Soccer Sees a New Champ and a New Team

An unlikely candidate at the beginning of the year, Columbus was the heavy favorite by end of season, having recorded the league's best overall record and taking home the Supporters' Shield. But soccer has a funny way of not caring about records, awards or big names. The last time the Supporters' Shield winner won the MLS Cup was in 2002, when the L.A. Galaxy accomplished the feat. Despite their regular season record and impressive play, the odds were, in an odd way, against the Crew.

Meanwhile, New York started the season with high hopes, but instead had an erratic season, barely qualifying for the playoffs on the last week of regular season play. Much like the 2005 L.A. Galaxy, they rode a wave of opportune performances throughout the playoffs, eliminating another favorite -- defending champions Houston Dynamo -- along the way. Watching the manner in which they very narrowly advanced into the Final by means of a fortunate 1 - 0 victory over Real Salt Lake, one had to wonder if they would run out of luck against the Crew or whether luck was permanently on their side for these playoffs.

In the end, justice was served. Guillermo Guille Barros Schelotto put in an MVP performance and proved to be too much for New York to handle. Schelotto led the Crew to a 3 - 1 victory, giving Columbus its first MLS Cup. The event marked the end to the season, but already, MLS and the local teams are preparing for the 2009 campaign.

On Wednesday, Seattle Sounders FC, who will begin play next season, started to build its team in the expansion draft. Galaxy midfielder Peter Vagenas -- the only remaining member from the 2002 championship squad -- was selected by Seattle, thus closing the door on that era of Galaxy history. In addition to the loss of Vagenas, Jeremy Barlow, Joe Franchino and Alvaro Pires were waived by the blue-and-gold. This leaves the Galaxy in an interesting situation with rookie Brandon McDonald as the only remaining defensive midfielder on the roster. Given the number of injuries he suffered throughout his rookie season, it is almost a sure bet that Galaxy General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena is looking to sign some reinforcements at that position during the offseason.

In other notes, forward Landon Donovan was named to the MLS Best XI squad for 2008, but will not travel to Auckland, New Zealand with the rest of the team for the friendly against the Oceania All-Stars. Donovan had been training with German powerhouse Bayern Munich and according to Bayern manager Uli Hoeness, Donovan will remain with the club on loan through March 15th, possibly longer, although MLS has denied that a deal has been finalized.

As for Chivas USA, they were unaffected by the expansion draft, but midfielder Jesse Marsch was included in the list of protected players, meaning he should be back for at least one more year. Midfielder Sacha Kljestan added to his accolades for the year when he too was named to the MLS Best XI.

While the red-and-whites will not be back in action until late January, defender Shavar Thomas has been called up to the Jamaican National Team as it prepares for the Caribbean Championships running from December 1st through 15th. Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein are likely to see similar action within a few weeks as the U.S. National Team prepares for its journey through the final round of World Cup qualifying with a friendly against Sweden at the Home Depot Center in late January.

Lastly, defender Alex Zontica has been waived by Chivas USA. Until next time, enjoy the MLS Cup gallery.