jonathan kaplan
Check out our walking tour of Santos Laguna's Estadio Corona courtesy of our man on the ground Anthony Vasser. The Dynamo and Santos will square off in the second leg of their CCL quarterfinal series tonight at 7 p.m. on FOX Soccer.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying the work SI.com has been doing over the past few weeks chronicling the most power figures in sports. They started with a list of the top 50 most powerful people in sports and have done separate lists for media members (including commentators) and folks affiliated with individual sports.
Today, lead soccer writer Grant Wahl released his list of the top 50 most powerful people in American soccer and two names associated with the Dynamo made his list.
First was the tandem of Philip Anschutz, owner of AEG and Tim Leiweke, president of AEG. The two men came in at No. 6 on Wahl's list. Anschutz and Leiweke oversee the company that owns 100% of the LA Galaxy and 50% of the Houston Dynamo. AEG have been large proponents of the Dynamo since day one and were crucial in the club's development of BBVA Compass Stadium.
Coming in at No. 42 on the list is Dynamo president Chris Canetti. Canetti, who recently signed a three-year extension with Houston, has been with the club since 2006 and has served as president since Oliver Luck left for the AD position at West Virginia midway through 2010. Wahl had this to say about the Dynamo boss:
A star on the rise, Canetti has put together a successful operation in Houston while spearheading other important projects, including the recent Soccer Night in Newtown.
The rest of the list is flush with people involved in Major League Soccer, from owners to players to front office personnel. It's a good read for any American soccer fan.
In talking with Dynamo players and coaches after training on Monday, the word playoff was thrown around quite often. OK, maybe it was me asking them if Wednesday's match reminded them of a second leg of a playoff series, but since no one refuted the statement that counts, right?
Regardless, although the Dynamo are only one game into their MLS season, Wednesday's Champions League match against Santos Laguna is the type of situation the Dynamo have excelled in over the past seven years. Few coaches around Major League Soccer have been able to navigate a team through a home-and-away series better than Dominic Kinnear.
Since 2006, Kinnear and the Dynamo have participated in 12 home-and-away series. That stat includes the MLS Cup playoffs, CONCACAF Champions League and CONCACAF Champions' Cup. In those 12 series, the Dynamo have advanced eight times. Two of the four series losses came in the CONCACAF Champions Cup with a third coming in the Champions League and the fourth coming in the 2008 Western Conference semifinals.
In two of those eight wins, the Dynamo have closed out the series with a result on the road, something Houston will have to do on Wednesday if they want to remain alive in the 2012-13 Champions League.
| Dynamo in two-legged series (8-4 record all-time) | ||||
| Year | Opponent | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | vs. Chivas USA | L 2-1 | W 2-0 | Western Conference Semifinals |
| 2007 | vs. FC Dallas | L 1-0 | W 4-1 | Western Conference Semifinals |
| 2007 | vs. Puntarenas | L 1-0 | W 2-0 | CONCACAF Champions Cup Quarterfinals |
| 2007 | vs. Pachuca | W 2-0 | L 5-2 | CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinals |
| 2008 | vs. Municipal | T 0-0 | W 3-1 | CONCACAF Champions Cup Quarterfinals |
| 2008 | vs. Saprissa | T 0-0 | L 3-0 | CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinals |
| 2008 | vs. New York | T 1-1 | L 3-0 | Western Conference Semifinals |
| 2008-09 | vs. Atlante | T 1-1 | L 3-0 | CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals |
| 2009 | vs. Seattle | T 0-0 | W 1-0 | Western Conference Semifinals |
| 2011 | vs. Philadelphia | W 2-1 | W 1-0 | Eastern Conference Semifinals |
| 2012 | vs. Sporting KC | W 2-0 | L 1-0 | Eastern Conference Semifinals |
| 2012 | vs. D.C. United | W 3-1 | T 1-1 | Eastern Conference Finals |
| 2012-13 | vs. Santos Laguna | W 1-0 | ??? | CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals |
READ MORE: Dynamo with strong record against teams from Liga MX
Dynamo defender Corey Ashe went in-studio on Sunday for the Keeper Notes Soccer Show. Check out the podcast of Ashe's interview.
Part 1
Part 2
A few months ago, when we first decided to commit to our digital platforms and provide more Dynamo coverage than ever to our fans, we made the decision to also use that same philosophy with regard to our gameday magazine. It was determined that our magazine, in the current form, was not reaching the audience that we desired and we were looking for new ways to engage our fans with the new content we were creating.
Thus sprang the idea of the digital gameday magazine. It's something that professional clubs around the world have had much success with and something that clubs have found to be an intricate part of their fans' gameday experience.
Ideally, we would have launched our first digital gameday magazine prior to the first match. Unfortunately, we underestimated the process of getting a magazine approved through Apple's Newsstand.
So after four rejections from the App Store, we are proud to announce that our first digital gameday magazine is now available for download for iPhone users. Moving forward, we hope to have each gameday magazine available for download at least 36 hours prior to each match. It will also be available on multiple platforms so fans who do not have an iPhone will be able to download and enjoy the content.
The first edition includes the following features, plus more:
Welcome to 2013 with Dynamo president Chris Canetti
Xs and Os with Dominic Kinnear
Kickin' it with Corey Ashe, presented by BMC Software
Houston Dynamo home opener history
Road to the first team, presented by Statoil
We thank everyone for their patience and welcome their feedback on the first edition. Also, if you have content ideas that you would like to see in future editions please let us know in the comments section below.
Look back on Saturday's private event for Dynamo season ticket holders which included the 2013 Fire Sale, an intra-squad scrimmage and an autograph session.