Looking back at 2008

Boil it all down, and the year in soccer on our part of the globe finished like this: Columbus is on top of the MLS world, the United States is back on top of the women's soccer world and the U.S. men are coiled for their shot at joining the rest of the world at South Africa 2010.

In Major League Soccer, Sigi Schmid's third year of a three-year rebuild in Columbus proved to be everything the loyal Crew fans could desire. Schmid's hold at Crew Stadium, in all honesty, seemed a bit tenuous as the year began, for two previous seasons in Ohio had netted zero playoff appearances.

But as MLS fans watched perennial contenders Houston and New England struggle at times during 2008, Columbus was trotting along steadily, getting it done. By the time Schmid's men hammered New England in an emphatic statement game in August (a 4-0 result), they were clearly entrenched as title favorites. Sure enough, guided by MLS Defender of the Year Chad Marshall and a roster full of stable parts, they went on to claim the Supporters' Shield and then the MLS Cup.

The Crew's 3-1 win against the New York Red Bulls on a sunny southern California day was a victory lap of sorts for playmaker extraordinaire Guillermo Barros Schelotto. He followed a league MVP campaign with three assists that day, punctuating the trio with the cleverest of passes to Frankie Hejduk for the back-breaker insurance goal.

Columbus' time to shine was surely the story of 2008 in MLS. But quite a few sidebars deserved big mention, too.

Start with Columbus' opponent that day at The Home Depot Center. Manager Juan Carlos Osorio and his mystical playoff ways finally helped direct a wandering New York side into the league final. Major League Soccer's most high-profile club had never landed there before. But Dane Richards' blazing efforts down the right side helped steer the Red Bulls past Houston in perhaps the biggest upset to date in MLS playoff history. Then, in a memorable conference championship, Real Salt Lake pounded the posts (Three times? Are you kidding me?) but couldn't put one past young goalkeeper Danny Cepero, who was outstanding in replacement duty for Jon Conway.

The MLS All-Stars had been similarly outstanding back in August, as a packed house at appreciative BMO Field in Toronto watched Cuauhtemoc Blanco score a dandy for himself and set up one more. Then they saw hometown hero Dwayne De Rosario bang in a late penalty kick winner in the 3-2 victory against England's West Ham United.

Real Salt Lake finally broke the postseason seal, then maneuvered past Chivas USA in the first playoff round. But that was only half the tale of soccer success in Utah for 2008, for Dave Checketts' club christened beautiful Rio Tinto Stadium, which opened in October to rave reviews. Rio Tinto rose as the seventh stadium developed specifically for an MLS team. Also along the important stadium development front, officials in New York broke ground on Red Bull Arena, with a completion date set for late 2009.

Not all of the tales of MLS 2008 ended so swell, of course. San Jose's brave playoff push in its expansion season ultimately fell short. Darren Huckerby's midseason addition helped mold San Jose into one of the league's better sides over the campaign's last 10 weeks. But the early deficit was too much to overcome for Frank Yallop's smartly assembled group, which looks like a side to be taken seriously going forward.

And down the coast in Los Angeles, Ruud Gullit wasn't the managerial fit needed for the Galaxy. Despite his impressive playing resume internationally, Gullit never seemed to mesh with the side, guided ably by David Beckham and Landon Donovan. The results weren't pretty, as the Galaxy's potent offense could never quite mitigate a flimsy defense. Gullit resigned in August, nine months after accepting the post, as the team slogged through a seven-game winless slide.

It would soon become Bruce Arena's mess to clean up. The former U.S. boss couldn't do enough in the remaining time, however. Donovan claimed the league's Golden Boot with his breakout campaign of 20 goals, but the Galaxy were left behind as eight teams claimed playoff spots.

The year's end sees Bob Bradley's national team right where it needed to be: crouched and poised for a final dash toward World Cup 2010. A 1-0 win in Guatemala in a black-and-blue bruiser of a game -- just ask Eddie Lewis -- early in second-round qualifying drove the effort. From there, a steady series of hardy results kept the USA ahead of the pack, allowing them to advance into final-round qualifying with room to spare.

Along the way, Tim Howard gave fans reasons to believe he can be the next link in a chain of outstanding guards in the U.S. goal. (Howard's unshakable performance in a scoreless draw against Argentina was surely one of the U.S. Soccer highlights of 2008, even if it was only a friendly.)

