DC United wins first match in 2009 Atlantic Cup (or what I like to call the "Capitals Derby")

DC United defeated the New York Red Bulls 3-2 in the first match of the 2009 Atlantic Cup. This match, which was played in 90 degree heat at Giants Stadium (114 degrees on the turf according to one of the MSG sportscasters) was one of the best that I have seen the Red Bulls play this season with both clubs getting plenty of chances.

DC United scored the first goal of the match at the 21st minute. The score stayed this way until halftime. The Red Bulls scored the equalizer at the 68th minute off the foot of Juan Pablo Angel (assisted by Jorge Rojas). This was Angel's second goal of the season. Six minutes later, Dane Richards scored the second Red Bull goal making the score 2-1 for New York. The score remained 2-1 until the final few minutes of the match when DC United's Luciano Emilio scored the equalizer at the 90th minute giving the DC United the chance to leave New York with at least 1 point but this was not enough for DC as stoppage time began and both clubs worked at breaking the tie in the final seconds. However, it was DC United that found the back of the net off the foot of Chris Pontius.

Although the Red BUlls lost, this was a great match to start off this season's DC-NY rivalry.

For more detailed coverage of the match, check out the official match report.

This regular season match was also part of what Major League Soccer calls the "Atlantic Cup" which is, according to Wikipedia, a trophy awarded to the winner of the regular season series between arch-rivals DC United and the New York Red Bulls.

Unlike the Honda Superclasico (the rivalry between the LA Galaxy and Chivas USA), this cannot technically be labelled as a "derby" as the clubs are not based in the same city although some rivalries like this one still use the term. In addition, as the Honda Superclasico also includes matches from the US Open Cup and MLS Cup playoffs (if the two clubs happen to meet) in addition to regular season matches, only regular season matches have been used to determine the Atlantic Cup winner since this cup was first created. To be honest, I find this to be somewhat silly. All matches between the clubs should be used no matter what they are used for. This would also intensify the rivalry as both clubs try to win the Atlantic Cup. Another thing that I don't like about this cup is the name. The name does not in any way fit the specific rivalry between these two clubs. Instead, it makes one think that Toronto FC and New England Revolution would be included. A better name would be the "Capitals Derby" (I95 Cup cannot be used because that would include the Revolution as well). In future blog posts, I will use my coined term of "Capitals Derby" to describe this bitter rivalry. The reason why I think this is the more proper name is because of one of the reason for the rivalry--the fact that while Washington DC is the political capital of the United States, New York is the economic center as well as the center of commerce and media.

I will use Atlantic Cup to describe any matches the Red Bulls play against all 3 clubs (Toronto FC, New England Revolution, and DC United) and I95 Cup for matches between the Red Bulls, Revolution, and DC). In other words, the Red Bulls will be playing this fierce rivalry for two additional cups (although two of them are fake, don't exist, and I'm just doing for fun for this blog). Matches in all competitions will be used.

Since the trophy's inaugural season in 2002, DC United has dominated the Atlantic Cup (Capitals Derby) winning 6 out of 7 of the cups. Remember, this is only using regular season results.

Last season (2008), the Red Bulls and DC United split their regular season matches (these are the only matches they played against each other last season). The series started on June 14, 2008 with a 4-1 DC United trashing of the Red Bulls at home. However, when DC visited New York on August 9th, the Red Bulls unleashed their revenge at Giants Stadium with a 4-1 win tying up the series as well as the goal difference. In the final match at RFK Stadium, both clubs looked forward to a heated match to break the deadlock only to have frustration veer its ugly head as the match ended in a scoreless tie. Despite the tie, Major League Soccer considers DC United the defending champion since they won the 2007 edition 6 points to 3 points and a 2-1-0 record. However, I disagree with this. Every season should have a clear winner. If they are all tied up at the end, they should look at the performance of the two clubs throughout the entire season (overall records and other domestic competitions that they played in as well as whether or not they would be playing in the Champions League). Both clubs have qualified for the Champions League preliminary round (DC United by winning the US Open Cup and the Red Bulls by being MLS Cup runners up). However, the Red Bulls come closest to qualifying for the group stage of the Champions League being that the MLS Cup champion gets seeded directly to the group stage. In addition, DC United did not even qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs and therefore the Red Bulls should be considered the "Capitals Derby" defending champions.

Unlike previous seasons, this season's series will only include two matches as the Red Bulls have been scheduled to play their extra matches against two other regional rivals, New England Revolution and Toronto FC--even better reason to include them in the Atlantic Cup. In order for the Red Bulls to be able to play all three clubs three times, Major League Soccer will have to extend the season to more than 30 matches (as it was in 2006). However, I don't see this happening because of the Superliga, US Open Cup, and Champions League making the MLS schedule congested--add the World Cup, Gold Cup and any other national team tournaments, and these players would never get a break.

The Red Bulls and DC United will meet again in a US Open Cup qualifier on May 20th. The winner qualifies for the final knockout stage of the tournament. All 8 MLS clubs that qualify are seeded into the third round. For more about the US Open Cup, check out its Wikipedia entry.

Aside from the Honda Superclasico, the Atlantic Cup is the second most bitter rivalry in Major League Soccer. The rivalry is partially due to the somewhat close proximity of the two cities (about 200 miles apart according to Wikipedia) and other incidents and clashes between the players of the two clubs. For more regarding the rivalry, click here.