D.C. United holds a clear edge, but no team in the final eight looks solid from top to bottom


Amid a distinct lack of play- off buzz, and with football lines striped across most of the playing fields, comes Year 4 of the postseason.

By the time it ends in Foxboro Nov. 21, eight months will have passed. During that seemingly endless process, every championship contender has revealed at least one significant flaw, which renders the title chase intriguing if not particularly inspiring.

Scoring dropped by more than half a goal per game from 1998 (3.56 to 2.86), and so playoff games might be even tighter than usual, particularly in the Western Conference. A rigid regime has replaced freewheeling freedom in Los Angeles, and every team cut its goals-allowed by at least 20 percent.

A wild finish in the West resulted in the top four teams separated by only four points. In contrast, Miami snagged the fourth spot in the East with 29 points, just about half of the 57 rung up by D.C. United.

Defending champion Chicago has seldom impressed, yet with a record of 18-14, won just two fewer games in the 1999 regular season than it did last year.

Here’s a look at how the eight contestants shape up:


Will Roy and Eddie will show up?


1 D.C. UNITED. Letting in bad goals has plagued D.C. all season, and Tom Presthus added his name to those at fault by committing some egregious errors in the 3-1 loss to Necaxa in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals and a 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay five days later.

D.C. United has the class and experience to shake off those setbacks, but neither the sickly Eddie Pope nor the inconsistent Carlos Llamosa has excelled this season. With Roy Lassiter’s scoring form having gone from fierce to frozen, United’s penchant for leaking goals clouds its stature as MLS Cup ’99 favorite.

Lassiter has scored just four goals in nearly three months of play since the All-Star break. Sub A.J. Wood has picked up some of the slack, but he doesn’t scare many teams.

Marco Etcheverry has been capable, but hardly captivating, since August. He and Jaime Moreno should be able to storm through whichever foes United meets in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Aside from the somewhat disappointing Jason Moore, United’s reserves have performed well. The joke around RFK is that Miami will insist on taking Carey Talley – whose name was bandied about during All-Star weekend – instead of Lassiter to consummate the trade that allowed United to sign Chris Albright.

A subtle yet worrying concern was voiced by some players during the CONCACAF tournament that Head Coach Thomas Rongen sometimes lets tactics slide. That isn’t likely to recur during the playoffs. Although Rongen may not be the equal of Bruce Arena in preparing his team to stifle and shred the opposition, who on this side of the Atlantic is?


Still searching for respect


2 DALLAS. The Burn’s late-season surge broke the team out of its .500 doldrums, not just for the season, but for the first time in its entire existence.

In sweeping past the Galaxy, 4-3, on Oct. 3 after trailing 3-1, the Burn dished out a bit of revenge for its collapse in Game 2 of the 1998 conference semifinals. Dallas held a 2-0 lead going into the final 10 minutes, only to be thrashed out of the playoffs by three Galaxy goals.

The Burn’s lifetime postseason mark of 4-7 includes only one series win, which came in the 1997 first round against Los Angeles. Teams thus could take the Burn lightly.

Yet the addition of Ariel Graziani gives Dallas a critical element: A skilled, shrewd attacker who can hold the ball, find the frame with his shots, and bring other attackers into the game. He complements the limited, yet dangerous Jason Kreis – the league’s top scorer and certainly on the MVP short list – quite nicely.

In Chad Deering, the Burn has an experienced, intense midfield presence to counterbalance Ted Eck’s incessant fury and Oscar Pareja’s sporadic skill. Having Mark Dodd as an alternative to Matt Jordan gives Dallas the best goalkeeping tandem in the league.


Best in the West, barely


3 LOS ANGELES. This team’s traditional stigma of failing to kill off games surfaced again in the 4-3 loss to Dallas. Leading 3-1, the arrival of defender Robin Fraser as a sub somehow triggered a three-goal singe.

From Lothar Osiander to Octavio Zambrano to Sigi Schmid, the Galaxy has always flattered to deceive. Can it parlay home-field advantage throughout the playoffs into its second MLS Cup appearance?

Fraser needs a solid postseason to cover up the occasional midfield lapses, but he too can come up with the big boo-boo.

Danny Pena needs to stay cool and step up in case Mauricio Cienfuegos crumbles under pressure. The diminutive Salvadoran racked up 17 assists this season, and the Galaxy must provide him with space and options. Ditto for Roy Myers, whose strength on the ball could be valuable if the marking turns brutal.

Carlos Hermosillo has never relished fighting off defenders, and is too slow to beat most of them. But he’s still a force in the box. Cobi Jones has squandered an astounding number of opportunities this season. If the odd chance falls to Clint Mathis, he’d better convert.

A lot of the players who have been around since 1996 have a lot to prove. The attack can’t afford a slump like last year, when the Galaxy scored only one goal in two playoff matches with Chicago.

Foreign contingent faltering


4 CHICAGO. Like its political name sake, the Fire’s Eastern Bloc is falling apart.

Only Lubos Kubik has played anything near to his performance last season. He’s often forced to push forward as the Fire bogs down in midfield, leaving a big gap in the back, which exposes the rugged but vulnerable duo of C.J. Brown and Francis Okaroh.

Peter Nowak has recently shown flashes of the guile and ferocity of his league all-star performance of ’98, yet he’s seldom in sync with his teammates, especially those of common origin.

