The New York Red Bulls, New England Revolution, L.A. Galaxy, and Seattle Sounders have more in common than being two good results away from playing for the MLS Cup.
Yes, they are all among Major League Soccer’s bigger-market clubs. Yes, they all have a pile of money and are willing to throw it around. If you currently live with an American Outlaw, each club boasts at least one household name.
But most pertinent to this week’s discussion, each of MLS’s four conference finalists ended last season with something that was good and weren’t satisfied.
A few years ago, Adidas discarded their famous “impossible is nothing” slogan and replaced it with the slightly modified “all in or nothing”. Major League Soccer, an Adidas-exclusive league since 2005, seems to have followed the first slogan by surviving. Now they’re out to prove that survival was the tip of the iceberg.
Each team still alive in this postseason made it to the Conference Semifinals last year before being bounced. Finishing in positions 5-8 in a 19-team league isn’t at all a bad place to be. It’s pretty good actually. But pretty good isn’t the same as great, and New York, New England, L.A., and Seattle weren’t going to stop until great became an understatement.
The Red Bulls have been a solid side over the past few years, but have never been able to take the final jump into elite territory. In that time, they’ve offloaded forward after forward after forward in search of the man they thought could work alongside Thierry Henry and deliver them a trophy.
Luke Rodgers scored nine goals in 2011. Kenny Cooper had 18 in 2012. Fabian Espindola had nine in 2013. Each man lasted only one season with the club. Was it worth it? It might not have seemed like it in the short term, but then Bradley Wright-Phillips happened.
The Revolution have been seen as an up-and-comer with their collection of young offensive talent. But rather than wait a few more years for things to come together, owner Robert Kraft finally decided to open up his wallet (!) and accelerate the process by acquiring Jermaine Jones. We may never understand how New England ending up acquiring Jones’ rights, but New England fans will be crystal clear in telling you that he has helped push them into contention territory.
You have to go back all the way to 2008 to find the last season in which the L.A. Galaxy were bad. 2012 was close to being a big step back from their MLS Cup win in 2011, but somebody pressed the “ON” button just in time for the postseason. 2013 was the first Galaxy postseason in the post-Beckham era, and it didn’t go well.
But since then, the Galaxy have found new talent all over the pitch. Jaime Penedo is a joy to watch in goal. Robbie Rogers and Dan Gargan went from zeroes to heroes in the blink of an eye. Gyasi Zardes erupted for 16 goals. And Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan reached new statistical heights. I’m sure that many would argue that the current Galaxy side is their best one ever.
Space Needle-high expectations in Seattle weren’t lived up to last season. As a consequence, virtually every player not on a DP contract or named DeAndre Yedlin was sent packing. Rome may not have been built in a day, but with the exception of Sounder-since-the-beginning Osvaldo Alonso it sure seems like the Sounders were.
It still blows my mind how a team with so much quality and star power in almost every position can stay cap-compliant. But thank goodness they are, because when the Sounders start clicking they are well worth the price of admission.
Some of MLS’ other clubs tried their hand at going all in. Toronto is the obvious one, and as Toronto’s scrap picker-upper, I’ll throw Philadelphia in there too. Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake took a different route by making fine adjustments to an already-working product. Even Montreal looked decent after signing Ignacio Piatti in the summer.
These attempts at success missed the mark for a bunch of reasons. Toronto is cursed. Philadelphia had three goalkeepers on their roster but nobody who could save a ball late in a match. Kansas City got wrecked by injuries and the World Cup. RSL was the first kid to attempt the high jump and watched as the bar they originally set got raised. The grave Montreal dug for themselves in the early part of the season was far too deep to get out of.
But for New York, New England, L.A., and Seattle, everything came together. In their cases, not only did the three pillars of the business of soccer (money, on-field chemistry, and luck) play nicely during recess, they also teamed up for the science fair.
But then again, maybe that’s overcomplicating the matter. Soccer isn’t a science, regardless of what the folks at La Masia currently splicing the DNA of Xavi and Andres Iniesta tell you. Soccer, the microcosm of life that it is, is about going out and trying your best.
Soccer is about always practicing even the most basic of skills. Soccer is about continuing to run even when your team is down 5-0. Soccer is about trying to use playing analogies to make your point more relatable even though you were never a player yourself.
That’s Integrity 101 folks. Anything short of the best isn’t worth anyone’s time.
New York, New England, Los Angeles, and Seattle realized that at some point over the last 12 months, and that’s why they’re where they are right now.
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