| | LAS VEGAS -- D.C. United and the Chicago Fire take a break
from their Major League Soccer schedules this week to compete in
the 1999 CONCACAF Champions Cup, the eight-team international
tournament featuring teams from five countries.
Tuesday night's matches at Sam Boyd Stadium feature the Fire,
the defending MLS champions, against Joe Public of Trinidad and
Tobago, champions of the Caribbean, and Mexican champion Toluca
against Alajuela of Costa Rica.
On Wednesday, D.C. United faces Central American champion
Olimpia of Honduras, and Necaxa of Mexico will face Saprissa of
Costa Rica.
The semifinals are Friday and the finals Sunday.
With last Saturday's 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy,
United clinched first place in the MLS Eastern Division, secured
home advantage through the playoffs and won a club-record 11th
straight match.
Under first-year head coach Thomas Rongen, D.C. enters the
Champions Cup with 23-7 record. They are the defending winners of
the CONCACAF Champions Cup for club teams. The winning team in Las
Vegas will advance to the finals of the FIFA Club World
Championship next January in Brazil.
United is led by all-star forward Roy Lassiter, the leading
scorer in the MLS this year with 17 goals and 11 assists in 28
games.
"We're the team with the bull's eye on the back of our
jerseys," Rongen said, "but it's a great position to be in going
into this tournament. We rested seven of our first choice players
against Los Angeles and three others only played in the second
half. We're serious about winning another CONCACAF Champions Cup."
United marched through last year's tournament at their home
field, Washington's RFK Stadium, scoring 11 goals while holding all
three opponents scoreless.
Chicago is the defending MLS champion, but at 16-14 is still
looking to clinch a playoff berth. | |
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