MLS Flavors of the week 2023 edition

Inter Miami are playing lower division Birmingham in the US Open Cup quarterfinal tonight.

Fascinating to look at this last place squad and the implications of Messi coming to town. Callender should be fine. Yedlin should be fine, especially since Messi and friends like Busquets will likely need to be surrounded by runners. Cremaschi strikes me as somebody who could lose out, unfortunately.

In the other ongoing makeup league match following a postponement between Dallas and St. Louis, Jesus Ferreira has struck with a nice run and finish for his 10th goal of the season.

 

I feel like the Messi thing will be spun negative. He's not gonna look as great playing with lesser talents and that will be played up. Then the "retirement league" stuff crops up again.

"Laporta “understood and respected Messi’s decision to want to compete in a league with fewer demands, further away from the spotlight and the pressure he has been subject to in recent years,” the statement said."

Love Messi, but this is what we're gonna get.

 

I think Messi--just like so many others--will have some things to say about all the travel and the heat (and cold). Also, Messi is such a recognizable person, it'll be very interesting to see if his experience playing in the US is different than some other stars of the past. I mean, everyone knows what Messi looks like. He's not going to go grocery shopping with his kids and not attract a crowd, unlike some lesser-known players who've come this side of the Atlantic to finish their careers.

 

Good point.

 

I keep reading that this is bigger than Beckham. Man, I don't think so. Among soccer nerds, it is. But there was an entire other half of the species who knew Beckham well.

 

And if Cremaschi doesn’t lose out and ends up really good he’ll have Messi in his ear telling him to play for Argentina while also giving their federation a push to bring him in.

Though he’s also going to have to deal with Tata Martino’s lack of willingness to play young players.

 

It's a big jump. But it's doable.

 

It's a big jump. But it's doable.

 

Over time, sure. BTW, French teams lost money when the cable TV co paying the league fell apart right? Is this what they are making after that or is their some future drop in revenue that will happen?

 

Jesus Ferreira is now tied for the lead in goals at 10
[With Bouanga of LAFC and Mukhtar of Nashville. Due to the CCL, LAFC has played 4 less games than FCD.] Of those 10 goals, 6 have been game-winners. None of his have been penalties, by the way. We haven't had a domestic golden boot winner since Wondolowski in 2012. Ferreira, let's point out again, is only 22 years old. Dallas, by the way, is only 2 points off of 1st place in the West. All of the West far behind Cincy in the SS standings, though. LAFC will have to go on a tear with their games in hand to catch up.

Nobody in Major League Soccer has more goals than Jesús Ferreira. pic.twitter.com/WCQtvJn8hY

— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) June 8, 2023

 

I do not know. I remember that happening, but I don't think this number is all that different? Maybe they found a new media deal?

 

Same thing I was wondering. At the time it seemed cataclysmic but these figures showing their payrolls looks pretty good so ?

 

Maybe but we're also going to see a massive increase in attention being given to MLS which is only good for the league in terms of the domestic audience.

For instance

The Messi Effect:

In 24 hours, Inter Miami has gone from 1 million to more than 5 million Instagram followers.

More than any NFL, MLB, NHL, or MLS team. pic.twitter.com/TAzURq80ki

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) June 8, 2023

It's currently cheaper to go to Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Miami ($416) than Lionel Messi's potential Inter Miami debut against Cruz Azul ($482).

Messi's arrival is a gamechanger for MLS 🚀

(h/t @brennanjp) pic.twitter.com/0oluT9Peds

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 7, 2023

Charlotte FC sold 10,000+ tickets on Wednesday for when Messi comes to town. The Chicago Fire sold 7,000+.

Prices for LAFC's game vs. Messi? $500 get-in price. $10,000 field suites.

The #Messi𓃵 effect in MLS, with @EliasBurke. https://t.co/LGJm0uvhkY

— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) June 8, 2023

DC United, I'm told, have sold upwards of 3,000 tickets for their July 8th match against #InterMiamiCF in the past 24 hours alone. Likely they sell another 1,000 will sell by the end of the day.

