↵The 2009 MLS Cup was shaping up to be a classic match ... and would have been, if only the right team had won. Let’s not play ‘storyline maker’ here, there is no doubt the wrong team won Sunday night for MLS. That’s the storyline. The league needed the photo of Beckham and Donovan standing arm in arm with the trophy above their heads. That photo would have been on the walls of the MLS offices for the next three decades. That was the moment the MLS needed heading into 2010, with one of the most famous faces in the planet in an embrace with the face of American soccer, holding an MLS Cup. It’s the image the league dreamed of when Beckham signed with the league. ↵
Major League Nightmare: Galaxy Lose MLS Cup on PKs
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↵↵ ↵The dream turned into a nightmare. Okay, fine, I’m being dramatic. But think about how the match last night, which ended with Real Salt Lake defeating the LA Galaxy in penalty kicks, could not have been what MLS wanted. Real Salt Lake had a great postseason run, but finished the season at 11-12-7 and snuck into the playoffs on tiebreakers. Pundits have ripped the NBA in the past for having teams qualify for the playoffs with a losing record, but this team just won its league’s championship. Not exactly the picture of excellence the MLS wants people to associate with its product.↵
↵↵It didn’t start out so poorly for LA. After scoring a goal to take a 1-0 lead, thanks in large part to the play of Beckham and Donovan (with Mike Magee burying the Donovan cross into the net), things stopped going the Galaxy way. After halftime, LA goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts collided with former Galaxy forward Robbie Findley, eventually needing to come out of the contest with a broken hand, but not before giving up the equalizer to Findley in a taste of sweet revenge. As the ball bounced around the goal area, it was Findley who directed it into the net, with Beckham his nearest defender. The play wasn’t a breakdown by Becks, but the image of the ball going past him as his leg outstretched (why not slide to try and stop that one?) was indeed noticeable. ↵
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↵Josh Saunders did a nice job in place of Ricketts, but when neither team could find the net again -- including Beckham's uninspired free kick in the 58th minute from just 25 yards out that went right into the wall -- the game seemed destined for penalty kicks. With RSL getting to the finals on the heels of goalkeeper Nick Rimando's performance in PKs in the semifinals, it was clear the underdog had a sudden and decided advantage. You can watch the highlights here.↵
↵↵Winning in PKs could have made the victory that much more iconic for the Galaxy. Unfortunately, fate had other ideas, especially for Landon Donovan, who inexplicably put his attempt over the bar. Saunders did his best to keep the Galaxy in the PKs, but eventually Rimando made too many saves and Real Salt Lake, in just their fifth year of existence, won their first MLS Cup, 5-4 on penalties.↵
↵↵Beckham and Donovan’s Galaxy team lost, and the dreams of that iconic photo for the league, and a huge push for legitimacy and notoriety for MLS from around the globe in advance of World Cup 2010, was lost with it. ↵
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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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