Torsten Frings has said in an interview last weekend that his MLS side (Toronto?) would rank somewhere in between 8-16 of 2nd Bundesliga and that L.A. Galaxy is perhaps able to not get relegated out of Bundesliga. With this both clubs mentioned you can add the rest of MLS. Imo the MLS as a whole may be a bit worse than or almost equal to the 2nd Bundesliga. I would rank them somewhere around 10th place if it would be an European league.
RSL won their group that included Cruz Azul. It's not the same as eliminating them, but it's probably not as far away as you're implying.
Do you mind linking? I couldn't find the interview with a quick google, thanks. I'm surprised that he quoted that high for Galaxy. I'm assuming that doesn't include depth, which would become astonishingly bad for any team if they had to play in BL1 or 2.
This is pretty much what I have heard from every player who has played in any of the top leagues in Europe. From a starting XI standpoint, the best teams in MLS are on par with the bottom end of the table in the Premier, Bundes, La Liga, Serie A. The biggest disparity is in the depth.
He was guest in German football TV show "Doppelpass" and was asked about the quality of MLS and Toronto and the differences between the style of play between MLS and Bundesliga last sunday. But I only find vids in German..
No you are just spastically optimistic... MLS teams have not done enough to even get the Mexican teams to compete enthusiastically against them... as it stands the Mexican teams get by with minimal effort & then turn it on as need to get the result... until an MLS team actually eliminates a Mexican team in knock out we can't even get to the point where we can compare because as it stands the Mex teams are able to regulate their efforts & still dominate the CCL semi finals & trophy boards.
The gap is closing. Ignore it at your own peril, just like the Mexican national team did for a decade. One day you'll wake up and watch FML teams getting bounced by MLS teams and ask yourself What the F*ck just happened? Just like Mexican national team fans did when the US was consistently outperforming them from 2000-2011. I'm not saying the two leagues are on par with one another. But to deny that the gap between the two leagues between now and just a couple of years ago hasn't closed significantly is the rantings of a troll who is in denial.
Outperforming is a stretch... more like Equalizing... but in any case Thanks... that prompted changes that now have Mexico starting to reach its potential at all levels. Mexico will go far in 2014, the US will go 3 & Out (if you even qualify)... time puts everyone in its place. I look forward to the day when the MLS is good enough to give the Mex league some competition because Liga MX needs a big nudge to get serious... for now it skates by without much effort and is still crushingly dominant in the North American market... both on a competitive plane & a marketing plane (most popular / watched / merchandised football league in the U.S. right )
These things are so hard to compare. Depth is the greatest obstacle, drop off is huge. Austria, Sweden, Norway, Scotland are they that much better than MLS? The top teams (UEFA CL qualifiers) are prob better than your Chivas USA, Toronto, Columbus, Philadelphia, Montreal etc. But the middle of the road or lower table? Not so much. Then again it's all opinion. Starting XI-wise they'd do okay, depth is the problem, especially if they had to play in UEFA CL or Europa League. All of the bottom clubs in the EPL are better than MLS clubs IMO, Germany as well. More money to work with, less restrictions and more depth. You could compare other things as well... such as quality of coaching, style of play. MLS needs to make better strides with the younger players, that is making sure younger players get the necessary playing time to develop. Because IMO the improvement of the average American player will determine if the league's quality of play improves, not the foreign signing or DP's.
That was outperforming to you? Only to be one of the worst teams at the next World Cup... pfftt... the delusions!
Nice result that obfuscated what happened on the field.... but I know you guys would never whine about handballs in the box or anything like that.
Irrelevant to league ranking, but the Club World Cup every December gives a little bit of insight into club soccer in other confederations. CONCACAF champions Monterrey are about to take on Asian champions Ulsan.
Certainly, there are those who choose to obfuscate results by utilizing the age old "red herring" technique by mentioning whiners who complain about handballs.
Yes, because the United States only beat Mexico one time from 2000-2011. Shit, just ask any player who played for Mexico in that decade. There are a number of direct quotes that basically said that the US caught and passed Mexico because Mexico didn't respect the US and refused to acknowledge what was actually happening on the field. It was the same bullshit you are trying to spew now. "The results don't matter because we play a more technically attractive style of soccer. We're clearly better than the USA, even though we're losing all the time. Americans play ugly soccer, so were still better." You're making the same exact arguments now in dismissing the advances that MLS has made the past few years. MLS teams play a very different style than Mexican teams. And Mexican teams play a more technically proficient style of play. And back in the day, MLS teams were more or less manhandled with rare exceptions. Now, Mexican teams can't just run out their reserves and expect to get a result. Mexican teams are losing to MLS teams at home and MLS teams are beating Mexican teams with sides largely comprised of reserves in the US. The two leagues aren't on level footing right now, but MLS is definitely catching up. Head to head results keep improving for MLS each and every year.
