I’m most excited about …
New arrivals St Louis CITY. Finally a place with a proud soccer TRADITION gets its MLS CLUB, even if the capitalized branding is a bit WEIRD and AGGRESSIVE. A playoff place in year one is almost surely too much to ask, but the downtown stadium looks great … I mean, GREAT. TD
The reimagined Leagues Cup. For the first time, the Major League Soccer season is shutting down from 15 July through 20 August for a World Cup-style tournament featuring 47 teams – all 29 from MLS and 18 from Liga MX – that will qualify three clubs into the 2024 Concacaf Champions League. No doubt the NBA will have an idle eye on the proceedings: it’s more or less the same idea they’ve been floating to spice up their own meandering regular season.
MLS on Apple TV+. Call me an Apple fanboy (I have never queued overnight for the launch of a new iPhone), but MLS’s new 10-year, $2.5bn broadcast deal could be transformational for the league. Not only are clubs now receiving more money, but all matches will be broadcast and presented to the same high standard – in 1080p! Furthermore, MLS will now have the platform to create its own Welcome To Wrexham-esque series with additional league-related content on Apple TV. Someone give Rob and Ryan a call. GR
The Apple TV+ coverage. There are flaws to the move and caveats to my excitement, but coverage details appear thorough and well thought out. Reservations aside, this major evolution in MLS broadcasting will be interesting. I like interesting. MS
Young player who European clubs will be scouting …
Djordje Petrovic, New England Revolution. The Serbian international goalkeeper excelled after Matt Turner left for Arsenal last summer, with seven clean sheets and four penalty saves in 21 appearances. The 6ft 4in 23-year-old could well join Turner in the Premier League later this year if he continues to impress. TD
Jack McGlynn, Philadelphia Union. After helping the US book their spot in the U20 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics with a standout showing at the Concacaf U20 Championship, the 19-year-old midfielder established himself as a regular presence in Jim Curtin’s team with his brilliant left foot during the back end of Philadelphia’s charmed 2022 campaign. Look for him to follow the transatlantic path of Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Mark McKenzie (Genk) and Auston Trusty (Birmingham City), all products of a Union academy system that’s been punching above its weight for years. BAG
John Tolkin, New York Red Bulls. He may have already been a Red Bulls regular for two seasons, but 2023 could see John Tolkin take another significant step forward. The 20-year-old made his USMNT debut earlier this year and has the benefit of already being in the Red Bull pipeline – Leipzig or Salzburg awaits. GR
Cade Cowell, San Jose Earthquakes. Cowell is already on foreign radars and top of this list, with Tolkin right behind him. With more MLS minutes and recent national team appearances, the buzz around these two will only increase. MS
One bold prediction …
So delighted are Apple and MLS with the ratings for the even-more expanded playoffs that for 2024 the regular season is rebranded the “pre-postseason”. Well, MLS will surely have to do something to maintain interest over the long summer, because with an utterly ridiculous 18 out of 29 teams qualifying for the postseason, regular-season fixtures are even more devalued and it’s not clear why fans should care much about anything that happens before September. TD
Sporting Kansas City reach the MLS Cup final. SKC slumped to 12th in the Western Conference last year after topping the table in 2018 and 2020 and reaching the last four of the playoffs in 2021, but they were among the league’s best sides after Willy Agada’s arrival in July. It says here they pick up where they left off in 2023 before giving LAFC all they can handle in the playoffs. BAG
Jim Curtin won’t finish the season at Philly. US Soccer is still searching for a new USMNT head coach. The longer they wait, the less likely it is that Gregg Berhalter returns, while Jesse Marsch seems intent on staying in club soccer. Meanwhile, Curtin – the best American coach in MLS right now – recently said he’d leave the Philadelphia Union for the US national team even if it was only for an assistant manager’s post. He’d certainly take the top job and may be the best option. GR
Last year’s MLS Cup repeats. LAFC and Philadelphia Union will meet once more. This time they’ll duel on the east coast. MS
Your MVP will be …
