MLS and the USMNT: Is it time for a Team America reboot

According to the Wikipedia link Team America won the wooden spoon in 1983 and the USA didn't make the second round of qualifying (at least they won in Trinidad).

I don't know how playing against inferior opposition would be of any benefit. The best players in the world play against the best players in the world.

And judging by their comments about MLS I don't think Pulisic and McKennie would want to play here.

Plus you'd need more than 3 DP slots. Pulisic, McKennie, Miazga, CCV, Yedlin, Wood, Brooks.and Williams would command DP size salaries.

And wouldn't other teams complain if their best academy players were snapped up by another team?

 

By the way, England played 6 Liverpool players when Liverpool were at their best, believing that it would create cohesion. They only tried it once drawing 0-0 at home against Switzerland.

 

According to a rumor in Bleacher Report, Dortmund won't accept anything under $80 million.

As for McKennie, he's a starting midfielder in a team that finished second in the BL and under contract until 2022.

 

Wikipedia calls the first group stage the "First round" of the "Final tournament" of the 1985 CONCACAF Championship and calls the first round of WCQs the CONCACAF Championship qualification. The same games served as WCQs and the CONCACAF Championship, which is now the Gold Cup. USA started with an aggregate against Dutch Antilles. There was a scoreless draw at Dutch Antilles followed by USA winning 4-0 in St. Louis. In the second round, USA was grouped with Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago. USA and Costa Rica hosted 3 games each, with none in Trinidad and Tobago.

 

But why would another owner or even a player sue a team that decides to play with only Americans? You, as the owner, can choose whomever you want on your team. No one forces you to buy foreigners or give employment to permanent residents. You are building a team based on what you think are your best options. I am sure playing with your own academy players, buying other HG players from other teams that they don't use or are willing to loan out and buying American players from abroad who struggle for minutes or a team is way cheaper than buying Giovinco's and Barco's type of players. And all will be USMNT eligible.

 

You would be treating permanent residents differently based solely on their nationality, which is illegal. Full stop. Unless you can get MLS/USSF to create a special designation for your team as a development squad for the national team, which would require all players be eligible for the national team, then you would have to treat any non-international player the same regardless of their actual National team eligibility.

Again, if you don't publicly announce the policy, you may get away with it for a year or two before people really put 2 and 2 together, but eventually people will figure it out. And then you (and/or MLS) will be sued. Some lawyer will find some permanent resident that didn't get a spot in MLS, or didn't get a better salary or something, and sue you. And you better not have written the policy down anywhere or that's likely the end of that.

 

I don't mean to cause an argument here but how does the NFL do it? Do all teams play with at least one permanent resident or refugee or are the majority of the teams with just US Citizens? I don't watch football at all so if they do play like that then I wasn't aware of it. Baseball has a lot of foreigners and I am sure all teams have them. Basketball could be the same thing, I don't know, I don't watch basketball either. Maybe hockey too? Isn't it one thing just to try to sue you because you hire only American players but if you hire foreign coaches, as Chivas has done, how can they sue you and accuse you that you don't hire residents or foreigners? As long as you have other positions filled out with non US citizens and leave the field players only for US Citizens it could work.

What I am understanding from what you are saying is that you, as an owner, are required to give a job to residents even if you don't need them on your team or you will be sue for discrimination. I kind of figured if we had a Chivas type team in the US everyone will be all over the owner for being too "nationalist" or xenophobic or whatever. It'll make the news but not a good way. Only here in America. In Mexico Chivas is well accepted and even glorified that they play with only Mexicans. I know, different laws and all.

It is all hypothetical anyways because I don't see any team in MLS even try to go that route even if it were possible.

 

That's the confusion. You aren't required to give a job to a foreigner. You are required to not choose an American over a permanent resident/green card holder just because he's a citizen.

For purposes of this scenario there are essentially 3 categories. American citizens (eligible for the U.S. Nats), players eligible for other national teams but allowed to work in the U.S. without a visa (green card holders, refugees, etc.), and eligible for other national teams and require a visa to work in the U.S. (anyone MLS considers an international for roster rules). Under U.S. employment law the players in the first two categories must be treated the same when it comes to hiring them. You can't discriminate against the second category just because they're in that category. By running a team of only players eligible for the U.S. National team you are by default discriminating against the players in the second category only because they're in that category. You are allowed to rule out players in the third category only because they require visas (this is why you see many companies put out job listings that include a line about not accepting anyone requiring a visa for work status).

If you could show that the U.S. Nat-team eligible players are all better than the players in the second category and you signed them for that reason and not because they were Nat eligible, then you would be fine. I don't think anyone would buy that argument for a MLS team though, and certainly not over multiple years/transfer windows.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_players_in_the_National_Football_League

Permanent residence in Mexico is only given to relatives of Mexican citizens or retirees.

I don't understand why Bilbao only signing Basque players does not break EU rules on restraint of trade. All EU citizens have to be treated equally by law.