EPL

Defoe for Jozy: A rare trade in the world of soccer

Chris McGlynn EPL, MLS, Soccer, USMNT , , , ,

It is rare in soccer that a trade is executed, even more so when it involves two international strikers switching continents. The MLS has plenty of intra-league trades but it is uncommon for one to happen with an EPL team. Yet, Tuesday Toronto FC and Sunderland announced they were swapping forwards as Jermain Defoe would be heading back to England and Jozy Altidore would be sent to Canada. The two are at very different junctures in their careers as they make the move back to the leagues where they each started their professional careers. Time to take a second look at how Altidore and Defoe wound up being part of this deal.

Defoe has been playing in the professional soccer system since he was just fourteen years old. He began with Charlton Athletics’ youth squad in 1997 before latching on to West Ham in 1999. By 2000, at only seventeen years old, Defoe made his first appearance with West Ham’s senior team. He was loaned to Bournemouth though for the remainder of the season. When he returned, Defoe became a mainstay for West Ham and he wound up registering 29 goals in 93 appearances. Defoe had become a hot commodity by 2004 and was transferred to hometown Tottenham Hotspur mid-season. It was around this same time that Defoe earned his first call up to the English senior squad. Once at Tottenham, Defoe really began to shine. He scored in his debut against, ironically, Portsmouth, whom he would later join for a season in 2008. He scored 43 goals in his first 4-year stint with Tottenham. He played 2008 in Portsmouth, scoring 14 goals in just 30 appearances. 2008 also marked a big year for Defoe on the international stage. He scored his first ever goal in competitive match and eventually became a regular on the 2010 England World Cup team. After the year with Portsmouth, he returned to Tottenham for another 4-year stint, scoring 47 more goals for the London side. By 2013 though, Defoe was getting a bit older and the MLS had come calling. More specifically, Toronto FC made a big push to land the English international. After signing Defoe, Toronto immediately loaned him back so he could remain with Tottenham until the start of the MLS season. Once playing in North America though, Defoe came out firing. He scored two goals in his first appearance for the team and ultimately scored 11 for Toronto over the course of the season. Now the 32-year old is heading back to the EPL where he had all sorts of success. Defoe sits 14th all-time with 124 goals in his career with a great chance to move a little further up that list.

On the other hand, England has been where Jozy Altidore has struggled the most. The New Jersey native started out playing for the IMG Academy as a teenager spending time with the U-17 national team. In 2006, the Metrostars, who are now the New York Red Bulls, took Altidore in the MLS SuperDraft. He spent most of that season earning his high school diploma and thus did not make his debut until August. Jozy quickly became a fan favorite in the greater New York area and would become the youngest player to ever score in the MLS playoffs by a staggering margin. In 2008, Altidore left MLS when Villareal, in Spain, bought him for an MLS record-shattering $10 million. Villareal loaned out Altidore over the next few seasons to Xerez, Hull City and Busaspor. Jozy never developed into the prized striker Villareal hoped for as he never scored more than 1 goal in a season. Villareal then shipped him to the Dutch team AZ Alkmaar, which ended up being a resurrection for Altidore’s club career. He was having plenty of success on the international level, having been an important part of the US’ Confederations Cup Finals run in 2009. Playing for AZ, Altidore scored 39 goals in just 67 appearances, sparking some major interest in England. Concurrently though, Jozy hit a dry spell at the international level, not scoring for nearly two years in a USA uniform. Shortly after getting on track for the National team in 2013, Altidore made a move to the English side Sunderland. Jozy once again struggled to find his way; Altidore only managed 1 goal for Sunderland in the 42 appearances he made. It was well known that Altidore was looking for a fresh start once again, and now he has one back in the league where he first garnered fame.

Both teams will be happy to bring in these new players. Defoe is a proven goal scorer who can spark a Sunderland team that has struggled to beat the keeper this season, as the club ranks second to last in the league in scoring. Toronto will be able to add a younger player in Altidore and drum up more popularity in bringing back another US international player to MLS. Altidore will join Jermaine Jones, Omar Gonzales, Mix Diskerud, Kyle Beckerman and Clint Dempsey and will play alongside Michael Bradley in Toronto. At this point, not many US international players are playing outside of MLS. We will have to see what this movement does for the team. Defoe has his chance to likely finish his career in England now. Altidore is getting another chance to start over. In the short run, I have to think that Sunderland are happy with the deal they landed. Toronto might get more out of it down the line but for the present, the English side definitely got the better hand in this one.

Should MLS institute relegation?

Chris McGlynn EPL, MLS, Soccer

Just about every soccer league in the world has a tier system built into the league. What this means is that at the end of every season, the bottom few teams are knocked down a flight to the lower division for the following season. Meanwhile, the top few teams from the league below them move up a flight, taking the spot of the teams who are leaving the top flight. This process is referred to as promotion and relegation. It is commonplace for this process to take place in European and South American soccer leagues, yet it is not a component of Major League Soccer in the United States. It is not something that can be simply added overnight but it is something that MLS should begin to think about in the near future to really grow soccer in the US.

I mentioned that it is more complicated than it seems, and that’s for a long list of reasons. At the moment, the biggest obstacle is the continual shifting of the MLS playing field. This past season the league had 19 teams. With Chivas USA now defunct and NYCFC and Orlando City SC set to join at the beginning of 2015, MLS will have 20 teams. There are also a handful of other expansion teams in the works. The cities that could end up with expansion teams include Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and San Antonio at the moment. Atlanta and Los Angeles are set to kickoff for the first time in 2017 and MLS Commissioner Don Graber has made it clear he wants to have 24 teams up and running by 2020. The MLS wants to have a top flight of 24 teams, which would be the largest worldwide.

