Match Previews

DC United Looking forward to the Challenge

Assistant coach Chad Ashton had this to say about being the first MLS team to win in Mexico. “We want to be [the one]. We say that every time we go down there. But, I think it’s time for us to not only say that, but to actually go down there and do it. We think we have the team to do that and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Clearly, this is a monumental opportunity for DC United to cement themselves as truly one of the top teams in Concacaf by ousting a legendary Pachuca side that has won just about everything in this hemisphere over the past few years. DC United came close to winning in Mexico last year, leading Chivas in Guadalajara only to collapse and let the chance slip away. However, DC United was essentially re-created in the offseason with international games like this in mind, and the expectations for success in Concacaf are huge.

One of the new signings this winter, defensive anchor Gonzalo Peralta emphatically made it clear that DC United expects to establish the respect of anybody they play in the region no matter how big they are. “We know of Pachuca [in Argentina], we saw them play against Motagua, and they play very good. We respect them, but they must also respect us. We are hungry to win something. We’re going to work very hard to beat Pachuca and earn respect.”

Still, that is easier said than done. Especially after a decidedly underwhelming performance in their MLS season opening loss to KC 2-0 this past Saturday. DC was expecting a good effort there too, yet failed miserably. So, United absolutely needs a much sharper performance in Hidalgo stadium to build upon if they have any hopes of ousting Pachuca with a win in RFK next week.

DC Defender Marc Burch pointed out after the KC match, that DC might have been a bit too cautious and off their game in KC by thinking ahead to Pachuca. “It would be nice to have a little bit of legs going down there at high altitude, playing a really important game. Not to say this one [KC] wasn’t important, but it’s a really important game we have down there.”

But finding success against the oldest team in Mexico won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination. Despite a relatively poor run of late in the Mexican Clausura, Pachuca is still one of the most feared and most successful teams in the region with a roster full of explosive offensive talent.

Devon McTavish sums them up pretty nicely. “They won the [Concacaf] tournament last year. They are a highly skilled team. They possess the ball beautifully. They attack with the spirit and flair that Mexican teams have, fast and direct with it at times. It’s going to be a big test, especially playing down in Mexico. They’re an experienced, classy Mexican team. It’s going to be a tough battle, but I don’t think it’s impossible.”

No, not impossible of course, as anything can happen in soccer, but while DC loaded up on more South American talent in the offseason to be better able to handle international competition, Pachuca has more than a few South American gunslingers of their own.

Pachuca boasts Argentine playmaker Christian Gimenez, and striker Damian Alvarez, who briefly crossed paths with United’s Marcelo Gallardo at River Plate in 1998, when Alvarez was a youngster coming up, Gallardo was soon to be on his way to Europe. Also, Colombian attackers Luis Gabriel Rey and Andres Chitiva, all rotate with Mexican Juan Carlos Cacho as arguably the most feared group of attackers of any Mexican side.

Pachuca has some South American talent in their defense, as well. Their three man backline is anchored by Paraguayan sweeper, Julio Manzur, and the hard man in their midfield is a naturalized Mexican originally from Argentina, Gabriel Caballero. Plus their goalkeeper Calero, who is considered the best keeper in Mexico, is another naturalized Mexican originally from Colombia.

Yet even with that gaudy array of talent, Pachuca has struggled in the Mexican league up until very recently this season. However, while DC was losing in KC this past Saturday, Pachuca was pounding Atalante 2-0, behind goals from left wing Luis Montez and Manzur to vault them into third place in their group. Montez also scored the lone goal in their recent quarterfinal series with Motagua to oust the Central American champions and set up the match with DC United.

Part of Pachuca’s struggles have been injuries to key players like starting left back, “El Pollo” Fernando Salavar, and to Damian Alvarez, neither of whom played against Atalante, and are doubtful for the DC game. However, Montez said afterward on Pachuca’s website that the victory over Atalante “lifted the spirits of the whole team and will give them confidence as they turn their focus to DC United”

Considering the situation, DC United is very likely to take a pretty conservative approach in this match and count on getting the win in RFK next week. Particularly since Pachuca is not known to be a good road team. Their pattern in these types of series is to hammer the teams at home where they have piled on the goals, and then to simply survive on the road where they have struggled mightily to score.

So getting the first game down there is actually a bit of an advantage if DC can keep the game close. Devon McTavish had this to say about the expected tactics in Mexico before the team left for KC. “Playing the first game down there I think will help us. If we put one in the back of the net, good, but we need to keep them out. We’ll take a win for sure, but the most important thing is a good result.”

Attacking their defense in Hidalgo stadium at 8,000 feet elevation will be difficult enough as it is. Pachuca plays a tight 3-5-2 with Jaime Correa and Caballero jamming up the middle of the field, so Gallardo isn’t likely to have much impact on the match unless Jaime’s hamstring is healed enough for him to play and help him out. Even then it will be tough sledding as Emilio will have trouble getting away from Fausto Pinto, whose rapidly becoming one of the best defenders in Mexico, and Manzur, who is superb at cleaning up the few mistakes they make.

McTavish and Fred will be huge factors in this match as McTavish will almost certainly be expected to blank Montez, yet still get forward enough to relieve the pressure on Emilio and Gallardo. While on the other side of the field, Fred is easily the best matchup DC has in going forward, which is almost certainly the reason that he was rested for most of the KC match. But, especially now considering their only weakness got worse with the loss of the Chicken, Salavar at left back, Fred’s influence on the match is likely to be crucial.

Defensively for DC it will be all hands on deck to contain Pachuca's dynamic offense. Gimenez is the key and he was rested over the past weekend serving a one game suspension against Atalante. Clyde Simms will have to be in his back pocket all night long or DC will be in huge trouble. Peralta and Martinez will have all they can handle in Rey and Cacho, plus even if Alvarez can’t go, that just gives the wily Chitiva more minutes. Seriously, if DC can keep them to a goal or less, it will be a gargantuan success.

One good thing is the insight Zach Wells can give the team as he faced them in Superliga last year in Houston, and backed up Onstad in the heartbreaking series they had with them in Concacaf. Ashton feels Wells will be an enormous help in preparing for Pachuca considering he’s “a guy who’s been there before up close and in person, he’s obviously going to be able to point some things out that will help us.”

Yet, Wells also knows exactly how tough it is to beat Pachuca. He was on the bench for that horrific 5-2 loss in Mexico last year after Houston had won the first leg 2-0 and felt in control of the series. However, he feels like this is could be a defining moment for DC.

Wells added that he thinks “this is a good opportunity. I think this organization takes Concacaf Champions Cup very seriously. We’re not going to have any excuses going in. We’re heading into our regular season now, and so are they. So, there’s no excuses on either side. It should be a good match because they have a lot of guys who can play and so do we. It is a difficult place to play, and personally, I have a bit of a bone to pick with Pachuca, but I’d just like to us come out and play well and compete. This is going to be a real challenge to see just how tough we really are.”

DC is really on a knife’s edge right now. They are clearly talented, but haven’t really translated that into any real success yet. A pounding down in Mexico could be absolutely disastrous and maybe send them into a tailspin worse than the hangover than last year’s ugly start to the season. But a good solid result could well give this team the confidence it needs to establish DC United as a force to be reckoned with in MLS and in all of Concacaf.

© 2008 UnitedMania.com.