Houston Dynamo Current Favorites in Regional Soccer Championship?

"Club Deportivo Victoria fall 3-0 to Deportivo Marquense" or something along those lines was certainly one of the top stories across Central America three days ago as the final brackets for the 2007 CONCACAF Champion's Cup takes shape. Marquense, a Guatemalan club, trounced the Honduran side, Victoria, to secure the final position for Central American contenders.

The other two Central American representatives took to the pitch on Wednesday to decide who would take the lead for the Central Americans in qualification. Puntarenas F.C. hosted C.D. Olimpia in Costa Rica and just snuck by the Hondurans 3-2 with a goal from Alvaro Guerrero in the final minute of play. This match helped determine the hierarchy for the draw which will place teams in the final brackets for the CONCACAF Club Championship.

Currently, the "pots" look something like this. "Pot A" for Mexico and the United States has only three of the four teams decided as the Liga Mexicana has not finished its Apetura for 2006. CF Pachuca was the first Mexican side to qualify for the regional tournament after winning the Clausura earlier this year.

Major League Soccer will send D.C. United, who finished the regular season with the best record in league, and the Houston Dynamo, who won the MLS Cup. D.C. United is one of two American teams to have won the regional tournament, but the last time United won was in 1998.

Last year, both American sides were knocked out of the tournament in the opening round, but this year promises to be different. The traditional powers from Central America struggled to earn berths into the tournament. Niether Saprissa nor Alajuelense from Costa Rica nor Municipal of Guatemala earned spots in the big show. Also, of the traditional Mexican favorites only one can earn a spot in the upcoming championship. With Pachuca eating up one of Liga Mexicana's berths, it will be impossible for Club America and Pumas to make an appearance.

Also of note, with only one week of play left in the regular season, Cruz Azul holds the top spot in Liga Mexicana. Cruz Azul has had successful runs in the CONCACAF Club Championship in both 1996 and 1997 but is often not consider one of the region's dominant powers.

"Pot B" is also waiting for its fourth and final team. The first three teams to qualify for this group were the Central American teams, Puntarenas (CRC), Olimpia (HON), and Marquense (GUA). The fourth position will go to the winner of the Caribbean tournament. This fifteen team tournament is often won by a team from Jamaica or Trinidad and Tobago, but with Portmore United (JAM) and Defense Force (TNT) out of contention, this final spot could go to almost anyone.

The champions for Trinidad and Jamaica are still held as the favorites, so teams will be weary of W Connection and Waterhouse F.C., but other teams should feel confident to leave their mark on this year's tournament. The Puerto Rico Islanders of the United Soccer Leagues will certainly have a fair shot if they can manage to get past W Connection of Trinidad and Tobago. Unfortunately for the Islanders, their top striker Alen Marcina, who scored 13 goals this summer, recently signed with the Knights in the Australian League.

In the end, the Cental American and Caribbean teams will likely be weaker than usual. This gives the edge to the teams from Mexico and the United States. Olimpia from Honduras is likely the best team from "Pot B". Olimpia boasts a roster which features four members of the Honduran National Team: Figueroa, Valladares, Palacios, and Morales. Although Puntarenas gave a good showing against Olimpia earlier this week, Kurt Bernard will not be able to carry the team through the regional tournament. The same can also be said of Carlos Quinonez, who plays in back for Marquense and the Guatemalan National Team.

As for the other section, both D.C. United and Pachuca will likely struggle. D.C. finished the MLS season poorly. A lack of communication between Facundo Erpen and Bobby Boswell seemed to cause lots of confusion in the back. The team dominated the first half of the MLS regular season but couldn't seem to buy a win after the All-Star break. Although United has been the most successful American team when facing foreign opposition, including a 4-0 win over Celtic this year, D.C. will need to find a new way to shine to have any success in the upcoming tournament.

Pachuca has more potential than D.C., but only because their Apetura campaign has been fairly successful. However, they do not face the toughest competition in their league. With America, Pumas, and Toluca in one group and with Chivas and Cruz Azul in another, Pachuca's table simply doesn't look as tough as the other two. What may actually hurt Pachuca in the tournament isn't their form, but the lack of a big name player to carry the burden can be devasting for a team in this kind of tournament.

The current favorite to take the final Mexican slot in the regional tourament is Cruz Azul, whose roster includes two members of the Mexican National Team: Gerardo Torrado and Jose Rafael Garcia Torres. The experiences these players carry with them into these kinds of competitions always serves a team well. If Cruz Azul takes the final open slot, look for them to do very well. This team would have a very real chance of winning the CONCACAF Championship.

Of the team's that have already qualified, the Houton Dynamo look the best on paper. As the San Jose Earthquakes, this franchise made a number of appearances in the CONCACAF Championship but never managed to win the title. The team has won three MLS Cups since 2001 and has a very solid core group of players. Left wing Brad Davis and forward Brian Ching have spent a fair amount of time with the U.S. National Team, as has defensive midfielder Ricardo Clark.

However, the real key to this team will be the play of their two stars from Canada. Dwayne De Rosario will have to marshal the troops from the "number ten" position for the team to mount a powerful attack. At the other end, Pat Onstad will likely be kept busy in the nets if the Central American teams are successful in using a direct style of play.

The team has plenty of guns with Venezuelan Alejandro Moreno, Paul Dalglish the son of the famed Kenny Dalglish, Brian Ching, and Dwayne De Rosario playing on the attacking side of the ball. If their midfield and defense can hold off the typically strong Central American counterattacks, the Dynamo have a very real shot of being the first MLS team to take the regional cup since the 2000 L.A. Galaxy.

The Dynamo proved that they have the ability to face impossible odds when Brian Ching equalised in the second overtime period only a minute after New England took a 1-0 lead during the MLS Cup. If the team can muster that kind of confidence during this tournament, even a team like Cruz Azul will struggle against the current American champions come the end of February.