Having watched soccer in different parts of the world it was refreshing to see the improved play within the MLS. 5-10 years ago, the MLS was no doubt the worst league in the world in terms of quality of play.
What was nice was seeing good team play with several passes strung together that were actually close in passes as well as one touch passes. Once in a while, you would see the hail mary pass going the distance of the field, but for the most part, the teams kept a good ball control style of play.
It's clear that the league still has a good ways to go before reaching the EPL level, however they are not as far behind as some might like to say. The beauty is that we are seeing a new generation of youth gravitate to the game and this is creating a larger pool of skilled players, which in turn is serving to develop more players by better competition.
That being said, the great play had a damper put on it by the cheap goals given up by FC Dallas and to lose on such cheap goals shows how far the league has to go.
Kudos to Colorado, after all they won the game and that is what you are suppose to do. You don't get points for looking good, just for getting the ball in the net.
Clearly FC Dallas played with better team skill and pretty much dominated the game...but as stated, they lost the game and thus in reality they got owned.
As for the officiating...the MLS needs to decide if they want to have a clean graceful game or a bunch of thugary on the pitch. What you saw in this finals is the result of a "Let them play" mentality, where officials let players bend through the rules. The players played the way the referee let them and thus you saw some very physical play that took away from the grace of the game. It created some ugly moments and ugly play which is what will turn fans away from the MLS.
That being said, this referee was consistent as he allowed both sides to be physical, which in the end favored Colorado.
Again, overall, the MLS Finals was an improvement from previous years...perhaps none of the "Sexy" names, but the quality of play was outstanding for this league and a marked improvement over previous years.
I'm looking forward to the next campaign and more success for FC Dallas and the MLS!!!
Congrats to us local Dallas fans for seeing a Western Conference Champion and an American League Champion...two sports two champions!!! Now let's see if the Stars and the Mavs can make it a clean sweep...or is there another team in the area...oh that's right, TCU FROGS!!!
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