It’s a little overdue, what with the 2016 season days away from kicking off. But I just have to get something up here for the 2015 season. Last year I posted the inaugural The Good, Bad and the Ugly from MLS piece in October, recapping the 2014 regular season before a champion had even been crowned. This year will be a little bit different, but I’d like to keep the yearly post alive. With that being said, below is my far-too-late 2015 MLS review.
THE GOOD
Montreal’s CCL Run
Montreal took MLS fans for an absolute joy ride through the CONCACAF Champions League knockout stages in the spring of 2015. After making it through the group stage, few of us gave the Impact any chance in their 2-leg quarterfinal matchup vs. Liga MX side Pachuca. And few of us will soon forget the incredible closing moments of that tie, when rookie Cameron Porter scored at the death to send his club through to the semis. How could anyone ever forget that face?
Porter’s celebration after his 94′ goal put Montreal through to the CCL semis
The run was equal parts entertaining and unfathomable, and after defeating Costa Rican side Alajuelense in the semifinals, it came up just short in the final against Liga MX giants Club America.
Sebastian Giovinco
We thought he’d do well, maybe even dominate, but Sebastian Giovinco surpassed all expectations in his first MLS campaign. The 2015 MVP tore through the league scoring 22 goals and collecting 16 assists, becoming the first player in league history to top those two categories in the same season. Giovinco toyed with MLS in 2015, and I can’t wait to see what he does in 2016.
Sebas knocked it out of the park in his first MLS campaign
The Other Gio
While the Italian Gio set the league on fire and spurred a hapless club on to their first ever postseason appearance, a Mexican Gio made some waves of his own. Giovani dos Santos, the El Tri star with clubs like Barca, Tottenham and Villareal on his resume, made the mid-season transfer to MLS powerhouse LA Galaxy. Gio had some nice moments for LA, but the Galaxy were never up to the task as a whole in 2015. I am recognizing this in 2015’s “GOOD” section because the acquisition of a young, hugely popular and talented Mexican represents a new kind of coup. If MLS can continue signing El Tri stars, it will elevate the level of play, but more importantly, it will work wonders in terms of boosting the league’s profile.
Giovani was an absolute hit with the fans, but couldn’t make the difference for LA in 2016
TV Exposure & Extensive Coverage – The 2015 season is ancient history by now, but it may be looked back upon as a major turning point in terms of when the league was finally able to get some television exposure. Thanks to a new deal, the league featured primetime, nationally televised matches all season long on Univision Deportes/UniMas (34 matches), ESPN (34 matches) and FoxSports1 (34 matches). It may seem like small potatoes compared with the big boys (NFL,NBA, MLB etc.) of American sports, but this is relatively significant exposure for pro soccer in this country. A weekly MLS broadcast on the likes of FoxSports and ESPN is a breath of fresh air for me. MLS also managed to get some nice exposure across the pond, signing 4-year deals with Sky Sports and Eurosport, among other international broadcast agreements. Coverage of American soccer has grown exponentially in recent years. The 2015 US Open Cup final was nationally broadcast on ESPN2 – it was only a few years ago that you couldn’t even find the tournament on ESPN’s website. Lower leagues like the USL and NASL have done a superb job of live streaming matches, mostly in high def and mostly with sufferable commentary. Whether online or on TV, soccer has become much easier to consume.
Expansion – NYCFC and Orlando each were successful in their inaugural campaigns. Both clubs had encouraging moments on the pitch and neither were ever expansion pushovers. Both clubs were buoyed by outstanding fan support and were entertaining to follow throughout 2015 for that reason. A lot of MLS folks have had their doubts about venturing back into Florida after fallouts in Tampa and Miami, but Orlando City’s attendance figures (32,847/game) in year one suggest the Lions are here to stay. As for NYCFC, well, I’ll get back to them in the “UGLY” section.
THE BAD
Major League Soccer has made an obvious effort to sign stars from the US national team. Deuce in Seattle, Bradley and Altidore in Toronto, Mix in New York, Brek Shea in Orlando, and so on. Despite this, the league still refuses to recognize all official FIFA dates throughout each season, scheduling matches that put its clubs in compromised personnel situations. MLS also draws a significant amount of its talent from CONCACAF nations like Honduras and Jamaica. You will never see this blog arguing for an American soccer calendar that aligns with Europe’s. The weather simply does not allow for reasonable or even playable soccer in half of the league’s markets from December to February. Having said that, the league could work harder to accommodate its internationals by honoring all of FIFA’s international dates. More double game weeks would be fine, but I hate watching my club play when our best player is off in Colombia.
THE UGLY
MLS in Vegas – After getting crushed to the tune of minus $747 during my last week of action (Matchday 28), it’s safe to say the 2015 MLS in Vegas campaign has earned its place in the “UGLY” section. Gambling can be cruel, especially in sports. Patience, discipline and structure is the recipe for success, but there’s still that whole thing about “that’s why they play the games.” The final numbers for 2015 are below. Better luck next year, SoccerTherapy.
2015 SEASON
Picking Winners: 22/47 (47%)
Picking Draws: 2/8
Total Earnings: ($1,406)
Kreis & NYCFC – The expansion club got itself the ideal manager in Jason Kreis, the architect behind Real Salt Lake’s fantastic success from 2008-2013. Out in Utah, Kreis took RSL took the brink of a CCL title, won MLS Cup (2009) and enjoyed a handful of impressive playoff runs. And even though Jason Kreis didn’t turn RSL into an MLS power over night, it seems that’s what was expected of him in New York.
Kreis, the former head man at RSL and NYCFC, is now an assistant with the USMNT
NYCFC used all three designated player slots on old, overpriced stars from abroad. David Villa performed well and was a positive force for the club in their expansion season. But to add pieces like Pirlo and Lampard, expensive and slow guys in a league full of young, fast, strong and cheap guys, just doesn’t make sense to me. Management not only burned the club’s resources in signing a pair of old slow guys, they also placed Kreis in a position where he had to play these new acquisitions, forcing him to put square pegs in a round hole each time he put out a starting XI. Then, when he isn’t successful enough (not sure what management expected in year one on the pitch), they fire him! Because he couldn’t take their horribly designed roster to the playoffs!! They fired the guy who has proven he can build a winner in this league!!! Because he didn’t build a winner overnight with that sh*tty roster!!!!
Needless to say, NYCFC replaced Kreis with Patrick Vieira, a man with basically no coaching experience. Sure, the former French international was a fine player, but he has minimal knowledge of all the whacky quirks that make MLS different from other leagues around the world.
That’s it for the 2015 recap. I’m sure I overlooked quite a bit of good stuff. Look out for an MLS in Vegas post this weekend. Happy Soccering in 2016!
Week 1 was interesting. I put my eggs in the right basket when I bet $250 on FC Dallas, who cruised to a 2-0 win. But Colorado couldn’t manage the draw in San Jose and Seattle blew a match they should have won 1-0 in front of 40,000 fans. Let’s see how the wagers turned out:
Soccer Therapy 