There is a small section of people referring to Puerto Rico Islanders players as "MLS rejects" and inferring that they simply aren't good enough to go toe-to-toe with "the stars of Major League Soccer" and were therefore cast-off, sent the scrapheap if you will, where they were picked up by lowly USL side Puerto Rico.

Here's someone you may know, his name is Arsene Wenger, and he's the manager at Arsenal, one of the world's biggest clubs. Wenger has a reputation for picking up "rejects" and using them to win trophies. Here's another name you may know: Thierry Henry. Henry was named French Young Footballer of the Year in 1996, but after moving from Monaco, Juventus simply didn't think he was good enough...they "rejected" him. Sold him off to Arsenal, and the rest is history. Henry is not alone in his story. In 1992 a young player named Kevin Phillips was deemed not good enough for Southampton and was released, after a spell at tiny Baldock Town the striker moved to Watford and subsequently Sunderland. In the 1999-2000 season "Super Kev" found the net a gobsmacking 30 times.

These stories of rejection are more an indictment of coaches and scouts than of those players. Indeed, their ability far exceeded what their previous coaches thought about them.

MLS is not immune to this.

Many of these players were never given a fair shake in MLS because of politics, namely because they're from outside of the US, or in the case of Bill Gaudette fell victim to salary cap rules. Sandi Gbandi, who notched a goal and an assist last night, never even got a shot.

The "rejects" in question are Jamaican international Nicholas Addlery, Trinidad and Tobago international Osei Telesford, and the aforementioned Gbandi. These players have a combined thirteen MLS appearances, most of them (eleven) made by Addlery. They were never given a fair chance. I know the purpose of Major League Soccer is to develop Americans, but too many times we see poor, poor Americans (see: the Los Angeles Galaxy) given chance after chance when young foreign talents are quickly cast aside.

In fact, these "rejects" did something the "stars of Major League Soccer" have never done. They went to Costa Rica and won. I don't care about that Mexico stat. You can argue yourself breathless about altitude. Alajuela is lower than Denver and Salt Lake. Yell about pollution. Costa Rica is the cleanest country in the western hemisphere, in fact, it aims to be carbon neutral by 2021. The country, not a city, the country. There is no excuse for Costa Rica, which is why Puerto Rico won there, which is why Puerto Rico didn't beat Carmelita, San Carlos, or Puntarenas...they beat Alajuelense, they knocked out the heavyweight champion. These rejects knocked out Costa Rica's George Foreman.

I'm not going to say the USL is better than MLS, it isn't. But the league isn't a joke, and to arrogantly dismiss it's players as rejects when your own players are getting stomped (Joe Public 6-1 New England) is insulting.

Puerto Rico haven't defeated Cruz Azul yet, they still have a ton of work to do and indeed it could all fall apart. But they have shown heart, desire, and passion. They may be winning ugly, but they're winning. If Puerto Rico marches on, and they very well may, these "rejects" could line up against Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, or another giant come December in a meaningful match, not a pre-season friendly.

Who needs Beckham when you've got Noah Delgado?

Gbandi 5, Addlery 37 (PRI)

There is still magic in the glass slipper. Puerto Rico made sure to take a 2-0 advantage on to the Estadio Azul on April 7th with first half goals from Liberian Sandi Gbandi and Jamaican Nicholas Addlery at the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium.

Puerto Rico struck early with a rare well worked move in a match that proved very scrappy for the most part. Lovely interplay led to Josh Hansen playing a beautifully weighted ball to Gbandi in the box, Gbandi applied a textbook finish to put the hosts ahead with barely five minutes gone. The goal certainly delivered a shock to the Mexicans system.

Later in the first half Addlery would make it 2-0 as he got his foot on a well-placed Gbandi freekick to poke the ball around the goalkeeper.

Puerto Rico had a real shout for a penalty turned down in the second half as Hansen was seemingly hauled down in the area, the replays did show contact with the man and not the ball. Cruz Azul will count themselves extremely lucky as 3-0 would have been crushing.

The cementeros were not without chances though but they often found themselves denied by Puerto Rico custodian Bill Gaudette, the rugged former Brooklyn and Columbus goalkeeper making several fine saves despite nursing a shoulder injury he received in a second half collision.

Cruz Azul tempers came to a boil in stoppage time as Puerto Rico seemed more than content to waste time in the corner. No fewer than three players from the Mexican side were booked after falling victim to mind games from Trinidad and Tobago international Kendall Jagdeosingh.

Puerto Rico will go to the altitude of Mexico City with a 2-0 advantage, proud to not concede an away goal, but they will have to be very mindful of Montreal's quarterfinal collapse in Torreon.

Man of the Match: Bill Gaudette (GK), Puerto Rico on 90 minutes.

Att: 12,751 (of 12,500 seats).

Puerto Rico Islanders v Cruz Azul - CONCACAF CL SF1 Preview

Bayamón isn't Montreal, so the Islanders aren't generating the press that the Impact did, but their story is an amazing one nonetheless. In the month of March Madness the ultimate Cinderella steps onto the ballroom floor once again at the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium.

