With the Audi 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs Conference Semifinals put to bed, we've got eight postgames worth of commentary to dig through, and the insta-take fusillade was firing full force.
Piatti Rips Red Bulls
The Quote
The Context
Montreal won Leg 2, 2-1, at Red Bull Arena. Ignacio Piatti scored the backbreaker. And the breathtaker. The Red Bulls – who again dominated the Eastern Conference for the 34-game regular-season slate – went home after a quiet exit before so much as sniffing MLS Cup.
The Call
Correct | The truth, she is a fickle mistress in these electoral times, and you can interpret the data all you want until it comes to this tally for the recent RBNY run: 3 finishes atop the East, 2 Supporters' Shields and 0 MLS Cup Final appearances in four otherwise successful seasons. Comments lesser than these have birthed rivalries, and Piatti – at the peak of his powers – isn't going anywhere. Neither are Montreal.
Bruce Buries Brian
The Quote
“Maybe if our goalkeeper’s technique is a little better, maybe he has a chance to make the save. [Shkelzen Gashi] hit a good ball, the ball moved, you could see it knuckle a little bit. I don’t think he was necessarily ready for the shot. But the shot hits off the post and goes into the side netting. What more can you say? It’s the difference in the game.”
—LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena
The Context
The Call
Meh | Bruce was himself a 'keeper, so we'll credit the analysis of Brian Rowe's read on its face. But that was A SHOT. Weird one for a coach who often softens that type of context-free, player-specific criticism in public. If anyone on the Galaxy remembered how to shoot a PK, Rowe's out here getting credit for keeping LA running the #RacetoSeis.
Tim Takes It Up a Notch
The Quote
“I think you have two types of DPs. You have the guys that come here to collect checks, and there’s been a lot of them. And I think you have a bunch of guys who are whole-hearted, who want to put the team on their back and feel a part of the organization. That’s where I am, to be honest. It keeps me awake at night.”
—Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard
The Context
The Call
#CmonSon | Let's be real: Tim Howard has been very good for Colorado. He jumped in mid-season and kept the Rapids on their record-setting home pace – a 0.41 goals against average! – and just made the clinching save in a penalty-kick shootout to push Colorado through to the Western Conference Championship. And I'll confess to no knowledge of the man's sleeping habits. But we've gotta hit the hold up button on that one … if we could only reach it between the self-congratulatory backslaps. That said, head coach Pablo Mastroeni basically backstopped that entire comment during his postgame presser, and it's been a worst-to-first run so we can forgive a single moment of showing no chill.
David, Despondent
The Quote
“It’s not about one thing or two things, it’s not about giving up a lot of goals or score a lot of goals. Everything is bad.”
—New York City FC forward David Villa
The Call
Wait 'til next year! | Tough one for the NYCFC captain, who had a stellar season submarined by a Toronto FC defense that kept David Villa at four-plus touches fewer than his 6.9 average this season. New York City went down with a rough, record-setting 7-0 aggregate defeat in this postseason debut and will likely spend the offseason recalibrating how they can maximize the remaining years of high-level play looming for their MVP candidate. Villa, who said he's going to have trouble sleeping after this one, has kept it classy and accessible throughout his two-year run. Hear, hear.
Proper Perspective for FCD
The Quote
“Today it kind of seems like a failure, but tomorrow it will be like this was a good season overall. If you told us we were going to get two trophies this season, we would have taken that at the beginning.”
—FC Dallas forward Tesho Akindele
The Context
… But also this!
… and this!
The Call
Fair points | I think Tesho Akindele hit the nail on the head: FC Dallas probably feels terrible after that loss, which ended their hopes of achieving the first domestic treble of any MLS club. But they scored a double! That's awesome! They've got Papi, they've got a plan and they'll be back.
