Major League Soccer fans will get a chance to watch top soccer talent this weekend with the start of the sixth annual Desert Diamond Cup.
The Colorado Rapids, Houston Dynamo, New England Revolution, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls and Sporting Kansas City represent a record number of MLS teams taking part in the Desert Diamond Cup competition this year.
They’ll open Desert Diamond Cup play Saturday with a tripleheader at Kino North Stadium.
The first match, at 1 p.m., pits the defending Cup champion New England Revolution against the Colorado Rapids.
The match is a preview of the teams’ season opener, scheduled for March 4. New England midfielder Scott Caldwell said Saturday’s matchup should help both teams.
“I don’t know how each team will do it or how many cards they’ll show… but it’s a good way to kind of see their system and familiarize ourselves with them a couple weeks before the season,” Caldwell said.
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The New York Red Bulls will face off against Sporting Kansas City at 3:30 p.m.
New York ended last season with the top seed in the Eastern Conference but was knocked off in the playoffs by the Montreal Impact in the conference semifinals.
The Red Bulls took part in the 2017 Desert Friendlies last month and were defeated 2-0 by the Portland Timbers.
Sporting Kansas City narrowly made the playoffs last season with the fifth seed in the Western Conference, but didn’t make it out of the knockout round of the playoffs.
Finishing off the night is the 6 p.m. matchup between New York City FC and the Houston Dynamo.
NYCFC finished last season with the second seed in the Eastern Conference, but was defeated 7-0 on aggregate by Toronto FC in the conference semifinals.
Arguably the most anticipated team to watch in the entire competition, New York City FC brings the most star power. Stars David Villa and Andrea Pirlo highlight a stacked roster.
Villa is the all-time leading goal scorer for the Spanish national team with 59 goals, while Pirlo won the 2006 World Cup with Italy and is regarded as one of the best midfielders of the 21st century.
On the other side, Houston finished last season as the worst team in the Western Conference and the second worst team in the entire league ahead of only the Chicago Fire.
The Dynamo have talented players like DaMarcus Beasley, who was the first American to play in four World Cups, and Boniek Garcia, who has the fifth most caps in Honduras national team history, but haven’t been able to put it all together over the past few seasons.
All three games will be held at Kino North Stadium and should draw a significant amount of fanfare considering the Desert Friendly matchup between Portland and Seattle two weeks ago drew a record crowd of 4,064 fans.
With the MLS preseason kicking off in earnest this weekend, the common message among players and coaches alike — especially from teams like New England that traveled away from inclement weather — is how grateful they are to play in an environment like Tucson.
“It’s the competition, it’s the complex, it’s the facilities, and when those all align, you get yourself ready for the season,” New England coach Jay Heaps said. “We look forward to coming here and know what kind of work we have to do when we get here.”