The Islanders have turned their converted baseball stadium, now the Mecca of Puerto Rican football, into a fortress. In this edition of the competion the Islanders have only lost at La Islandera, conceding a late goal to Guatemalans Municipal, and have claimed the scalps of giants Alajuelense and Santos Laguna.

It's hard to explain how the Islanders have made it this far, but it's easy to see how deserving they are. Colin Clarke's charges have contested every ball in the Champions League and have never taken their eyes off the task at hand. Many have theorized that their British long ball style has left Latin defenses confused, and it has played a role, but they've also outworked opponents in every department.

Meanwhile opponents Cruz Azul have not made an impressive start to their Clausura campaign. After 10 matches the eight-time Mexican champions sit 12th in the overall classification. In the Champions League the cementaros have been solid in defense, and that may bode well for them against the Islanders.

It will be interesting to see how the match plays out. Having already claimed one win at home against Mexican opposition, Puerto Rico will be looking to do the same as they expect to sell their stadium beyond it's 12,500-seat capacity for what is surely the biggest match in the club's young history. Cruz Azul will look to find some form as the search for their first title since 1997.

Santos Laguna 5 : 2 Montreal Impact (5-4 on aggregate).

Benitez 16 (San), Brown 24 (Mon), Sebrango 38 (Mon), Vuoso 52, 75 (San), Quintero 90*, 90* (San)

Montreal's dream came to an abrupt end in the most heartbreaking of fashions. After going down early, the Quebec side managed to peg back Santos twice to find themselves leading in Torreon. It was done by taking the game to a Santos side which found itself forced to attack having lost the first leg 2-0.

Montreal seemingly caught a break in the first half when Mexican international goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez was subbed off after a leg injury, no word on how serious the injury is. The Impact quickly took advantage of his replacement Miguel Becerra when first leg hero Eddy Sebrango made it 2-1.

Despite all of this, Montreal abandoned their plan in the second half and resorted to defending, a move which proved deadly. Santos equalized early in the half through Matías Vuoso, and took the match lead through him on 75 minutes. At this point it still seemed unthinkable than Santos would find two more goals and Montreal continued to defend as the Mexicans heaped on the pressure. Many times Montreal found themselves saved simply by their height advantage granting them the ability to clear crosses and corner kicks, but soon Santos found a way to break Montreal's backs through Carlos Quintero. The Colombian striker netted twice deep into injury time to break Montreal's hearts and seal a place for his side in the semifinals where they will face fellow Mexicans Atlante.

It meant the end of the road for Montreal's unlikely journey, but they won't be without pride. The Impact represented Canadian soccer in a better light than anyone involved could have hoped, and for that they should keep their heads head high.

As for the United Soccer Leagues, they still have an interest in the Champions League as Puerto Rico managed to top Marathon of Honduras 1-0 (3-1 on aggregate) to claim a spot against Cruz Azul in the other semifinal.

55,571 fans made up the third largest soccer crowd in Montreal history Wednesday night as the home side Montreal Impact defeated visiting Mexican giants Santos Laguna 2-0.

The goals both came from former Vancouver Whitecaps player Eddy Sebrango, and though neither will win any goal of the year competition it's unlikely that anyone associated with the Impact cares.

Sebrango's first goal came almost out of nowhere on five minutes as the former Cuban international combined with Roberto Brown take advantage of some lackadaisical Santos defending to slot the ball to the right of Mexican number one Oswaldo Sanchez.

Throughout the game it was evident that the artificial surface was a factor with the bounce of the ball being hard to judge.

Aside from a stray looping header, Montreal found it hard to trouble Sanchez for the remainder of the first half and the story was much the same at the other end with only Chucho Benitez testing Matt Jordan.

Santos seemed to pick up the pace in the second half, actually forcing Jordan into action several times, including a fabulous low save off a Pedro Quiñónez free kick. But again it was Montreal who would find the net, and again slack defending was to blame when Nevio Pizzolitto's long ball was headed on by Brown and eventually tapped over a hapless Sanchez by the head of Sebrango.

The lead gives Montreal a comfortable, though far from safe advantage heading into next week's second leg at the Estadio Corona in Torreon.

The night's crowd was the largest in this year's Champions League, in stark contrast the Houston Dynamo assembled a crowd of just over 10,000 as the drew with Atlante on Tuesday at Robertson Stadium. There was talk that MLS commisioner Don Garber was among the 55,571, but should the question be "Montreal for MLS?", or "Does Montreal need MLS?"?

DC United defeated the Charleston Battery 2-1 in the US Open Cup final on Wednesday night to claim their second Open Cup crown.

The match between two of the more tradional sides in the American game got off to a fast start with DC scoring quickly and Charleston wasting no time in finding an equalizer.

It was the introduction of Fred late in the first half that would change the game. Just after half time the substitute found his way through the Charleston defense to put DC ahead, a lead they would not relenquish despite spirited play from the South Carolina side.

The match was not without controversy however as Charleston had a stoppage time equalizer disallowed for offside, replays disagreed with the decision.

