MLS got its money's worth with Becks but who else?

Discussion in 'MLS: General' started by nick, Aug 18, 2007.

  1. nick

    nick Member+

    Nov 23, 1998
    Potomac Falls, Va
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Clearly there is only one icon like David Beckham, but Beckham has shown that the right type of world class player will draw fans, increase sponsorship, provide visibility and most importantly raise the level of play.

    I am not advocating breaking the bank, but really opening the checkbook on some very high profile players does seem to provide benefits to MLS significantly above the cost. If MLS could add another 5 truly world class players that could have a major impact who would you chose in order and why.
     
  2. flippin269

    flippin269 Member+

    Aug 3, 2003
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think these six would have the biggest impact on the league, but I don't see any of them coming anytime soon, if ever:

    Ronaldhino
    C. Ronaldo
    L. Messi
    T. Henry
    Rafa Marquez

    Now, I DO see MLS teams pursuing Ronaldhino, Henry, Drogba, Marquez, Shevchenko, and Totti in the next 5 years with decent offers, and C. Ronaldo, Messi, Rooney, Kaka, and Park Ji Sung in the next 10 years. Whether any of them actually decided to take that offer is anyone's guess, but if any of those players did come to MLS, it would make a pretty strong impact for the league and an even stronger one on their team's market.
     
  3. Swami

    Swami Member

    Mar 5, 2005
    I think we'll see Henry, Schevchenko, Marquez and Ronaldo here at some point. Nike should open up its checkbook to help subsidize Ronaldinho. They are seriously getting left behind in this market.
     
  4. Chris M.

    Chris M. Member+

    Jan 18, 2002
    Chicago
    MLS can spend more as an investment that will return nicely by attracting the existing soccer fans in this country that don't watch MLS.

    I think they should actively talk to players on your list and others, BUT I think we are at the point were they should start cultivating the relationships in the players late 20s with an eye towards signing them in their early 30s as they did with Beckham.

    They need to make it clear that "we want you now, but the offer won't be on the table in four years if you sign another euro contract."

    Some won't do it, I have a feeling some will and those are the players that you want here.
     
  5. Lucid

    Lucid Member

    May 17, 1999
    San Francisco, CA
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    I think you are dead on. Becks prolly wouldn't have happened had we the MLS not been talking to him for years prior to him actually signing.

    Problem that the MLS is going to run into is transfer fees, cause it's not gonna be everyday that you get a superstar in the last year of his contract willing to go through what Beckham did. Transfer fees aren't a big issue as long as we have them going out as well, and that's another key area we need to focus on.
     
  6. njzorrooo

    njzorrooo Member

    Dec 21, 2005
    Brooklyn, NY
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    No one today would have the impact Beckham does. The closest would be ZZ, but I think the odds he would come out of retirement fade every day.

    Of the realitic ones that might come in the next 5 years, there are a few that would catch the attention of soccer-followers enough to make a dent: Ronaldinho, Ronaldo (not C.), maybe even Sheva or Henry, are the few that come to mind. However, there are many more that, although nothing compared to Beckham, would elevate the caliber of play, which would be a big help to increase the fan base. I mean, look at Xavier for LA. His touch, passes, and vision stand out from the rest. Schelloto is another example of a player that may not set ticket sales on fire but will help the league gradually gain fans. These guys have helped and their cost has been reasonable.

    MLS has been impressive in its discipline of what players to go after. Veron would have a been a good addition to our league. Denilson came close and he would have helped too. But it wasn't worth breaking the bank for them. We didn't get those guys this time but we will get others, under careful financial terms. Or so it seems to me.
     
  7. flippin269

    flippin269 Member+

    Aug 3, 2003
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I totally agree with you, but it's easier said than done. I know if we soccer fans in America had our way, at least five of those players that I mentioned would already be here. IMO, MLS would tap into the soccer-but-not-yet-MLS fans if we signed those great players before the age of 27 instead of 32. But we have to be realistic. The MLS Cup is not as desirable as the Premiership, Series A, or La Liga titles yet, much less Champions League, etc.

    That's part of the struggle with MLS in America compared to NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL. In those leagues, money is everything. The worst team in the league could sign a big name star if they have the money. In soccer, it's just not that easy. Money is a much smaller equation. You could offer a 25 year old star a $50 Million contract with endorsements to play in America, but could you offer them the prestigue of winning your league's title and that legacy with it? They'd probably take the smaller contract with a European club than take the larger one here if offered because they want to build a legacy to their name in the most prominent league of their current playing time. Then after they thought they couldn't be starters anymore on those clubs, THEN they'd probably look to leagues like MLS to cash in.

    It's still a process, and with guys like Becks, Angel, Schelotto, and Blanco, MLS has just now gotten to the sign-stars-when-they're-32+ status. That's not bad, figuring that they've only been around for less than 15 years. It will probably be a few seasons before MLS teams start signing the best in the world while under 30, and will gradually start signing the best between 20-27 after that. But they're getting there, I think.
     
