In soccer, all matches are not created equal. All 30 MLS games do count toward the standings with the same weight, but in the midst of their league schedule, the Dynamo have a chance to produce a landmark moment in franchise history next Tuesday when they host five-time Mexican champion Pachuca in the SuperLiga semifinals.
In 13 years of Major League Soccer, 40 league teams have entered five competitive international tournaments. They have had mixed results, but fully half of the 40 teams that have entered tournaments have reached the semifinals. The real dividing line comes one step further, because only five MLS teams have been to the final of a meaningful international tournament, and only two have won a championship (D.C. United, 1998; Los Angeles Galaxy, 2000).
Against Pachuca, the Dynamo will have a chance to become the sixth MLS team to reach an international final when they host the two-time defending CONCACAF champion in the semifinals of the second SuperLiga tournament. This will be the Dynamo's fourth trip to an international semifinal, two in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup and two in SuperLiga, but they have so far failed to reach the championship round.
That should come as no surprise, given MLS history in such events. Much of MLS clubs' international success came from 1997-2000, when the Champions' Cup was held as a single elimination tournament at a United States venue. In tournaments based on multiple games (home-and-home play or a group stage), only one MLS team out of 30 has reached a tournament final, and that was the Los Angeles Galaxy in last year's SuperLiga.
Dynamo defender Craig Waibel, who was with the Galaxy when they won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 2000 and has played in more than 20 international matches, said MLS teams are taking more confidence into international play.
"I think the biggest thing is that up until 2-3 years ago, MLS teams always felt like underdogs," Waibel said. "With the Dynamo, we've felt like we should win. The attitude and the expectations are changing, and I'd be shocked if we don't see an MLS team winning a tournament soon."
So the Dynamo have a chance to do something nearly unprecedented on Tuesday night when they face a team with plenty of international prestige in its own right. Pachuca recently added a fourth star underneath its club logo to signify four continental championships, and in addition to those four, they won SuperLiga last season.
Los Tuzos have won the last two CONCACAF Champions' Cup titles but did not qualify for the upcoming CONCACAF Champions League due to their domestic performance, so SuperLiga is their lone shot at international glory for the time being. The Dynamo, however, have plans for international glory of their own.
"When we played Pachuca at home the first time, we beat them 2-0," Waibel said. "That's our expectation: to win and shut teams out. ... No disrespect to Pachuca - they're a great team - but we are as well."
Next Tuesday's match, therefore, will feature the host Dynamo intent on making up for two previous eliminations at the hands of Pachuca, facing a squad intent on taking its last chance for international success before returning to league play.
If past meetings and international history are any indication, passion, intensity and international pride will be on display next Tuesday night.
