Article by Matt Lichtenstadter
It’s been nearly two months since Toronto FC outlasted the Seattle Sounders to win MLS Cup 2017, and ever since, MLS has been a whirlwind of transfer activity, news tied to the upcoming USSF Presidential election and the league setting up for a World Cup year in which the US isn’t involved. Quite a bit has happened. Here are the biggest stories from the offseason that you may have missed now that preseason is underway:
LAFC’s surprising quiet: MLS’ 23rd club has certainly made its splashes, but it has been a quieter offseason than many might have thought for the league’s newest, and certainly flashiest club. They did sign Carlos Vela, and pull off a few intriguing trades for MLS veterans to anchor Bob Bradley’s team, but it hasn’t exactly been a blockbuster offseason considering the expectations they set for themselves. In many ways, their team is still surprisingly incomplete. And down the road, the LA Galaxy have re-invigorated themselves in good ways, too (more on that later). For LAFC, there is a path towards immediate success, as Atlanta United so ably proved last season. But for now, at least, there may be more questions than answers about MLS’ newest club.
Atlanta United breaks the bank: A $15 million transfer fee is a pittance in today’s transfer market, but for MLS, that is an astronomical sum of money. It’s what Atlanta United shelled out to bring 18-year-old Ezequiel Barco to the Five Stripes, and it could change forever how MLS teams scout and sign players. Let’s be fair: most clubs will not be shelling out that kind of cash for transfers anytime soon. But in two offseasons, ATLU has spent more on transfers than seemingly the rest of the league combined. GAM/TAM increases have something to do with the spending splurge, but for a league that very rarely spends transfer fees at all, let alone this kind of money, Barco represents a major move in another direction. The club figures they’ll be able to sell him on for more than that, and they’re probably right, but spending it at all is a major move that will forever change the way MLS clubs interact with the global transfer market.
New Managers: Most of the biggest managerial changes in recent years have come in season, see Sigi Schmid to the Galaxy and his Seattle sacking as examples of this. But in the five new managers coming to the league not named Bob Bradley, there is intrigue. Greater among equals is Giovanni Savarese with Portland, replacing Caleb Porter. Porter was so inextricably linked with the Timbers in recent years, that seeing the club without him prowling down the touchline in a suit and scarf will be bizarre. Savarese has a younger squad to work with, and one that still is one of the deepest in the league, but his challenge is putting that club over the top, which in the West will be difficult.
Former New Zealand manager Anthony Hudson is now in charge in Colorado with a host of players from England and those he managed for the Kiwis in tow. Brad Friedel leaves the broadcast booth to manage the New England Revolution, Remi Garde leaves France to manage the Montreal Impact, and the Earthquakes hired relatively unknown Swedish manager Mikael Stahre to help their transformation. It’s hard to say who will be most successful of this group, Savarese aside, but MLS clubs are beginning to look outside the bubble in a way for managers, which can only be a good thing for the league.
#SaveTheCrew: The Columbus Crew relocation saga drags on into another season, and it remains to be seen how the club deal with the distractions. They did such an amazing job channeling that spirit into a fantastic playoff run, but now they must deal with an entire season of the noise, nonsense and controversy. It’s not going to be easy. This is a team that could easily challenge the best in the East, but if these distractions don’t go away, it could derail what could potentially be their last season in Columbus (but let’s hope not).
MLS to Miami at last? As I’m writing this, the dust is settling on MLS’ announcement in Miami that David Beckham’s group finally has an expansion team. You may be wondering, wasn’t that announced already? The answer is yes, and that conditional announcement was four years ago. Reportedly, the team will begin play in 2020 before their stadium opens in 2021 somewhere in Miami, which still doesn’t have shovels in the ground yet and must get through a litany more Dade County red tape, probably, in order to finally end this long winding path to a team. The announcement is only a good thing, but color this observer skeptical because of Miami’s winding history not only with this sport, but all sports and their stadia. And we sincerely do hope it won’t be under water in 20 years.
A Galactic Renewal: Last year, the bottom fell out on the LA Galaxy. A team that always found itself in the MLS Cup conversation finally could take no more and finished with the worst record in the league. With Sigi Schmid and a nearly full offseason behind them, the Galaxy no longer look like that disaster of a team from last season, and in fact may be a bonafide Cup contender. Most of their moves came inside the league, including trading for Ola Kamara from Columbus, and there are rumors that Zlatan might be making his long awaited move to MLS in Carson. If that comes to pass, the Galaxy of old may just be back where they long stood: atop the MLS perch.
It has been a wild offseason in MLS, and there are certainly more twists and turns to come as the league gets closer to the start of a new season. And all of this news excludes what may happen with the USSF Presidential election on February 10. The season itself starts on March 3, with five teams in CONCACAF Champions League action before then. It’s almost time to stop talking about GAM/TAM, expansion and the like and talk about actual soccer.
It will feel good when we do.
