How far soccer has come as a major sport in this country. MLS started play clear back in 1996 with 10 teams. Here we are 26 years later and the season is about to kick off with 28 teams including the expansion Charlotte FC. Look at that locker room! What you’d expect to see in a big European venue but it shows just how far the MLS has come.
Not convinced that soccer is a mainstream sport in the US today? Consider this then. With an average attendance of over 20,000 fans/match soccer is third in average attendance behind only the NFL and MLB. In fact the MLS has the 7th highest average soccer attendance in the world. And it is currently the largest first division soccer league in the world. And it gets grows by one next season when St. Louis FC starts play and the announcement for the 30th team is expected this year (with Las Vegas the apparent front runner).
Going into this season there will be 7 teams with new head coaches. As always in sports, its interesting to see how those respective teams develop and get under a new coach and direction. This is on top of three clubs who have coaches returning that were named head coach during last season.
Here’s the 7 new coaches by club:
Charlotte FC – Miguel Angel Ramirez
Chicago Fire – Ezra Hendrickson
FC Cincinnati – Pat Noonan
FC Dallas – Nico Estevez
Houston Dynamo FC – Paolo Nagamura
Los Angeles FC – Steve Cherundolo
Toronto FC – Bob Bradley
Of that list look for Bradley and Cherundolo to make immediate impacts.
As for this season the biggest changes are the schedule. To finish the season ahead of the World Cup play begins this Saturday (the earliest start ever), Decision Sunday is October 9th, and the MLS Cup will be held on November 5th. With that lets take a quick look at what to expect out of each club this year.
Eastern Conference
Atlanta FC:
They have the most expensive roster in the league and have the corresponding depth. The question mark is in the attack. With no proven player to create chances this is going to put a ton of pressure on the new kid from Argentina. They brought in 20 year old attacking midfielder Thiago Almada for a league record transfer fee of $16M. Clearly management thinks they have someone special here. I believe the key to their season is going to be in the back four. Brooks Lennon needs to continue to develop at right back but its next to him that’s the key. Miles Robinson is a class player. The question is going to be is he just too good and garners enough interest from Europe this summer that Atlanta lets him go?
2021 – 5th
2022 Projection – 4th
CF Montreal:
Montreal has started to build a culture where the players believe in their approach and each other. They showed some real progress last season and are hopeful for the future. The question boils down to the roster. Its great to gel with your teammates and that shouldn’t be discounted at all. But you also need to have solid talent. Adding veteran Kei Kamara will bring some leadership and he is the 5th all time leading scorer in the league. But at 37 does he have any legs left?
2021 – 10th but only 2 points out of a playoff spot
2022 Projection – 5th
Charlotte FC:
The newcomers certainly have started out in the right direction with a terrific stadium upgrade. Look at that locker room! What you’d expect to see in a big European venue but it shows just how far the MLS has come. The long term prognosis is good. This year? Well not so much. Expect a lot of growing pains.
2022 Projection – 14th
Chicago Fire:
The biggest news is that they brought in Xherdan Shaqiri, the captain of the Swiss National Team. He will be the conductor in a revamped midfield and attack. Will he orchestrate something with Kacper Przybylko and Jhon Duran? Time will tell but they will be fun to watch. But for me the player to watch is Gabriel Slonina in the nets. The starting keeper doesn’t turn 18 until May and has already been called in to one USMNT camp. Keep you eye on this kid. He might be really, really good.
2021 – 12th
2022 Projection – 10th
Columbus Crew:
The problem with the Crew last season was their slow play. They have some veteran and proven players through the middle of the field with Gyasi Zardes up top and Lucas Zelarayan in the midfield. They have brought in winger Yaw Yeboah to bolster their speed on the wing. No question the Ghanian winger will add speed and some goal scoring ability. Not sure that’s enough to get them back to a playoff contender.
