Before the MLS Comes to Seattle, Prost Amerika Went to the MLS

History Made as Goalie Scores from 80 Yards

You can hear the author talking about this piece and other issues on the Seattle Soccer Show online.

November 3, 2008
As every human being on the planet knows, Major League Soccer is coming to Seattle. Whereas the talk around the water cooler as I write may still be more about national defence than San Jose’s defence, many people in Seattle are beginning to wonder what MLS game day in Seattle will look like. So I flew into the future – 3 hours to be exact – and went to observe my first ever MLS game as the New York Red Bulls took on the table topping Columbus Crew.

I went with several goals in an open mind, and ended up seeing a goal I never thought I would. I hoped to see what they did well there that perhaps Seattle Sounders FC should try and emulate and keep an eye put for anything worth avoiding. I went to see the tifo the diehard fan base organized, and most of all observe if the quality of the play was something from which Sounders FC should quake in fear. Here’s the story of our day ……

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Heaven Sent -
Juan Pablo Angel Scored Twice for the Bulls
Photo: New York Red Bulls FC

Game day started with a taxi ride in from Manhattan and a cab driver who had no idea there was a game on at the Meadowlands where NFL Giants Stadium is located. That alone set my mind racing. Cab drivers can be the best advertisers an entertainment business can have. They have more access to that subset of people who don’t know the buzz in a city than anyone outside hotel receptionists. So, wouldn’t be a good idea to get those fixture lists and calendars to every cab company HQ in town and every hotel lobby? In a recent interview, Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer extolled the virtues of being “obsessed with detail”. Given how well the club has done everything so far, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is exactly the kind of detail they thought of already, but if not the pedantry starts here.

The Meadowlands Complex can be safely described as not very near anywhere. New York City’s sporting landmarks appear as one big building site at the moment. There are two Yankee Stadiums, one being built right next to the old one, and the NFL New York Giants are constructing a replacement one once more adjacent to the old Giants Stadium. But back to our cab ride. Our cabbie approached what was marked as the entrance, only to be stopped by a large woman in the type of coat worn only by people in the parking industry. “You can’t come in until you give me ten dollars,” she assailed our cabbie in that way I’ve only ever heard New Yorkers do. She then sent us on a circuitous route to approach the stadium from another direction. This took twenty minutes of unnecessary time and cab fare. Luckily we’d left early to avoid traffic and could afford both but it didn’t sound or feel like visiting an entertainment venue should; especially a form of entertainment struggling to make itself easily available to a wandering public conscious in a competitive market.

It seems a particularly American thing to privatize ancillary businesses to your sporting franchise so that the contractors can treat your customers poorly. Given the location of Qwest Field, it’s not a particular problem we’ll face too much in Seattle, but as a general rule, it would be nice to know that the club is keeping an eye out for how its customers are treated by those bidding for rights in and around the stadium. If the aim is to make every game day experience the best it can be for every spectator at every match, then that starts with having those attempting to profit out of soccer treat the customers well, rather than as just another revenue stream. No matter who is responsible such things reflect badly on the club. Clearly, the Red Bulls weren’t responsible for this but it would be nice if MLS clubs made a special point of protecting their customers and acquired a reputation for such.

Artists Impression of the New Red Bull Arena

Finally we got dropped off at a point acceptable to the car park staff at Giants Stadium and approached the ground. A healthy mix of ages, genders and ethnic groups surrounded the field. Kids were having a kick about, die hard fans in their scarves swapped stories, men dragged their errant kids towards the entrance. It felt safe and calm, and briefly just briefly, like soccer actually belonged in the cavernous arena lying on the other side of the turnstile. Red Bulls have built a pleasant safe environment to attend and it augurs well for their future in that soccer specific stadium they are building in Harrison, New Jersey.

The Empire Strikes Back

But for now New York Red Bulls and Seattle Sounders FC have some similarities. Both play at the home of an NFL side. Both have been the subject of controversy over their name. Both play in cities where there are other attractions. Notwithstanding the massive differences between New York City and every other place on the planet, it gave me at least a starting point for comparisons. The NFL markings were bright and covered the pitch. Huge tarpaulins covered those areas of the stadium not accessible for a soccer crowd. A dark blue blanket therefore covered roughly ¾ of the seats giving the impression of holding a party in a house where the painters have been working and the furniture is covered.

Credit has to go to the hardy fans who attended. Red Bulls have not had a great season, going into the game with just nine wins and eight draws with 35 points from 27 games. Secondly, with the NFL season underway, competition for fan and media attention is tough, although as this was the last regular season home game, that should have helped. (In the end the Bulls did make the play-offs.) The Empire Supporters Club in Section 101 behind the goal may have only had 200 people in it but their efforts made an irreplaceable addition to the atmosphere. I was too far away to be able to categorically state that all their songs were family oriented, this is New Jersey after all, but their rhythm and beat was well coordinated, pleasing on the eye and seemed to sprout from the full gamut of cultural roots, rather than just stuff copied off the EPL coverage on television. I am happy to give a ‘hats off’ to them and look forward to their visit to Seattle next year.

