Major League Soccer and the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF) today unveiled the dates and venues for the 2010 edition of SuperLiga. The fourth installment of the tournament will begin Wednesday, July 14, just three days after the World Cup final.

The first round of the 2010 edition will be staged in an eight day span that will include doubleheader dates at Toyota Park in the Chicago area (July 17) and Robertson Stadium in Houston (July 18). Information for the semifinals and final to be played in August will be announced once teams qualify.

Competitive criteria determined which four teams would represent the United States in the tournament. Based on their 2009 regular season record, the top four MLS teams (who are not competing in the 2010-2011 CONCACAF Champions League) qualified for SuperLiga 2010: Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, Houston Dynamo and New England Revolution. The four invited Mexican clubs participating in this edition of SuperLiga will be known later this spring, following the conclusion of the current tournament.

In its history, SuperLiga has crowned two Mexican champions (Pachuca, 2007 and Tigres, 2009) and one U.S. champion (New England Revolution, 2008). All three championship games have been determined by penalty kicks. During the inaugural edition of SuperLiga, CF Pachuca defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. on Aug. 30, 2007. In 2008, the all-MLS final saw the Revolution defeat the Houston Dynamo at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. In 2009, Tigres UANL of Mexico defeated the Chicago Fire in front of a sell-out crowd at Toyota Park.

Groups and schedule for SuperLiga 2010 will be announced in the spring.

Three of DC United’s most common defensive four in 2009 are on the injured list and this year’s stabilizing international acquisition has joined them. Still, Coach Curt Onalfo has just enough talent left available to cobble together a journeyman back four for tonight’s Open Cup game against FC Dallas.

Julius James should be flanked by Rodney Wallace and either Carrey Talley or Devon McTavish, with either joining him in central defense. If that group can hold their focus throughout the game, those in front of them may be able to salvage a win.

The midfield is a bit better off with wings covered by Santino Quaranta and Cristian Castillo. Both are capable of creating and scoring goals. For their central partners, Onalfo has some interesting choices as both Clyde Simms and Brandon Barklage are at least possible participants.

Given their still recovering status and the proximity of the next three games, he would do well to give Simms the extra recovery time and use Barklage as a substitute. Kurt Morsink has covered the holding midfielder position well enough so far to deserve the start there, while Andy Najar showed enough energy and skill to be given a second straight chance to create.

His inexperience will place extra pressure on the defense and require his wing mates to play both ways all game. Overall team shape will be an absolute essential.

Onalfo has four choices up front, two of whom are physical players, one creative, and one speedy. Here, the coach has a dilemma. He can go for the first goal which is so often the key to a win, or he can try to tire Dallas and then bring in either speed or guile to test their legs late.

The prospect of overtime and even penalty kicks should bias his decision toward bringing Jaime Moreno, who is no longer a real 90 minute player, off the bench so that he can work against a slower defense. If United happens to be ahead, his control will help the team to finish the game with greater confidence.

The next choice is which physical player to start, Adam Cristman or Daniel Allsopp. Taking possible penalty kicks into account, Onalfo might want to pair Moreno with the latter to emphasize experience in the final moments of the game.

The concept would be to use the speed of Boyzz Khumalo and the strength of Cristman to set up the clever duo for the second half. That approach deliberately commits half of the 4 substitutes allowed in the Open Cup. Unlike the regular season, with a 3 substitute limit, there remains some small flexibility to shore up defense or midfield and hold an emergency reliever in case of injury.

Both United and Dallas come into the game hoping to turn around poor starts. Knockout games often mean boring games, where both sides play not to make a mistake. This one has the added pressure of the need for both teams to turn their season around.

For that reason, I think that Najar might provide the key element. He will inevitably have some turnovers while also providing some spark. Young players do best when they don’t know enough to be afraid. That requires Morsink to play especially conservatively, a style that his experience and closeness to the coach should allow.

If the players understand the plan, focus, and execute, they might, with some luck, advance to play either Real Salt Lake or San Jose to enter the Open Cup round of 32.

“Probably the best thing to do right now is to go to church.”–Peter Nowak, after the Philadelphia Union’s first 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls on April 24, which turned on a handball in the box by Michael Orozco. Three days later, the Union visited Red Bull Arena for a US Open Cup tie and lost by the same result. Nowak was less spiritual after the second match, or perhaps felt his team needed to make penance. Union players were forced to run wind sprints as punishment for their performance.

For more photos from the match visit the gallery.

Barely 72 hours after winning 2-1 in their first-ever meeting, the New York Red Bulls defeated the Philadelphia Union again by the same score. The setting for this Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup preliminary match, Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., was the same as well. The similarities end there however.

The Red Bulls fielded a squad made up almost entirely of second-stringers, with only one starter from Saturday’s MLS encounter. Philadelphia countered with only a modified version of its “A” team, and kept its best strikers, Sebastien Le Toux and Alejandro Moreno, on the bench. Yet New York dominated almost from the very beginning to the very end, with standout performances from rookies Tony Tchani and Conor Chinn (the latter supplying both Red Bulls goals).

In the end the 2-1 scoreline flattered Philly, whose gamble of playing Le Toux (he would enter as a second half substitute and in fact supply his team’s one goal) may end up costly. The Frenchman had to leave the field with an MCL injury and is pending evaluation of tests this morning. Initial fears, that he would be lost for the season, appear to have been overblown. But it puts head coach Peter Nowak’s strategy in a questionable light nonetheless.

Speaking of questionable (or at least unusual) coaching moves, Nowak had his team run laps after the match to “punish” them for their bad performance.

ASN Philly has an initial postmatch reaction with more to follow. Union supporters are also encouraged to visit their new forum where they can discuss the match (and other matters affecting the team) among themselves (no registration necessary. Your Facebook/Twitter/Yahoo/Google/Myspace account gets you in).

ASN’s New York Red Bulls page also has full coverage, including audio of head coach Hans Backe’s postgame press conference, player reactions and player ratings. RBNY fans, too, are encouraged to post to their team’s new forum.