http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=52427 in 2000, 12 spots were reserved for youth internationals (both JI's 22 and under & roster exempt, TI's age 23 and 24) a few players were left out (Jason Bent & Agogo IIRC and maybe a couple others), sometimes due to high salaries, other times due to the limit upped to 24 from 12 in 2001 http://www.barnburners.com/news/02/mls/0206b.html but with contraction, went down to 20 since 2002 in 2002, JI was eliminated in favor of developmental squads and developmental contracts for those internationals that are 23 and younger and to be roster exempt. ' http://www.barnburners.com/news/02/mls/0206b.html Mayard and Alegria were "grandfathered" in as the holdover JI's but in early 2004, Nunez was announced as a "JI", though that classification is pretty much gone it's unclear to me if those TI's on developmental contracts the last couple of years count towards the limits. that'll be an issue if Chivas wants to bring in additional internationals as developmental players
I'd like to point out that, while this loophole may exist, it's probably not a good idea for a team to remain competitive. As international restrictions have been loosening over the past several years, the percentage of minutes played by Americans have been increasing - it's hard not to infer that the reason is that Americans are getting better (and remaining cheaper) compared to the international players. So if Chivas wants to field a team of Mexicans, best of luck to them, but it's probably in their best interest to pay careful attention to developing Americans as well. Old Chart: 1st column: average US age 2nd column: average foreign age 3rd column: percent of minutes played by Americans Code: U.S. Foreign % US 1996 26.50 28.70 0.684 1997 26.74 29.01 0.693 1998 26.70 29.16 0.666 1999 26.64 29.17 0.686 2000 26.69 29.40 0.708 2001 26.63 28.99 0.696 2002 26.46 28.23 0.706 2003 26.11 28.33 0.727 2004 25.97 27.73 0.742
You can also point toward the All-Star roster being heavily US-made. On the other hand, if you replace Carlos Valderramas and Roberto Donadonis with Dipsi Selolwanes and Duncan Oughtons, you will see more Yanks come to a relative prominence. FWIW, I think that in Year 10 of the league, it should sign fewer foreign players but of better quality. Instead of having as many as 9 (?!) foreign players on the field, the league should drop the various designations and go for the straight "5-max" rule regardless whether the player is 18 or 35.
The important thing to realize is that the league is expanding foreign slots not to aid Chivas, but to keep the overall talent level steady as it adds four teams over the next two seasons. Rosters are being expanded from 24 to 28 players, and with the new teams coming in, MLS needs to make sure there's no massive dillution of the talent pool. One thing I am curious about is the salary cap. According to the new CBA, minimum salary is being increased. That plus the 4 extra roster spots would almost mandate an increase in the cap, but all the write-ups I've read haven't mentioned any cap increase. Did I miss something?
Garber won't announce a cap increase until the CBA is ratified. But the 4 extra spots are "developmental" and don't count against the cap. I'm guessing the cap will go from 1.7 to 1.8 next year, up a little more the next few years.
Here's the situation: 1. Old foreigners are a decent short-term investment but a terrible long-term one. 2. Young foreigners are a mediocre short-term investment but an exceptional long-term one. 3. Coaches and GM's are typically short-term hires. You're in a situation where team management has different incentives than the team (and league). So the league limits SI's but not TI's; I can't think of a better approach. The league is showing a great deal of intelligence by setting down the rules as it has. Thing is, the restriction to young foreigners has had a huge impact on improving quality while simultaneously cutting costs
A related point is that when the Fire and Fusion entered the league, they each had an extra SI, which at the time was much more valuable than two TI's are today. MLS is being less generous to RSL and Chivas. I'm not sure that's a good idea. After all, the Fusion's initial advantage wasn't enough to make it competitive right away, and that franchise never managed to attract a fan following.
What will the match roster limitations be? I think it is now 18 for the home team and 16 for the visiting team. Does the 28 include the Reserve team, or is that extra? Expanding MLS player opportunities: 12 * 28 is bigger than 10 * 24. This means more opportunities. BOTH, the USL has contracted and has more Canadian teams.
People need to stop worrying about Chivas. If Chivas wants to win, they will need US players. Americans can play soccer with the best of them. We have tons of talent, just not enough avenues to develop it.
