Good morning all. With the second off day of Euro 2008 upon us, and MLS action still two days away, it’s a relatively slow day on the news front so I’ll get the day started with another portion of the most recent Q&A.
Here are some more answers to questions asked earlier this month (the last portion of these will be done later today). Enjoy.
NEWCASTLE FAN- How is MLS regarded by the casual fan in Europe? Do they watch MLS games to get a ‘fix’ during the off-season? Are they aware of any of the teams or players beyond the big int’l stars? Do the fans follow their teams pre-season tours over here very intently? I know they look down on the caliber of play, but do they still watch because it’s there when there’s not much other footie on the tube? Is MLS even broadcast in Europe?
IVES- I’ll leave this one for one my European-based readers to answer but I think it’s fair to say that folks in Europe have access to far more MLS games than they used to. I think David Beckham and ESPN have helped lead to that. I know clubs like New York, LA and D.C. are known about more than most but I’m not sure how closely MLS teams are really followed. I’m sure when players who have strong followed there come here they bring some fans over. How many of those fans actually stay remains to be seen.
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AMIT- I think that there is a general concensus that Taylor Twellman will eventually be the all- time leading goal scorer in MLS. Do you think that the record he sets will ever be broken? It seems that any player good enough to do so would be snatched up by a European team.
IVES- I agree that it looks like Twellman will eventually get the record but I don’t know if it will be an unbreakable record. I think it will take some time, and I don’t think the player who breaks Twellman’s record is in MLS right now, but just as players like Jason Kreis and Ante Razov came before Twellman, I think there will be another MLS goal machine coming along who stays long enough to break the record.
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KEVIN- Hey Ives,
I live in philly and can’t wait until the new team begins play, have you heard any new rumors about who seattle or even the new philadelphia team may be looking to sign? Is henry to seattle a real possibility and are players like sheva and ronaldo looking to make the move to mls soon?
IVES- Philly is a bit far away to speculate on but I’m convinced that Seattle will sign a high-profile Asian player. I gave the name Shunsuke Nakamura as a possibility last winter and am sticking to that one. I know Nakamura’s hometown team in Yokahama plans on making a move for him but I can see Paul Allen dropping the big cash on a player who is not only good, but extremely marketable. Folks in Seattle know the impact Ichiro had in that market and Nakamura could have an even bigger impact.
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GREG- What kind of effort goes into getting dual nationality players (like Subotic and Rossi) to play for the US National Team? Do you have any insight into that process?
IVES- From what I know, the federation was in communication with Rossi’s family and made an effort to see if he would play for the USA but he had already made up his mind. From what I know, the same thing is going on with Subotic and at this point he is weighing his options. You must admit that he’s in a pretty good position, being a 19-year-old hot-shot prospect set to play at a big Bundesliga club. The sense that I get is that U.S. Soccer is pretty diligent when it comes to identifying and communicating with prospects with dual nationality. I’m sure they’re wary of having another Shalrie Joseph fall through the cracks.
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MZ- 1. Will freddy adu move to a new club in the summer, or stick around and languish on the bench?
2. What is your opinion on the signing of Sven for Mexico, personaly i’m scared to see him on the bench for Mexico but what is your opinion of the signing
IVES- I think Adu makes a move. He needs to play and Benfica has to realize that so I think a loan will happen. That’s just a hunch, no info on that. 2. I thought it was an odd fit but Eriksson’s resume is pretty impressive.
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JSquaredNY-I’ve read in a couple of spots that RBNY was already close to landing Rojas way before Altidore’s deal. What is your take on that? I can’t say that I can believe that Rojas went from being too expensive to attainable over night. Some of the allocation has to be going his way, no?
Also, if you were JCO how would you fill the vacancy at forward left by Altidore? Do you think Echeverry is the answer?
IVES- Rojas’ club wanted a transfer fee and since MLS clubs can only pay transfer fees using allocations the Red Bulls were stuck because they didn’t have the allocation to get the deal done. Now they have allocation funds from the Altidore deal. So while I think Rojas and the Red Bulls had reached an understanding, the deal couldn’t get done until Altidore was sold and he can’t join the club until the July 15 open of the transfer window. So to answer your question, I believe some Altidore allocation money will go to Rojas’ club and some to Rojas. How much remains to be seen.
As for the forward position, I don’t think Echeverry is the answer. I actually think Dane Richards could wind up being a solution, but the club still needs to sign a forward capable of starting. That would give the Red Bulls Angel, new forward, Richards and Echeverry, which might leave John Wolyniec out in the cold.
