Soccer

MLS’ alternative to tiered system

Chris McGlynn EPL, MLS, Soccer ,

Just about every other soccer league in the world uses a tiered system. What that means is the bottom handful of teams from that season are relegated to the lower league while the top teams from the second league achieve promotion. For some reason though, MLS has avoided it, despite having the North American Soccer League (NASL) and United Soccer League (USL Pro) below MLS.

I have been a strong advocate for MLS to adopt this method. I think it would be a great improvement to US soccer and create more interest in the sport stateside. The other aspect that promotion and relegation introduces is that every games matters. All other American sports, particularly football, basketball and hockey all have an incentive to tank. Losing is rewarded with a top draft pick. Relegation prevents tanking and keeps teams fighting to the very end.

Yet MLS doesn’t have that. The teams at the bottom could easily just bail and begin tanking. After all the league has its own draft. Teams could attempt to move up in the draft order by losing more games. MLS has a different solution to that problem other than the threat of relegation.

Through careful control of roster building and the allocation of Designated Player Spots, MLS has kept every club fairly competitive. The season is about two thirds of the way through and pretty much every team is alive in the playoff hunt. The Chicago Fire and the Colorado Rapids sit in last place of the Eastern and Western Conference respectively. Heading into the weekend, both clubs were only eight points out of a playoff spot though. I’m not saying it easy to make up that ground but it is more than possible. In both conferences as well, the three through six seeds were only separated by a matter of two points. That’s a single match that could shake up the whole conference standings. That is absurd with almost every team having played 20 games.

The two seed isn’t even that far out of reach either. The Columbus Crew and Montreal Impact each held the second spot in their respective conferences. The distance between themselves and the sixth seed was only four points. Everyone is still playing for something because no one has an insurmountable deficit or an unassailable lead. There will be no tanking because everyone is still in it. If Chicago suddenly strung together a four game winning streak they could find themselves on the fringes of the playoff picture, rather than in last place. If FC Dallas dropped two straight games against Western Conference opponents, it could find itself clinging to the final playoff spot rather than in control of the West.

Parity is what every professional league strives for but few achieve. MLS has come about as close as you can get to achieving it. The league has prevented the creation of super teams that simply dominate the competition. It is hard to head into an MLS season with the champion a foregone conclusion. Many thought Orlando City and New York City would be top playoff contenders. Currently, neither of them hold a playoff spot. Many thought Seattle and Los Angeles would dominate the West again but it is Dallas who sits atop the table. MLS has prevented teams tanking by keeping everyone interested in winning. Everyone is able to still rise up into or fall completely out of the playoff picture. That is incredible work by MLS and a very creative solution to team’s tanking.

Now the design isn’t perfect. LA dominated the league recently. Overall though, MLS has avoided super teams with the limit on spending. English, Spanish, French, German and Italian soccer is dominated by the same five or six teams (actually only three in Spain) every single year. In Germany a team not named Bayern, Dortmond or Wolfsburg hasn’t won the league in eight years. Since 1992, only one team not named Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester (City or United) has won the English League. On the Italian side, only two times since 1991 has a team other than Juventus, Inter or AC Milan won the title. France isn’t much better as Lyon and PSG have combined to win 10 of the last 14 titles. Spain is the worst culprit of all. Only once since 2000 has a team outside of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Sevilla won the league. MLS has a very different story as nine teams have won the league since its inception in 1996.

Very few times can you truly sit back and think that MLS has found a way to solve a problem the European Leagues can’t solve. This is probably one of them.

Another step in the right direction for MLS

Chris McGlynn EPL, MLS, Soccer , ,

Yesterday was a very good day for MLS. The most obvious point would be the MLS All Star’s victory over English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. Obviously it would be more impressive if it wasn’t an All Star team playing against a normal club team but all the same it was a great spectacle for fans of soccer. They got to see one of the better English teams in person and see the top talent MLS has collected over the past few years.

Tranquillo Barnetta
Barnetta will join the Union in the coming days.

MLS clubs also announced two big signings yesterday. Philadelphia Union signed Tranquillo Barnetta on a free transfer from Bundisliga side Schalke FC. Barnetta might not be the biggest name but he represented Switzerland at the 2014 World Cup and has 75 caps for the national team. Then Eastern Conference rival New York Red Bulls announced the signing of Gonzalo Veron from San Lorenzo in Argentina. The 25-year old spent the last three years playing in the top division of Argentine football. Neither one of the signings is head turning or prolific but it underlines a greater theme going on in MLS this season.

Veron and Barnetta follow Didier Drogba and Shaun Wright-Phillips as MLS signings from the past week. Drogba is the biggest name there by far but the other three are all well respected players. Overall, they just add to the collection of big names and new talent infused into MLS over the last two seasons.There is still a ways to go before the league can start luring top players stateside during their prime.

