Top storylines
Los Angeles FC delivered a Hollywood ending to the 2022 MLS season.
Does the league have a sequel?
Arguably MLS’s greatest-ever game — LAFC’s dramatic win over the Philadelphia Union in penalties for the 2022 MLS Cup — left fans anxiously waiting for the league’s return. Three months later, the league’s 28th season will kick off Saturday, though LAFC’s title defense will have to wait after its game against the Los Angeles Galaxy has been postponed due to bad weather in the L.A. area.
Here’s a look at the biggest storylines entering the season:
CAN LAFC REPEAT?
The defending champions return nine or 10 starters from the team that won both the Supporters’ Shield for the best regular-season record and the MLS Cup. Striker has become a major question, however, after LAFC sold its top goal-scorer Chico Arango to Mexican side Pachuca this winter.
LAFC also lost Gareth Bale, who retired. The team bolstered its defense with Aaron Long, signing the former Red Bulls captain in free agency.
ST. LOUIS CITY SC’S INAUGURAL SEASON
St. Louis, a hotbed soccer city, finally gets an MLS club as St. Louis City SC becomes the 29th team in the league. St. Louis will play at its brandnew Citypark Stadium in the downtown area.
Outside of former Borussia Dortmund goalie Roman Burki and former Hoffenheim forward Joao Klauss, St. Louis is void of many familiar names or proven talent. Can they follow LAFC’s blueprint and find immediate success?
WHAT IS MLS’S IDENTITY?
It seems MLS has finally settled on its identity as a selling league in recent years, developing talented prospects before lucratively offloading them to more heralded teams across Europe. Five of the top 10 most expensive transfers out of MLS in the league’s history occurred in 2022 and 2023.
The transfer window next opens for European teams to acquire MLS players in the summer, which occurs smack in the middle of the MLS season. Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada (below) ,FC Cincinnati’s Brenner and the Red Bulls’ John Tolkin are among the top transfer candidates to potentially leave the league.
On the flip-side, a few bigmoney transfers into MLS promise to make immediate impacts. The Red Bulls’ Dante Vanezir, LAFC’s Enzo Copetti and the Timbers’ Evander are fresh faces who can quickly lift their respective team’s outlooks.
STREAMING PARTNERSHIP WITH APPLE TV+
Apple TV+ and the
MLS reached a landmark agreement last summer worth $2.5 billion over 10 years. As a result of the deal, games will primarily be broadcast on MLS Season Pass, a one-stop subscription streaming service airing every game, with no blackouts, beginning this year.
Will MLS’s fans be able to navigate the change and new technology? Will they want to?
NEW PLAYOFF FORMAT
MLS officially announced a new playoff format Tuesday, increasing the number of teams that qualify. Starting this year, 18 of the 29 teams in the league (62 percent) will make the playoffs, a significant increase from 14 of 28 teams last year (50 percent). The top seeds in each conference no longer will receive a firstround bye, and the first round will now feature a best-of-3 series instead of singleelimination. Before that, a pair of single-elimination wildcard matches will now be added. There will likely be many more playoff games under the new format, but will the regular season now be devalued?