Fellow Poles Jerzy Podbrozny and Roman Kosecki are both playing as if a return to Poland is just a playoff elimination away. But at 33 (Kosecki) and 32 (Podbrozny), they can’t be out of gas …. can they? Podbrozny’s production dropped from 26 points last year (6 goals, 14 assists) to just 16 (4 goals, 8 assists) this season despite playing three more games.

Midfield destroyer Chris Armas is just getting back to game sharpness after missing 10 games through injury. Strong play from Armas will staunch the openings when Kubik moves up. Dema Kovalenko may prove to be a vital late-game catalyst when the Fire attack runs out of ideas.

Ante Razov finished with 14 goals, yet carried the stigma of blowing numerous chances all season. The injury to Josh Wolff robs head coach Bob Bradley of a valuable alternative up front.

Bradley’s work last season earned him Coach of the Year honors, and if hitting on all cylinders, Chicago can get back to MLS Cup. Rumors are growing stronger, though, that Bradley will leave at the end of the season to join U.S. Soccer, which has fewer petulant foreign players.


Turmoil in Ohio


5 COLUMBUS. Since clinching second a month ago, the Crew has split with Miami, split with Chicago, beat New England and lost to the MetroStars. A push.

Head Coach Tom Fitzgerald is, as usual, patching together a squad riddled with turmoil. He’s tried Todd Yeagley and Matt Chulis in the back as the disgruntled Thomas Dooley fumes. He’s tried to placate Jeff Cunningham’s desire for more playing time as well as fend off incessant inquiries as to the destiny of Stern John.

Dooley has also been working as a de facto player representative for Cunningham by linking him with clubs in Germany through agent Michael Becker. Not great for team morale.

The Crew has yet to completely recover from losing to Rochester in the final seconds of the Open Cup semis. Fitzgerald may have emptied his bag of psychological ploys, but he does have a good bench with Andy Williams, Brian West, Cunningham and Dooley all capable of turning a game around.

Blowing a 2-0 lead to Chicago at home in the season finale, though, won’t do much for Crew confidence heading into the playoffs. The lead evaporated on a penalty kick and a headed goal off a corner.

It was a typical game for John: He put away a header from Brian McBride for the first Crew goal, then soon afterwards missed a sitter that would have made it 2-0.


Darkhorse in the East



6 TAMPA BAY. Like Columbus, the Mutiny fell into a late-season funk once its playoff spot had been confirmed. But Tampa did spank United, 4-2, at RFK in the season’s penultimate game and is the Eastern Conference darkhorse.

Still, this is head coach Tim Hankinson’s first foray into the playoffs. Manny Lagos and Ritchie Kotschau have proven to be capable late-season additions, and Josh Keller has blossomed into a solid role player in midfield. Those three will be counted upon to support the midfield attacking trio of Steve Ralston, Carlos Valderrama and Mauricio Ramos.

The pressure on central defenders Chad McCarty and Chris Houser will be heavy if Hankinson keeps Joe Addo on the bench. Addo’s stock fell in a 2-1 loss to the MetroStars Sept. 25 when he was replaced by Houser at halftime after a pair of balls that evaded him were turned into Metrogoals.

Keeper Scott Garlick is one of many Mutants with playoff experience. He gave up only five goals in 449 minutes of play with United two years ago.

Tampa’s dreams of meeting United in the Eastern Conference finals will be mitigated by its 1-3 mark versus D.C. this season. The Mutiny won three of four against Columbus, although two wins were by shootout.


Can the slump be reversed?


7 COLORADO. No team in the history of MLS has plummeted off the top as sharply as the Rapids. Yet despite scoring just three goals in their last 13 games, they finished only four points out of first place.

In 1997, the Rapids finished fourth – 11 points out of first – and rolled to MLS Cup by beating sweeping Kansas City and Dallas in the playoffs. Seven players remain from that team, and head coach Glenn Myernick has – on paper – a stronger squad than he did two years ago.

Yet the team’s scoring woes would have Myernick tearing his hair out if there was any up there. Paul Bravo has gone cold, and Jorge Dely Valdes – with one goal in the last 10 games – has frozen up completely.

Colorado hasn’t regained its balance since Marcus Hahnemann departed for England and injuries sidelined Anders Limpar and Jason Bent. The defense is jittery, laboring as it does under the burden of propping up a rickety attack.

Keeper Ian Feuer is wildly inconsistent, equally capable of the superb save and atrocious gaffe. Case in point was the season-ending 2-0 loss to Miami Oct. 9. He thrice robbed the Fusion with big saves, yet blundered out of his box to let Welton walk in the second and clinching goal.

In late July, Colorado looked unbeatable, so the Rapids are not without hope.


Flameout in Florida


8 MIAMI. A scintillating two-game winning streak vaulted the Fusion into the playoffs, and on that momentum rides its hopes of upsetting D.C.

Fat chance, for sure.

The resurgent Eric Wynalda can test most defenses, at least occasionally. The Fusion has been shut out only four times this season, and Henry Gutierrez is better than your average playmaker.

Unfortunately, the fans in Fort Lauderdale don’t care. Nor do the fans in Miami, nor do the fans in Pompano Beach or Hollywood or Hallandale.

Sources say Ivo Wortmann is telling people he’s leaving ASAP, which further clouds this franchise’s crystal ball.

Since nothing is expected of the Fusion, it could take a game off D.C. It could also get smoked in two straight.

by Soccer America senior editor Ridge Mahoney