Elsewhere the Puerto Rico Islanders scored twice at the death to get by Costa Rica's Alajuelense. The Costa Ricans went ahead early but the Islanders kept their cool in order to find the two goals they needed to qualify for the group stage. The result gives the USL, two, as many teams in the Champions League as MLS. Marathon of Honduras and Cruz Azul of Mexico also advanced.

The final two preliminary matches take place tonight as Jalapa look to defend their slim lead over San Francisco in Panama, and Pumas take on Harbour View in a one-legged affair followed the cancelation of the first leg due to Hurricane Gustav.

"It's our pre-season" was the excuse uttered by Major League Soccer apologists to explain the league's ineptitude in the old CONCACAF Champions Cup that often ran between February and May. "It'd be a different story if it was in our mid-season" they said.

They were wrong.

Very wrong. MLS heaped shame upon American soccer on Tuesday by failing to beat teams from Panama and Trinidad & Tobago when Tauro eased by Chivas USA and Joe Public laid an impressive beating on the kings of choke, the New England Revolution. But what happened Tuesday night in Foxborough was not a choke-job, it was a full scale massacre. The Revs were humbled 4-0 by Joe Public, 6-1 on aggregate, Gregory Richardson hit a hat-trick for Mike McComie's charges.

Joe Public finished the 2007 TT Pro League season in third place, good enough to qualify for the CFU Club Championship, a regional competiton that determines the Caribbean's three representatives in the CONCACAF feature. This year hasn't gone quite as swimmingly for the Eastern Lions as the Macoya-based side currently find themselves sixth.

Many will point to New England's injuries and claim that as the reason for New England's loss, but what injuries can't account for is a lack of heart, a lack of desire from eleven men who are paid to play a game that billions of us play for free everyday. This type of flat, lifeless performance from professionals is simply inexcusable.

Chivas USA did manage to save a bit of face for the league, while they were beaten by Panama's Tauro, they did fight. Tauro do seem a respectable side, they finished second in Panama's ANAPROF to San Francisco who face an uphill battle to join them in the group stages as they currently trail Guatemala's Jalapa 1-0 on aggregate.

The happiest man in America tonight is United Soccer Leagues President Francisco Marcos. Marcos was sure to be watching as the USL's Montreal Impact managed a 0-0 draw away to Real Esteli in Nicaragua which after their 1-0 win at Stade Saputo assured the USL a presence in the group stage. 

Tomorrow should prove to be an interesting day at MLS HQ in New York City, and Thursday could prove even more interesting if the Puerto Rico Islanders can manage to get by Costa Rican giants Alajuelense tomorrow. But the big match will be at RFK Stadium in Washington as DC United face the Charleston Battery in the US Open Cup. DC are the darlings of MLS, and Charleston are one of the USL's most respected, and most senior clubs. Yes, tomorrow will be interesting.

On August 26th the long awaited CONCACAF Champions League kicked off for the first time. There have been rumors of a CONCACAF competition modeled on the famed UEFA Champions League for some time now, but now the rumors are finally a reality.

The competition features 24 clubs: 4 Mexican, 4 American, 2 Costa Rican, 2 Salvadorian, 2 Guatemalan, 2 Panamanian, 2 Honduran, 1 Belizean, 1 Canadian, 1 Nicaraguan, and 3 from the Caribbean Football Union (the CFU).

New Boys

While many of the household names are in the tournement, it's interesting to note a few lesser known teams who have found their way in. Among them are the Montreal Impact, a Canadian club playing in the United Soccer Leagues First Division, or the second tier of American soccer. The Impact qualified through the newly formed Canadian Championship, a three team cup featuring Canada's three professional clubs. The other two clubs taking part in the Canadian Championship were Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Championship may be expanded in future years to include more teams. It should be noted that Toronto FC cannot qualify for the CCL via MLS as the four American spots are allocated to the US Soccer Federation and not Major League Soccer.

Montreal are not the only USL team in the competition, they're joined by the Puerto Rico Islanders who took a long and winding road to reach the qualifying round. The Islanders qualified as one of three CFU representives, but didn't find out until very late. In the old CONCACAF Champions Cup the CFU could only qualify it's Champion to be represented in the tournement, therefore Puerto Rico thought they had come up short by only reaching the semi-final. However a third place playoff was played to determine the final spot, which Puerto Rico claimed. Puerto Rico qualifies for the CFU Champions Cup through it's reserve team, Seville FC Bayamon (formerly Islanders B), who play in Puerto Rico's newly formed Puerto Rican Soccer League.

Guatemalan club Deportivo Jalapa are also on their maiden voyage to international waters. The club from Southern Guatemala won the Liga Nacional for the first time in 2007.

This is also a first international trip for Chivas USA. The 2007 MLS regular season runners-up will try to win the cup in the absence of their Mexican counterpart. A point of interest is a potential matchup with Santos Laguna and former Chivas Guadalajara icon goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez.

Old Kings seek the new throne

The first CONCACAF Champions League promises to be an intersting affair. Cruz Azul are the most successful club in North American competition, but have not claimed an international honor since 1997, can la Maquina Celeste reclaim their crown, will Saprissa shake off their recent lowlites, or will a new king come from elsewhere?