CONCACAF
Soccer Potpourri
Message from Peter
Sorry if some of these are a tad dated. Computer committed suicide and I’m just getting back up and running.
Did You Know?
After going unbeaten last season, Juventus ran its unbeaten streak to 49 before losing to Inter.
MLS
- WV Hooligan: MLS International Recap
- Noah Davis: Is MLS Making the Rest of CONCACAF Better at the Expense of the U.S. National Team?
- Reserve League: Houston Dynamo and LA win MLS Reserve League division titles
- Jonah Freedman: MLS, NASL closer to working partnership
- Expansion: Merritt Paulson Forecasts Increase in MLS Soccer Franchise Fees
- J Hutcherson: Canada’s WC exit is an MLS problem
- TheStar.com: Toronto FC’s hands tied by meddling MLS
- MLS Talk: Will MLS Benefit From NBC’s Premier League Deal?
- Devin Pleuler: Pythagorean Expectation tested in MLS
Interesting Reads
Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Week 33
The Week 33 end of regular season numbers look like this. I’ll post a little review of the regular season in a few days.
| 5 year comparison | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 33 | 323 GP | YTD | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | GP | Avg | +/- | Avg | +/- | GP | |
| 2008 | N/A | N/A | 16,460 | 16,460 | 210 | |||
| 2009 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 16,037 | -2.57% | 16,037 | -2.57% | 225 |
| 2010 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 16,675 | 3.98% | 16,675 | 3.98% | 240 |
| 2011 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 17,869 | 7.16% | 17,869 | 7.16% | 306 |
| 2012 | 19,183 | N/A | 10 | 18,798 | 5.20% | 18,798 | 5.20% | 323 |
| 2008 210 Game Season – 2009 225 Game Season 2010 240 Game Season – 2011 306 Game Season 2012 323 Game Season |
||||||||
| YTD – 323 Games | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Median | %<10K | %>18k | |
| 2008 | 16,460 | 15,188 | 10.95% | 33.81% |
| 2009 | 16,037 | 14,686 | 14.67% | 31.11% |
| 2010 | 16,675 | 15,332 | 7.50% | 36.25% |
| 2011 | 17,869 | 17,639 | 5.56% | 48.69% |
| 2012 | 18,798 | 18,393 | 1.86% | 54.18% |
Here are the attendance comparisons to 2011:
| MLS Attendance – Equal # of Home Games | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2012 | ||||||
| Att | Cap | Att | Att +/- | GP | % of Cap | Cap | |
| Seattle | 38,495 | 108.44% | 43,104 | 11.97% | 17 | 96.66% | 44,594 |
| LA Galaxy | 23,335 | 86.43% | 23,136 | -0.85% | 17 | 85.69% | 27,000 |
| Montreal | NA | NA | 22,772 | NA | 17 | 71.15% | 32,005 |
| Houston | 17,694 | 80.28% | 20,946 | 18.38% | 17 | 95.04% | 22,039 |
| Portland | 18,827 | 101.07% | 20,438 | 8.56% | 17 | 100.00% | 20,438 |
| Vancouver | 20,408 | 97.18% | 19,475 | -4.57% | 17 | 92.74% | 21,000 |
| Sporting KC | 17,810 | 96.44% | 19,404 | 8.95% | 17 | 105.08% | 18,467 |
| Salt Lake | 17,594 | 87.94% | 19,087 | 8.49% | 17 | 95.40% | 20,008 |
| Red Bulls | 19,691 | 78.17% | 18,281 | -7.16% | 17 | 72.58% | 25,189 |
| Toronto | 20,267 | 92.21% | 18,155 | -10.42% | 17 | 82.60% | 21,978 |
| Philadelphia | 18,258 | 98.69% | 18,053 | -1.12% | 17 | 97.58% | 18,500 |
| Colorado | 14,273 | 78.92% | 16,407 | 14.95% | 17 | 90.72% | 18,086 |
| Chicago | 14,838 | 74.19% | 15,175 | 2.27% | 17 | 75.87% | 20,000 |
| Columbus | 12,185 | 59.57% | 14,397 | 18.15% | 17 | 70.38% | 20,455 |
| ChivasUSA | 12,861 | 68.41% | 14,139 | 9.94% | 17 | 75.21% | 18,800 |
| NE Revs | 13,222 | 58.76% | 14,001 | 5.90% | 17 | 62.23% | 22,500 |
