ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle says that Los Angeles Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas “is probably the happiest man in the league right now,” following the release of the 2008 MLS schedule, but it won’t be for some other clubs — notably those playing in the CONCACAF Champions League and the SuperLiga, two competitions which L.A. did not qualify for.
Instead, MLS champ Houston Dynamo and D.C. United will be the most “heavy-legged” teams in the league in ’08. In addition to 30 regular-season games, both clubs will compete in the CONCACAF Champions League, the SuperLiga and the U.S. Open Cup. Last season, United also played in the Copa Nissan Sudamericana, completing a total of 43 games. And while that might not sound like much compared to the match load of Europe’s biggest clubs, consider that the MLS season is two months shorter and that MLS clubs don’t have the financial resources to build big squads capable of competing in four major competitions.
In the end, given the tight timeline (MLS has eight months to complete its season compared to Europe’s 10), it’s no surprise that the league has once again chosen to ignore the international calendar, which means MLS teams will go without some of their biggest stars when they are called up for international duty. In his report, Carlisle also underlines the dates of some tasty match-ups to mark on your calendar.