All for a match Messi won't play in.... God bless America.

— Pablo Iglesias Maurer (@MLSist) June 7, 2023

For those outside the US wondering why Apple appear so excited about the potential Messi to Miami deal: MLS's broadcast deal with Apple TV is a global one. Apart from a few markets, fans around the world would be able to watch Messi in action via Apple TV's MLS pass.

— Simon Evans (@sgevans) June 7, 2023

If nothing else more interest in MLS is a good thing no matter what people in Europe have to say about it.

Lots of chatter about Busquets, Suarez, Alba, and Di Maria all going to Miami too. I don't think this would work with Miami's cap situation but you should at least see 1 or 2 of those guys there.

 

Michael Bradley, rather than Messi, would be the model for National Teamers transferring to MLS. After a successful European career, he returned to the league at age 25. Deuce is also a fair shout. He returned at age 29.

One complication for today's players is the sheer number currently plying their trades in the top leagues of Europe. Dempsey, Altidore, Jones, and Bradley had faced little competition from other Euro-based National Teamers. That's not the case for today's Euro-based players.

 

I still think he's going to be able to move more easily here than most places. He's a 5'6" dude in decent shape. If he goes to to Publix in a hat and long sleeve shirt he's probably not going to be mobbed.

 

It will be a bigger deal for "serious" soccer fans. For people that loves the sport, there probably isn't a player alive that people would want to watch play more. Beckham never had that.

 

Yea, Beckham wasn't exactly fun to watch. You needed to wait for him to take a set piece. Messi has that plus dynamism in the run of play which is 95% of the action.

I actually think prime Ronaldo may have been more captivating to an American audience than prime Messi though because Cristiano was so persistently powerful and aggressive whereas Messi picked his spots. He still does and now they aren't as frequent. Though you have to figure he still should be really prolific in MLS for a couple years more.

As far as Messi wanting his version of the NBA banana boat come there, I really hope to not see it to the extreme. He should stick to picking his spots off the field too. Maybe bring one of the guys, like Busquets, whose game ages well and complements him. Outside of that he needs guys w/ legs to do the dirty work, and younger ballcarriers + finishers. Maybe he could use his lure for the 8 & CF versions of Almada to come to Miami.

 

Good for Jesus!

I always said you can't judge our forwards based on the performance of our forwards in the WC. That was on Gregg's system and the overall play of the team.

 

Kind of agree. But, Puli in MLS basically takes a spot away from an American player. Until MLS redraws it's crazy alphabet soup roster salary rules, I'm all for American players playing abroad. The Fed requires at least some roster spots to be American. So, when a yank goes abroad, it opens a slot for another Yank.

 

Pulisic isn't American?

 

he was thinking of David Bowie and Young Americans.

 

If this is a response to me, Puli playing abroad means 2 Americans are playing and maybe starting professional soccer matches. Puli playing in MLS means one is. It's a generalization, but generally ...

 

Yank stat leaders in MLS

Goals
Ferreira 10
JoMo 9
Ebobissse 6
White 6
Nico 5
C Ram 5
Woody 5

Assists
Lennon 6
Gressel 5
Gutierrez 5

 

FCD's goal differential is 3.
If Ferreira wasn't on their team, they'd be in big trouble. 2nd leading scorer only has 2 goals. Ferreira is basically FCD's threat and teams can't stop him so far.

There are better candidates, but one can certainly start making an argument that Ferreira is in the MVP race.

 

He also seems to be receiving the ball in more dangerous spots this year. It takes time and reps to get really good at striker and I didn't want him rushing off the play in Europe off a year of striker play. Let him finish this year and move if there's a good fit out there.

80 - Jesús Ferreira has scored 4 goals in the 80th minute or later for @fcdallas this MLS season, with three of those being match-winners. No other player has more than one match-winning goal at 80' or later this season. Decisive. pic.twitter.com/IdtLd5silp

— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) June 8, 2023

Jesús Ferreira's league-leading 6th game-winning goal. pic.twitter.com/b70SDotHC8

— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) June 8, 2023