2021 – 9th but only a single point short of the playoffs
2022 Projection – 7th
D.C. United:
No way to sugar coat this. They are going to take a hit losing two key players. Paul Arriola was a steady force up and down the right side of the field and Kevin Paredes had a terrific year on the left side. Arriola has moved on to FC Dallas and Paredes was sold to Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga for $7.35M. Can’t fault them for either move but they are going to need some time to build back their formation after those two left.
2021 – 8th but only a single point short of the playoffs.
2022 Projection – 11th
FC Cincinnati:
Well they have made some small moves in an attempt to get better. Bringing in Alec Kahn as a potential starting keeper is a solid move. Even if he’s only league average that would be an upgrade. But that’s not enough to overcome their woes. The good news is with the expansion Charlotte coming in they may not end up in last.
2021 – 14th (and 8 points behind the next worst team)
2022 – 13th (move up only because of a newcomer)
Inter Miami CF:
Not sure what to say about this club. The talk a good story. They bring in players and tell us who that is going to change things with the Xs and Os. But then it doesn’t seem to come to fruition. The big move this winter was to bring in USMNT right back DeAndre Yedlin. Yedlin will certainly provide some leadership and energy down the right side of the field. Is it enough to make a big difference? Sorry Miami fans but no its not.
2021 – 11th
2022 Projection – 12th
New England Revolution:
First the bad news. League top rated keeper, Matt Turner, was sold to Arsenal. Midfielder Tajon Buchanan (Canadian National Team) was sold to FC Brugge in Belgium. The slight good news in there is that Turner will not transfer until this summer giving the Revs time to get his replacement in play. Also on the plus side they have signed Sebastian Lleget, Jozy Altidore, and Omar Gonzalez, three names fans of the USMNT are very familiar with. Lleget will probably be the starting attacking midfielder but it remains to be seen what roles Altidore and Gonzo will play.
2021 – 1st
2022 Projection – 3rd. Still a strong team but they lost two big horses.
New York City FC:
They were the best team in the league in creating chances via possession, pressing, and on set pieces. That is exactly why they won the MLS Cup and will be very strong again this season. Their weakness is that there only reliable finisher was Taty Castellanos. If Castellanos is sold this summer then some other players are going to have to improve their finishing.
2021 – 4th but MLS Cup winners
2022 Projection – 2nd
New York Red Bull:
On the plus side they know who they are. They play very aggressively in the press and attack. They have for years and they will do so again this year. The problem has been that it hasn’t translated into a very good goal differential. They just don’t seem to score the number of goals that they should given their style of play. And the problem come playoff time, when goals become hard to come by, they seem to be in trouble.
2021 – 7th
2022 Projection – 9th
Orlando City SC:
Their strength lies in the middle on their defensive side of the field. Their center back pairing (Antonio Carlos and Robin Jansson) are as good as they come. And the midfield duo (Jhegson Mendez and Junior Orso) should also be very strong. The question will be if newly signed Ercan Kara can score goals as the replacement for Daryl Dike who was transferred to West Bromwich Albion in the English Championship. If he can score at the pace he did in the Austrian First Division they should be looking at a playoff spot.
2021 – 6th
2022 Projection – 6th
Philadelphia Union:
Their strength clearly lies in their ability to develop players. They lose a key player and the next guy steps up. Its a winning combination and expect it to continue this year. Their problem though is scoring enough goals to make it over the top. To bolster that they have added two new forwards. Mikael Uhre comes in after leading the Denmark league in goals and was their MVP. Additionally they went and got Julian Carranza from Miami. Carranza never seemed to gel in the Miami system but he’s only 21 year old. If he pairs will with Uhre they could be the team to beat in the East.
2021 – 2nd
2022 – 1st
Toronto FC:
They will have one of the best attacking sides in the league with year. And it gets a big boost in July when Italian National Team forward Lorenzo Insigne joins the team. They will be fun to watch. Well at least in the attacking third of the field. The rest of the field? Well not so much. Maybe new head coach Bob Bradley can work some magic. He certainly is no stranger to winning in the MLS.