With the league filling up so quickly, it is obvious that some of these expansion projects will fall outside of the 24 team cut off. This would be a perfect reason to begin a promotion and relegation system. Yet, MLS seems like it does not intend to implement the system any time soon. The format for the system is in place though. The US has three division of soccer already, though the lower two are largely unknown. The second division is the North American Soccer League (NASL), which actually mirrors the original North American soccer league that existed during the 70s and 80s with revival franchises. This division only has eleven teams the moment but is looking to add two more, which could be where these extra MLS teams come into play. The third division is known as USL Professional Division (USL PRO). This league is substantially larger with 23 teams but a very short history spanning back to only 2011. At the moment, USL PRO is being used as a training ground for many MLS reserves and in many ways as a feeder system for MLS.

Technically, all three leagues are independent but the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) sanctions them all. This makes linking the three leagues significantly easier because they have the same format and rules. Sure, at first these teams that are getting promoted will have a large gap in talent but over time they will even themselves out and eventually be able to compete. Some of these teams can already salvage a couple of wins over MLS sides. The MLS Open Cup offers the only opportunity NASL and USL PRO teams get to play MLS clubs and in a few instances we have seen upsets by NASL sides. There might be a gap but it will shrink over the course of the first few years the system is in place.

I am not going to pretend that I understand the financial issues that could arise from the situation but if the MLS officials are truly serious about raising US interest in soccer and promoting player development, this would very easily be the way to do it. It would expand soccer all over the country. It would be a perfect way to develop talent in the US. US soccer would much better resemble how the rest of the world plays the game. It would add a new excitement to American soccer that would make almost every game meaningful as teams not only seek to win the championship but also struggle to remain in the league. It would likely lead to an increase in attendance and would increase MLS popularity. The more teams that exist that have a chance to play for something meaningful will draw more fans and spread the influence of soccer much further in the US.

The argument stands that no other American sport uses relegation but soccer is not like any other US sport. In the Big Four sports of hockey, baseball, basketball and football, North America gets to set the rules on how these games are played because they were all invented and popularized here. With soccer though, this sport was developed overseas and has always been something that the US has been trying to catch up to the rest of the world at. Europe set precedent with the idea of promotion and relegation. I do not see why the US should be any different from how the rest of the world plays the sport. America did not invent the sport; it should not be up to them to determine how the format proceeds. Yet, MLS continues to resist the change. I do not think this should happen immediately and certainly, the league will need some time to settle after annexing the next round of teams in 2020. It is something that MLS should start planning to integrate into the US system once the league is set though. I understand that I am speculating in some ways as to how this could benefit American soccer but I feel that this is the best way for MLS to be taken more seriously on the world stage. It could only up the level of play pushing players to improve and contend with the youth who are developing in the lower leagues. It also promotes staying in the system rather than fleeing to a different country if riding a team to promotion is possible. I think it is the next logical step for the MLS. Let me know what you think though.

LA does it again

Chris McGlynn EPL, MLS, Soccer ,

There were all sorts of questions floating around the Galaxy at the end of this season. Landon Donovan was retiring, Robbie Keane was rumored to be leaving and Los Angeles expected to lose players in the expansion draft. This team might have just won the MLS Cup, but as soon as last year ends, a new one begins. For the front office, there is no offseason. Earlier today, the front office for LA got to work as it was announced Liverpool captain Steven Gerard announced his intentions to join the Galaxy following the end of the Premier League season. Just when it seemed like the Galaxy would be running out of star power, LA managed to land another great towards the end of his career who can still contribute. Let’s take a look at what Gerrard brings to this Galaxy squad.

Gerrard was a member of Liverpool for each of the last 16 years. The Premier League squad brought him through its youth academy eventually signing him in 1998. Gerrard has made 695 appearances for the Reds and scored 180 goals in all competitions. Gerrard brings a fierce competitor and leader to an LA team that will be missing that with Donovan’s absence. His 180 goals rank number one in Liverpool’s 122-year history. His goals per appearance ratio is not anything spectacular at 0.23 but he is truly a once in a generation player. He ranks as the second best scoring midfielder in EPL history only behind Frank Lampard.

Gerrard will mostly emulate Donovan though in how he orchestrates the offensive attack. Gerrard ranks second in Premier League history for assists with 100. He is crafty and while his legs have begun to lose some of that spring he had as a younger man, he will find ways to mentally beat his opponents. Gerrard is not the same player as Donovan but without a doubt, he fills a similar role that allows LA to maintain close to the same attack style it employed this season. Gerrard will most assuredly find himself setting up Keane and Gyasi Zardes on multiple occasions.

This move will mark yet another former international superstar to come to MLS following the prime of his career in a European league. While it is certainly exciting, it still underlines the continual problem the MLS has with landing big stars before the decline in their career begins. The movement started with Beckham back in the early 2000s and has rapidly accelerated this year with Kaka, Frank Lampard and David Villa all set to join MLS this season. Now Gerrard will be added to the mix.

It should continue to drum up interest in the MLS though stateside though. That has been one of the league’s greatest weaknesses. It has been unable to really turn itself into a major North American sport due to how enamored the U.S. is with football, hockey, basketball and baseball. However, if these players can boost the popularity enough (after all, sports fans love to watch big name athletes compete) to where the league finds themselves capable of generating more money, we could finally start to see some of these players come over to the US before their career seems all but over. It could only be a matter of time. Gerrard is just another piece in this jumbled up puzzle for the MLS. He should be fun to watch in Los Angeles though once he arrives in June. If he resembles anything close to the Steven Gerrard Liverpool fans have watched play for so long, then LA might be in line to make another run at the cup.