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Counterattack: Will MLS Be Depleted By Exits?
Two Goal.com editors, Zac Lee Rigg and Shane Evans, debate the pros and cons of how Major League Soccer is affected when young talent leaves the league.
Jan 2, 2009 4:16:06 AM
This week, Shane Evans of The Full English and Zac Lee Rigg of Rigg's Replays take on the issue of young players leaving the U.S. league when the game is trying to grow in this country.
Counterattack: Do the departures that rock Major League Soccer every year dampen the growth of the sport in America?
Shane Evans: Mr. Rigg, my issue this week is with MLS itself and its reluctance to hold on to its best players. It seems like I can't step away from my computer to use the bathroom without coming back to see rumors of another of the younger starlets in our league pining over a move abroad. Now I understand it's all well and good for them to further their career, but how does the league ever plan to grow when its best talent is continually on the way out.
Zac Lee Rigg: Mr. Evans, the issue is a non-starter. All leagues bar Spain, England, and Italy, are feeder leagues in that bigger leagues steal the very best players. However, MLS is already starting to poach from smaller nations or at least less well-financed nations, particularly in South American and Africa. We're a part of the food chain, but we keep moving up. The players that leave come back (Kasey Keller, Brian McBride) and share their experience with the next host of even more talented youngsters.
Evans: I agree that the majority of the world supplies players to the big three or four leagues, but the real difference is, in those countries soccer, or football if you prefer is the dominant, rooted sport that runs the nation. That can't be said about the United States. Soccer is barely in the top seven sports. How can the MLS brass expect to go up the ladder if all its best talent isn't around long enough for Joe Sports Fan to know who they are?
Rigg: As I alluded to, these players who leave, return and invest in the country of their birth. Keep in mind that the coaching in this nation is lagging roughly a decade behind the player talent. These players need to move abroad as soon as possible to receive the greatest amount of support they can get in the years they are most pliable. I firmly believe Landon Donovan has stunted his career by staying in California this long. These guys need to become the best they can and learn the most they can about the sport so that when they return, they have more to give the nation. We've seen a recent batch come through with Curt Onalfo, Preki, and Jason Kreis and they have seamlessly moved to progressive coaching roles and have bettered the league. The next group will be even better for their experience abroad. I can't wait until I see McBride and Brad Friedel on the coaching hot-seat in MLS.
Evans: The value in going abroad is obvious, but the departures bother me on a personal level. The players who leave get more experience, better competition, and most importantly to them, a bigger pay check. Brian McBride and Kasey Keller are rarities. McBride could still be playing in England now if he wanted to. I think the number of American players who will do the same thing as McBride is low. Especially in this generation where it's much more about the individual than the betterment of the league. It's simple dollars and cents. Right now, the league needs revenue. Sure, DPs bring that. But it's sporadic. Home grown, recognizable talent is key to the progression of the league, regardless of the coaching level. Landon Donovan may have stunted his growth as a player being in California, but he helped make the Galaxy one of the league's most productive teams. When players like Sacha Kljestan and Marvell Wynne and Michael Parkhurst leave, it immediately lowers the interest of their team's respective fan base.
Rigg: League building is a slow process. It doesn't happen over a decade. MLS has plenty of catches in place so that it won't go under. They've learned exceptionally well from past failures in this country. It's important to invest in what's best for the long-term future, to give this league the biggest upside it can get. As the league grows, ever so slowly, more players will stay longer because of money and prestige, as we move up the food chain. As for now, we need to enjoy these talents while they are unpolished, knowing that a large enough chunk of those who leave will return home at the end of their careers.
Evans: Call me greedy, call me a pessimist. I just want the league's best players to stay. They obviously see the potential, but it's not important enough to them. I understand the league takes a while to become substantial, but in this country you can't be waiting around for things to become a part of culture. It has to be a quicker turnaround. It's just the dynamic of this country. The Arena Football League was a slow developing thing. If soccer ever wants to be noticed in this country the league needs to do everything in it's power to make it so, and I feel like they aren't doing as much as they can, particularly by letting the faces of the league walk.
Rigg: If you want quick results, look no further than the National Team. The country sits up and takes note when anyone American takes on anyone from another country, in whatever sport. The easiest way to have a better national team is to have players in better leagues. As their careers excel, they will push the national team further. The further we get in World Cup competition will mean the more kids shunning baseball and basketball for soccer, and those kids are the future faces of the league.
