Page 79 - Soccer360 Issue 107

LEAGUES CUP FAIL
Marco D’Onofrio discusses why MLS and Liga MX made a mistake by playing the Leagues Cup this season.
Having MLS clubs meet Liga MX teams
in a mid-season tournament isn’t necessarily a terrible idea. In fact, it is
a great way to market both leagues to fans across North America and build further exposure for both brands. Also,
it provides Mexican fans living in the United States or Canada with many more opportunities to see their favourite clubs or players live.
However, playing a mid-season
tournament during a summer that saw
both the Copa America and European
Championship take place just never
made much sense. MLS teams were
forced to play importRaenaltMgadarimd es while won the
both international tourvneraymfirset nts were Champions
taking place, ensuring top stars would
UEFA has
come a long
be absent for their clubs.
The MLS schedule did not have any room for teams to stop playing through the high-profile tournaments, because they had to fit in the Leagues Cup for the second annual season. MLS opted
to halt league play from July 20 to August 24 so that the Leagues Cup to be contested.
For most supporters and coaches though, they’d have much preferred
the league stopped play during FIFA international windows and just skipped the Leagues Cup this year. After all, teams like Inter Miami are forced to play a significant portion of their season without superstars like Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
“The league needs to stop playing during international windows because that will deter the type of players we
can sign,” Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino said in June. “Instead of signing a really good player, you’ll sign someone a little worse that will not be called up during FIFA windows. Because every international window, Copa América or Olympics, I have three or four players gone and the team feels it. So teams may not risk signing players that may be eligible to be called up.”
It’s important for MLS to develop new traditions and the Leagues Cup could become a prestigious competition down the line, but it won’t be if it is being shoved down the throats of teams and fans.
way since
League Cup in 1955
settled in immediately with his new team. “Joseph has been a key member of one of the best clubs in Belgium’s top-flight and one of Africa’s most prominent national teams over the past few years and we are thrilled to announce that he is joining the LA Galaxy,” Kuntz said in a release at the time. “We are looking forward to adding such a dynamic attacker in the prime of his career to our group and for him to be a key figure in our pursuit of our next trophies.”
While Pec and Paintsil weren’t the two most recognizable names, they were exactly the type of players Vanney was looking for to implement his style of play. “We are pleased to add a player of Joseph’s quality to the LA Galaxy,” said Vanney at the time of Paintsil’s acquisition. “Joseph is a dynamic winger with and without the ball who possesses the capacity to change games instantly.”
Although teams like Inter Miami
and Toronto FC may possess bigger international superstars than the Galaxy currently do, the five-time MLS Cup
winners seem like they are on the brink of something special again. Through their first 26 games of the season in all competitions, the Galaxy hit 50 goals and looked like they could have had 50 more at times. Kuntz and Vanney have put together a lethal attack that is the envy of most teams across the league. It may have taken a little longer than anticipated, but the Galaxy are certainly back as a championship contender.
Only time will tell though if the Galaxy ultimately goes on to lift the league’s most prestigious trophy for a historic sixth time, but fans are certainly much more optimistic these days than they were even a few short months ago.
SOCCER360 77
ABOVE:
Gerardo Martino was critical of the decision to go ahead with the Leagues Cup this year
BOTTOM:
Although
teams like Inter Miami and Toronto FC may possess bigger international superstars
than the Galaxy currently do, Los Angeles seems like they are
on the brink of something special