| D.C. United | 15,196 | 77.35% | 13,846 | -8.88% | 17 | 70.47% | 19,647 |
| San Jose | 11,858 | 112.67% | 13,293 | 12.10% | 17 | 86.81% | 15,313 |
| FC Dallas | 14,830 | 54.92% | 13,056 | -11.96% | 17 | 61.60% | 21,193 |
My disclaimer about the capacity calculations
For my 2011 calculations, I took the 3 teams playing in football stadiums, DCU in RFK, Houston in Robertson and New England in Foxboro and assigned maximum capacities as follows, DCU-22,500, Houston-22,500 and New England-22,500. I took the 22,500 from an approximate average of the soccer specific stadiums in use. Capacities were adjusted for the few games that were moved to larger venues. For 2012, Chivas USA has reconfigured the Home Depot Center for its home games such that the capacity is now 18,800. Also in 2012, Houston moved into its new home, BBVA Compass Stadium, with a soccer capacity of 22,000. And the new 2 year lease agreement between DC and DC United calls for a reconfiguration to 19,647 seats for MLS games at RFK Stadium. Portland seems to have increased it’s capacity to 20,438. Montréal played its first five home games at Olympic Stadium, with a capacity of 60,000. I’ve added 2,200 seats to the Sounders’ capacity as they’ve opened up the Hawk’s nest(thank you Charles) in Seattle.
Additional note: Over the years, several stadiums’ capacities have been reported with different numbers. For example, I used 20,455 for Columbus in 2011. If any of you have the accurate soccer capacity for stadiums that differ from mine, please let me know. Seattle has been opening the upper deck for some matches, so it’s difficult to give accurate capacities for their season.
Observations
Kansas City sold out midweek. Phildelphia sold out its finale. Montréal came close to selling out. Chicago ended the season with a sellout. Portland sold out for the 34th consecutive game. Salt Lake continued the final weekend trend with a full house. Colorado had 15,400+. Columbus had 15,600+. Dallas closed out the season with 14,700+. LA sold out the Home Depot Center.
Newcomer Goal Scoring Watch: Antoine Hoppenot scored for Philadelphia. Lionard Pajoy scored for DC United. Kamani Hill tallied for Colorado. Federico Higuain had a brace for Columbus. Feel free to add your newcomer observations in the comment section.
The Competition on the Field
- This week’s matches, home team listed first with all time home record(W-D-L) v opponent(including this week’s games)
- Conference Standings
| Week 33 Games | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sporting KC | 2 | Daily Wiz | 19,428 | 2-1-0 |
| Philadelphia | 1 | Brotherly Game | ||
| Philadelphia | 0 | Brotherly Game | 18,533 | 2-0-2 |
| RBNY | 3 | The Viper’s Nest | ||
| Montréal | 0 | Mount Royal Soccer | 19,998 | 1-0-1 |
| New England | 1 | Bent Musket | ||
| Chicago | 1 | Hot Time in Old Town | 20,017 | 8-7-6 |
| DC United | 1 | Black and Red | ||
| Portland | 1 | Dropping Timber | 20,438 | 1-2-0 |
| San Jose | 1 | Center Line Soccer | ||
| Real Salt Lake | 0 | RSL Soapbox | 20,507 | 2-1-0 |
| Vancouver | 0 | 86 Forever | ||
| Colorado | 2 | Burgundy Wave | 15,453 | 14-4-12 |
| Houston | 0 | Dynamo Theory | ||
| Columbus | 2 | Massive Report | 15,672 | 6-2-1 |
| Toronto | 1 | Waking the Red | ||
| FC Dallas | 2 | 3rd Degree | 14,783 | 5-5-2 |
| Chivas USA | 2 | Chivas USA | ||
| Los Angeles | 1 | LA Official Blog | 27,000 | 2-1-1 |
| Seattle | 0 | Sounder at Heart |