Gonzalo Veron
The Red Bull hope Veron can bolster their attack as a winger.

However, this is easily the best collection of talent MLS has ever seen. That isn’t saying much but the level of talent in MLS exceeds previous level by a substantial amount. The success the LA Galaxy and the Red Bulls saw in the International Champions Cup highlights that fact. The MLS is starting to gain on the rest of the world in terms of being a competitive soccer league. They are nowhere near touching England, France, Italy or Spain but they might now find themselves more on par with Eredivisie in Holland or many of the South American leagues. They have certainly surpassed the Scottish Premier League and the Swiss Super League. I’m not saying that every team in MLS could beat teams from these countries but that the level of talent is higher overall.

Andrea Pirlo
Pirlo has already come over and begun his career with the expansion team NYCFC.

American soccer is still in infancy by comparison to Europe or South America but these recent additions have certainly caught them up, even if it was only marginally. On top of that, these big name signings continue to bring in new fans. Even if these guys are older, the sheer name recognition is bringing fans in the door. So far this season, average attendance per game is up almost 2,000 fans per game. Over the course of a season that makes a huge difference. MLS is on pace for a record setting season when it comes to total attendance, one that will push it to almost the same average attendance as Serie A in Italy and Ligue 1 in France.

There is no ignoring that soccer has taken hold in the US anymore. MLS is well on it’s way to challenging other leagues for the country’s attention. Average attendance for MLS games have surpassed NBA and NHL games. Granted hockey and basketball are held in much smaller arenas it is still a step in the right direction. MLS is not great by any stretch but it should no longer be considered a joke as it was even five years ago.

Giovani Dos Santos
Dos Santos is the latest international star to join the Galaxy.

If names like Andrea Pirlo, Stephen Ger   ard and Giovanni Dos Santos continue to choose to come to MLS despite their usually older age, MLS will eventually begin to draw other talent. It takes time and the league has started the gradual process. Hopefully this means that now it is only a matter of time for the league to really grow in terms of play. With rumors that Christiano Rinaldo and Zaltan Ibrahimavic could one day make their way to MLS, there is no shortage of aging stars looking to continue playing. Hopefully some of the younger stars begin to follow.

Wearing out his welcome?

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL, Soccer, USMNT ,

Love for soccer in the US is probably the highest it has ever been. Most of that started the relative success of the men’s national team in the last few years. Not exclusively but the 2014 World Cup certainly sparked a lot of interest. With the women taking home the coveted trophy this year and earning their very own ticker tape parade down the Canyon of Heros, US soccer is certainly a lot more credible than it was 10 years ago.

Jurgen KlinsmannOn the men’s side, the architect of the rise has been Jurgen Klinsmann, the international manager. He is already making a case for greatest US manager of all time. His competition isn’t very stout with his only true adversaries being Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley. The fact that those two are the only real competition is a testament to the slow rise of US soccer over the last 15 years. Klinsmann promises to outshine both of his predecessors though with already 40 wins to his name, only 3 behind Bradley for second all time. He also has the highest winning percentage of any manager to have coach more than five matches. Needless to say, Klinsmann is have close to unparalleled success.

Some of his more recent victories have been stunning as well. Earlier this year, Klinsmann led the US to its first ever win over the Netherlands, who finished third at the World Cup just a summer ago, followed by an unbelievable victory in Germany, who won the 2014 Cup. Both matches were international friendlies but significant all the same. Klinmann has reached a handful of other milestones as well, including the most wins by a US team in a calendar year with 16.

The likelihood is that Klinsmann goes down in history as the best manager in US soccer history. That is if he can stay around long enough to do so. Winning games usually causes people to look the other way but Klinsmann hasn’t proven to be a heart warming figure. He has made sure that everyone knows he is doing things his way and that his judgement is above all others. It started in the months leading up to the World Cup when Klinsmann left US legend Landon Donovan off of his 23-man squad. It continued throughout the summer when he made it clear that he felt his players should be playing in Europe rather than in the US. It has persisted further with him frequently questioning his players abilities, most recently being Josie Altidore and his fitness.

I’m not saying that Klinsmann was wrong in any of his decisions or actions (although I still think Donovan should’ve played last year), However, it could only be a matter of time before things start going south for the former German footballer. Klinsmann continues to alienate people in US soccer from MLS commissioner Don Garber to his own players. The success is wonderful but if he ever starts to slip, it would be likely that Klinsmann is on a short leash.

Jim_HarbaughThe situation seems very similar to one out in the Bay Area just a year ago in the American version of football. Jim Harbaugh never made the popular decision in San Francisco as the head coach of the 49ers, but he seemed to be making the right ones. His team appeared in three straight NFC title games and even won one of them to advance to the Super Bowl. However, Harbaugh reportedly push his players to the breaking point and constantly wore on the management with his unfriendly tendencies. Ultimately, Harbaugh had a sub par year in 2014 finishing with a .500 record and missing the playoffs. For most coaches who had a winning percentage of over 73 in the previous three years, that would be nothing. For Harbaugh, it turned out to be reason enough for management to force him out, as the two sides mutually parted ways.