2021 – 13th
2022 Projection – 8th
Western Conference
Austin FC:
What do you do when your side has the worst goal differential in the conference and you best center back (Matt Belser) retires? Well you get a bit lucky when the projected #1 player in the draft falls down to 5th and you can take him. Kipp Keller was the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year with St. Louis University and hopes to make an immediate impact. Tall order for a kid straight out of college. They also signed Ruben Gabrielsen (Norwegian National Team) who will start immediately in the center back. If Keller and Gabrielsen pair together well it will provide a much needed improvement in the defense.
2021 – 12th
2022 Projection – 12th
Colorado Rapids:
After finishing atop the West last year they return most of their players and should remain a tough out especially at home. They only lost 1 of their 17 home dates last season. However, they did lose Kellyn Acosta to LAFC and homegrown youngster Cole Bassett to Dutch side Feyenoord. Expect a bit of a drop this year.
2021 – 1st
2022 Projection – 4th
FC Dallas:
The good news for Dallas fans is that they continue to develop some top talent. The bad news is that they continue to turn that talent into cash they then pour back into their development program. They just can’t seem to hold onto that talent long enough for it to pay dividends in Dallas. This season they lost two solid players. Wonder boy striker Ricardo Pepi was sold to Bundesliga side Augsburg for a whopping $20M. Then young potential future star Justin Che was loaned to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim. At least though they did turn around and spend some of those earnings on players that should make an impact this season bringing in wingers Paul Arriola and Alan Velasco. With Jesus Ferriera taking over the #9 spot full time if those three gel they could score some goals.
2021 – 11th
2022 Projection – 10th
Houston Dynamo FC:
The Dynamo had the second worst goal differential in the conference last season which sounds even worse when you consider that they have an expensive center back pairing. Some of that is certainly due to their impotent offense and they have brought in Sebastian Ferriera to fix. With a strong goal scoring record in Paraguay and Mexico that should translate into MLS goals. They also added Steve Clark to mind the nets. Clark, an underrated keeper, led the Portland Timbers to the MLS Cup finals twice. Solid moves but probably not going to move the needle.
2021 – 13th
2022 – 14th
Los Angeles Galaxy:
If you have been watching this team at all the last several seasons its clear what they have and what they don’t. They are going to attack, attack, then attack some more. And they have some terrific talent upfront not the least is Chicharito. But they also don’t defend, at least not very well. Teams with negative goal differentials typically don’t make for playoff teams. Hard to see them improving much on the defensive end of the field this year. But if they do they could find themselves playing in the post season.
2021 – 8th
2022 Projection – 8th
Los Angeles FC:
Much like their cross town rivals they can score in bunches. But they also give up goals in bunches. If you look at them on paper they look like a team that has several players who should be on the MLS Best XI list. The problem has been that paper hasn’t translated to the grass. But this is a team that recognized what they needed AND went and made some moves that could actually be game changers brining in Kellyn Acosta as their defensive midfielder and Canadian keeper Maxime Crepeau. Those two alone should really improve their defense. It remains to be seen how much of a loss Sebastian Lleget will turn out to be.
2021 – 9th
2022 Projection – 5th
Minnesota United:
Ah the Loons, home to the coldest qualifier in USMNT history. Lucky for Loon fans the worst weather they should see this season will be warmer than that chilly day back on February 2d when the temperature at kickoff was a balmy 3 degrees. The Loons have a terrific playmaker in Emanuel Reynoso. The problem is when team figure out how to shut him down their attack stagnates. Luckily for their fans not many teams are able to accomplish that. Bringing back Luis Amarilla will help provide attacking spark off the bench.
2021 – 5th
2022 Projection – 7th
Nashville SC:
The best defense in the league led by two times running MLS Defender of the Year, Walker Zimmerman. Don’t expect that to change this year either just because they have moved to the Western Conference. They just so solid in the back. If you are a believer in the mantra that defense wins championships then you have to be a fan of these guys. If CJ Sapong and Hany Mukhtar can find some goals this team has a legit shot at winning it all. And fans are excited as their new downtown stadium should open this summer. Things are shining bright in the Music City.
