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Chivas triumphed at InterLiga Sunday at Home Depot Center.

I wandered around the stadium taking photos and soaking up an amazing atmosphere that you don't see at MLS games. Here's a sampling, beginning with some frenetic Morelia fans.

This was as close as Los Angeles residents and Chivas fans Claudia Gonzales, 27, and Aida Aguilar, 33, could get to the action. They didn't have tickets, so they sat outside the stadium.

"Didn't I tell you never to call me at work?"

Daddy goat and his kid

A lone security guard (left) contemplates the solitude of the empty tennis venue adjacent to the packed soccer stadium.

Four Mexican teams.

Two spots in the Copa Libertadores at stake.

Two games at sold out Home Depot Center: at 4 p.m. it's Atlas (known as the Zorros and one of three teams from Guadalajara) against Pachuca (winners of five Mexican championships in the last 10 years) and at 6:30 p.m. CD Guadalajara (will Panchito Mendoza of Chivas USA be in the starting lineup for the mother club at his home stadium?) faces Morelia.

Both games are live on Fox Sports Espanol.

Previews: Atlas-Pachuca.

Chivas-Morelia.

I'm going to wander around the HDC with a camera during the games and soak up the atmosphere. With any luck, I'll post a few shots tonight.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend: David Beckham starts on the bench for AC Milan at 11:30 a.m. on Fox Soccer Channel in a Serie A game against Roma, while Marta could be officially confirmed as a L.A. Sol player as soon as today.

Home Depot Center has its first capacity crowd of the new year (and it's a real sellout).

No $20 grass berm tickets remain for Sunday's InterLiga finals, officials announced late Saturday.

From the InterLiga press release:

A capacity crowd of 27,000 will see the top two finishers from both Group A and Group B of InterLiga when Pachuca battles Atlas at 4:00 p.m. PT, followed by CD Guadalajara, known worldwide as "Chivas", against Morelia.

Due to the capacity crowd, fans are recommended to arrive early and enjoy Futbol Fiesta, an interactive fan zone in Lot 13 near the North West entrance to the stadium.

It's the fifth time the Interliga finals has sold out at the HDC.

I plan to blog from the games, so join me then.

Today's "this is the off-season?" news:
*Landon Donovan supplied the assist for Bayern Munich's equalizer today in a friendly played in Dubai and was one of only two players to play the entire game for the Germans in a 3-2 win.

The Bayern Web site observed Donovan almost had a goal and described the assist as "an intelligent pass into the inside-right channel," which sounds exactly like a Donovan created goal.

More here.

*David Beckham though will start on the bench Sunday in his first Inter (doh!) AC Milan Serie A game. The encountwer with Roma is live at 11:30 a.m. on Fox Soccer Channel.

*Lastly, the InterLiga final four for Friday is set with Club America feeling foolish/appearing over-confident/ or ? (take your pick because sadly I was not at the game Friday in Carson) as they crashed out of the tournament thanks to a second half stoppage time goal against Atlas.

Details here.

Precious few tickets are left for the two games Sunday that begin at 4 p.m., incidentally. Only $20 general admission tickets on the grass berm or $125 lawn chair seats next to the sideline are available.

Highlights of the Club America-Atlas game are here:

Highlights of the Chivas-Tigres game are here:

In a perfect world, I'd be at Home Depot Center watching Chivas and Club America in Interliga action right now.

Alas, a major project intervened and I'm still stuck at the office.

Fans are going out in droves though and InterLiga officials have decided to open the grass berm for Sunday's finals to meet the demand. The general admission tickets are $25.

In other news today:
*Paula Bravo is out at the Galaxy as director of soccer and returns to the Colorado Rapids, where he played four years, to assume the post of technical director there. He became expendable with Coach Bruce Arena assuming player personnel decisions as GM and Dave Sarachan the associate head coach.

Bravo, 40, joined the Galaxy as an assistant coach under Frank Yallop and became director of soccer in August 2007. His duties included scouting and player evaluation (that didn't go so well did it?).

"Paul has proven himself as a great evaluator of talent," said Rapids Managing Director Jeff Plush. Well, OK, then.

*Meanwhile, the Galaxy reacquired midfielder Stefan Miglioranzi today from the Columbus Crew today in exchange for a conditional fourth round 2010 draft pick.

He made three appearances as a substitute after joining the Galaxy in September 2006 and was traded to the Crew in January 2007 for a third round draft pick. The 31-year-old, who also played in the English lower divisions for eight years, made just seven starts last year for the MLS Cup-winning Crew. Doesn't exactly sound like a pivotal player move.

*Finally, U.S. Women's National Team Coach Pia Sundhage named a squad of 25 players today for an HDC training camp Jan. 20-Feb. 4 ahead of the annual Algarve Cup.

