More Creativity Needed in MLS
Major League Soccer is increasingly worried about losing its Latino fan base, which has eroded noticeably since the league’s launch in 1996.
But instead of signing more top-level Central or South American players, the league is resorting to staging doubleheaders involving clubs from those regions.
When the Galaxy played the Dallas Burn at Dallas on Saturday, for example, the Cotton Bowl match was followed by a game between Mexican clubs Tigres and UNAM Pumas.
On July 18, the San Jose Earthquakes will play Washington D.C. United at San Jose, but the front office will be more interested in seeing what the second game, between Mexican teams Pachuca and Tecos, will add to the crowd count.
The Chicago Fire has gone even further and done away with the MLS game altogether. A doubleheader July 25 at Soldier Field will feature UNAM Pumas against Argentinos Juniors of Argentina, followed by Morelia of Mexico against Botafogo of Brazil.
On Saturday, the Miami Fusion’s game against the New York/New Jersey MetroStars at Miami will precede an international friendly between the national teams of Ecuador and Honduras.
Such games succeed in keeping soccer in front of the public, but it is difficult to see how they help MLS reclaim the Latino fans it once had in far greater numbers.
Then too, such players as Carlos Valderrama and Marco Etcheverry have long since passed their expiration date and it is time for MLS to reseed the league with some current top-level Latino players rather than continuing to rely on those from yesteryear.
The New England Revolution’s recent acquisition of Bolivian goalkeeper Jose Carlos Fernandez and the Burn’s acquisition of Bolivian midfielder Joselito Vaca are positive steps in that direction.
Mexico’s economics make players from that league too expensive, but surely there is all sorts of untapped talent in El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica, to name but three countries MLS could better explore.
It Makes Sense
MLS has spent six seasons trying to become more than just a tiny blip on the American sporting radar, and it is gradually succeeding.
The Women’s United Soccer Assn., meanwhile, is in its first season and isn’t even visible on that screen.
The plan that makes most sense, even if WUSA players don’t like it, is for the two leagues to cooperate more closely. In Washington, such cooperation already has paid dividends.
D.C. United and the Washington Freedom have staged two doubleheaders, and attendance at RFK Stadium both times was far greater than either team draws on its own.
In May, 36,528 turned out. On Saturday, the crowd was 30,271.
“It has really worked out well for both teams,” Kevin Payne, D.C. United’s president and general manager, told the Washington Post.
D.C. United, which is averaging an MLS-best 20,195 a game in 2001, and the Freedom plan more doubleheaders next season. It’s time MLS and WUSA teams in New England, New York and San Jose followed suit.
Quick Passes
The Burn acquired midfielder Justin Evans from the Fire for future considerations and waived midfielder John DeBrito. . . . The MetroStars waived forward Alex Comas, who had scored only two goals in 12 games this season and 15 in 42 games overall since joining the team from Atletico Nacional of Colombia 17 months ago. . . . Kansas City Wizard and U.S. national team goalkeeper Tony Meola will be sidelined for six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a slight abdominal tear.