  8. woodlands

    woodlands New Member

    Jun 18, 2007
    Houston, TX
    There are 3 groups of fans in America:
    Group A - Existing MLS fans. These are already "sold" on MLS.​

    Group B - American soccer fans who don't follow MLS. They follow US Men's National Team, European and Mexican leagues. This group is twice as big as Group A.​

    Group C - All other American sports fans. They follow NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA, NASCAR, etc. This is the largest group of all.​
    Let's look at some names:
    • Only 20% of Americans know who Landon Donovan is (before Beckham came).
    • I'm guessing Kasey Keller is even lower than Landon Donovan.
    • David Beckham had a movie named after him, a former pop star wife, and an international mega-sized fan base to fall back on. And yet, when he came to America, most Americans had never seen him play a single soccer game, nor did they know what kind of soccer style he played.
    • Group C fans who watched the 2002 World Cup remember the "world's-best" Brazilians Ronaldo and Ronaldinho scoring exciting goals. If one of them came to MLS tomorrow, they might generate some interest (if promoted right) with Group C fans, simply because they were "the best", and they've scored goals and can do electrifying tricks in TV commercials and YouTube videos.
    • Group C fans (non-soccer fans) who watched the 2006 World Cup remember, as one BigSoccer poster called him, "the head butt guy". I'm sure Zidane's name recognition in America isn't any better than Ronaldinho. Maybe it would be different in Montreal. My guess is that he'd generate interest primarily with Group B fans in America.
    • Thierry Henry is known to Americans who watch the EPL on cable TV (Group B). Few Group C Americans have never heard of him, unfortunately. He'd need a lot of brilliant promotion to make inroads into Group C because his brand name isn't developed here at all.
    • Michael Owen: see Thierry Henry.
    • Rafael Marquez - Spanish league star and Mexican national team captain - like Blanco, he could generate interest among Mexican-Americans (Group B).
    • Lionel Messi - Argentine star in the Spanish league - he's less known to Americans than Thierry Henry or Michael Owen. We're talking Group B fans at best.
     
  9. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    Jason Turner and Kyle Pascoe.
     
  10. peledre

    peledre Member

    Mar 25, 2001
    Sioux Falls, SD
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't see MLS spending large amounts of money on transfer fees to bring talent in. Most of their signings in the next 10 years will be on free transfers. Beckham is the one player in the world that will bring in the kind of ROI that he has. No one else, not even Ronaldinho, has that kind of marketability.
     
  11. NebraskaAddick

    Aug 26, 2005
    Omaha, NE
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I wouldn't make a list of players, because it's more up to them than it is up to us.

    So rather, I'm going to attack this from another angle. Which MLS teams should/could go for a huge name in the next year or so?

    I think there's no doubt the Red Bulls will get somebody like that when they open their new stadium. They will definitely want to open their new digs with a bang, and so you can put it in the bank that they'll sign a big name then.

    Toronto, you've got to figure, will do something like this, too. If not next year, very soon after, perhaps coinciding with a new stadium expansion. Their fans will demand it, and reward them in spades if they do.

    New England would be smart to do this, too, but I'm not sure they would. But playing in an NFL stadium that they control, they can fill up a good many seats with a big name signing, and rake in the revenues from it.

    For some reason, I don't think DC United would go after a big name just yet, unless they saw themselves falling behind in the table because of it. They're still looking to get a stadium deal done and all that, and as long as they're a good team on the pitch, they can hold off a while until they get off-field concerns squared away.

    Chicago could go for a big name, but I'm thinking only after Blanco retires or leaves, because he seems to be paying off for them in the mean time.

    I think San Jose would go after a big name, but only after they get past the start-up costs and the stadium built, and they're ready to go for the next level.

    Those Texas teams, I'm not sure about. I don't know where their fan base is coming from, whether Houston can build downtown or not, etc. I don't know that either one could guarantee a big name would bring in so much more revenue to make up for the cost of the player.
     
  12. woodlands

    woodlands New Member

    Jun 18, 2007
    Houston, TX
    I agree 100%.
     
  13. flippin269

    flippin269 Member+

    Aug 3, 2003
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I disagree. There's only one man that could bring a bigger impact to MLS before the age of 32 than Beckham, and that's Ronaldinho. I bet he's the next mega-star that AEG would be looking to pursue for Galaxy as Beckham's contract winds down. But Ronaldinho's the most googled athlete in the world, a World Cup winner, a footballer-of-the-year, and probably the most recognizable sports star in America not playing in America yearly. I think in 2010 or after, he would take Becks' impact to the next level.
     
  14. woodlands

    woodlands New Member

    Jun 18, 2007
    Houston, TX
    Ronaldhino might be closer than most of the others. On the plus side, he can score more goals than Beckham. On the minus side, he's not British, and he's not the apple of the eye of all the little soccer girls and soccer moms in America, and he's not married to a celebrity known to Americans. And no movie.

    By the way, I think you made some excellent points about MLS getting the younger players (under-30) and about Ronaldinho's global brand.
     
