dallas sure isn’t bad, but I would still be surprised if they get very far this year. Then there’s the other three: Colorado, Columbus, and New York. The only thing that would amaze me more than Colorado’s 2010 run would be a deep 2011 run, Columbus really doesn’t have much going for them, and New York needs to find some consistency. Let’s just not worry about these three.

So there it is. Now that all regular season games are done, you can check out the full Playoff table here. So tell me, what teams do you think will go far? Where am I wrong? What matchups would you like to see? What are you excited for? Sound off

Category: MLS