New York Red Bulls 3 : 1 Columbus Crew

The match itself was the archetypal game of two halves. For those of you new to the lingo of football journalists, that describes a game in which the first 45 minutes varies greatly in entertainment value and outcome from the second. The first half was pretty poor fare; with a view to the future however, I was intrigued to see a former United Soccer League player, Macoumba Kandji, perform at the MLS level. The USL is the league Seattle Sounders just left and debate is raging in Seattle about how many of the current squad could cut it in the MLS. Kandji is generally acknowledged as one of the better players the USL had in 2008, so if he looked out of place, then the prospects are bleak for Leighton O’Brien, Taylor Graham and Co. This was also the first glimpse I had of him since he scored against Seattle at Starfire in a 1-1 draw for the Atlanta Silverbacks.

His forward partner was former Aston Villa star Juan Pablo Angel so you could phrase this as the USL meets the EPL - the league I watched at Starfire play alongside the league I watch in my living room. And Kandji looked good enough, if a little lonely out on the left wing trying to decipher which of the copious markings were the touchline applicable to him. In one hilarious episode, his side got a left wing corner and we were watching to see what Kandji’s role would be. Left wingers often take the corners from there but Kandji is 6’ 4” and I was also wondering if his height might be used inside the penalty area. He seemed unsure himself until midfielder Mike Magee approached him and pointed an incredulous Kandji back to the centre circle 50 yards away from where the corner was about to land. The big Senegalese hesitatingly began to head there then took a diversion towards the touch line as if to ask coach, Juan Carlos Osorio, “really? centre –half, I’m 6 foot four”. Shall we just say that skill wise Kandji looked quite at home in this level but it may be next season before we see the best of him should his loan deal be extended or become permanent.

That was about the most memorable moment from a dire first half, but as mentioned the second half was wonderful entertainment. Just two minutes into it, the home side opened the scoring when our friend Macoumba Kandji actually tackled an opponent and slid a perfect pass through to Angel who made no mistake. In truth, the Crew had probably been the better side of the first half and surprisingly the Red Bulls hadn’t looked hungrier given their more needy circumstances.

Perhaps a level of shell shock had affected them as two Red Bulls players had just created history by becoming the first MLS players to be banned for drugs. Goalkeeper Jon Conway and defender Jeff Parke had been found guilty of ingesting the banned substance androstatriendione (ATD) and boldenone metabolites, performance-enhancing substances, in violation of MLS Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health (SABH) Policy. In the interests of honesty and disclosure, the reaction of both players and club was exemplary. Red Bulls managed to both publicly support the MLS policy and support their players at the same time. They took the decision without complaint and released a statement from Parke which I am happy in the interests of fairness to reprint here:

“To all of my family, teammates, coaches, friends and fans, I apologize for the events that have taken place that have led to this decision by Major League Soccer. I share their belief that there is no room for performance enhancing substances in sports. However, it is important for me to share with you that I was unaware of the fact that the supplement I took had any ingredients that would put me in the place that I am today. I do take full responsibility for what has happened and realize that I should have made sure by consulting with the appropriate team staff before taking the supplement. Purchasing an over the counter product at a nationally recognized retail chain ultimately led me to where I am today. I can only hope that this can be prevented in the future and be a learning experience for all players. Again, my apologies to my teammates, coaching staff, Red Bull, family, friends and fans.”

Neither MLS nor anyone else is insinuating any deliberate attempt to gain advantage or circumvent the rules and it is very satisfying to see a drug policy at work and universally accepted. Back on the pitch, the Crew seemed to be bored with having nothing to play for and the goal woke them up. None more so than forward Steven Lenhart who had already seen the number 32 board being held by his own bench in preparation for the introduction of substitute Jason Garey. To the hilarity of the press box, he rose splendidly to head in the equalizer, leaving Garey to slump back to the bench disconsolately and put his jacket back on. At 1-1, the Bulls season hang in the balance but it’s at times like this that leadership arises and it was to become Juan Pablo Angel’s moment. Receiving the ball with his back to goal, the former Villain controlled, turned and scored as if everyone should be able to do this. It was a moment of individual brilliance only slightly confused by the stadium announcer giving two different colleagues an assist. I didn’t even know you could do that. The MLS is clearly very different!

The Designated Player Rule and Why People Talk about it.

The Designated Player Rule (colloquially known as the Beckham rule) allows MLS teams to sign star players in the international market. Of the player’s salary, only $400,000 would count against the team’s salary cap. The cap for 2008 is $2.2 million.

Each MLS team is allotted one Designated Player, however a second DP slot may be acquired via trade (Washington DC currently has two). Seattle's Freddie Ljungberg will be the seventh DP in Major League Soccer.