| East | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GFA | GAA | PPG | PTS | GD | |
| y-SKC | 34 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 42 | 27 | 1.24 | 0.79 | 1.85 | 63 | 15 |
| y-DC United | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 43 | 1.56 | 1.26 | 1.71 | 58 | 10 |
| y-RBNY | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 57 | 46 | 1.68 | 1.35 | 1.68 | 57 | 11 |
| y-Chicago | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 46 | 41 | 1.35 | 1.21 | 1.68 | 57 | 5 |
| y-Houston | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 48 | 41 | 1.41 | 1.21 | 1.56 | 53 | 7 |
| Columbus | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 44 | 44 | 1.29 | 1.29 | 1.53 | 52 | 0 |
| Montreal | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 45 | 51 | 1.32 | 1.50 | 1.24 | 42 | -6 |
| Philadelphia | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 37 | 45 | 1.09 | 1.32 | 1.06 | 36 | -8 |
| NE Revs | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 39 | 44 | 1.15 | 1.29 | 1.03 | 35 | -5 |
| Toronto FC | 34 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 35 | 61 | 1.03 | 1.79 | 0.68 | 23 | -26 |
| West | |||||||||||
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GFA | GAA | PPG | PTS | GD | |
| xy-San Jose | 34 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 72 | 43 | 2.12 | 1.26 | 1.94 | 66 | 29 |
| y-Salt Lake | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 46 | 35 | 1.35 | 1.03 | 1.68 | 57 | 11 |
| y-Seattle | 34 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 50 | 32 | 1.47 | 0.94 | 1.65 | 56 | 18 |
| y-LA | 34 | 16 | 6 | 12 | 59 | 47 | 1.74 | 1.38 | 1.59 | 54 | 12 |
| y-Vancouver | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 35 | 41 | 1.03 | 1.21 | 1.26 | 43 | -6 |
| Dallas | 34 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 42 | 47 | 1.24 | 1.38 | 1.15 | 39 | -5 |
| Colorado | 34 | 11 | 4 | 19 | 44 | 50 | 1.29 | 1.47 | 1.09 | 37 | -6 |
| Portland | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 34 | 56 | 1.00 | 1.65 | 1.00 | 34 | -22 |
| Chivas USA | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 24 | 58 | 0.71 | 1.71 | 0.88 | 30 | -34 |
Top 5 conference finishers qualify for MLS Cup Playoffs.
x=Supporters’ Shield Champion
y=clinched playoff position
Tiebreakers: 1-Goals Scored(Full Season), 2-Goal Differential(Full Season),3- Fewest Disciplinary Pts
4-Road Goals(Full Season), 5-Road Goal Differential, 6-Home Goals(Full Season), 7-Road Goal Differential
| Points per Game | ||
|---|---|---|
| GP | PPG | |
| San Jose | 34 | 1.94 |
| Kansas City | 34 | 1.85 |
| DC United | 34 | 1.71 |
| NY Red Bull | 34 | 1.68 |
| Real Salt Lake | 34 | 1.68 |
| Chicago | 34 | 1.68 |
| Seattle | 34 | 1.65 |
| Los Angeles | 34 | 1.59 |
| Houston | 34 | 1.56 |
| Columbus | 34 | 1.53 |
| Vancouver | 34 | 1.26 |
| Montreal | 34 | 1.24 |
| Dallas | 34 | 1.15 |
| Colorado | 34 | 1.09 |
| Philadelphia | 34 | 1.06 |
| New England | 34 | 1.03 |
| Portland | 34 | 1.00 |
| Chivas USA | 34 | 0.88 |
| Toronto FC | 34 | 0.68 |
Who’s Hot? Last 5 Matches
| Pts – Last 5 Matches | |
|---|---|
| DCU | 11 |
| RSL | 11 |
| SKC | 9 |
| SJ | 9 |
| SEA | 8 |
| LA | 8 |
| COL | 8 |
| RBNY | 8 |
| HOU | 7 |
| CLB | 7 |
| NE | 7 |
| FCD | 6 |
| PHL | 6 |
| VAN | 6 |
| PTL | 5 |
| CHI | 4 |
| MTL | 3 |
| CHV | 2 |
| TFC | 1 |
Streaking
- Chivas USA are winless in 14 matches(8 road, 6 home).
