Galaxy II, Red Bull B and MLS development

Photo credit: LA Galaxy

 

The rise of MLS development is here and the marquee clubs are setting the stage for it. The Red Bulls just announced that they would begin the process of creating a secondary feeder team in the USL Pro. This is not without precedent since the Galaxy II was just formed a few weeks ago.

If this sounds familiar to those that follow international soccer it's because great teams in other leagues around the world also have this type of setup: Barcelona B, Bayern Munich B and so on. Indeed, it's quite a step for MLS teams.

The "b" teams we are talking about have given us players like Pedro, Giovanni dos Santos, and the great Carles Puyol, who came up from Barcelona C to become one of the greatest central defenders of all time.

Recently, players like Terrence Boyd and USA prospect Julian Green have come up the ranks from Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. The former landed a starting (and successful) role at Rapid Wien of the Austria Bundesliga while the latter made his first full-team appearance in a Champions League match with Bayern.

It is no secret that MLS teams have had partnerships with lower division teams for player loans in order to get young players valuable playing time. Such was the case with individuals like Seaton and Dykstra for DC united and the Richmond Kickers.

Just as the great leagues in the past have move forward with new, clear and groundbreaking developments, so does Major League Soccer. Still in its second decade, the league is advancing step by step to catch up to the rest of the soccer world.

Major League Soccer is now experiencing what we might term its third age. A time after the Beckham era. The influx of highly talented designated players continues, as does the repatriation of in-prime US internationals like Dempsey and Bradley. 

The projected increase of teams to 24 by the end of the decade calls for an increase in the talent pool. The Galaxy and Red Bull are now leading the way with their developmental "B" sides to ensure they can have the tools to meet the demand and are once again doing the trailblazing for the league.

Is 24 teams too much for MLS?

Photo credit: MLS

 

Yesterday American soccer fans received an interesting bit of information about the future of the game in this country: Major League Soccer was looking to add 4 more teams to the league by the year 2020. Is this a good idea?

Let's think back to the year 1981. The league in which Pele and Beckenbaur played expanded to 24 teams in 1979. After 3 years with an expanded field of teams at 24, the North American Soccer League (NASL) contracted to 21 teams, then 14, 12 and finally to 9 in 1984. After that, the league folded and pieces of soccer were played in smaller venues with very little attention by most of the population.

The reason NASL failed was mostly due to the superclub Cosmos earning most of the attendance and poor planning in the expansion to new venues that weren't carefully analyzed for potential followers of the sport, a lack of the necessary funds, stadiums and coverage. Very few teams made it on the air and Americans lost interest in what was always considered a fringe sport.

Is all of this true today? No. But all the pieces aren't there yet either. Early in the 2000s, both teams in Florida (Tampa and Miami) folded and the league remained at 10 teams until the entrance of Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA in 2005. To this day, teams like Columbus, New England, Chivas and Dallas trail the league in attendance and attention, even when they are playing well. And even though some may argue for better management, these clubs should show more progress off the pitch in order to warrant an increase in the number of teams in the league.

There are success stories for sure. Kansas City has seen a tremendous resurgence with new leadership, a new stadium and great player development. Houston's BBVA stadium also allowed for the team to continue with its strong attendance numbers. Then there is Cascadia with Seattle and Portland's sellout crowds for every game. Soccer never left those cities and is here to stay for the long term.

Television coverage is also at an all-time high with the addition of NBC Sports Network and continuing coverage from ESPN and Univision. It is still rare, however, to see matches in non-cable networks like other sports enjoy, although national team coverage has grown through FOX and NBC. This, perhaps, is the next big thing the league has to do. Right now, realistically, this is not financially suitable for most networks due to the reach and requirement of other competing sports. 

If teams such as Orlando and markets like Miami or Baltimore are able to get enough ground support then this could work out, especially if soccer specific stadiums are added. This, most of all, is the key economic component, for rental of bigger football or baseball stadiums drain capital from ownership.