The others are Juan Pablo Angel of New York, Luciano Emilio of D.C. United, Marcelo Gallardo of D.C. United, Argentina Claudio Lopez of Kansas City Wizards and Cauahtomac Blanco of Chicago Fire.

Can Freddie Be our Angel?

What makes this relevant to Seattle fans is that the Designated Player (DP) doesn’t have to be like Beckham. Here you had a star player, fitting in well with his team, showing leadership and turning a game. Surely this is exactly how those who lured Ljungberg here want to see him function? I postulate this to scupper the idea that the choice is a simplistic one between being successful with no DP like Columbus and Houston Dynamo, and having a star player in a poor team like LA Galaxy. If Ljungberg can have the same effect on lesser names as Angel has for his Red Bulls teammates and Schelotto does for his fellow Crew members, then he will be a valuable asset. (Schelotto isn’t technically the DP but that’s another story).

You can also throw in the fact that Angel coupled quite feasibly with a player just out of the USL. All of which makes the MLS future look relatively rosy in Seattle, for although only five or six of our current Sounders may make the cut, those who are brought in are likely to be at least of the same quality.

However much at that point it looked like it was to be Angel’s night, nothing was to prepare us for the events of minute 84. The unfortunate Jon Conway’s replacement in goal was a young 23 year-old local boy called Danny Cepero. Called in after the ban, this was his debut. At kick off, the Bulls even had the teams turn about so that he could stand in front of friendly fans in his first minutes of competitive football. Luckily he had little to do in that first period, making just one save from an Andy Iro header. He was more occupied in the second half, but that’s not what he will make history for.

Danny Boy
Fortune Favoured the Baldwin Boy
Photo: New York Red Bulls FC

March to Cepero - Prost Amerika Witnesses a Piece of MLS History

Six minutes from time he was called upon to take a free kick from outside his penalty box and to the left of the goal area, perhaps about 25 yards off the goal line. He dutifully punted the ball up the pitch and headed back to his goal. While he was doing so, the ball bounced high over his opposite number Andy Gruenebaum, who had wandered out of his own penalty box, and into the net. To be fair, the Crew keeper wasn’t the only one who had switched off. The Red Bulls back four looked at each other in turn as if to ask “Did what I think just happened, actually happen?” They then looked up the pitch, to see their forwards confirm that nobody else had tampered with the trajectory of the ball. They looked back at each other and then turned in almost perfect synchronicity towards a completely bewildered Cepero who frankly took some convincing. Hopefully being hoisted shoulder high by his defenders finally convinced him that he had just become the first goalkeeper in MLS history to score a goal in open play.

It was a wonderful moment in what had been a wretched week for New York Red Bulls and you couldn’t help but feel pleased for them. The defeat mattered not to the Crew who were fielding reserves anyway; the Bulls had been innocent parties in the drug story and had reacted with dignity and integrity. And now to top it all, a local boy from Baldwin, New York, who had no idea he would play had just made MLS history. At that point it was hard not to love the New York Red Bulls. To be fair the Columbus Crew folk were pretty good about it too.

Leaving the game, it was hard not be satisfied with what we had seen. Some class players excelling, a piece of history, New York being New York and my first ever live MLS game. On the bus back to the Secaucus station, I tried to interview some fans about the game and what they thought of Seattle’s imminent arrival. Bizarrely, every fan I stopped was a tourist: a St. Pauli fan from Hamburg, three lads from Cork. Perhaps there's more to this football tourism thing than I thought. Why indeed should a Sounders game not join the list of Seattle’s finer tourist attractions? Many Europeans look for a game to watch on a vacation and it fits with the oft expressed wish of the club to be an international brand. With Messrs Hanauer, Henderson and Roth still scouring the planet for the finest available footballing talent, why not indeed?

Final Score: New York Red Bulls 3 v 1 Columbus Crew

New York Red Bulls: Danny Cepero, Andrew Boyens, Chris Leitch, Kevin Goldthwaite, Diego Jimenez (Jorge Rojas 70), Macoumba Kandji, Mike Magee (Carlos Mendes 79), Seth Stammler, Matthew Mbuta (Dane Richards 66), Dave van den Bergh, Juan Pablo Angel.
Substitutes Not Used: Terry Boss, Gabriel Cichero, Luke Sassano, John Wolyniec

Columbus Crew: Andy Gruenebaum, Danny O'Rourke, Ezra Hendrickson, Andy Iro, Gino Padula, Brian Carroll (Duncan Oughton 88), Pat Noonan (Eddie Gaven 85), Brad Evans, Emmanuel Ekpo, Steven Lenhart (Jason Garey 73), Guillermo Barros Schelotto
Substitutes Not Used: William Hesmer, Stefani Miglioranzi, Andrew Peterson, Jed Zayne

Official Attendance: 18,546

I hope you enjoyed this peek into the future. Thanks to New York Red Bulls FC for their help with this article.