Playoffs in pandemic: What could go wrong?
The MLS Cup playoffs began Friday night with pair of play-in games on the Eastern Conference side of the draw. By the time the tournament ends Dec. 12, they will have crammed four-plus rounds (17 games) into 23 days.
Why the rush? If MLS has to jam its season-ending tournament between two FIFA international playing windows amid a raging global pandemic, let us hope this thing doesn’t go off the rails. It just might.
MLS is attempting to be the first American pro sports league to crown a champion outside of a bubble. The logistical challenge is fraught. For instance, due to the border closure, Toronto FC has since September been playing its home games in East Hartford, Connecticut.
The Crew's first-round game is against the New York Red Bulls at 3 p.m. Saturday at Mapfre Stadium. If the Crew advances and seeding holds, they'll be playing their second-round game against defending Eastern Conference champion Toronto at Rentschler Field. (The last time the Crew played there, it did not go well for them, but never mind.)
The league's playoff plan went awry on Day 1: As the Miami Herald reported, both Gonzalo and Federico Higuain (Pipa!), and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, were among the Inter Miami players whose positive tests left them unavailable for the play-in match against Nashville FC on Friday night.
MLS this week scrambled to safely return players from international duty. The virus did not fully cooperate. For instance: LAFC will be without three players, including Golden Boot winner Diego Rossi, for its first-round game against Seattle on Tuesday night. Why? The three tested positive for COVID-10 while playing for their national teams in South America, and they're in quarantine.
ESPN soccer writer Jeff Carlisle has been a must read for MLS fans during these strange times. He broke the story about Rossi, et al. He also reported that, in order to bypass its own quarantine rules, the league has used charter flights to ferry players back to the States. And he reported that teams racked with the virus may have to forfeit playoff games.
Good on Carlisle. This is a league that can slap a four-game suspension on a player without saying why – and there isn't a peep of protest from the player, his agent or even his union. Crew defender Josh Williams was slapped with just such a minor-league, triple-secret punishment last month. So, tip o' the hat to Carlisle, who is doing good work on behalf of the fans – who deserve to know the basics of what's going on in commissioner Don Garber's politburo.
Everyone hopes these playoffs come off without another hitch. The smart money is they won't, but after nearly 10 months of stir-craziness, let's lay some stupid money and enjoy the soccer for a few weeks. Let us begin with Crew-red Bulls.
These are two MLS originals from 1996. (The New York/new Jersey Metrostars were sold and renamed in 2005.) While the Crew has had bigger rivals – D.C. United and Chicago Fire, to name two old-timers – the Black & Gold has bumped into the Red Bulls more than a few times over the past 25 years.
The Red Bulls are one of many eponymous sports entities owned by the Austrian power-drink giant. The corporate portfolio dictates developing young, skilled players who apply the high press with fanatical loyalty.
The New York entry this season has fired one coach, ridden an interim into the playoffs and imported a new coach (Gerhard Struber) from the home office – and he'll be on the sideline for the first time Saturday. He will not mess with the formula.
The Red Bulls are built to win for the long haul, and not necessarily at tournament time. They hold the record with 21 MLS playoff appearances. They have yet to win the Cup.
The Crew, with its star midfielders (holder Darlington Nagbe and attacker Lucas Zelarayan), depth of wingers (including Pedro Santos) and proven striker (Gyasi Zardes), are the heavy favorites at home. But you never know.
The Crew's stated No. 1 goal is to win the MLS Cup. Well, here's another chance.
The Crew has made two appearances in the championship game and won it once — in the magical season of 2008, when they beat the Red Bulls in the final.
The last time these teams met in the playoffs was in 2018. At the time, the Save the Crew movement was not yet over, not officially. In an East semifinal, the Crew lost the second leg by a 3-0 score in Red Bull Arena. The smackdown at the hands of the Red Bulls on a frigid night in Harrison, New Jersey, was a wrenching season-ender for a Crew team that aspired to so much more.
There are more than a few Crew players who were there, and remember.
marace@dispatch.com