Ahead of him, Oguchi Onyewu and Carlos Bocanegra rewarded Bradley's faith by establishing themselves as the region's preeminent central defensive pairing. Heath Pearce finally brought some stability to a left back spot that's been a trouble-maker for some time. Michael Bradley's midfield performance for club and country didn't go unnoticed. His gift for scoring and general outlay for Heerenveen in the Dutch Eredivisie earned the national team coach's son a late-summer transfer to Bundesliga side Borussia Mцnchengladbach.

Jozy Altidore and Freddy Adu continued to demonstrate their fabulous potential, if only in small bursts. Altidore's summer move from Red Bull New York to Spain's Villarreal fetched an MLS record transfer price. Meanwhile, Clint Dempsey and Donovan provided the bulk of the U.S. scoring as the Americans prepped for a hectic 2009. This year's schedule includes not only the important "hexagonal," the region's final round of World Cup qualifying, but also a stop in South Africa for the Confederations Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup back home.

Around the world, we witnessed the usual whirlwind of high-profile transfers and near-transfers. Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid? Wait for it ... wait for it ... uh, well, I guess it's not going to happen.

Indeed, the Portuguese dynamo stayed under Sir Alex Ferguson's watch at Manchester United after wrapping up his amazing 2007-2008 season at Old Trafford in May. Meanwhile, headlines danced over one very significant managerial "transfer" as well. Jose Mourinho, unemployed for a spell after leaving Chelsea, took the post at Inter Milan amid significant hullabaloo.

Speaking of high-profile managerial appointments (and proving once again that when you think you've seen it all, you'd better think again), Diego Maradona was named in the fall to guide Argentina's embarrassment of soccer riches. Where that one will land is anybody's guess.

During the summer, Spain finally shook that bothersome underachiever's label, prevailing in Euro 2008 with elegant, attacking soccer. Fernando Torres provided the goal as Spain, outclassing Germany, claimed its first title in 44 years in the 1-0 result in the tournament co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland. Holland's talented assembly also played with class but was undone in elimination play by a bold Russian effort.

Youngsters Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi guided Argentina to Olympic gold, but not until FIFA and a bunch of lawyers could untangle the messy politics of player availability. It was club vs. country as European heavyweights asserted their displeasure over losing important players to the Olympic tournament for a few weeks to begin the season. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled for the clubs, although some relented just the same, blessing their talent's visit to China.

That settled, Aguero scored twice within six minutes as Argentina danced past long-time rival Brazil in the semifinals in Beijing. Four days later, the Argentineans found a way past stubborn Nigeria to claim their second gold in four years.

No such off-field drama roiled the women's Olympic tournament. With a new direction and philosophy under manager Pia Sundhage, the U.S. rallied past Abby Wambach's absence due to injury to capture gold in Beijing. It was a splash of redemption after matters had unraveled so spectacularly a year earlier for a proud program during the 2007 Women's World Cup. (And it was also a bit surprising after a 2-0 loss to Norway to open the Olympic tournament had set off immediate alarm bells around the U.S. camp.)

But in the end, Hope Solo was big and brave in goal, and Carli Lloyd's extra time strike was enough to have the U.S. women lifting gold.

As for the U.S. men in the Olympics, a team with so much promise can only wonder what may have been but for a few minutes of wandering focus in a first-round match against the Dutch. Peter Nowak's team opened the tourney with a deserving 1-0 win over Japan, then had the talented Netherlands nearly beaten, standing on a late 2-1 lead. Alas, an ill-advised foul and a wall that needed to be better gave the young Dutchmen the slim little chance they needed.

That 2-2 tie arranged a dramatic first-round closer against potent Nigeria. When Charlie Davies' late header clanged off the cross bar, the stunned Americans were left holding a 2-1 loss, out of the running for elimination play.

What's ahead in 2009? A 15th side joins MLS as Qwest Field gets set to rock the Seattle Sounders FC way. With nearly half the field getting squeezed out of the playoff picture this time (eight teams in, seven teams out), the race for post-season soccer will be more ferocious than ever.

On the international front, Mexico comes calling in February as that final round of World Cup qualifying commences with a biggie in Ohio. By this time next year, we'll be discussing which team prevailed in the 14th MLS Cup, and we'll all be chattering about which countries negotiated their way into South Africa 2010.