I just wanted to include a link and comment on this article by Kartik Krishnaiyer on the Major League Soccer Talk blog about Sven Goran Eriksson's early success with the Mexican national team and how the U.S. National Team could learn from that. I essentially agree that Eriksson has done a good job with Mexico and that I too was somewhat skeptical about this appointment when it was made.

NPR is in the building this evening preparing a story on Jorge Flores and tabbed your truly for a quick interview, so I'm a little late with the lineups.

The night's important numbers: the Wizards have won just once on the road this season and and Colorado's 5-4 win over the Red Bulls earlier today means Chivas USA is third in the table and seven points behind Western Conference leaders Houston, which drew 1-1 with Toronto.

The second leg of matches in the CONCACAF Champions League kicks off tonight, with the headline being two MLS teams fighting for their tournament lives against lesser-known opponents.
The New England Revolution welcome Joe Public FC, the Jamaican side that advanced to the tournament by way of their runner-up finish in the Caribbean Football Union Club Championship in 2007.

Okay, I'm here at Home Depot Center for the Chivas USA-Tauro FC match and I feel like I'm in an empty stadium. Well, actually, it pretty much is an empty stadium. With classes back in session at Cal State Dominguez Hills, the attendance has been capped at 2,000.
As a colleague told me, some prestigious tournament.

Landon Donovan to Andrea Canales on potential interest from Bayern Munich: "I would love for it to happen." See Los Angeles Galaxy section for the full article.
MLS Scoreboard
Week 26
Matches & Scores:
-Thu Sep 18
Columbus 3-1 New York - CC goals by Frankie Hejduk, Robbie Rogers & Eddie Gaven.

Chivas USA will host a critical match against Tauro FC tonight. Chivas USA needs to win by two goals in order to have any hopes of advancing to the CONCACAF Champions League.
Here is audio of my post-game chat with Jonathan Bornstein about the game.
Acutally, it's a bit more complicated than just winning by two.

Two tired and/or banged up teams desperately needing points to stay in the playoff hunt stagger into Gillette Stadium at 4 p.m. today live on ESPN2 as Chivas USA visits the New England Revolution.

Chivas USA forward Alecko Eskandarian is suspended for the game.

Brief game preview here.

Chivas USA did exactly what they needed to do Saturday, beating Real Salt Lake 1-0 on a 72nd minute Alecko Eskandarian goal and moving above their opponents to take second place in the Western Conference.

Somewhat of a comedy routine gave the former Real Salt Lake striker the winner over his old team: Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando and defender Nat Borchers collided and the ball bounced past them to Eskandarian, who gratefully accepted the gift that was his third goal of the season.

Kansas City travel to the HDC to take on the Chivas USA.

First question (as always this season) is who is healthy for the match?

Zack Thornton, Lawson Vaughn, Raphael Wicky, and Eric Ebert are all out. Maykel Galindo may make it to the bench. Jonathan Bornstein, Carey Talley, and Paulo Nagamura all suffered individual light injuries, nothing to serious, but may have limited participation in this game.

Well, not quite, but with 4 players on Chivas, and their coach being former Kansas City Wizards, it certainly seems like it. There will be plenty of old faces on the opposite side of the ball tomorrow, as Chivas has former Wizards Carey Talley, Shavar Thomas, Alex Zotinca, and recently acquired Sasha Victorine, along with the greatest Wizard of all time, Preki on the Chivas USA bench.

Chivas USA took three points at the HDC against the Wizards Saturday.

The good.

Alecko Eskandarian. Four goals in seven games, only four of these seven games were starts.

Maykel Galindo played. Even injured and rusty, the guy is awesome. His attacking runs and style of agressive play is missed.

This is more dinner party than soccer game. There's so few people here, you get the feeling people should introduce themselves to each other.

Attendance tonight has been capped at all of 2,000 - not that there are dozens, yet alone hundreds clamoring to get in, you understand. (The reason: something about lots of parking complaints at the sold-out Galaxy-Pachuca SuperLiga final).

According to ESPN, Toronto's Velez was given an additional fine and match ban for his conduct during last week's game vs CD Chivas USA. In a move sure to rile Toronto FC supporters, Chivas's Eskandarian only received a one match ban.
Here is an excerpt:

"The Major League Soccer Disciplinary Committee announced Thursday the supsension of Toronto FC defender Marco Velez for one game and fined him $250 for endangering another player with a deliberate blow to the head.

Chivas USA went down to a heavy defeat Thursday night in a Boston stadium decorated with few fans and ghastly pointy-ball football lines, while the Galaxy is in Kansas City (can someone explain to me how both pro teams can be out of town on the same weekend?) on Saturday.

Most local college teams, it seems, are also on the road so here's a quick run-down on some of the best local soccer options this weekend:
*3 p.

It's the Sasha and Sacha show at Home Depot Center where Chivas USA is leading the Wizards 2-0.

Sacha Kljestan has an assist, while Sasha Victorine has an assist and added the soaring second goal on his first start for Chivas USA that comes against his old club.

Ante Razov created the first in the 26th minutes, sending a telling pass that pierced a flat Wizards defense allowing Victorine to get behind it on the left wing and cutting a ball back that was met by Alecko Eskandarian from about seven yards out.

First a little history, 23 weeks ago, I was still waiting on my son to arrive, Barrack Obama and Hilary Clinton were still fighting for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillcrest Road was still scheduled to begin building in the summer, and the Wizards won their last road game. Who would have thought that with only 1 road game left this season, that the Wizards only road win would come in Chicago, a place they've notoriously had trouble winning at.

Needing a win to keep pace with their closest Western Conference rivals, Chivas USA got strikes from a player returning from injury and a new acquisition in the first half and then held on for a 2-1 victory on Saturday night. The win keeps Chivas in second place in the Western Conference, closing their gap with the Houston Dynamo to four points.