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BATTERYGUY- Who’s playing in USL right now that should be in MLS? Any real ‘stars’ at that level that could/should/would make the jump?
We see USL teams beat MLS squads in US Open all the time, so it seems that some players would be good enough to at least make the MLS rosters, if not play regularly.
IVES- Seattle’s Sebastian Le Toux and Chris Eylander are two players I have heard as being quality MLS prospects. With that said, I think the gap between MLS and USL is wider than people realize. While I think there are plenty of USL players who could make the fringes of MLS rosters, and some who could play minutes in MLS, I think you’re putting too much weight into the history of U.S. Open Cup results. Yes, USL teams beat MLS teams, but I think that is caused by a variety of factors. Whether it’s MLS teams not fielding full strength squads because of schedule demands or USL teams stepping up their play against MLS teams overlooking them. I also think that soccer is a game that lends itself to weaker teams beating stronger teams on a given day. Ultimately, I have seen a lot of players who just weren’t good enough in MLS go to USL and do really well. That doesn’t mean the soccer in USL isn’t entertaining, just that there is a very real gap in talent between MLS and USL, as there should be.
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MARC- Do you think that RBNY’s acquisition of the Venezuelan left footed midfielder (I forget his name) is likely to occur given Jozy’s transfer? Or will RBNY set their sights on another (perhaps more expensive) player? Thx and keep up the good work.
IVES- I think it’s a safe bet that Jorge Rojas will be joining the Red Bulls this summer and I don’t think his arrival would preclude the Red Bulls from going after a truly expensive player. Why? Because the only way the Red Bulls can go after an expensive player is if Claudio Reyna chooses to retire, and if that happens then the Red Bulls will have the DP slot and transfer funds to sign a big-ticket player, whether they sign Rojas or not.
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ZUNGAZAN- I think your name is way cool but how in the hell do you pronounce it?
IVES- First name is pronounced EYE-VISS. Last name is GUL-ARE-SEP.
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JOSHUA GOD- What are the rules on cap tying players. It never is very clear when people talk about it?
IVES- There seem to be so many confusing permutations on the rules but what I know the rules to be are that a player becomes cap-tied once they turn 21 if they have already played youth international level matches for a country (like Giuseppe Rossi). Now, if you are under 21 and have played in an A match for the full national team then you are cap tied (actually that cap-ties you regardless of age). Now, a player can play for a country if he was born there, has parents or grandparents from there, or has lived there for two years. One of the more confusing aspects of all this is the designation of FIFA A matches and whether certain matches do or don’t cap-tie a player.
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ART- Bocanegra and Onyewu are the best possible centerback duo for the National Team for now. They are very good against CONCACAF opposition, but they were exposed to quick, one-touch teams in Europe. Can you see a possible tandem of Onyewu and Orozco (Or another quicker centerback) used by Bob Bradley, so that he has Onyewu for the physical presence alongside a quick centerback against those fast teams?
IVES- Here’s a question. Why is it that just because Bocanegra and Onyewu were "exposed" by quick one-touch teams in Europe we automatically assume other defenders in the pool wouldn’t have been? Actually, the better question is where were all these goals created by quick one-touc soccer? I’m a little confused about the suggestion of being exposed by one-touch teams. England scored two goals, one off a set piece, and Spain scored off a great turn and dribble, so I don’t recall a flood of goals via quick one-touch passing.
Argentina did create a bunch of dangerous chances thanks to their speedy attack and amazing one-touch passing but A) they’re the best in the world at the one-touch game and B) Bocanegra wasn’t there. I’m not saying Bocanegra would have shut that down but your question pertained to the Onyewu-Bocanegra partnership.
Here’s another question for you. How many goals were scored by forwards during the big England-Spain-Argentina trio of friendlies? Yep, zero. So a group of forwards that included Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres, Julio Cruz and Sergio Aguero managed zero goals against the American center backs. So where is the problem exactly?
I will say that Michael Orozco is a great prospect who has a bright future, but is still some time away from challenging the top center backs in the U.S. pool.
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TED HILL- 1. What should we expect from Altidore at Recreativo? Will he struggle to get playing time like Adu at Benfica or will he be on the pitch often and doing well?
