MLS Needs to Keep Stars From Just Passing Through
Assume, for one giddy moment, that you have Denver billionaire Phil Anschutz’s wealth and every fan’s desire to bring at least one iconic player to Major League Soccer.
Would it be Barcelona’s Ronaldinho, Real Madrid’s David Beckham or Chelsea’s Andriy Shevchenko?
All three were in the United States during the last two weeks, taking part in the money-spinning summer ritual that sees top European teams cross the Atlantic for a few days, play a couple of exhibitions, voice the obligatory comments about how well MLS is progressing, and then fly home for some serious competition.
To the league’s credit, the visits by the two Spanish giants and the English champion were a huge success, aided, certainly, by the presence of Mexico’s Chivas de Guadalajara and Club America.
The six games in eight days staged by MLS and its offshoot, Soccer United Marketing, drew a combined attendance of 375,753, or an average of 62,625.
It is safe to say that the sale of Ronaldinho shirts has skyrocketed since the Brazilian dazzled Los Angeles, Houston and New York with his smile and his skills.
Americans -- and this really should no longer need saying -- are more than willing to spend their money and time watching soccer as long as the product on the field is first rate. Anything less and those same fans -- and would-be fans -- simply disappear.
This is the problem MLS faces.
The league cannot deliver Ronaldinho week in and week out. The best it can do, for example, is Landon Donovan. And that just doesn’t cut it, no slur intended.
There is little doubt that Anschutz, whose AEG operates four MLS teams, could go toe to toe with Chelsea’s Russian billionaire owner, Roman Abramovitch, in a bidding war for the world’s top players, but those same players would reject a move to the U.S., even if its soccer salaries were commensurate with those in England, Spain, Italy, Germany or France.
The reason is the quality of competition. The best want to compete against the best, and the best are in Europe.
The fact that MLS is only in its 11th season has nothing to do with it. Soccer has been played in this hemisphere for decades. Chivas de Guadalajara, for instance, is celebrating its centenary and many other clubs in Central and South America have long since passed or are approaching that mark.
But longevity has not brought the best players in the world to Mexico, or to Brazil, Argentina, or anywhere else in the Americas for that matter. The traffic moves in the other direction.
That will not change anytime in the foreseeable future and will never change unless the Americas -- North, Central and South -- see fit to reinvent their club and national team competitions.
The Copa America needs to be held every four years, not every two, and needs to include not only the South American countries and a couple of invited guests but every country in the hemisphere.
That’s the only way it can ever rival the quadrennial European Championship.
Similarly, the annual Copa Libertadores needs to include the top, say 64, club teams from throughout the Americas, not only South American clubs along with a few invitees.
Again, it’s the only way to match the European Champions League, which right now is globally as popular and lucrative a competition as the World Cup, and a lot more interesting too.
Provide those sorts of competitions on this side of the Atlantic and the sponsorship and television dollars will surely follow. As a consequence, young players who now flock to Europe in a never-ending stream might be enticed to stay home.
It is not an overnight process, but the longer it is delayed, the greater the likelihood is of Europe’s leading clubs achieving an unassailable lead -- if not on the field then certainly in the marketplace.
Getting the two continental confederations -- CONCACAF and CONMEBOL -- on the same page is not an easy task, but money speaks louder than words.
In the crowd of 92,650 at the Coliseum last week, there were as many Barcelona jerseys as Chivas shirts. Global branding is a reality. Fans worldwide identify with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United, which is why others, most prominently Chelsea, are in hot pursuit.
All of which means that U.S. summers from now on will feature annual visits by such soccer celebrities.
That’s good for fans, who obviously enjoy seeing in person the players they follow on television all winter, and good for MLS, which needs the crowds and the competition while its own growth inches along.
As to which icon would be best for MLS, it’s a no-brainer.
Ronaldinho is at the top of his game, enjoying the spotlight like no player before him. His skills are unparalleled. His popularity is enormous.
But put him on any MLS team and the trademark smile would vanish. It’s an 11-player team. Ronaldinho shines because he has the likes of Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o, Deco, Eider Gudjohnsen, Javier Saviola, Rafael Marquez, Edmilson, Mark Van Bommel and all the rest of Barcelona’s starry stable around him.
So, no, Ronaldinho will not be starting for the Chicago Fire or anyone else in MLS anytime soon. Not unless he brings all the rest.
Which is why the continuing talk about bringing Beckham to MLS is so much nonsense. It smacks more of AEG trying to add a feather to its already highly plumaged cap than of a real attempt to help the league on the field.
Beckham was dropped from England’s national team Friday -- although new Coach Steve McClaren backtracked Sunday and suggested “Becks” could play himself back into contention -- because he is too slow, too one-dimensional.
Spending a huge amount to land an aging player whose pace has disappeared and whose fragility is well established makes little sense. Beckham might put a few thousand more fans in the stands for a while, but once the novelty wears off and the frustration sets in, that won’t last.
The far better solution would be for MLS to spend the money its makes off each summer’s “foreign incursions” on acquiring young, up-and-coming talent.
It was only six years ago that Barcelona found and signed Argentine standout Messi at age 13. Why can’t MLS do likewise?
