We are also able to watch MLS and the Polish league in Denmark, which I (and Danish experts) think perhaps are around the same level, not least physically, but quite frankly are not on pair with the Danish Superliga defensively and tactically, though they may have some very good attacking players. You are not going to like my (or Danish experts) opinion about MLS that I'm able to watch, but to me (and other Danes) MLS is still more about show and "circus" like other top sports in the USA that are all supposed to attract viewers and be TV friendly. MLS teams would crash and burn in the Danish league, even with a Zlatan Ibrahimovic or other older big name attacking players in their starting 11, because tactically and defensively they would be outsmarted tactically the "Viking" way, just like when Polish teams face Danish teams in Europe. I mean, just go look at FC København, that a few month ago was in the Europa league Quarter Finals and have a team an squad of NT players probably worth around 8 times as much as any other team in the league, but they are getting badly punished right now because their team is not quite balanced and defensively and tactically sound right now. https://www.bold.dk/fodbold/danmark/3f-superliga/
https://www.globalfootballrankings.com/ 2 steps above MLS and I don't think Poland is on the list. But man I wish there was some way to test your theory. For now I will go with what the stats say. Here is a head-to-head look: https://www.globalfootballrankings.com/compare?first=DanishSAS-Ligaen&second=MajorLeagueSoccer Based on that I would say that quite a few MLS Teams would do quite well in the SuperLiga. Outsmarted tactically?... Sounds snobbish to me. Like the Danes have the secrets to football and the Poles and Americans are just athletic and ignorant.
To be honest, MLS spend loads of money on older names and attacking players, but defensively seem like Danish 2nd or 3rd level teams which is why they would get badly punished even with a Zlatan Ibrahimovic. It's not only my opinion but the opinion of all the Danish experts and viewers of MLS. defensively and tactically MLS is still just terrible and quite clearly below Superliga level, but by signing older Star attacking players, it is quite TV friendly.
This is more perception than reality. For every Zlatan or Chicharito that comes in, there are like 5-6 young or prime age South Americans coming into the league. But older guys grab headlines. 2 weeks ago, Higuain scores a great free kick and it makes international headlines. That same night in the league, Ebobisse scored a better free kick and it doesn’t register. The average age of an expensive DP import into the league is like 24 or 25
@glutton4Bolts Perhaps you should go look at the Danish league table, FC Copenhagen are getting tactically outsmarted and "raped" at the moment in the Superliga, though they spend vastly more than any of the other teams and are able to field a team of older NT players: https://www.bold.dk/fodbold/danmark/3f-superliga/
I agree that defensively MLS teams are a bit suspect. I would love to see an experiment where MLS and SuperLiga teams ply more than just a few games. I think MLS teams are not as tactically backward as some think and will eventually adapt competently (not amazingly).
yeah I wish MLS would start to spend more money on coaches and defenders (with the DP slots)....you can see the amazing impact of a coach on an entire roster...with someone like Pareja in Dallas, Colorado and now Orlando....spending big on DPs with inadequate coaches is like buying a fancy car and not getting the oil changes. But things are changing quickly in MLS...tata martino brought a very nice flavor to the league with Atlanta United....I think his team would have done amazingly well in denmark. You see quite a difference from the best teams to the worst. DC united fits your view of MLS...atlanta, tfc, (nyrb with marsch) etc don't. Now MLS is starting to bring in better coaches (NYRB just brought in someone)...but even someone like De Boer was not up to par tactically in my opinion.....but he is good enough for the netherlands national team. think about it.
I like a bunch of the younger American coaches, TBH. Jim Curtin, for example. He's not young but Brian Schmetzer is a very good coach
FWIW, Marsch coached in both MLS & the Austrian League, assessing only a couple of the non Salzburg clubs are MLS level. Rest are below. Incidentally, Austria is higher than Denmark in UEFA club coefficients, though that only measures the top few teams (which would include a couple that are MLS-level, by Marsch's assessment). I'm sure advocates of the Austrian League would cite amorphous tactical superiority as to why the opposite is true though. They do it for the same reason they detest newfangled objective metrics. It's a check on their bias.
well don't get me wrong, I find MLS entertaining and "fast paced" and they have invested in some very expensive and good players, but obviously as a Dane who like structure and players who know exactly where to go and where to pass the ball, it just make me cringe when I see how random and unstructured MLS is, not least defensively. Even a team with very good players will get absolutely "raped" the Viking way if they play as unstructured as that in the Superliga that I will surely admit is not always entertaining if it's not the top teams playing each other, but they are efficient, will prey on your weakness, and know exactly what they are doing down to the smallest of details, even if they only have very few top quality players. So here it's not really that much a question about money, NT players and big "names". I think at least the Italians will agree with me on this, because they are highly tactical and structured, while no so much the English who just pick a style of play and go with it.
Hi guys. I appreciate that this has been one of the more thoughtful and even-tempered league comparison discussions we've had, but perhaps it's time to nudge things back to the specific topic of this thread?
Starts Vores startopstilling ser således ud, når vi skal møde AC Horsens på Nature Energy Park om en times tid 👇🔵⚪️#obdk #sldk #obach pic.twitter.com/pk70dOt0r5— Odense Boldklub LIVE (@OdenseBK_LIVE) November 1, 2020 ⏱️ PAUSE🥅 1-0Dommeren fløjter til pause, lige efter Issam Jebali havde en god chance for at bringe os yderligere foran- Vi er foran på målet af Sabbi 🔵⚪️#obdk #obach pic.twitter.com/Iga3sTCVyA— Odense Boldklub LIVE (@OdenseBK_LIVE) November 1, 2020 and scores in the 11th, 3rd goal of the season
That was the game winner. Sabbi with 3 goals and 1 assist in 7 games for OB. He must be the happiest guy alive to be gone from Hobro and playing for a relatively good team.
https://www.ob.dk/nyhedsarkiv/ob-tager-staerkt-afstand-fra-racistiske-ytringer/ Sabbi and fellow yank abroad Ryan Laursen were the subject of online racist remarks, the hate came because both of them were involved in an incident in Sunday’s match against Brondby which resulted in a season ending injury to Paraguayan Blas Riveros. Unfortunate situation, but uncalled for from the fans
I spoke with potential U.S. U-23 winger Emmanuel Sabbi on his move to OB, his growth in Denmark, being left of the #USMNT roster, and his goal of returning to the international stage with the United States. https://t.co/Zn6cCgUDQI— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) November 11, 2020
Is the DBU Pokalen not on ESPN+? Also, is there some reason we're not going with Great Odense Raven! for the thread title?
Looks like he stayed on the bench for a 0-3 win. https://www.ob.dk/nyhedsarkiv/ob-spiller-sig-videre-i-sydbank-pokalen/
nice article. good quotes. I'm disappointed he didn't make it too.....I agree with his perspective and admire his candor. Hopefully he can use this as more fuel to keep proving his worth and improving.
Starts in an away match vs Randers. I am somewhat disappointed that ESPN+ is not all-Sabbi, all-Wright, but I guess that's too much to ask.
Starts: Disse 11 starter mod AaB, når vi tørner sammen med dem på Nature Energy Park om en time 👇#obdk #obaab pic.twitter.com/U4he3oeM4t— Odense Boldklub LIVE (@OdenseBK_LIVE) December 4, 2020