- Columbus are undefeated in 9 home matches.
- DC United are undefeated in 16 home matches.
- Houston is undefeated in 24 home matches, dating back to last season.
- Houston are winless in 5 road matches.
- San Jose is undefeated in 15 home matches.
- San Jose is undefeated in 9 matches.
- Sporting KC is undefeated in 12 matches.
- Toronto are winless in 14 matches.
- Vancouver are winless in 10 road matches.
MLS Throw Ins
- There have been 77 draws thru 323 matches vs 106(306 matches) in 2011.
- There have been 169 clean sheets thru 323 matches, counting scoreless draws(22) as 2.
- Through 323 games: goal scoring is up 2.0% from 2011, 2.64 vs 2.58.
San Jose(Supporters’ Shield Winner), joins US Open Cup winner Sporting KC as the 2nd MLS team in the 2013-14 CCL.
Houston, Los Angeles and Seattle are the MLS teams that advance to the quarterfinals.
| Group 1 | w | d | l | pts | gd |
| Santos Laguna(MEX) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| Toronto | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 |
| CD Aguila(SLV) | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | -16 |
| Group 2 | |||||
| Herediano(CRC) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
| RSL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Tauro FC(PAN) | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | -5 |
| Group 3 | |||||
| Houston | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 6 |
| CD Olimpia(HON) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| CD FAS(SLV) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -8 |
| Group 4 | |||||
| Seattle | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 7 |
| CD Marathon(HON) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 |
| Caledonia AIA(T&T) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | -5 |
| Group 5 | |||||
| LA Galaxy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 8 |
| Puerto Rico | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -3 |
| Isidro Metapan(SLV) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -5 |
| Group 6 | |||||
| Tigres UANL(MEX) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Alajuelense(CRC) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | -3 |
| Real Estelí(NIC) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | -6 |
| Group 7 | |||||
| Monterrey(MEX) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 15 |
| Municipal(GUA) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | -2 |
| Chorrillo(PAN) | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | -13 |
| Group 8 | |||||
| Xelaju(GUA) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| CD Guadalajara(MEX) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| W Connection(T&T) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -5 |
| Xelaju Advances based on head to head v CD Guadalajara | |||||
Soccer Potpourri
Of Special Note
MLS
- Top Drawer Soccer: Tracking MLS Home Growns in 2012 – I have Top Drawer Soccer in my Blogroll, you should have the site bookmarked if you follow MLS player development.
- Timbers: Portland Reserves in front of record crowd at JELD-WEN Field – Over 14,000!
- Boston Globe: MLS tries to build through Euro club visits
- Martin Rogers: Former phenom Freddy Adu running out of options
Interesting Reads
Read the rest of this entry »
Soccer Potpourri
MLS
- Shin Guardian: Interpreting Di Vaio’s Words On MLS
- Will Parchman: Top 5 MLS pleasant surprises
- Ridge Mahoney: New setting but Adu story is the same
Interesting Reads
- The Header: Identity Politics Shape Middle Eastern Soccer
- Zac Lee Rigg: For the Milan clubs, the grass isn’t always greener at the San Siro
- Independent: “The Football Crash”: Are footballers the bankers of modern sport?
- AP: La Liga, Serie A Vanish for Many US Viewers
Tournaments
- UEFA Champions League: UCL preliminaries continue
- CONCACAF Champions League: CCL Group Stage Day 2
- CAF Champions League: CAF CL Update
- Copa Sudamericana: Copa Sudamericana Update
CCL(11-12) Attendance
I had a little extra time, so I put together this chart of the last three years attendance in the CONCACAF Champions League knockout rounds along with last year’s group phase numbers. As with all my posts, if you find any errors, please let me know by commenting.
