12 minute read
THE NEW LEAGUE
MARCO D’ONOFRIO TAKES A LOOK AT THE WORLD OF MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER WITH THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY REDSREVIVAL
THE GOOD
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While there had been a plethora of speculation and rumours running rampant that Toronto FC could lure 2020 Euro Cup winner Lorenzo Insigne away from Napoli, very few envisioned it actually happening. This was surely too daunting a task - even for the club that managed to sign Sebastian Giovinco in his prime. After all, Insigne was still the captain of Napoli and a big part of Luciano Spalletti’s squad. But the temptation of a massive payday and a better lifestyle for his family was too much for the 30-year-old to turn down. As a result, he will be plying his trade at BMO Field this summer, helping the Reds try to win their second MLS Cup. It was a tremendous coup from Toronto that will ultimately benefit the entire league. The Reds also signed 28-year-old Mexican international defender Carlos Solcedo as a Designated Player, continuing the trend of signing younger stars in the primes of their career. In the past, teams far too often prioritized older household names that may have brought more exposure to the franchise but ultimately less success on the pitch. Toronto are far from the only team focusing on younger talent for their Designated Player spots, with a variety of other teams following the same strategy. Orlando City signed 26-year-old Austrian international Ercan Kara, while the Philadelphia Union brought in 27-year-old Mikael Uhre and FC Dallas acquired 19-year-old Alan Velasco. Of all the new Designated Players in MLS in 2022, Insigne is the oldest. Other than him and Alexander Ring of Austin FC, the other 10 new Designated Players are all under the age of 30. While MLS still has a long way to go before we start seeing a migration of global stars in their prime choosing to play in North America, the mere fact that TFC were able to sign someone of Insigne’s quality during such a crucial stage of his career is proof of the substantial growth the league has made over the last decade.
‘SIGNING INSIGNE IS A MAJOR COUP FOR TORONTO’
THE BAD
With the success of the Canadian and American men’s teams during World Cup qualifying, Major League Soccer should take a lot of pride in the fact that the majority of players representing the two nations are either currently playing in the league or were developed through some part of it. With that said, it must be concerning that so many of the biggest and brightest domestic stars are deciding quicker than ever that they’d rather continue their professional career in Europe. While it is great to see players like Alphonso Davies and Christian Pulisic at some of the world’s biggest clubs like Bayern Munich and Chelsea, questions must start being asked when the league will be able to convince such players to stay home and play the game in the same city they grew up in. While MLS has proven it can attract young stars from around the globe, they still have some issues keeping their best local talent. Tajon Buchanan, Richie Lareya, Ricardo Pepi, Daryl Dike, James Sands, Cole Bassett and Justin Che are all examples of young talented Canadian and American players leaving during the January transfer window to pursue other opportunities across the pond. Pepi, Dike and Sands were ranked numbers one, two and three in the 2021 MLS top 22 under 22. While it may ultimately prove to be beneficial for the national team as it will allow these players to test themselves against some of the biggest names in the world, it also shows the lack of interest these players have of staying in MLS. If the league is going to ever take the next big step forward, they will have to start raising the quality to the point that even local talent believes it is the best place for them. The MLS Cup is far from the most prestigious club prize in the world, but that could all change one day.