The camp marks the return of Abby Wambach, who suffered a broken leg last summer in the run-up to the Olympics.

Complete details and the full squad is here.

Toluca beat UAG 2-0 in the second game of the night, but fell one goal short of advancing on goal difference after Morelia put three unanswered goals past stunned Pachuca, already through to the next round, in the opener at Home Depot Center.

(Full disclosure: I was unable to attend and frankly worked late in hopes I get out earlier Friday to see Chivas and Club America).

Game basics here.

Details here and here.

The stadium in Carson is sold out Friday for the visits of Club America and CD Guadalajara, but tickets stiil remain for tonight's game at 6 o'clock between
Morelia and Pachuca and the second half of the doubleheader between Toluca and Ticos.

The games are also live on Fox Sports Espanol.

Those two stories above are about it for English-language coverage of InterLiga, although fans needing to catch up on who the teams involved in the tournament hired and fired in the Mexican off-season can catch up here.

And speaking of comings and goings, press box colleague Luis Bueno translates a Mexican media report that appears to suggest Panchito Mendoza has essentially already left Chivas USA for CD Guadalajara for good.

Carson's Home Depot Center will be at capacity Friday for two games featuring Mexico's biggest clubs, Chivas and Club America.

InterLiga officials announced this afternoon the games had sold out.

Tickets for Thursday's doubleheader - between Morelia and Pachuca and a nightcap that pits Mexican champion Toluca against Tecos - as well as Sunday's finals are also "going fast," officials said.

Capacity crowds have watched the finals for the last three years in succession.

Tickets are available by calling 877-CHIVAS-1.

Defending InterLiga champion Club America beat Tigres tonight 3-1 before a capacity crowd in Frisco, Texas to move atop the Group B standings.

The Chivas-Atlas game is under way as I write this.

Updated: Chivas also won.

Tickets to Friday's InterLiga doubleheader at Home Depot Center are already at a premium, with an overflow crowd expected and $20 tickets to the grass berm on sale for the 6:30 p.m. Atlas-Club America game that's followed by Tigres UANL against CD Guadalajara.

Also today, former Galaxy defender Ugo Ihemelu and former Chivas USA defender Jason Hernandez were added to the U.S. Training Camp roster in Carson replacing Clarence Goodson and Cory Gibbs.

Finally, much disparaged former Chivas USA striker Matt Taylor (the butt of many a joke in the HDC press box) does a Q&A with fans at Web site Yanks Abroad. The former UCLA striker is a nice guy and deserves his day in the sun. Read the article here.

Updated: Can you say cap space? Galaxy defender Eduardo Dominguez has returned to previous Argentine club Huracan on loan, according to the club's Web site. Dominguez, who appeared hopelessly out of his depth in his two starts for the club, is still listed on the Galaxy's roster as of this writing with no word on his status.

Updated: The Galaxy confirmed Wednesday Dominguez was released.

Game story.

Standings and tournament details.

There's another night of games Tuesday in Texas before the tournament moves to Home Depot Center in Carson. I'll have more on the tournament in Tuesday's column.

The InterLiga game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Espanol, with the Tigres-Atlas match preceding it.

And here are last night's results.

InterLiga, the manufactured Copa Libertadores qualifying tournament for Mexican clubs, opens tonight in Dallas, although most pundits and fans are looking past tonight's doubleheader at the Chivas-Club America game Saturday.

Club America, which has spent lavishly in the offseason, is attempting to send a message to its fierce rival in a big way; CD Guadalajara has reportedly just had a bid for Tottenham Hotspur's Giovani dos Santos rejected.

InterLiga comes to the Home Depot Center Thursday in Carson and tickets are still available.

Previews of this weekend's games are here and here.

Tonight's action begins at 5 on Fox Sports Espanol.

They actually went on sale Friday at Home Depot Center, but I neglected to mention it.

The highly recommended tournament, with doubleheaders at the HDC set for Jan. 8,9 and 10, is fast approaching.

Tournament details here.

Chivas USA is offering a special InterLiga ticket deal starting at $25 that also includes a ticket to the club's MLS opener.

Here are the details from the (edited) press release:

The special offer gives fans three games for the price of two, between seeing four Mexican First Division clubs in a doubleheader, as well as Chivas USA's first match of the 2009 MLS season.

The first InterLiga doubleheader at Home Depot Center kicks off on Thursday, Jan. 8, with Morelia vs. Pachuca at 6 p.m., followed by Toluca vs. UAG (Tecos) at 8:30 p.m. The action continues the next night, on Friday, Jan. 9, with Club América vs. Atlas at 6:30 p.m., and Chivas de Guadalajara vs. UNAL (Tigres) at 9 p.m. The tournament closes on Sunday, Jan. 11 with the two finals being played at 4:00 p.m. and the second at 6:30 p.m. The two winners will qualify for the prestigious Copa Libertadores 2009.

