Major League Soccer Playoff Round One Preview

It’s official: Bruce Arena is back in Major League Soccer and he’s got his New York Red Bulls in the playoffs. It’s hard to believe, really, after Arena was dismissed as U.S. national team coach and New York picked him up. But what’s not hard to swallow is Arena’s record in the playoffs when he was at the helm of D.C. United. And since he’s up against his old team in the first round, you would have to think he’s got a chance to make some noise in the East. And the Bulls may well knock off United, but they will need absolute perfect games from their old-as-dirt midfield and striker tandem. Something tells me Arena will likely play a 4-5-1 formation with Amado Guevara as the target, in an effort to somehow unsettle United’s sterling roster of players and rattle Jaime Moreno. If he can manage that Herculean feat, the Red Bulls would then face either New England or Chicago. The Red Bulls were a paltry 0-1-3 vs. the Revs, but did manage to go 1-1-1 vs. Chicago in the season series. 

In the West, the picture is just as crazy, with CD Chivas USA waiting to whup up on Houston in the 2 vs. 3 matchup, this after they finished dead last in MLS last season. A lot of that turnaround can be attributed to the job longtime MLS coach Bob Bradley has done and some can be given to the Chivas de Guadalajara club itself, which has a massive youth system and developmental program that the MLS team is benefiting from. Chivas has also done a lot of damage without the services of national team star John O’Brien and the addition of Ante Razov has done wonders for a team that only scored 31 goals last year. To boot, Ramon Ramirez and Paco Palencia have been in good form, leading one to believe that Chivas could go all the way in just their second season in the league.