The United States took some inspiration from Canada’s recent victories over their CONCACAF rivals and decided to host their game against Honduras on February 2nd at Allianz Field in Saint Paul – home of MLS club Minnesota United. The belief was that ensuring the game be played in cold temperatures would provide a massive boost for the home side, as the visitors were not used to playing in such extreme temperatures. “It’s inconceivable that a power in every sense would bring you here to play a game and get a result,” said Honduran head coach Hernan Dario Gomez prior to kick-o . The game commenced in -16ºC temperatures, while the wind chill was -29ºC by the time it ended. It is o cially the coldest professional game to ever take place on American soil. Gomez was forced to withdraw both goalkeeper Luis Lopez and forward Romell Quioto, who had both been showing signs of hypothermia at half-time. “Soccer shouldn’t be endured this way. I’ve got all my players getting treatment, some players getting an IV,” Gomez vented afterwards, leading the criticism of the US. While CONCACAF nations like Honduras deserve little sympathy after years of organizing and hosting games played during the middle of the day in some of the hottest months so that their opponents would have to endure the extreme heat, players should not have to worry about hypothermia when representing their country. Unlike Canada, the Americans have a plethora of stadiums and cities to choose from to host World Cup qualifiers, including in places with a warm climate. The Americans were looking to give themselves a big advantage which clearly worked, but did they really need to put players in danger in order to obtain it? The United States likely would have beaten Honduras on home soil regardless of where the game was played, so the fact that lives were put in danger unnecessarily isn’t something the country should be proud of.
LEFT (OPPOSITE PAGE): Lorenzo Insigne decided to move across the pond to play at BMO Field with Toronto FC
RIGHT (OPPOSITE PAGE): Insigne, captain of Napoli, continues to lead his Italian club until he must join TFC
BOTTOM (OPPOSITE PAGE): Daryl Dike left Orlando City for West Bromwich Albion in January
LEFT: Gregg Berhalter had no issues with his team hosting Honduras at Allianz Field in Minnesota in the middle of winter
ABOVE: MLS has issues keeping hold of the best local talents like Ricardo Pepi
BOTTOM: Mamadou Fall is poised for a big season during his second year in Los Angeles
GOING UP
Defender Mamadou Fall ended up starting 16 games and featuring in 19 for Los Angeles FC last season, proving to be a pivotal part of Bob Bradley’s squad. Despite the tactician taking o to Toronto, the 19-year-old Senegalese starlet should continue to play a big role in Tinseltown.
GOING DOWN
After reaching the top, there’s usually only one way to go, but New York City FC’s descent down the table may happen much quicker than fans were anticipating. With the likes of James Sands, Jesus Medina and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi all departing during the o season, it’ll be di cult for the club to match the success they had in 2021.
ODDS MAKERS
Crystal Ball or a good Guess? MLS Soccer 360 Reporter Sean Maslin’s picks for top teams, players, and who will end up with the coveted wooden spoon this season.
Eastern Conference Playo Teams: 1.) New York City FC 2.) Philadelphia Union 3.) New England Revolution 4.) Toronto FC 5.) Atlanta United FC 6.) CF Montreal 7.) Columbus Crew
Western Conference Playo Teams: 1.) Sporting Kansas City 2.) Seattle Sounders 3.) Nashville SC 4.) Portland Timbers FC 5.) Colorado Rapids 6.) Minnesota United FC 7.) FC Dallas
Supporters Shield: NYCFC
U.S. Open Cup Champion: Philadelphia
Canadian Champion: Montreal Wooden Spoon: Houston Dynamo
Does an MLS team win the CONCACAF Champions League? Yes- Seattle.
MLS Cup: Seattle over Philadelphia
MVP: Daniel Salloi (Kansas City)
Golden Boot: Josef Martinez (Atlanta)
Golden Gloves: Sean Johnson (NYCFC)
Defender of the Year: Alistair Johnston (CF Montreal)
Rookie of the Year: Ben Bender (FC Charlotte)
Coach of the Year: Bob Bradley (Toronto)
Best XI: GK: Johnson (NYCFC)
DEF: Carlos Salcedo (Toronto), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville), Donovan Pines (D.C.), Alistair Johnston (Montreal)
MID: Cristian Roldan (Seattle), Luiz Arajuo (Atlanta), Lorenzo Insigne (Toronto), and Xherdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire FC)
FWD: Salloi (Kansas City) and Martinez (Atlanta)
MLS
the next big thing
MARCO D’ONOFRIO DISCUSSES THE CREATION OF MLS NEXT PRO AND THE IMPACT THAT IT COULD HAVE ON THE GAME IN NORTH AMERICA.
When Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 as part of the United States’ successful bid to host the 1994 World Cup, one of the immediate objectives was to grow the game locally and create w a robust developmental system in order to harness young talent. While one simply has to look at the success of the American and Canadian men’s national teams during their qualifying campaigns for the 2022 World Cup to see the impact that MLS has already made on developing young talent, there is still more that can be done.
ABOVE: Premier League star Jamie Vardy co-owns Rochester NY FC
LEFT: Giovani dos Santos came to the MLS with help from Targeted Allocation Money
RIGHT: The MLS began because the USA promised a tier 1 soccer league while bidding for the 1994 world cup. TFC was the first Canadian Team to joing the league.
The creation of the Canadian Premier League wouldn’t have happened if there wasn’t a strong belief that many other talented young Canadians have been falling through the cracks and not reaching their full potential. Despite the CPL only starting in 2019, it has already proven to be beneficial for the game across Canada. The good news is that there will be even more resources put into developing young players across North America, with MLS announcing the creation of MLS NEXT Pro. The league will kick o in 2022 for its inaugural season, allowing MLS teams to give more playing time to players who may not be able to get much of it with the first team. Its ultimate intention is to create an integrated player pathway from MLS NEXT right through to first-team football. “MLS NEXT Pro is a new professional league that establishes a unified and accelerated professional pathway between our academies and the first teams of MLS and independent clubs throughout North America,” said MLS commissioner Don Garber in a press release. “O the field, MLS NEXT Pro will provide a platform to drive forward diversity, develop and nurture talent, while bringing soccer to new markets and new fans around the country.” MLS NEXT Pro guidelines allow for teams to carry 35 players on their active roster – 24 slots may be filled by professional players, while 11 may be filled with amateur players. There will also be a maximum of five MLS NEXT youth academy players per team on the field during an o cial match. Unlike in MLS, there will be no salary cap and no salary limits in place for player compensation. While most teams in the league are a liated with MLS clubs, independent organizations will also be involved as well. In its inaugural season, there will be 20 teams playing that are a liated with MLS clubs, while Rochester NY FC will be the only independent club in 2022. “We are thrilled that Rochester NY FC will be the first independent club to join MLS NEXT Pro,” announced club co-owners David and Wendy Dworkin. “Rochester established itself as a winning club with the Rhinos, and we are pleased to add a new chapter in the city’s
ABOVE: The MLS Ecosystem
FAR RIGHT: Sebastian Giovinco
BELOW: The pro player pathway through the MLS Leagues
‘MLS NEXT PRO ESTABLISHES A UNIFIED AND ACCELERATED PROFESSIONAL PATHWAY’ TORONTO FC SNUB THE ATOMIC ANT
Marco D'Onofrio discusses Toronto FC’s decision to not bring back club legend Sebastian Giovinco.
Toronto FC fans su ered through a terrible 2021 campaign in which the club missed out on the postseason entirely. The club have already brought in a new head coach and made several major signings including the likes of Lorenzo Insigne and Carlos Salcedo. However, they also had the opportunity to bring back a club legend but opted against it. 2015 MLS MVP Sebastian Giovinco had made it clear he was desperate for a return to Toronto with the Reds and had even joined them during their preseason training cam in Florida. “I have a lot of respect for Sebastian in that he’s made it clear to us that he would like to finish his career in Toronto in the right way and we’re very respectful of that,” TFC President Bill Manning said in January. It looked like a deal was near, but the Italian inked a contract with Sampdoria instead. According to the 35-year-old, it was only after he was told he had no place in Toronto that he opted to return to Serie A. “As you all know, I had been training with Toronto until 10 days ago,” Giovinco said upon his return to Italy. “I had almost closed a deal with them, but then it collapsed. I was told that I was not in their plans. Three days later, I received a call from Sampdoria. I want to enjoy every moment here.” Not long after Giovinco announced his move to Sampdoria though, TFC announced they had signed Spanish forward Jesus Jimenez, e ectively closing the door on any possible return for the Atomic Ant.