1st column: average US age 2nd column: average foreign age 3rd column: percent of minutes played by Americans Code: U.S. Foreign % US 1996 26.50 28.70 0.684 1997 26.74 29.01 0.693 1998 26.70 29.16 0.666 1999 26.64 29.17 0.686 2000 26.69 29.40 0.708 2001 26.63 28.99 0.696 2002 26.46 28.23 0.706 2003 26.11 28.33 0.727 2004 25.97 27.73 0.742 [/QUOTE] This is a fantastic chart. For some reason my gut feeling was that the league was getting less American. Maybe that's because I watch a lot of Metrostarts games on MSG and see Galvan Rey, Taylor, Glenn, Vaca, Brenes, Zaidie, Bonseu, and Gilberto all on the field. This chart shows me that I'm a doofus, and can now slink back to my basement. 74% of minutes played by Americans seems high to me, but I'm too lazy to check that number. It's also interesting that the league is getting younger. Not necessarily good, just interesting.
I like this move. I enjoy watching the young players from the CONCACAF region here. This is a great way to strengthen the league and with the salary cap not moving very much it will not allow people to add a bunch of high paid international players.
What's wrong with highly paid international players? Don't you like Jaime Moreno and Christian Gomez? Wouldn't you like to keep Ryan Nelsen?
This is all about maintaining the talent level or improving it while adding 2 teams, then 2 more, then 2 more. All the while, adding young CONCACAF players to MLS contracts sets up more chances to develop real future stars and sell or market them. The USA will be nearly 20% Latino in just a few years. Why not appeal to this audience and embrace them? I, for one, look forward to more talent and more exciting games.
More pissing and moaning about Chivas? Last I checked, Chivas cut HUGE checks to the league and the Galaxy to play at the HDC. AND they gave away their broadcast rights, so AEG could put together the first local TV package that pays MLS, rather than the other way around. So what if Chivas has 9 or even 11 Mexicans? That just makes it all the more the fun to kick the crap out them on a regular basis.
OK let me rephrase that. Highly paid internation players at the end of their career looking for an easy payday. Like Lothar, SGR, ... Moreno made 75K this year, Nelsen less than 100K, and I have no idea on Gomez but doubt he is over 100K per season. Moreno will probably make Max next year but taht money will come from Stewart leaving.
With regards to Chivas, I do not care what 11 players they put on the field, I hate them already. Looking forward to giving them their first loss on April 2.
Maybe some of those Panama players who were almost begging MLS to take a look at them during their qualifiers with the US will now finally be able to realize their dream.
In that case, let me rephrase my response. I agree wholeheartedly. The league certainly shouldn't spend more money just because it can. Back when Sigi Schmid wanted Carlos Ruiz but was forced to take Luis Hernandez, well, that was just pathological.
... but he wouldn't be in the league now if he hadn't been a highly paid international in the past. If I'm remembering, he was signed out of the Premiership.
I don't know about that. That 1998 Chicago team with Nowak and Kubik looked a lot better than KC Wiz and DCU yesterday. Moreover, a lot of the progress has been made due to the improvements in the US-grown players. For all you know, the lack of decent foreign imports may have held it down. This does not mean that the league should keep spending on the way-over-the-hill players like Hristo Stoichkov but I wouldn't have minded if they had invested a few bucks into a Robert Prociniecki or a Davor Sukor when those players were no better than B-liga or EPL back-ups while still being in their early 30s. One can see how much Jaime Moreno, his lack of pace notwithstanding, can contribute to the quality of play by his smarts and skills. And yet Jaime is not even a Bolivian international member. The league would benefit from more of his or Andy Herron/Amando Guevara type. The young'uns like the assorted Metrostars TIs on the other hand have contributed almost nothing in their stay in the US. And, if you have to get a new SI every year, well ... so what? I still don't see how TIs represent a better investment. They may not cost much but they contribute little also. And MLS would get much higher transfer fees if its prospects had achieved more against the likes of Prociniecki and Sukor because that would give Euro scouts a form of reference to the level of competition. Just my take, mind you.
Without commenting on the subjective side, your conclusion would likely change a great deal if you compared a mid-table team from 2004 with a mid-table team from 1998. For the record, Moreno was in the Bolivia squad for their latest qualifier, but he backed out when DC made the final. The question, therefore, is how to end up with more players like Moreno, Herron, and Guevara in the league. Looking at the examples of Ryan Nelsen, Ronnie O'Brien, and Damani Ralph, the answer is to make sure that jobs in MLS are open to them even before they establish themselves. The youngsters don't need to be stars immediately to be good investments.