There isn’t much we can glean from the numbers. Some of the stadiums outside of the USA, Canada and Mexico are small. Columbus draws terribly for this tournament, not unlike how they’ve been drawing in recent league play.
One thing to look for is if the change in the tourney’s structure effects group play attendance. Going from 4 groups of 4 to eliminating the preliminary rounds and going with 8 groups of three means there are 4 group games versus 6. Only the group winners advance, vs the top two in the old model, adding importance to each match. Whether that shows up at the gate is something we will find out shortly.
Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Week 21
The Week 21 numbers look like this.
| 5 year comparison | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 21 | 205 GP | YTD | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | GP | Avg | +/- | Avg | +/- | GP | |
| 2008 | 15,625 | 7 | 16,416 | 16,485 | 138 | |||
| 2009 | 23,667 | 51.47% | 6 | 15,878 | -3.28% | 15,745 | -4.49% | 149 |
| 2010 | 14,347 | -39.38% | 8 | 16,486 | 3.83% | 16,615 | 5.53% | 162 |
| 2011 | 15,937 | 11.08% | 12 | 17,341 | 5.19% | 17,335 | 4.34% | 208 |
| 2012 | 18,075 | 13.42% | 9 | 18,642 | 7.50% | 18,642 | 7.54% | 205 |
| 2008 210 Game Season – 2009 225 Game Season 2010 240 Game Season – 2011 306 Game Season 2012 323 Game Season |
||||||||
| YTD – 205 Games | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Median | %<10K | %>18k | |
| 2008 | 16,416 | 15,038 | 11.22% | 33.17% |
| 2009 | 15,878 | 14,534 | 15.61% | 30.24% |
| 2010 | 16,486 | 14,843 | 7.80% | 34.15% |
| 2011 | 17,341 | 16,961 | 7.80% | 47.32% |
| 2012 | 18,642 | 18,393 | 2.44% | 56.10% |
Here are the attendance comparisons to 2011:
Soccer Potpourri
Reader Note
- I’m heading out on the road for a few weeks. Take Me Out to the Ballgame will get posted, but not much else until I return. Thanks to all of you that take the time to visit OLR.
Interesting Reads
- Guardian: Euro 2012: Antisemitic Echoes that Threaten Celebration of Football
- Louise Taylor: Released players face prospect of adapting to life at a lower level
- Brian Quarstad: NASL Commissioner Downs Says League Expansion is Delayed but Still on Track
- US Open Cup: 99 years of the US Open Cup
- Kenn.com: US Open Cup – Moneyball
- Truly Outside the Box Thinking: An Alternative to Shootouts: A Better Way to Resolve Draws in Knockout Competitions
The Business of Soccer
More on Match Fixing
- SI.com: Italian PM Monti wants Italian soccer halted for 2-3 years
- Soccer by Ives: Three Guatemala regulars under CCL match-fixing investigation
Tournaments
- CONCACAF Champions League: CCL New Format and Draw
- EURO 2012: Euro 2012 earns elite-level income and TV ratings
Soccer Potpourri
MLS
- Howard Hamilton: MLS’ competitiveness in CONCACAF Champions League
- MLS Talk: MLS Supporters’ Shield Is Not Dead, It’s Growing Up: A Look At League History and an Idea for the Future
- Abram Chamberlain: MLS Allocation Flaws
- Dave Clark: Professionalism, MLS and “Europe”
- Kyle McCarthy: Familiar problems send Toronto FC sliding once again
- Andrew Wiebe: Opta stas on TFC’s Defensive Woes
- Best Eleven: Top 20 MLS SuperDraft Picks to Europe – 2000-2007
- Footiebusiness: Money and Performance in MLS Part 3
Interesting Reads
Read the rest of this entry »
Soccer Potpourri
MLS
- Fake Sigi: Ethnicity, Sports, and MLS Expansion
- Dario Camacho: The Supporters’ Shield In 2012
- Atlanta Soccer: MLS Southeast Expansion & NASL Expansion
- FutFanatico: MLS – Boldly Going Where the NHL Has Already Gone Before?
Interesting Reads