2. What are your thoughts on the Canadian national team? They had a good run in Gold Cup 2007 and just performed well against Brazil and Panama. What would you say there chances are of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
***Thanks again as always for answering all these questions.***
IVES- 1. The Recreativo move is not set yet so we will have to wait and see where Altidore spends the first half of the La Liga season. If he does go to Huelva I think he could gradually work his way into a starting role. I don’t think he’ll just walk right in. There will be an adjustment period, but I also don’t think Villarreal spent the money they spent on him for Altidore not to be playing.
2. I’m a big fan of the Canadian team and think they’re in the top four of the region. Unfortunately, two of the other three are in their World Cup qualifying group. The Canada-Honduras matches will be key and right now I’m giving the edge to Canada. I think their midfield has an edge on Honduras and I think Rob Friend could be a star in qualifying coming off his big season at Monchengladbach.
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IVES IS MY HERO- Any word on expansion into Canada? Is MLS going to look north, or is Toronto going to be the one odd team in the league? Seems weird that only 1 MLS side isn’t eligible for teh US Open Cup but instead would just beat the tar out of the lower Canadian sides to win the Canadian trophy.
IVES- Nice name. I know there’s been plenty of talk about Montreal and possibly Vancouver being in the mix for MLS but I just don’t see it happening. Montreal wouldn’t shock me that much, but any place else definitely would. I just think there are too many good expansion possibilities in the USA for MLS to put a second team in Canada.
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BKNY- Does a player get to keep a share of his transfer fee? I heard somewhere that they keep 10 percent.
IVES- Players generally get 10 percent of their transfer fee but I’ve been told that MLS has its players sign a waiver relinquishing their rights to that 10 percent. Not sure if that’s true in every case, but I suppose it’s a sort of ransom for letting the players leave.
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DR. MODIBO- If Conde’s not playing for the Fire because of personal problems, and Marmol’s not playing because he’s injured, did the Fire and Hauptman really win their little tiff with JCO and RBNY?
IVES- I actually thought Conde was also injured. And I’m not sure either side is winning the tiff between Hauptman and Osorio. On one side the Fire has two players making six figures who aren’t contributing while on the other side you have a coach with a roster starving for talent. You also have both teams equal on points. Right now it’s a tie. Wait for the end of the year before trying to keep score on that one.
Ives, I don’t often contradict your impressive analysis skills (yeah, blowing some smoke for you) but while Nakamura may be a signing in Seattle, the impact cannot be even close to that of Ichiro. In the post-Griffey malaise in Seattle, Ichiro became the face of the franchise, carried them quickly to ALCS, and galvanised a large portion of the entire MLB fanbase to look at Asian position players in a whole new light.
But that’s just one guy’s opinion.
Regards,
Hey Ives,
are you saying you don’t see expansion into Canada happening with the cap of 18 teams? If thats the case, then I agree with you, but our commissioner has stated he’s going beyond that when he watched the TFC/Montreal game. I have a bias of course. If this is the case that MLS won’t allow another Canadian team, we should form our own league. It makes no sense to have one top flight team. MLS can keep its empty stadiums.
Ives,
I understand that Twellman’s goal-scoring record COULD be shattered at some point, but as the MLS becomes more and more of a springboard to European clubs, do you really think any decent forward will come to this league and stay in this league long enough to have that happen?
Also, I wanted to clarify your comment on cap-tying Sharlie Joseph. Are you saying we could have cap-tied Sharlie Joseph, but didn’t? Or are you saying we didn’t do enough to try and cap-tie him so he decided on Grenada? Either way that definitely has to be in the top 5 or 10 blunders by the USSF.
I have traveled all over the world wearing my D.C. United gear, and I always have people coming up to me complementing me on my team and my jersey. This especially happens when I am in Europe or South America. So I know soccer fans around the world are following at least a little bit to what is going on over here.
I have to agree with mig22. Ichiro’s appeal stemmed from a combination of being Japanese and being one of the greatest baseball players on the planet. Until there’s a Japanese soccer player playing at a Ronaldo/Kaka level, there simply is no soccer Ichiro out there for Seattle to sign.
DigzTFC, there is no 18 cap. Garber himself said there will probably be “quite a few more than 18″ teams.
I’ve mostly got assorted Asian televison and I’ve never heard a peep about MLS, apart from the very occasional Beckham news, which rarely touches on anything besides Beckham himself.
In pre-Beckham days when I lived places with European media I never got a word on MLS. Except back in ’98 in Kazakhstan when much to my surprise highlights of DC United’s victory over Vasco de Gama made the 5-minute local Kazakhstan sports report!