Evans: Soccer already is the biggest youth sport in the nation. But the pro game can't match it, regardless of what the Nats do. But that's a story for another day.
**Discuss possible transfers from MLS to Europe in the Goal.com Forums
Counterattack: Do the departures that rock Major League Soccer every year dampen the growth of the sport in America?
Shane Evans: Mr. Rigg, my issue this week is with MLS itself and its reluctance to hold on to its best players. It seems like I can't step away from my computer to use the bathroom without coming back to see rumors of another of the younger starlets in our league pining over a move abroad. Now I understand it's all well and good for them to further their career, but how does the league ever plan to grow when its best talent is continually on the way out.
Zac Lee Rigg: Mr. Evans, the issue is a non-starter. All leagues bar Spain, England, and Italy, are feeder leagues in that bigger leagues steal the very best players. However, MLS is already starting to poach from smaller nations or at least less well-financed nations, particularly in South American and Africa. We're a part of the food chain, but we keep moving up. The players that leave come back (Kasey Keller, Brian McBride) and share their experience with the next host of even more talented youngsters.
Evans: I agree that the majority of the world supplies players to the big three or four leagues, but the real difference is, in those countries soccer, or football if you prefer is the dominant, rooted sport that runs the nation. That can't be said about the United States. Soccer is barely in the top seven sports. How can the MLS brass expect to go up the ladder if all its best talent isn't around long enough for Joe Sports Fan to know who they are?
Rigg: As I alluded to, these players who leave, return and invest in the country of their birth. Keep in mind that the coaching in this nation is lagging roughly a decade behind the player talent. These players need to move abroad as soon as possible to receive the greatest amount of support they can get in the years they are most pliable. I firmly believe Landon Donovan has stunted his career by staying in California this long. These guys need to become the best they can and learn the most they can about the sport so that when they return, they have more to give the nation. We've seen a recent batch come through with Curt Onalfo, Preki, and Jason Kreis and they have seamlessly moved to progressive coaching roles and have bettered the league. The next group will be even better for their experience abroad. I can't wait until I see McBride and Brad Friedel on the coaching hot-seat in MLS.
Evans: The value in going abroad is obvious, but the departures bother me on a personal level. The players who leave get more experience, better competition, and most importantly to them, a bigger pay check. Brian McBride and Kasey Keller are rarities. McBride could still be playing in England now if he wanted to. I think the number of American players who will do the same thing as McBride is low. Especially in this generation where it's much more about the individual than the betterment of the league. It's simple dollars and cents. Right now, the league needs revenue. Sure, DPs bring that. But it's sporadic. Home grown, recognizable talent is key to the progression of the league, regardless of the coaching level. Landon Donovan may have stunted his growth as a player being in California, but he helped make the Galaxy one of the league's most productive teams. When players like Sacha Kljestan and Marvell Wynne and Michael Parkhurst leave, it immediately lowers the interest of their team's respective fan base.
Rigg: League building is a slow process. It doesn't happen over a decade. MLS has plenty of catches in place so that it won't go under. They've learned exceptionally well from past failures in this country. It's important to invest in what's best for the long-term future, to give this league the biggest upside it can get. As the league grows, ever so slowly, more players will stay longer because of money and prestige, as we move up the food chain. As for now, we need to enjoy these talents while they are unpolished, knowing that a large enough chunk of those who leave will return home at the end of their careers.
Evans: Call me greedy, call me a pessimist. I just want the league's best players to stay. They obviously see the potential, but it's not important enough to them. I understand the league takes a while to become substantial, but in this country you can't be waiting around for things to become a part of culture. It has to be a quicker turnaround. It's just the dynamic of this country. The Arena Football League was a slow developing thing. If soccer ever wants to be noticed in this country the league needs to do everything in it's power to make it so, and I feel like they aren't doing as much as they can, particularly by letting the faces of the league walk.
Rigg: If you want quick results, look no further than the National Team. The country sits up and takes note when anyone American takes on anyone from another country, in whatever sport. The easiest way to have a better national team is to have players in better leagues. As their careers excel, they will push the national team further. The further we get in World Cup competition will mean the more kids shunning baseball and basketball for soccer, and those kids are the future faces of the league.
Evans: Soccer already is the biggest youth sport in the nation. But the pro game can't match it, regardless of what the Nats do. But that's a story for another day.
**Discuss possible transfers from MLS to Europe in the Goal.com Forums
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