It may be a little earlier than he wanted, but D.C. United coach Tommy Soehn says his team's Copa Sudamericana draw against Chivas de Guadalajara gives D.C. the chance to attend to some unfinished business. United played Chivas less than two months ago in a closely contested tie in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals, drawing the first match, 1-1, at RFK Stadium and then losing the second, 2-1, in Guadalajara two weeks later.
"There's some unfinished business on our side," United coach Tom Soehn said. "I truly wanted to see them in the tournament, but probably not this early." Why? Because Soehn and company were hoping for a weaker team from Bolivia, Peru or Ecuador in the round of 16 series; the winner will likely play a team from Brazil or Argentina.
United earned a spot in the Copa Sudamericana, South America's second-most important tournament after the Copa Libertadores, by finishing third in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. In 2005, United bowed out of tournament 4-3 on aggregate at the hands of Universidad Catolica of Chile. Given its poor start to the 2007 MLS season, United will have to tighten up its performances if it expects to do well in the mid-September series, which takes place in the middle of crunch time at the end of the MLS season.
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