You have to wonder a little bit if Klinsmann is headed for the same fate. There haven’t been quite so many rumblings when it comes to complaints about Klinsmann but he has made some public statements criticizing MLS and several of his players. It is no doubt that several of those comments have not sat well with those who were targeted. Klinsmann seems to have that same wearing effect that Harbaugh did in San Francisco. I don’t think Klinsmann needs to change his tune and start praising players who lack talent or hailing MLS as the greatest league in the world because it simply isn’t true. However, it might benefit Klinsmann if he started to keep some of his more critical thoughts to himself.

Tab RamosIt will be some time before Klinsmann is replaced, as the US Soccer Federation seems committed to him leading the team in the 2018 World Cup. Klinsmann’s eventual replacement already seems to be waiting in the wings. It is not a sure thing but Tab Ramos will likely be tabbed as the next USMNT manager following Klinsmann’s tenure. He has already become an assistant on Klinsmann’s staff. Ramos already coaches the men’s U-20 national squad so he would be more than familiar with the next generation of US soccer players. The USSF could easily look elsewhere to replace Klinsmann, as they did when they hired Klinsmann himself. However, as Klinsmann continues to burn bridges, it seems only a matter of time before Ramos fills his shoes.

New home for 2022 World Cup should be obvious

Chris McGlynn Soccer, USMNT, World Cup ,

The FBI took down FIFA, the US Men’s team shocked the Netherlands in an international friendly and US Women’s team landed in Canada for the 2015 World Cup. It’s been a good week for soccer in the United States. It could get even better than that too if the FBI finds that the bid allocations that FIFA gave for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were under the circumstances of a bribe or payoff. That would likely mean that both of the World Cups would be reallocated. 

Russia_2018_World_CupWhere exactly the tournaments would be reassigned is still up for debate. A reasonable case can be made for England hosting the 2018 edition because the preparation required is minimal. Sure scheduling might take a little while but the reality is that England is the soccer hub of the world at the domestic level. Britain has 12 stadiums that have a seating capacity of at least 38,000. It also has the historic Wembley Stadium, which would be an excellent site for a World Cup final if you ask me and seats 90,000 fans. The seating capacity is pretty comparable to what Brazil had last summer as well. On top of all of that, England hasn’t hosted a World Cup since 1966.

The reassigning of the 2022 edition is a little trickier. There were several nations that were in the mix and shockingly Qatar was selected. Beyond any tampering that might have gone on with the voting, Qatar shouldn’t be hosting the World Cup anyway. Summer temperatures can reach a startling 120 degrees Fahrenheit and in preparations for the tournament roughly 1,200 migrant workers have died. That number is sure to climb higher as well as we are seven years away from kickoff.

So it makes only too much sense to change the site of the 2022 World Cup. The question that remains is where would it be moved to. The logical answer here would be the nation that finished second in the voting, which was the US.

World Cup StampOn a lot of different levels, a move to America makes sense. From a monetary standpoint, the US would be the best option. The 1994 tournament held in the United States still ranks as the most lucrative one in history. You have to wonder a bit why FIFA would avoid returning to the US in favor of Qatar. Sure, FIFA officials might have been bribed but America would have generated infinitely more revenue for FIFA than Qatar could ever dream of.

There are plenty of critics who claim that soccer is not a big deal in the United States. However, the 1994 World Cup remains the most heavily attended tournament ever. Over the course of all 52 games played that year, the USA brought in over 3.5 million fans. The US still has the highest attendance average as well at roughly 69,000 fans per game. For some reference, the average attendance of a World Cup match if you remove the numbers from the year the US hosted is around 43,250 and the average in Brazil last year was only 53,600.

Preparations for the US wouldn’t be overly difficult either. They have more than enough stadiums to compensate all of the games that need to be played. I went through and found the top 12 stadiums that America could use as host fields. The Citrus Bowl, the Rose Bowl, Ohio Stadium, Bank of America Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, LP Field, Sanford Stadium, University of Phoenix Stadium, Sports Authority Field at Mile High, the Cotton Bowl, Arrowhead Stadium and Soldier Field would all work well for hosting the 64-game schedule.

1280px-The_U.S._Embassy_in_Pretoria_Glows_at_NightThat would bring World Cup matches all over the country and let everyone enjoy the action. Florida, California, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Georgia, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Missouri and Illinois would all have the opportunity to host a game. All of the fields use grass as the playing surface as well so there can be no complaints about the awful conditions of playing on FieldTurf. Travel might be slightly difficult but as long as there is as little coast-to-coast movement as possible, it should work out fine.

