CARSON, Calif. -- When it comes to building a championship side, looking at the Columbus Crew and the New York Red Bulls is akin to comparing a tortoise to a Tasmanian devil.
Columbus manager Sigi Schmid has spent the last three years methodically constructing his side. By comparison, New York counterpart Juan Carlos Osorio has taken a much less settled approach, as if his weekly paycheck depended on the number of lineup changes he makes. Yet both teams find themselves one game away from winning their first MLS Cup title.
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MLS Cup Sights & Sounds
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Nov. 21 headlines
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SIGHTS & SOUNDS
Schmid's methodology is one that has forgone the hoopla of a Designated Player in favor of a more blue-collar mindset, and the result has seen the Crew become the league's most consistent team, easing their way to the Supporters' Shield with several games to spare. Yet now his team finds itself in a position where none of that matters; not their league-best record, not their Eastern Conference title, and certainly not the legion of postseason awards the team has won.
But such consistency does breed confidence, and it's safe to say that the Crew have bags of it heading into Sunday's title decider. Columbus have proven to be unbeatable when scoring first, going 14-0-0 in league and Cup play, yet they've also been adept at coming from behind, winning or tying 10 of the 17 matches when they've conceded the first goal.
"What we can draw on is that we've been pretty even-keeled all season," said Schmid. "We haven't let many things derail us, whether we're down in the game, whether we have to win a game defensively or we win a game in a shootout. Our guys have stayed focused throughout it all and that's certainly what we're trying to bank on."
That belief is not only rooted in the familiarity possessed by the team's players, but in the flexibility of the Crew's personnel, with players like Emmanuel Ekpo and Steven Lenhart providing able cover for starters Eddie Gaven and Alejandro Moreno.
"It's not only about keeping a similar lineup on the field, but we can play a similar style no matter who we bring into the game," said Schmid.
Given the unpredictable movements of attacker Guillermo Barros Schelotto, gaining an understanding in the final third has taken some doing, but after scoring the second-most goals in the league, it's safe to say that the offensive telepathy is there for the Crew.
"It's time on the field that improves that cohesive effort," said Schmid of his attack. "We've been fortunate now that Robbie Rogers, Alejandro Moreno, Schelotto, or Gaven ... last year at this point they had maybe 20 games together. Now they have 50 games together. There is a huge growth factor that takes place between those two sets of games."
Some members of New York's roster are only now edging beyond the getting-to-know-you stage, although this isn't necessarily the fault of Osorio. Designated Player Claudio Reyna retired in midseason, while young stud forward Jozy Altidore was sold to Spanish side Villarreal during the summer transfer window. Add in the suspensions to goalkeeper Jon Conway and defender Jeff Parke and the season-ending injury to Seth Stammler, and it's clear that not all of Osorio's changes were the product of overzealous tinkering.
Yet injuries aren't the only explanation for Osorio's lineup tweaking, something for which he makes no apologies.
"Some people say that [the changes] don't show consistency. I disagree," said Osorio. "In my humble opinion, you have to see what other teams bring to the table, and decide what is your best system, what is the best way to play, and who your best players are in that particular position.
"As for my players, they all know that the rules go for everybody, and that they all have a chance."
Osorio's mad scientist approach has kept his players on a healthy edge, and the Red Bulls' manager pointed to the fact that all of Sunday's potential starters have played at least 10 games.
But what has really inoculated the Red Bulls from playoff elimination has been the jolt of confidence the team has received. And it came not from the team's stunning 3-0 triumph against Houston in the second leg of their semifinal playoff series, but in the 1-1 draw that preceded it.
"Although we didn't win that game, we felt like we did some things that we hadn't been doing lately," said forward Juan Pablo Angel. "We played with a desire and a commitment that we didn't have in the previous game [against Chicago] and we felt going to Houston that if we did the same that we did at home, we had a fairly good chance of getting a good result."
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