The Pan-Pacific Championship panned

The reviews of the first ever Pan-Pacific Championship are in and we've got a flop on our hands. Even with David Beckham and hometown hero Brian Ching on the pitch, the combined attendance for the two double-headers was a mere 38,215. On top of that, the field turf was horrible.

So what to make of this tournament? There was no feeling of pressure to win like in SuperLiga matches, so it looked and felt like the pre-season it is. Perhaps the biggest thing to come out of it was the realization by many in the US that the J-League in general and Gamba specifically is a quality outfit, but I doubt that is the direction MLS's marketing arm SUM wanted the attention to flow.

But all is not lost. Perhaps the PPC could live on just not in Hawaii. A rotational system between nations involved would probably increase attendance and make it easier to find a quality stadium.

Or maybe it should shift into a MLS vs. J-League competition. This would make sense to me as both are in pre-season and both have a league winner (Supporters' Shield/J-League Champs) and Cup Winner (MLS/Emperor's Cup) so it would be easy to select four sides?

A final idea would be to move it to the middle of the season like SuperLiga, although I don't know if the J-League schedule would easily allow for such a thing.

In the end, I enjoyed watching the games because they let me see what LA & Houston are experimenting with ahead of the season and they gave me a chance to see two foreign teams in action that I normally only read about. However, as much as I enjoyed it, if MLS really wants this to be taken seriously, major changes need to happen.

One last thing, I wonder if this lack of an audience for a Beckham event is the sign of a struggle ahead or just a momentary glitch?

Osaka dominates Houston, wins Pan-Pacific title; Beckham shines in third place match

Houston 1-6 Gamba Osaka

Has Houston ever been tossed around the way they were last night against J-League Cup Champions Gamba Osaka? All over the pitch, the team looked the weaker side as Gamba's technical control combined with their lethal counter-attacks gave them the game. Brazilian striker Bare made the top defense in MLS look like amateur night with his unbelievable ability to sneak right past his mark and into one-on-one situations with Pat Onstad.

The good news for Houston, no team in MLS has a striker quite like Bare, plus this is pre-season so better to find out these issues now (Boswell still has a ways to go before he is fully integrated into their backline).

Really it was the defensive questions the linger the most for me as they were beat again and again on the break, which is a sign of poor marking and lack of communication. During 2007, Houston was one of the best at stopping breaks but they have some work ahead of them if they want to repeat such events.

Goals: HD: Ricardo Clark 11'
GO: Bare 14', 26', 60', Lucas 64', Bare 72', Masato Yamazaki 78'

Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 Sydney FC

David Beckham was again the force for LA as Donovan and Ruiz both sat out. Really Beckham didn't do much different from Wednesday night, it is just that a) his team was finally able to control and finish has great service and b) the opposition didn't have the attacking talent to overly exploit LA's defensive weakness. Both LA's goals were the result of Beckham placing the ball right to the feet of the goal scorer.

Goals: LA: Ely Allen 3', Josh Tudela 45'
SFC: Brendan Renaud 42'


The attendance for Saturday night's doubleheader was 23,087, which is almost 10,000 more then were there Wednesday. This is much better but still looked a bit empty. Now that the first Pan-Pacific Championship is over the question becomes what to make of it? None of the four teams were fielding their best roster, which lead to a feeling of meaninglessness, but there was something of interest that came from these games. The way that Gamba played both MLS sides shows something as neither LA nor Houston could really contend with them. Perhaps the best thing that could come out of these few days in Hawaii would be more (as in any) meaningful matches between the two leagues. With the schedules running at similar times (March-Oct), it would seem like an opening is available.

LA gets dumped by Osaka, Houston smash Sydney - Pan-Pacific Championship Semifinal wrap

The first round of the Pan-Pacific Championship is over and if there was any surprise, it was just how poorly LA and Sydney played. Houston and Osaka put together quality performances so the final on Saturday night should be a good game.

LA Galaxy 0-1 Gamba Osaka

If LA fans were hoping to see a new look to their club, they were sadly disappointed. The best thing they can say about the club is Donovan and Ruiz were not in the lineups, so it is not really a full test.