Nakamura would have a financial impact. He is insanely popular in Japan (ask Celtic) and would be in Seattle. Maybe not the Ichiro impact, but Seattle would be happy with a quarter of the money Ichiro brought in.
A lot of people think Nakamura is a one-trick pony (free kicks) but he is a smart player, good with both feet, and a better dribbler than people give him credit for.
oh, I agree that he would have a wonderful impact on MLS exposure in Asia and among US folk of Asian descent. Plus, he is a rather good player that would add to the league’s quality.
Cheers!
In Europe and South America MLS is a joke and nothing more. I don’t care what some European SBI readers say. If they say anything positive they are just being nice.
Anything and everything about soccer in America is a punchline in the “big” European countries, especially England.
My soccer-loving friends in Germany never follow MLS and they have never heard of any of the MLS teams or their players (except for maybe Beckham).
Ives,
I dont think your giving Honduras enough credit when you rate Canada’s MF above Honduras with players such as Guevara,Palacios,Rambo De leon, who all play in Foreig leagues im aware of some of the canadian players DeRosario,Guzman but when you look at both teams on paper (of course matches are won on the pitch) Honduras IMO has the advantage not to mention Canada’s Def isnt rock solid enough to where they can just about shut out any team they want Im not trying to be biased of Honduras but i dont think you give them enough credit as a team seeing the improvement they have made recently I see Honduras and Mexico making it out of the group stages for WCQ
Jerry, I didn’t say Honduras’ midfield was bad. I just like Canada’s a bit more, and honestly it’s a pretty damn good match-up between the two and I could see someone giving Honduras the edge based on the recent rise to prominence of Palacios.
Here are the midfields:
Canada: Julian deGuzman, Atiba Hutchinson, Dwayne DeRosario, Paul Stalteri and Patrice Bernier.
Honduras: Rambo Leon, Wilson Palacios, Amado Guevara, Danilo Turcios and Sergio Mendoza
It’s close but I’ll take Canada’s group as a unit. We’ll see soon enough.
I’ve been to Germany a couple of times in the last few years to visit the lady’s family. I like to ask around their circle of friends (a few, including her father, were pro athletes in their day) about MLS and some of our “Big” names. They haven’t a clue about any of it. Why would they?
I think we in the US have this image that people in Europe are taking notice of MLS. Guess what, they’re not. They don’t give a shite.
some brits on myspace have picked MLS sides to cheer for. i know one guy who has family in Columbus area so he roots for the Crew…. i tend to give him some sh*t for it tho….
most of the others picked the wizards, due to the gay name… obviously they arent serious, but they actually pay attention to the score lines and standings…. not quite there, but a step in the right direction….
and then there are a few english on myspace, who are here in the states that stand firm on the fact that a good portion of people in england are typically stuck up on their league and tend to look down on any other league ….
whoa whoa whoa… when did rambo stop fighting communists and start playing for Honduras??? thought John was american
Green- personally im fine with none of the world truely following our league… we need to stop pushing that idea and focus primarily on domestic numbers…. theres no need to worry about jersey sales and ratings abroad when we should be worried about jersey sales and ratings at home… we are still a minnow amoungst leagues, we need to establish ourselves amoungst ourselves and then establish abroad…
I wouldn’t expect many people except for the hard core , scout types to really know the MLS. It’s like Basketball here in the US not many people know or care about the Euro league even though it might be the second best league in the world
Hey Ives,
How many chances there are that Wilpon
will put a true NYC soccer team in MLS by 2011 ?
Have you news about Wilpon and a possible soccer stadium ?
Go NYCFC and Borough Boys
Brett – I couldn’t agree more.
Homey, the Shalrie Joseph situation wasn’t really the USSF’s fault. Joseph tied himself when he was still young and an unknown commodity when he first played for Grenada in 2002. I just mentioned his situation as an example of a player in this country who could have helped the USA but wound up getting tied to another country before he could.
Vancouver and Montreal should have MLS teams in the future. Toronto has shown they support their teams better than we do. A Montreal-Toronto derby would be a good one, as would a Seattle-Vancouver derby.
MLS needs to:
1. Join the International Calendar
2. Raise the salary cap
3. Continue youth player development
4. US Soccer needs to make their Academy System curriculum based, not games based.
When I was in Germany for the WC in ’06, I ran into a few people (Europeans) who knew we had a league, but didn’t know it was called “MLS” or any of the teams. But for some reason, they knew that “Cobi Jones plays there.”