Lorenzo Insigne, Toronto FC. He’ll turn 32 during the season, but MLS’s highest-paid player should live up to that $14m salary. Six goals and two assists in only 11 league starts last year after arriving from Napoli in July was a promising debut, and if he leads Toronto into the playoffs his MVP credentials will be hard to ignore – unless he’s outshone by his teammate and fellow Italian, Federico Bernardeschi, who was even more productive after joining from Juventus in the second half of 2022. TD
Riqui Puig, LA Galaxy. In all honesty, Riqui Puig shouldn’t be in MLS. He’s a former Barcelona star who is still only 23 and demonstrated his quality with a series of eye-catching performances after joining the Galaxy last season. Puig’s guile and technical ability is unmatched in MLS, even accounting for the likes of Insigne and Emanuel Reynoso. GR
Hany Mukhtar, Nashville SC. No player has ever won back-to-back MLS MVP trophies, while only one has won it more than once: Preki back in 1997 and 2003. But there’s no good reason why the 27-year-old attacking midfielder can’t thrive as the centerpiece of Nashville’s attack once more after last year’s banner campaign, where he scored or assisted on an eye-popping 65% of his team’s 52 goals. BAG
Evander, Portland Timbers. While most of the world was distracted by the World Cup in Qatar, the Timbers were busy signing a new Designated Player. The Brazilian is the most expensive transfer in Timbers history, and he looks more than convincing as 2023 MLS MVP. MS
Eastern Conference playoff teams
Cincinnati, Columbus, Nashville, New England, New York Red Bulls, NYC FC, Orlando, Philadelphia, Toronto. TD
Philadelphia, NYC FC, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Orlando, Toronto, Montreal, New York Red Bulls, Columbus. BAG
Philadelphia, New York Red Bulls, Atlanta, Orlando, Cincinnati, Toronto, NYC FC, Nashville, Columbus. GR
Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Orlando, New York Red Bulls, Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus, Toronto, NYC FC. MS
Western Conference playoff teams
Austin, Dallas, Kansas City, LA Galaxy, LAFC, Portland, Salt Lake, Seattle, Vancouver. TD
Kansas City, LAFC, Austin, LA Galaxy, Seattle, Portland, Dallas, San Jose, Minnesota. BAG
LAFC, Kansas City, LA Galaxy, Dallas, Austin, Seattle, San Jose, Portland, Minnesota. GR
LAFC, Portland, Austin, LA Galaxy, Dallas, Seattle, Minnesota, Kansas City, Salt Lake. MS
Your MLS Cup champions will be …
Philadelphia Union. After losing MLS Cup and the World Series in the space of a couple of hours last November, and then the Super Bowl this month in an ending that was somehow simultaneously agonizing and mundane, it appears no playoff format exists that could mitigate the city’s sporting hard-luck stories. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Union and LAFC back in the final this year. Since LAFC’s 2022 salvage expert Gareth Bale will be on a golf course, maybe this time Curtin’s side – the best all-around team in the league – will get the title they deserve. TD
Philadelphia Union. They return all of the principals from a side that was first in goals scored, first in goals allowed and came within 90 seconds of their first MLS Cup – in a final played in Los Angeles and not Philadelphia only because of Major League Soccer’s anomalous tie-breaker rules (where total wins trump goal difference). As snakebitten as Philly’s sports teams have been in the championship rounds over the past year, the Union’s talent-rich squad (even accounting for the departure of super sub Cory Burke) and steady improvement under Curtin portend a long-sought end to the city-wide schneid. BAG
Los Angeles FC. There’s no reason to believe LAFC won’t be a dominant force again. Carlos Vela is back, Jose Cifuentes is back and Aaron Long has joined from the Red Bulls. Bale isn’t back, but that’s not such a big deal for a team that barely used the Welshman last season. Bale’s departure also means LAFC have a spare Designated Player spot in their back pocket, which could be used to turbocharge their team in the summer. GR
Philadelphia Union. Consistent success is difficult in MLS. But Curtin’s program have proven capable of dogged, determined consistency. As the second-longest tenured manager in MLS, Curtin has overseen a steady climb to the top: In 2020, the Union got their first trophy, in the Supporters’ Shield. In 2021, they fell just short of MLS Cup. In 2022 they lost there. In 2023, all of the main characters are returning in their prime. I think they’ll take it all. MS
