Story lines for 23rd MLS season
From Toronto’s title defense to new L.A. team
As Major League Soccer prepares to kick off its 23rd season, some key story lines to follow.
Toronto FC’s encore: Last season, Toronto became the first MLS team to win a domestic treble (domestic cup, Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup). In accomplishing that, TFC has earned recognition as the best team in league history. The core of this team is intact, so expect more big things. Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley and Sebastian Giovinco will be tasked with leading TFC on its quest to repeat as champions and match the back-to-back championships of the 2011-12 Los Angeles Galaxy.
South American imports: The idea of MLS teams acquiring young, talented South American players isn’t new. It’s just that these players are being acquired in a more frequent, and expensive, rate. Atlanta’s MLS-record transfer fee paid to acquire Ezequiel Barco was viewed as a significant moment for the 23-year-old league. Atlanta will have to wait for Barco’s much-anticipated debut, as their 18-year-old midfielder will miss the first four to six weeks of the season with an injury.
However, Barco isn’t the only promising, young South American import coming to MLS in 2018. Eduard Atuesta (Los Angeles FC; LAFC), Josue Colman (Orlando City SC), Jesus Medina (New York City FC), Diego Rossi (LAFC), Jeisson Vargas (Montreal Impact) and Milton Valenzuela (Columbus Crew SC) also were brought in as “designated players” to be immediate difference-makers for their teams. Los Angeles Football Club: The long-anticipated debut of LAFC is here. Will the team be worthy of the hype train that’s been rolling for nearly three years? Expectations are sky high for this team, which will play in a gorgeous new stadium located adjacent to downtown L.A. In the long term, there’s little doubt the ambitious franchise has the capacity to reach those incredible expectations.
In the short term, however, LAFC will be hard-pressed to match the amazing inaugural season of last year’s expansion darling, Atlanta United FC. Like Atlanta before them, LAFC officials hired a big-name coach (former U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley) and acquired promising South American players (Atuesta and Rossi). LAFC also signed Mexican national team star Carlos Vela.
Anything short of a playoff berth this season might be considered a disappointment for L.A.
Young Americans: The U.S. men’s team’s shocking failure to qualify for the
2018 World Cup has forced the program to dramatically shift gears and look (way) ahead to the 2022 World Cup. A good portion of that next generation of potential USMNT players is already developing in MLS. At the Under-17 and
Under-20 World Cups last year, the USA was one of two countries to advance to the quarterfinals of each tournament (England, which won both, was the other).
One of the key players on that U.S.
U-20 team was Tyler Adams, who was a
revelation for the New York Red Bulls last season. He’s 19, and a strong case could be made that he would have been on this year’s World Cup team had it qualified. Also on that U-20 team with Adams were Danny Acosta, Justen Glad and Brooks Lennon of Real Salt Lake and Eryk Williamson of the Portland Timbers. The U-17 squad featured Ayo Akinola of Toronto FC; Andrew Carleton and Chris Goslin of Atlanta United FC; Chris Durkin of D.C.; Jaylin Lindsey of Sporting Kansas City; and James Sands of NYCFC. Expansion: MLS continues on its crusade toward 28 teams. Nashville and Miami (at long last) recently were announced as the league’s 24th and 25th franchises. Soon, the league will announce team No. 26, with Cincinnati, Detroit and Sacramento in contention.