Galaxy Wins, Will Take On the World
For the Galaxy, nothing has ever felt this good.
After five years of frustration in its attempts to win the Major League Soccer title, Los Angeles suddenly has a much more glittering prize in its sights.
On Friday night, in front of a crowd of 7,475 at the Coliseum, the Galaxy defeated D.C. United, 4-2, on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie, in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, thereby earning a trip to the second FIFA World Club Championship in Spain July 29-Aug. 12.
Joining the Galaxy there will be Olimpia of Honduras, which easily won Friday night’s first semifinal, crushing Pachuca of Mexico, 4-0.
It was more than simply a victory for Los Angeles players and coaches, it was the erasure of two large black spots in their five-year history.
Twice, the Galaxy has reached the MLS championship game and twice D.C. United has denied it the title. Once in 1996 and again in 1999.
This time, there was no stopping Coach Sigi Schmid’s team.
The Galaxy had a glorious chance to take the lead in the sixth minute when a Mauricio Cienfuegos pass put Cobi Jones free on the right. Jones cut the ball back across to face of the net to Adam Frye, but D.C. United goalkeeper Mark Simpson smothered Frye’s shot.
In the 29th minute, the Galaxy took the lead when Greg Vanney scored on a penalty kick after Ezra Hendrickson had been pulled down by D.C. United defender Carlos Llamosa. Vanney hit the ball to the right, Simpson guessed left and Los Angeles led, 1-0.
There was a decided edge to the game, with tackles having a particular bite on both sides of the ball.
The Galaxy came within inches of doubling its lead in the 37th minute when midfielder Simon Elliott hammered a shot that Richie Williams did well to head off the D.C. goal line.
Leading, 1-0, at the half, the Galaxy was only 45 minutes from Spain.
Three minutes into the second half, Washington tied it. Galaxy defender Alexi Lalas and United’s A.J. Wood were racing side by side through the penalty area when Wood went down.
Referee Robles pointed the penalty spot, giving Lalas a yellow card and D.C. a penalty kick. Marco Etcheverry scored and the game was back in the balance.
Eventually, it took penalty kicks to separate the two.
The game was a depressingly dull affair until Costa brought it to life in the 35th minute with a well-taken goal.
A Pachuco attack fell apart deep in Olimpia territory and the Honduran team struck quickly on the counter. Uruguayan midfielder Danilo Tosello sent a through pass up the middle to Costa and the 32-year-old Brazilian touched the ball to his right, then outraced defenders Francisco Gabriel de Anda and Manuel Vidrio before firing a right-foot shot past goalkeeper Miguel Calero.
The goal brought a roar from the predominantly Honduran crowd, the fans realizing that less than an hour now stood between the Tegucigalpa-based team and a trip to the world championship.
When Chacon chipped a shot over Calero from 18 yards three minutes into the second half to make it 2-0, the trip became more certain.
And when Costa, the Honduran league’s all-time leading goal scorer, hit a side-foot volley into the net from close range off a superb pass by Christian Santamaria, it was assured.
Costa got his hat trick when Calero failed to hold Carlos Paes de Oliveira’s shot in the 78th minute and the Brazilian tapped in the rebound to complete the rout.
The first World Club Championship was played in Brazil last January and was won by a local club, Corinthians. Then, it was an eight-team event and the North and Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF) region was represented by Necaxa of Mexico, which finished a more-than-respectable third after holding both Manchester United and Real Madrid, two of the sport’s giants, to ties.
For MLS, the Galaxy’s participation marks yet another step on the road to international recognition. Ivan Gazidis, the league’s deputy commissioner calls it “one of the most significant moments in our league’s history.”
The Galaxy and Olimpia will play for the title at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
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The national soccer teams of the United States and Mexico, which meet in a World Cup 2002 qualifying game in Columbus, Ohio, on Feb. 28, will be appearing in the Los Angeles area in the near future. Mexico will play Colombia at the Coliseum on Jan. 31. The U.S. will play Brazil at the Rose Bowl on March 3. The U.S. team’s next scheduled match is against China in Oakland on Jan. 27.