Except... in REAL matches i.e, Official matches.. the results were split down the middle, save the match in Korea... hence why admitted CAUGHT UP. What is an absolutely ridiculous & delusional statement is to say that the U.S. surpassed or outperformed Mexico during that stretch... one team is perennial Top 16 in the World... another team flounders in the 16 to 32 range pretty consistently (you know in actual World Cups not the friendly matches you value so much) but happens to get results against their biggest rival & reason of existence. In terms of the MLS... I watch the CCL matches... the MLS teams aren't quite competitive enough to get the Mexican teams to take them 100% seriously 100% of the time... Liga MX is still crushingly dominant (in terms of actual trophies & proportion of Semi Final appearances etc.,) and the teams can afford to skate by & only turn it on as needed. Like I said... I actually welcome the day when the MLS is actually more competitive because Liga MX has a LOT of room for improvement... everything from player training, to the size of first team squads, to Stadiums is currently running below the country's demographic & economic potential, and Liga MX needs a fire lit... the owners need to lose some market share etc., right now they are just milking the Cash Cow with minimal effort & investment.
2010 World Cup: U.S. & Mexico eliminated in the Round of 16 2006 World Cup: U.S. eliminated in the Group Stage, Mexico eliminated in the Round of 16 2002 World Cup: U.S. eliminated in the Quarter-finals, Mexico eliminated in the Round of 16 Mexico was a consistent round of 16 participant in this time period, while the U.S. jumped from the Quarter-Finals to the Group Stage and back to the Round of 16. So fairly even overall results but Mexico much more consistent. But then there's really no "getting even" when you lose to your rivals on the ultimate stage until you return the favor and/or win it all...
MLS will never be competitive enough to make all the MX clubs take all the MLS clubs seriously in competition. Been watching some UCL and Europa, and there are a lot of clubs not taking all their opponents too seriously as it is. Same in Euros and World Cup, even into the group stage. Anyways, I'm excited for the day that an MLS squad takes a CCL Cup. But I'm more excited for the day when an MLS squad outplays the MX club in the final, win or lose. Because crappy teams can beat great teams. But two great teams duking it out in a championship match? That's what I'm looking for.
The Monterrey vs. RSL final a couple of years back was pretty good. RSL gutted out a draw in Mexico but couldn't finish their chances at home in what was a pretty evenly played game. Its a shame that the Galaxy are losing Beckham and most likely Donovan as well. They could have done quite well in the knockout rounds and would give most MFL teams a run for their money. Will be interesting to see who they bring (if anyone) this winter). Side note: I don't know the rules to the CCL all that well. Hypothetically, if the Galaxy do sign Kaka this winter, would he be eligible to play in the group stages?
The Monterrey - RSL series was definitely a close, hard fought battle... but to put the match up in context RSL was touted as the best MLS team ever, and Monterrey had not won a match in the Mexican league in almost two months going into the series... a struggling Monterrey riddled with injury problems etc., still did enough to beat #MLS4RSL away.
Well, if nothing else, we know soccer is about matchups. You can put teams with whatever record you want against each other, and those records don't matter nearly as much as how the teams play do. Just ask SKC or SJE how the playoffs went against the technically speaking "worse" teams. And that's what I mean when I say I want clubs to go toe to toe. I wasn't even aware of the acronym CONCACAF back before that tournament and barely aware of it for a while after (let alone what the CCL actually involved), but it's good to hear it was actually close. I always imagined RSL scraped by to the final and got clobbered there, but there's hope in you telling me they matched alright. Again, I don't think anyone disagrees with the idea that at this very moment, MX is just generally much stronger. Wins against them can happen, but they won't show too much until they're no longer upsets when it does occur.
No they weren't. Not ever by anyone. It was said that it would have been the best performance in international competition by an MLS team ever had they won. And some people said that because of the format of the tournament, their performance was better than when DC United and Los Angeles won the previous version of this tournament. But not one single person said that RSL team was the best team ever. Most people wouldn't put that RSL team in the Top 10 of best teams in MLS history.
That is not what people where posting on Big Soccer, ESPN Soccer Net, CNN SI and the MLS website in the run up to the final.