The InterLiga Pack costs just $25 for the endline seats, and $60 for seats on the sidelines. In addition to any of the three InterLiga doubleheaders at The Home Depot Center, the Pack also includes a ticket to Chivas USA's 2009 Opening Game, which takes place on Saturday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m. against the Colorado Rapids. Call 1-877-CHIVAS-1.

Home Dept Center will host six InterLiga games Jan. 8, 9 and 11 in the eight-team competition that determines Mexico's participants in the Copa Libertadores, it was announced today.

Morelia plays Pachuca at 7 p.m. on Jan. 8, followed by Toluca verses UAG in the third and potentially pivotal group games for the four teams in Group A.

The big night is Friday when Mexico's two biggest clubs take the field. Atlas faces Club América at 7:30 p.m. followed by Tigres-Chivas in Group B action..

The finals of the sixth annual competition (and fifth year in Southern California) are on Sunday beginning at 4 p.m.

The first eight games take place in Texas on Jan. 2, 3, 5 and 6.

Competition details from the Soccer United Marketing press release:

InterLiga 2009 will determine two Mexican club berths for Copa Libertadores known as "Mexico 2" and "Mexico 3." The other spot known as "Mexico 1" has been awarded to San Luis de Potosi due to the club's finish as SuperLider of the Mexican Torneo de Apertura 2008, or the regular season champions of the current Mexican season.

Following the draw for the 2009 Copa Libertadores, it was revealed that Mexico 2 will be part of Group 6 with Lanús (Argentina), Everton (Chile) and Caracas (Venezuela). Mexico 3 will play a two-leg play in series against la Universidad de Chile. If victorious, Mexico 3 would be placed in Group 3 with Aurora (Bolivia), Boyaca Chico (Colombia) and a team to be determined from Brazil.

The new qualification system for InterLiga 2009, announced in March of 2008 by the FMF, to accommodate the CONCACAF Champions League, is as follows: the eight best teams in the general standings at the end of the current Apertura season of the Mexican domestic league move on to InterLiga, except for the club that finishes first in the regular season standings, which will qualify directly to Copa Libertadores as "Mexico 1," per FMF regulations. Due to their participation in the 2008-2009 CONCACAF Champions League, Atlante, Cruz Azul, Pumas and Santos will not participate in InterLiga regardless of their place in the Apertura standings.

InterLiga was a great spectacle earlier this year, BTW. Highly recommended viewing.

A pre-sale for Visa cardholders begins Dec. 8.

Incidentally, Fox Soccer Channel announced today it has secured English-language rights for the 2009 and 2011 editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Christie Rampone was named to succeed the pregnant Kristine Lilly as captain of the U.S. Women's National Team today.

Meanwhile, the Under-23 women's team has opened its camp at Home Depot Center. UCLA and USC both have players on the roster.

Didn't know there was a women's U-23 team? U.S. Soccer has realigned its youth teams. More details here in this (edited) U.S. Soccer press release:

The U-21 WNT has been changed to a U-23 age group as a result of the Nordic Cup becoming a U-23 competition. As a result, the U.S. U-21s, who dominated the Nordic Cup for the past decade, will become a U-23 squad with no overage players for the summer tournament that brings the USA together with Europe’s top youth teams.

The U-23s serve a valuable purpose giving players on the fringe of the full WNT player pool, some of whom have finished their college soccer, a chance to keep training at a high level in National Team camps and international matches. This year the U.S. U-23s, led by head coach Bill Irwin, will compete in the Nordic Cup in Sweden against Europe’s top U-23 teams.

The U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team, under head coach Dean Duerst, who coached the U.S. U-17s last year, is being reinstituted (after having existed from 1998-2001). The purpose is to give international competition to players who have just finished a cycle with the U.S. U-17s, but are a year away from the next U-20 cycle. The U-18 WNT provides a transition for a number of those players that could possibly make up the core of the team that would attempt to qualify for the following U-20 Women’s World Cup. FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cups are held every two years.

In addition, the U.S. Under-16 Girl’s National Team will be absorbed by the U.S. U-17s, much in the same way the Men’s U-17 Residency Program features two age groups of players every year.

Club America won InterLiga Saturday night in Carson before a capacity crowd on penalty kicks and fellow local blogger Luis Bueno was still excited about what he had witnessed at 1 a.m.

Playing a little weekend catch-up, Chivas USA has signed Coach Preki to a new contract, while Maykel Galindo and Jonathan Bornstein habe both undergone successful surgeries.

The Galaxy have released details of the open tryouts scheduled for next month. If you've got talent and $150 click here for details.

Prep action from the Daily News is here and from the Long Beach Press-Telegram here.