2021 – 3rd
2022 Projection – 2nd
Portland Timbers:
Not hard to be excited for the season if you are a Timber’s fan. All the way to the finals only to lose on PKs. They have a veteran core that has made the last two finals and three of the last four. But with that veteran core also comes age and it may be getting to the point where age is going to be an issue. Much will depend on how Sebastian Blanco’s knees hold up, how well Eryk Williamson has recovered from his knee injury, and how well newcomer David Ayala fits in. This team is hard to predict this year but expect to see some drop off.
2021 – 4th
2022 Prediction – 9th
Real Salt Lake:
Real is very good at getting multiple attackers into the area. The problem is that can leave them open to quick counterattacks. Hence their essentially neutral goal differential. The benefit to this however, is that even when chasing the game they find ways to push into the area and have the ability to come from behind. The departure of Albert Rusnak will be a bid blow to them. In his 5 years with the club he tallied 41 goals and 39 assists in 140 matches. That’s going to be difficult to replace. Then there is David Ochoa who broke free as the starting keeper last year. But he’s a bit of a tough one to figure out. Has the tools to be a top flight keeper but seems to have a bit of an ego problem and a hard time keeping focused on the matches and not outside things. Allowing 40 goals in 25 matches isn’t going to cut it but he has the ability to improve on that quite a bit.
2021 – 7th
2022 Projection – 11th
San Jose Earthquakes:
Its the start of a new chapter in San Jose with the retirement of Chris Wondolowski. Wondo retires after amassing 413 regular season appearances good for 171 goals. Say what you want about him being a goal poacher but he got the job done and he did so for a long time. He’ll be missed but he won’t totally be gone as he has moved to the front office. Then there is head coach Matias Almeyda. Nobody can accuse him of not trying. In the preseason he has trotted out a 3-4-3 formation which isn’t that unusual. But he is trying Jackson Yueill at center back. That’s raising some WTH eye rolls. We’ll see how long he tries that? Maybe he’s just a lot smarter than the pundits?
2021 – 10th
2022 Projection – 13th
Seattle Sounders:
The Sounders have the deepest and most talented roster in the league and can survive injuries much better than most. And their depth is also very experienced. But the experience is also getting older. Their talent, while still near elite levels, has pretty much stayed the same while the league, overall, has gotten better. But the Sounders recognized that and went and got Albert Rusnak. Coupled with having Jordan Morris for the whole season and they are going to be tough to match up against. Expect them to be looking down at everybody else come the end of the regular season.
2021 – 2nd
2022 Projection – 1st
Sporting Kansas City:
The longest tenured head coach, Peter Vermes, is entering his 14th season. What that means is that the players know how they are going to play and are comfortable in their system and their teammates. Their downfall the last several years has been in the counter attacks. Their midfield can struggle to get back quickly enough and their backline has a tough time scrambling to stop things. They have brought in Logan Ndenbe and ben Sweat as backline help. Time will tell.
2021 – 3rd
2022 Prediction – 3rd
Vancouver Whitecaps:
The Caps were a different team after the midseason change to head coach Vanni Sartini. Sartini had they playing very strong in the transition and all the key pieces from that approach are back. Given the offseason to fine tune things, fans in Vancouver might actually be looking at a playoff contender for the second straight year. Most fans haven’t even heard of the vast majority of their players and that’s fine with them. They are fine running under the radar. Don’t sleep on this team. They aren’t world beaters but if you aren’t prepared they will hurt you.
2021 – 6th
2022 Projection – 6th
So there it is. Sit back and enjoy another season of MLS!!
Soccer Analyst
Steve is an avid fan of all things soccer and the O’s. Originally from the west, he grew up in the Baltimore area. He returned to the west for college where he earned a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Montana State University and spent 36 years working at the Idaho National Laboratory prior to retiring in 2013. It was during his school years in Baltimore where he learned to play soccer and that developed into a life long passion. He played competitively for over 40 years and was a four year starting goalkeeper at MSU. He also coached and refereed in the Idaho premier soccer and High School programs for many years.