But honestly, think of Scandinavia. Do any of us follow their leagues? NO. And it’s not because we look down on them, it’s just not part of our fan repertoire.
Regarding being tied to a national team – I thought each player was allowed to make a 1-time change after being connected to a team. If so, couldn’t Shalrie switch to the U.S. now?
I was in England about a month ago, and most knew we had a “league” and that becks played in it. They weren’t insulting in any way, because nobody is stupid enought to assert that MLS in any way compares with the Premier League.
Wouldn’t more collaboration (tournaments, matches) between the Mexican league and the MLS be interesting and good for both?
@Ives – Thanks for the clarification on the Joseph cap-tying.
Regarding being tied to a national team – I thought each player was allowed to make a 1-time change after being connected to a team. If so, couldn’t Shalrie switch to the U.S. now?
Posted by: Don | June 24, 2008 at 12:54 PM
That is a common misconception. The one-time change thing only deals with players under the age of 21 who have been appeared in youth national team games but not the full team. It’s a fairly new rule I believe (2004 or 2005 I think). So, no, Shalrie couldn’t.
Wasn’t Edgar Castillo pretty much ignored in ODP also or am I thinking of someone else?
CACuzcatlan, it may be true that MLS will choose to expand beyond 18 teams, however, I think FIFA has some sort of rule limiting the top domestic leagues of its members to 20 teams or less.
Nihat is likely out for 3 months, making it highly unlikely Altidore will leave on loan for the 1st half of the season and maybe more (unless they sign another forward). Very tough loss for Villarreal, but it could be Jozy opening (hey, that’s the unfortunate reality of sports).
Hey Ives,
Do you know anything about Steve Nash’s charity soccer game tomorrowin Chinatown? Apparently both Reyna and JPA are suppose to play, which is a bit of a concern seeing as how neither of them can play for the Reb Bulls. I know it’s for charity and they won’t be tackling hard if at all, but does make you worry that he’ll hurt himself yet again. Here is the link:
link to sports.espn.go.com
On the brighter side, Henry is playing, so hopefully Reyna and JPA can sell him on New York for next year.
The thought of the English or Spanish, et. al. following MLS is absurd. That would be the equivalent of an American following Greek league basketball.
Hey Ives- Why aren’t you making any mention of the charity game tomorrow in NYC? Some NYRB and Jozy will be there not to metion Henry…..Should be awesome as long as it’s not a mob scene
“Should be awesome as long as it’s not a mob scene”
What are the chances it will not be a mob scene?
In any case, further to the discussion about Canada in this thread, The NY Times’s Goal Blog reports the following about Vancouver:
“I’ve been a fan of the team since I was six,” [Steve] Nash said of the [Vancouver] Whitecaps. “I haven’t invested money yet, more like human capital. It’s a spectacular city. We’re really optimistic and we’re hoping to have some good news at the M.L.S. All-Star game in Toronto.”
Um, what good news could they be hoping to have at the MLS All-Star game???
A.S.- he’s hoping that Montreal get named the next MLS team, im guessing
@Newcastle Fan: We only hear about the David Beckham news unfortunately.
I myself got into MLS to pass the off-season, but I’ve got hooked and now will probably watch it forever.
I think if MLS gets Ronaldinho and Henry to go with Beckham in the next few years, we might see live games broadcast in England, because there is nothing else on in those timeslots (1am etc.)
DigzTFC, you’re serious? You think you can find 14-odd cities in Canada that would get better attendance than MLS teams? And you really think that TFC would thrive more in this proposed Canadian league than the MLS? That’s laughable. I’m sure Cardiff City F.C. would be more successful in the Welsh Premier League than in the English league structure where they are now.
Yes, U.S. Soccer could have cap-tied Sharlie Joseph but didn’t.
One could only wonder what would be of the MNT midfield with Joseph as the ball-winning midfielder below Adu at attacking mid, Jozy and Dempsey at forwards, Beasley at left mid and Donovan at right flank.
I was in Hawaii last year….wearing an Ireland cap. A man asked me about it and we started discussing football. He was on vaction from England and was a mid-level fan – not over the top like most that read here or Goff.
I live in the DC area and mostly follow DCU/MLS. He really had no idea we had a league or who any of the teams/players were. (That said, he did ask about the LA side that Beckham was “apparently playing with?”) He did have some basic knowledge of the USMNT, though. He was pleased with my knowledge of EPL and European national teams. I think he was surprised that Americans could and did follow the game.
I got the impression that they have more than enough good things in their corner of the world and had no time to give to ours.