Sunday night the New England Revolution kick off their SuperLiga debut with a match against Oswaldo Sanchez and Santos Laguna. Aside from the lure of a $1 million prize to the winning team, Coach Steve Nicol sees the tournament as a developmental step for his young squad. “The players that haven’t played against Mexican teams, some of the guys who haven’t been involved in international games before will get a lot of benefit from playing a couple games. It’s a new look, so to speak, a different style of playing.”

Taylor Twellman, who played two seasons with 1860 Munich in Germany, earned 29 caps and scored six goals for the MNT and has been actively recruited by England’s Preston North End, is without a striking partner with the proven ability to hold the ball against such competition. Adam Cristman, with six goals this season, has had the most success in winning and keeping possession, but is unlikely to play due to a sprained toe. Kenny Mansally, who possibly lost his starting position because of extensive Gambian national team duty, had notable difficulty in holding the ball in the Revs recent Open Cup matches against USL 2 teams. Sainey Nyassi’s speed and ability to switch quickly from forward to defender provides a real threat, but he frequently gets walled off by defenders and takes questionable shots instead of finding open players. Kheli Dube, with four goals and three assists this season, is the likely starting forward in the Santos Laguna match.

“At the start of the season, teams obviously didn’t know what he was capable of, but then he comes in and scores goals and plays well,” Nicol said of Dube. “I think that will have worn off now and teams will know what they’re up against. So now we’ll see what he’s made of because he’s obviously going to get more attention.” But Nicol is pleased he has a choice of strikers. “It’s more a bonus than anything else. The fact that everyone is chipping in is great.”

The Revolution’s back-line and midfield is all about experience, and collectively produced one of their sharpest performances of the season in the first half of the July 4, 2-1 victory over the LA Galaxy. Although defender Chris Albright professed to not bringing anything personal to the match against his former team, fans saw a great deal more of him than in other games with the Revs. Albright showed more pace and was more proactive, sprinting forward to thwart plays and stage attacks. Michael Parkhurst too, was on top of his game, out-thinking LA forwards and winning the ball before they became dangerous.

The second half at LA was a different game though and the Revolution’s collective resolve deteriorated from the addition of Landon Donovan and the visible ability of David Beckham. To hold the lead, which eventually was cut by Beckham, the midfield retreated and left Twellman to jog about by himself in the top half. Santos Laguna, a more skilled unit than the Galaxy, will take more opportunities if the Revolution can’t maintain an attacking presence and distribute the field throughout the match.

This is the second annual run for SuperLiga, a tournament that pits four top U.S. clubs against four Mexican clubs from July 12 – August 5. The Revolution earned their spot as a finalist in the 2007 MLS Cup, and compete with U.S. teams DC United, Houston Dynamo, and Chivas USA. The Mexican entrees are Atlante, CD Guadalajara, and Pachuca, who face the Revs Wednesday, July 16 at Gillette.

July 13, 8PM: SuperLiga: Santos Laguna @ New England Revolution
TV: Telefutura, mlsnet.com. , superliga2008.com

SuperLiga 2008 Schedule

Saturday, July 12
D.C. United vs. CD Guadalajara (RFK Stadium – Washington D.C.)
Houston Dynamo vs. Atlante (Robertson Stadium – Houston, TX)

Sunday, July 13
NE Revolution vs. Santos (Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, MA)
Chivas USA vs. Pachuca CF (Home Depot Center – Carson, CA)

Tuesday, July 15
D.C. United vs. Atlante (RFK Stadium – Washington D.C.)
Houston Dynamo vs. CD Guadalajara (Robertson Stadium – Houston, TX)

Wednesday, July 16
NE Revolution vs. Pachuca CF (Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, MA)
Chivas USA vs. Santos (Home Depot Center – Carson, CA)

Saturday, July 19
D.C. United vs. Houston Dynamo (RFK Stadium – Washington D.C.)
Atlante vs. CD Guadalajara (Buck Shaw – Santa Clara, CA)

Sunday, July 20
Chivas USA vs. NE Revolution (Titan Stadium at Cal-State Fullerton – Fullerton, CA)
Santos vs. Pachuca CF (Pizza Hut Park – Frisco, TX)

Tuesday, July 29 – Semifinal 1 (Location TBD)

Wednesday, July 30 – Semifinal 2 (Location TBD)

Tuesday, August 5 – Final (Location TBD)