Case of sequel footing

Revolution face familiar final foe

FOXBOROUGH - When it comes to championships, the Revolution and the Houston Dynamo know each other well.

In two trips to the MLS Cup final, the Dynamo walked away champions, leaving the Revolution as runners-up back-to-back years.

Tonight, the teams meet again at Gillette Stadium in a championship setting, but this time it is for the SuperLiga title. The second-year tournament matched the top four MLS teams against the top four Mexican league clubs. The Revolution emerged the only unbeaten team (3-0-1), while the Dynamo went 3-1. The players said the results were a strong statement for MLS.

"This has been great for us," Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston said. "For us as a team, it's our first real experience playing competitive matches against Mexican teams. We realize we're in the middle of our season, and they're just beginning."

But the Revolution and Dynamo know what to expect out of each other.

In 2006, Houston defeated the Revolution on penalty kicks in the MLS Cup, and last season, the Dynamo came from behind for a 2-1 victory.

But when it comes to the regular season, the Revolution own the advantage. This year, they have won both meetings, taking a 3-0 victory in March and a 2-0 win in June.

Houston forward Brian Ching said the teams have a mutual respect. In the past few years, the Dynamo and Revolution have "probably been the two best franchises in the league," said Ching, "and meeting in the final again is pretty special."

While the history between the teams attracted attention yesterday, the controversy surrounding SuperLiga prize money continued to be a major issue.

The winning team will receive $1 million, but the players will split $150,000, a point of contention between the players' union and the league.

Yesterday, the union released a statement saying that the Revolution and Dynamo agreed to pool first- and second-place prize money and split it evenly.

"The players have made this decision to show their solidarity and in protest of the league's violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement with respect to the negotiation of bonuses for this tournament," the statement read.

However, MLS commissioner Don Garber said during a conference call last night that the move is in violation of the CBA.

At the start of the tournament, the Dynamo filed a grievance after the league blocked an attempt by the players to adjust the payout with ownership. Players were operating under the belief that last year's champion, Pachuca, gave most of the prize money to its players. Garber later said it was his understanding that the club dispersed $300,000 among the players.

The league maintains that the payout is supported by the CBA because the tournament, as an invitational, is "non-compulsory."

He added that owners are at financial risk because they are footing the bill for everything from travel to venues.

"The club is still playing for $1 million in prize money and the players are getting a pretty darn good payday for five games," Garber said.

Garber said he was disappointed that the issue was brought up again before the championship, especially in light of the success of two MLS teams.

"I believe that this league continues to need this kind of competition to prove to those naysayers that don't believe that our teams are as advanced as we in fact know they are," Garber said.

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com