The Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas, New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC will get an early taste of MLS competition when the four clubs compete in the inaugural Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
The tournament, which kicks off the re-launch of the complex and is part of the 2010 ESPN The Weekend, begins on Thursday, Feb. 25, with the Dynamo taking on the Red Bulls at 6 p.m. ET, followed by a clash between Dallas and Toronto at 8:30 p.m. ET. The winners will meet in the championship game on Saturday, Feb. 27, with the losers of the opening matches meeting in a third-place game earlier in the day.
"Bringing four Major League Soccer teams to Central Florida to play in the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic is very exciting and a big win for all of our local soccer players, fans, parents and spectators," said Disney Sports Area Manager Patrick Dicks. "ESPN The Weekend is serving as a major platform for these teams to prepare for the upcoming season and we are proud to have them be a part of this re-branding weekend."
The Dynamo have finished with at least a share of the Western Conference's best regular season record each of the past two seasons, and Dominic Kinnear's veteran side will be hoping to find the same success in 2010. Houston advanced to the Western Conference Championship in 2009, but were eliminated there by the LA Galaxy.
FC Dallas finished 2009 as arguably the league's hottest side, ultimately falling just short of an MLS Cup Playoff berth after a terrific second-half run. Schellas Hyndman developed an exciting attack around Budweiser Golden Boot winner Jeff Cunningham as FCD led the league in goals scored. Heath Pearce, who joined the team late in the season, and first-round SuperDraft pick Zach Loyd could add some defensive balance as FCD look to jump up into the Western Conference elite.
For Toronto and New York, the tournament will provide a testing ground for a pair of new head coaches. After making the jump to Toronto from Chivas USA, Preki will be looking to get the Reds over the hump in 2010 and into the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in club history. The Reds have a talent-laden roster, but underperformed at times in 2009, most notably in a season-ending loss to the Red Bulls that cost TFC a potential playoff berth. Preki, however, brings a playoff pedigree to the table, having turned Chivas into annual contenders in the West.
Hans Backe, a veteran European coach, will make his MLS coaching debut with the Red Bulls, looking to turn around a club that went from being a 2008 MLS Cup finalist to the bottom of the Eastern Conference in 2009. The Red Bulls did finish 2009 on a high note under Richie Williams, who returns to the club as an assistant. Former MLS All-Star Juan Pablo Angel is also back at the front of the attack, and Backe figures to take a long look at first-round SuperDraft picks Tony Tchani and Austin da Luz in the tournament.
Disney Sports plays host to some of the top youth soccer tournaments worldwide. Disney's Soccer Showcase is one of the largest and most elite recruiting tournaments in the country, pulling in over 500 boys and girls youth soccer teams that compete for both medals and collegiate scholarships. The Disney Cup International is one of the premier international youth soccer tournaments in the world and since 1999 has brought in teams from more than 20 countries.
Opened in 1997, the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a premier multi-sport venue for amateur and professional sports in the United States and has recently undergone changes to incorporate signature ESPN elements, ultimately taking the sports experience to the next level. High-definition video cameras, along with high-definition video screens and two Jumbotrons, have been added throughout the complex. Game highlights and action will be broadcast across the complex, in all Walt Disney World Resort rooms and will also feed into a new state-of-the-art digital center with a direct uplink to ESPN in Bristol, Conn.
Daily tickets to the Disney Pro Soccer Classic will include admission to the complex for both games and entrance to ESPN The Weekend events that are taking place at the complex. Tickets can be bought on-site at the complex box office or through ticketmaster. For a full list of ESPN The Weekend events and ticket packages, visit www.disneysports.com and www.espntheweekend.com.