  15. bbsbt

    bbsbt Member+

    Feb 26, 2003
    For non-soccer fans to soccer:
    * Kobe Bryant and/or Steve Nash (theoretically of course)- major impact in water-cooler talk and media buzz in the US for an entire season. It should, at least, divert the non-soccer fan's attention to MLS for a few months. (NOTE: short of a WC, I don't think there is anything else that will attract the non-soccer fan)

    For soccer fans to MLS:
    * Ronaldhino/Henry/C. Ronaldo/Rooney/Messi/N. Castillo/Guardado- any 4 of these, with Nery and Guardado a must(to attract the needed Mex fans).
     
  16. nick

    nick Member+

    Nov 23, 1998
    Potomac Falls, Va
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm not really asking who would have the same ROI as Beckham because I think as a global icon he is somewhat unique. However, I believe there are major star out there that would provide a strong ROI to MLS.
     
  17. csufguy

    csufguy BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Jan 25, 2004
    LA
    More Xavier's would help! Wait there is only ONE Xavier. Damn. Well players of his experience and caliber. I would say the MLS needs 2 BIG DP's (Ronaldo, Totti, etc.) in the league at all times to maintain the soccer coverage here.
     
  18. bbsbt

    bbsbt Member+

    Feb 26, 2003
    Most probably about 5-10x as big.
     
  19. Via_Chicago

    Via_Chicago Member

    Apr 1, 2004
    Bay Area, California
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Actually, I'm sure more Group C fans have heard of him than you might think. He's very close friends with Tony Parker (and by extensinon Eva Longoria), and occasionally gets the camera on him during broadcasts and in ESPN highlights. Not saying people would be like: "Wow! It's former Arsenal star Thierry Henry!" (more like: "Dude is friends with Tony Parker!") But some Group C folks would at least recognize him, and his association with another American sport (NBA Basketball) as well as his ability to speak English would make him a very good signing (not to mention his soccer ability), both for Group B as well as for Group C.
     
  20. Bill Schmidt

    Bill Schmidt BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 3, 2003
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And I assure you the fans of Latin American soccer are the vast majority of that group. The number of fans of Euro national teams and clubs in the U.S. gets vastly overestimated here. Just in case anyone would like to point to the 2-3 annual summer sellouts of large U.S. stadiums for the visits of big Euro teams, I'll remind them of the millions who watch Latin American games on TV every week. That the Euro games are generally PPV or on niche cable/sat channels that only come with the most expensive packages, whereas basically the entire schedule of Mexican games are on free-to-air TV is a great illustration of the respective market sizes.

    Given that, it's another big assumption that a Euro national team player who played his club career in Europe will appeal to the fans of Latin American soccer. Latin American national team and club soccer is packed with plenty of drama, glamour, rivalry, politics, and economic issues so that many of these fans are quite content with the events in that region alone.
     
  21. mrecint

    mrecint New Member

    May 31, 2006
    Fishers, IN
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think Chad Johnson would be more realistic than Kobe..I thought Kobe was a soccer fan not player...
    Ronaldinho would be a great bet if Becks gets his money's worth with Marketing in the US. Ronaldinho probably would like to make millions in the US market too....
     
  22. flippin269

    flippin269 Member+

    Aug 3, 2003
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The one thing that will attract non-soccer fans to MLS are the soccer fans of MLS. A great soccer atmosphere is contagious IMO. That's why I wouldn't be surprised if TFC converts more non-soccer fans in their region into fans of their hometeam more than any other region including LA. If NFL, NBA, or MLB games didn't have the vibrant fan-atmospheres they have, non-football, basketball, or baseball fans would probably care less about Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant, or A-Rod enough to want to buy group tickets to see any of them play.

    So if MLS teams were to bring in any of the four players you mentioned, and they were playing just as good individually here as in other leagues, they would strongly appeal to soccer fans here not already interested in MLS, which would encourage them to go to games, and would build the atmosphere as a result. THEN non-soccer fans would see how vibrant and fun a game is either on tv or on highlights, and probably would want to see the party for themselves. Right now, all non-soccer fans know about MLS is that any Galaxy game with Beckham involved will provide a vibrant sports atmosphere.

    If it was just about "star" signings, Red Bulls would see 60,000 every game. They already have Reyna, Angel, and Altidore. I bet after Red Bulls' new stadium is done, and the current Red Bulls fans build the atmosphere, and the Red Bulls' FO push for the current soccer fans to come with more star signings in, say, 2010, then you'll see more non-soccer fans looking at Red Bulls in that area for example.
     
  23. leg_breaker

    leg_breaker Member

    Dec 23, 2005
    I wouldn't really class those as stars. Altidore has the potential to be a star in the future, the other two never made it.
     
  24. ZimbabweBob

    ZimbabweBob Member+

    May 16, 2007
    Club:
    FC Bayern München
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    "If it was just about "star" signings, Red Bulls would see 60,000 every game. They already have Reyna, Angel, and Altidore."

    those guys might be "league stars" but they aren't the type of player that some average guy on the street would have heard of


    i am guessing that the next two superstar type players that will arrive in the US are:

    Ronaldo and then Schevchenko

    these guys should actually put fans in the seats
     

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