That said, neither of those players play in the backfield and that is where Gamba was smacking the Galaxy. The LA backline of last year was in full force as they consistently missed their marks, failed at their clearances and were otherwise schooled by Gamba's Mineiro. It also didn't help that new keeper Steve Cronin looked shocked for the first 15 minutes (he did improve greatly after his opening mistakes).

Up top, nothing. Time and time again Beckham would provide great service only to see the forward turnover the ball within two touches. Obviously Carlos Ruiz will give the team a much better chance up top, but the lack of depth from the bench could unhinge the team as the season progresses.

LA did look a lot better in the second half, but that was due in large part to Beckham dropping back and getting more involved in the defense. Interestingly enough, Beckham also moved into a forward position for chunks of the second half, which did give LA much better looks in front of net. I don't think this was an official thing as much as Becks just getting tired of his passes going nowhere with the forwards. On a non-Beckham second half note, backup keeper Josh Wicks had a strong outing, but he didn't take as many shots as Cronin (13-5).

Gamba proved themselves to be a fantastic technical team with just about every player capable of placing balls right where they need to go. Their speed also gave LA fits and their three attackers were constantly causing 7 or 8 LA players to drop back to defend.

Goal: GO - Mineiro 5'


Houston Dynamo 3-0 Sydney FC

Houston still has it. The team that we last saw winning the MLS Cup was back in good form last night. Their defense was tough, their midfield was smart and their forwards were troublemakers. That said, they were playing a Sydney FC side that didn't even have enough players to dress a full 18, so make of this what you will.

Brian Ching looks to be back from injury as he was finding spots and setting up shots. Dwayne De Rosario is a monster and his shots from outside the box only seem to be getting better (his goal was marvelous). Chris Wondolowski knows how to make his runs and will challenge for a starting spot no matter whom Houston brings in. Stuart Holden continued his great times on ESPN by getting yet another goal. Ricardo Clark and Richard Mulrooney were outstanding.

Okay, you can pretty much run down the Dynamo roster and give everyone a good mark, but I'm not sure how much of that is due to Houston being fully together or the lack of play by Sydney. If there is a dark spot for Houston, it might be Boswell who was not tested much but when he was, make a couple little mistakes that others had to fix.

The only other negative that came from this game for Houston is the possible injury to De Rosario as he came out in the 58' with what appeared to be a pulled hamstring in his left leg.

Goals: Dwayne De Rosario 27', Stuart Holden 28', Chris Wondolowski 43'


So what about the PPC? It is obvious none of these teams are taking it overly seriously and with only 15,128 people showing up to watch (and a lot of them left after the first game), it seems that the locals are not amazed. Perhaps that will change for the Saturday games, but in the end, this tournament has a long, long way to go before people start to care. I just find it odd that ESPN will air these matches but don't fight to get the Concacaf Champions Cup games. I guess I just don't understand television.

Houston to face Sydney in Pan Pacific Championships

The MLS Champions finally know who they will face in the inaugural version of the Pan Pacific Championships (PPC) next week in Hawaii as Sydney FC won the right to represent the Australian A-League after they were knocked out of the playoffs this past weekend.

Sydney FC is a tough team with some quality to it, however, they are in the middle of a major roster problem as they currently have only 16-players available for the trip. This along with their shock playoff defeat, should give the upper hand in the match to Houston, however the Dynamo are still in the early stages of pre-season and have some injury issues of their own to deal with.

The PPC will involve two semifinal games with the losers facing off for third place and the winners go for the cup. The other semifinal match will see Japan's J-League Cup winner Gamba Osaka take on the SuperLiga runner-ups LA Galaxy (Pachuca were invited as SuperLiga winners but turned it down).

All four matches will take place in Hawaii with kickoff times at 6pm HT (GMT -10)/11pm ET and 8:30pm /1:30am ET (semis 20 Feb, finals 23 Feb). I can't find anything definitive, but I read somewhere that ESPN Classic will air the games in the US. Update: It is official, Adrian Healy and Allen Hopkins have been handed the horrible assignment of February in Hawaii as ESPN Classic and ESPN360.com will indeed air the matches live in the US.

It will be interesting to see how the teams treat these games. With LA, Houston and Gamba in pre-season mode and Sydney lacking a bench, who knows what we will see out there. Then again, a trophy is still a trophy, so maybe everyone will step it up.