There is also a question of players. Can the US produce good, quality individuals? It can but with a good reserve league and a full suite of academies at all levels for all teams. College soccer can only do so much. Foreign stars are also difficult to acquire in their prime while the league fails at international tournaments and most stars want to be in New York or LA, something akin to what occurred with the NASL. These are cosmetic, societal problems to deal with that make an addition of 24 teams more complicated.

Ultimately, if the concerns above can be addressed properly and in a timely manner, increasing the field of teams to 24 could work to enhance the sport in America and also to increase player quality and perhaps propel the national team to greater heights. Truthfully, the best course of action would be to enact a promotion/relegation procedure to the league, but this remains economically unfeasible for at least a couple of decades.

The Beckham Experiment Worked

Photo credit: AP

During the winter of 2007, the soccer world was shocked when it was announced that David Beckham would be joining Major League Soccer later that year. Although there had been hints of this eventually occurring near the twilight of Beckham's career, the sudden shift towards one of the up-and-coming markets in the world was nonetheless astounding. At just 31, Beckham remained in his prime to help the league get to new levels.

The English midfielder joined the LA Galaxy later in the summer, after a buzz was created around the league and the country. Even CNN had him on their front page when he announced his move. And Victoria Beckham (the Spice Girl) made a reality show about moving to America. The glam was here to stay.

On the pitch, things were different. Becks was plagued with injuries early on in his first games for the Galaxy, and would not show up at some of the games. This was besides the fact that every single MLS stadium was full for every Galaxy game, and most Galaxy games had been moved to the end of the season to maximize on the hype.

But did Beckham really change the league and the sport in the US? Yes, definitely. First, a new type of player was added to the choices for MLS teams. The Beckham rule, it was called, and it meant that teams were allowed to have one player beyond the MLS salary cap. Enter Cuautemoc Blanco for Chicago, Denilson for Dallas, Juan Pablo Angel for New York. Just like that, stars in their prime were coming to MLS.

But besides the influx in world talent, the MLS brand became international and, more importantly, Americans turned to the sport once more. And this happened at the right time because new cities started to sign up to be MLS hosts. Enter Toronto FC, the first Canadian team in MLS and a first in the world, then followed the return of the San Jose Earthquakes. Next came additions to Seattle and Philadelphia, which had pursued a franchise for a long time. Finally, the Pacific Northwest entered the picture with Portland and Vancouver, and eventually Montreal. 

With the new teams came a new type of audience. They were there to see the players but they were also there to enjoy the sport. Seattle and Portland have yet to have a non-sellout in their brief history. Player academies started popping up, encouraging young talent that eventually led to a successful Gold Cup 2007, Confederations Cup 2009, and World Cup 2010. It also led to players such as Altidore, Stuart Holden, Sacha Kljestan, Eddie Johnson to jump to European teams.

But are these developments really due to Beckham. Partially, yes. The influx of media coverage, attention, sponsors, expansion money, allowed for the erection of new stadiums in major markets such as New York, as well as classic MLS teams like Houston, Kansas City, Colorado and mid-decade expansion team Salt Lake. Suddenly, new stadiums were full and money could be diverted to further player development, expansion of the DP field, and increased marketing.

Finally, let's remember that new web pages were added to the soccer internet traffic, including this very blog, and others like the now-defunct mls-rumors.net, and increased attention to professional blogs like Ives Galarcep's soccerbyives.net, Steve Goff's Washington Post page, among others.

So, did the Beckham experiment work? Yes, but it depends on how you define it. Bigger league, bigger names, better players such as Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez, new venues, international attention, increases in player pool for the national team. And goals from Becks' signature free kick. Who doesn't like that?

So now, with word that Beckham will play his last LA Galaxy game in next month's MLS Cup final versus Houston, the league is ready to jump onto better things. Beckham is no longer necessary to fill stadiums, nor is his name a per-requisite for television coverage. The league is here to stay and with new rivalries that will keep the sport going for decades to come. So, thank you, David, for helping to grow our league and the sport in the United States.