It also leaves a few options available for where the final could be played. It could once again return to the Rose Bowl, which is where it was played in 1994, or it could be hosted in Ohio Stadium, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes. What makes Ohio Stadium appealing is its capacity of 102,000 fans. The smallest stadium I selected was Soldier Field and that still has a capacity of 61,500. Based on the average attendance back in ’94, I don’t think there should be an issue with filling these stadiums.

At this point, it seems to be a matter of when not if regarding changes of location. FIFA is in turmoil right now and if the new brain trust that takes over has any hope of avoiding corruption being tagged to their name, they will start fresh. I might be a little bit biased in wanting the USA to be chosen as the 2022 host but the selection would make a ton of sense. It would be another step forward for the growth of soccer stateside. Hopefully, the US gets the chance to make it happen.

FIFA is falling apart

Chris McGlynn EPL, MLS, Soccer, Social Issues, USMNT , ,

If you are having a bad day, just think about how FIFA’s day has gone. You wake up in your hotel in Switzerland room preparing for a big conference full of board elections and then the FBI comes crashing in to arrest 14 of your members. That’s how FIFA’s day started today.

Yup, the United States made it all the way to Zurich, Switzerland to arrest nine FIFA officials and an additional five board members on counts of corruption, conspiracy and racketeering. The issue calls into question the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and business surrounding CONCACAF and CONMEBOL.

Of those arrested is FIFA Vice President Jeffrey Webb, which is definitely not a good sign for the organization. Surprisingly, Sepp Blatter’s name has yet to come up as one of those arrested.

Sepp_BlatterWith how easily athletes seem to get off today for breaking the law and such, you might think this will blow over soon. It doesn’t seem like it though, as US attorney general Loretta Lynch was quoted when speaking about the charges in a statement from the Department of Justice. She explained that the charges indicate “corruption that is rampant, systematic and deep rooted both abroad and here in the United States.”

She went on to add that “it spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks.” How many millions you might ask? Lynch mentioned $110 million in bribes just surround the 2016 Copa America tournament.

So no, this is not just going to blow over. FIFA has a gun to its head at the moment and is definitely starting to sweat. Reportedly, already two corporations and four individual defendants have pled guilty and more are sure to come.

“Today’s announcement should send a message that enough is enough,” said Acting U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of New York Kelly T. Currie.  “After decades of what the indictment alleges to be brazen corruption, organized international soccer needs a new start.” It seems like the US government is intent on reworking FIFA.

And Currie has a point. Sepp Blatter’s being up for election as President for the fifth consecutive time, FIFA’s treatment of Brazilian laws in the months leading up to the 2014 World Cup and the rumblings of corruption surrounding the next two World Cups dictate enough cause to start fresh.

World Cup StampAnd you can expect more from this too. Currie added at the end of her statement, “Let me be clear: this indictment is not the final chapter in our investigation.” That is a daunting prospect for FIFA. And the pressure isn’t just coming from the US either. Swiss officials were the ones that made the physical arrests in Zurich on behalf of the FBI. Following that, the Swiss Office of the Attorney General announced that it would conducting a separate investigation of the voting process for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Two different countries investigating you for corruption. Yikes. Definitely not a good sign. But FIFA continues to go on as if nothing is wrong. FIFA’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs Walter de Gregorio held a press conference earlier today at which he announced FIFA’s plan to proceed with preparations for both World Cups. FIFA also issued a press release, which details the many ways that FIFA is cooperating and reiterated its excitement at energy surrounding the investigation.

The funny thing is that what FIFA has done in response only makes me hate them more. Rather than acknowledge that yeah, this is an issue, it is content to sit back and act as if nothing is wrong. FIFA doesn’t even react to say that it is surprised by the arrests and will do whatever it can to help. It includes a line that indicates that it feels the investigation is redundant. And what organization announces its excitement that it is being investigated for corruption?

The whole situation is insane. It was only a matter of time before FIFA fell. Foreign governments have been on their heels for years and the ugly side of FIFA continues to be revealed. Corruption is part of its DNA at this point. There is no denying it with the number of scandals that have broken into the news that involve one FIFA executive or another. This seems to be the day of reckoning for FIFA but will it be enough?

There is no doubt in my mind that FIFA needs a fresh start. The problem is that it needs to start with the replacement of Sepp Blatter, who is widely expected to win reelection. Here’s to hoping that the Department of Justice comes up with some damning evidence against him in the next 24 hours or that these new allegations are enough to taint Blatter’s name (because somehow it’s not tainted enough) to the point where he would lose the election. Unlikely, but one can dream. Just imagine what FIFA without Sepp Blatter could be. I think it needs to happen as soon as possible. Even if Blatter isn’t behind all of this, holding on to an old regime rampant with it is not a great way to begin moving forward.