Category: Sidewinder Insider

By Scott Adamson
Adamsonmedia.com

Toronto FC capped off the greatest season in Major League Soccer history on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders FC in the MLS Cup.

The clash – a rematch of last year’s final won by the Sounders – served as the 2017 curtain call for North American professional club soccer.

Toronto (20-5-9) controlled the match from start to finish, dominating possession and keeping Seattle back peddling from wire-to-wire before 30,584 fans at BMO Field in Toronto.

Goalkeeper Stefan Frei was the only reason 2016’s champions stayed close as he made save after save before Most Valuable Player Jozy Altidore split a pair of defenders and punched in the game-winner in the 67^th minute. Victor Vazquez closed the door in stoppage time with a rebound goal that made it 2-0, delivering Toronto the first treble in 22 seasons of MLS soccer.

Aside from claiming the Supporters’ Shield while racking up the most regular season points (69) an MLS team has ever recorded, Greg Vanney’s squad also won the Canadian Championship.

Alexander Bono got the clean sheet for the victors, making two saves. Toronto outshot Seattle, 22-7, and had 11 corner kicks to just three for the visitors.

Frei did all he could for the Sounders (14-9-11), making nine stops.

Toronto’s goals were the only ones scored against Seattle during the 2017 postseason.

 

STATE OF THE LEAGUE

The 2017 MLS Cup proved to be a fine season finale for the circuit that began play in 1996.

After suffering from severe growing pains (it lost an estimated $350 million over its first eight seasons and also underwent contraction) the top tier of soccer in the United States and Canada has since demonstrated stability and sustained growth. In addition, its commitment to soccer-specific stadiums across the league suggests a league that will be part of American sport’s long game.

Currently with 23 franchises and targeting 28 teams in the coming years, MLS might still not be mentioned alongside the NFL, Major League baseball, NBA and NHL, but it has unquestionably carved out a sizable niche.

 

ATTENDANCE

The 2017 regular season saw a league average of 22,112 fans per game (up nearly 2 percent from 2016), and expansion club Atlanta United FC was far and away the most successful at the box office with an incredible 71,874 fans-per-game average.

Seattle drew 44,370 per match while DC United saw 41,418 supporters show up for their home contests.

 

EXPANSION

Next Thursday the MLS board of governors will discuss expansion, and the cities under consideration are Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville and Sacramento.

Those four were culled from 12 cities that submitted bids back in January and two will be selected to begin play in 2020 – probably.

Los Angeles FC will start next season and a Miami entry associated with David Beckham was expected to be the 24th active MLS franchise.

However, nothing has yet been finalized with Beckham’s ownership group, meaning one of the two expansion hopefuls could “cut in line.”

 

ALLOCATION MONEY

The board on Friday approved an increase in Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) available to each club.

While each team will receive an allotment of $1.2 million each year through 2019, they may also spend an additional $2.8 million (on a discretionary basis) in 2018 and 2019.

The TAM initiative began in 2015 with the idea of giving franchises “increased resources to add, or retain, players that will make an immediate impact on the field.”

The TAM is geared toward roster spots beyond the three Designated Players on each team. According to MLS Communications, The Designated Player Rule “allows clubs to acquire up to three players whose total compensation and acquisition costs exceed the maximum budget charge, with the club bearing financial responsibility for the amount of compensation above each player’s budget charge.”

By Scott Adamson
Adamsonmedia.com

The 2017 MLS Cup will be another one just like the other one.

With Toronto FC’s 1-0 victory over Columbus on Wednesday and Seattle’s 3-0 shellacking of Houston last night, the Major League Soccer championship will be a rematch of the 2016 finals.

In 2016 Seattle had to go to a shootout to top Toronto at BMO Field and claim its first MLS title, and the teams and the setting is the same for next Saturday’s 4 p.m. showdown in Canada.

Toronto, the league’s only 20-game winner in the regular season, secured its spot in the Cup when Jozy Altidore scored in the 60th minute to top the Crew.

The squads played to a scoreless draw in the first leg of the Eastern Conference finals and it took Altidore’s tally in the second leg to book passage to the final match of the campaign.

Things were much less dramatic for the Sounders, who held a 2-0 lead against Houston after the first leg and just needed to play keep away in the second Western Conference final showdown.

Instead Seattle poured it on, with Victor Rodriguez, Clint Dempsey and Will Bruin all scoring to give Seattle a 5-0 aggregate and a chance to defend its crown.

While the Sounders displayed plenty of offensive firepower in winning the West, keeper Tyler Miller logged another clean sheet. Incredibly, the Sounders have not conceded a postseason goal since the first leg of the 2016 conference finals.

The scoreless streaks for Seattle’s opposition in playoff competition stands at 647 minutes, while in 2017 it hasn’t allowed a goal in 542 minutes.

Brian Schmetzer’s footballers blanked their last two regular season foes and every opponent so far in the 2017 postseason.

EXPANSION CANDIDATES ANNOUNCED

MLS plans to expand to 28 franchises in the coming years, and Los Angeles FC will become the 23rd club to play in the league when it starts up in 2018. A Miami entry will possibly join the league in the near future.

The next wave of expansion, however, will bring MLS up to 26 teams ­– and the finalists for those two positions were announced on Wednesday.

Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville and Sacramento are the four cities which were culled from 12 groups that submitted formal bids back in January.

The remaining candidates will make their presentations Dec. 6 and eight days later the MLS Board of Governors will meet with current league members to discuss expansion.

“The leaders of the Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville and Sacramento MLS expansion ownership groups have bold visions and innovative plans for their clubs, stadiums and their involvement in their respective communities,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said in a statement. “We are pleased these highly-respected business and sports leaders have been so determined to bring Major League Soccer to their cities. We have been greatly encouraged by the progress that all four of these groups have made and we are looking forward to their presentations.”

The other 12 markets that applied were Charlotte, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Raleigh/Durham, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa/St. Petersburg.

In addition, an ownership group led by David Beckham, which is trying to put a franchise back in Miami, is still considered likely to be added as the 24^th franchise.

Beckham’s involvement has been ongoing for several years and was not part of the expansion process.

WORLD CUP DRAW HELD

Much of the soccer-loving world watched the draw for the 2018 World Cup this morning, but ratings in the United States were likely down.

Way down.

The U.S., of course, failed to qualify, but 31 other countries did and they, along with host Russia, were placed in eight groups of four during Friday’s ceremony in Moscow.

Russia will open the World Cup when it plays Saudi Arabia on June 14 in a match featuring the two lowest-ranked teams in the field.

Some intriguing first round matchups include defending World Cup champion Germany against Mexico and Spain vs. Portugal.

Below is the complete list of groups for next summer’s event.

 

By Scott Adamson
Adamsonmedia.com

“Black Friday” had a different meaning for the North American Soccer league this year.

FC Edmonton folded earlier today, leaving the embattled league with just five franchises from its 2017 season and no assurances any of them will be playing in 2018.

Unless the NASL is allowed to retain second division status – that determination will be made by a court on Dec. 15 – it could go out of business altogether.

The folding of Edmonton comes just days after the San Francisco Deltas won the league’s 2017 championship and then closed up shop.

North Carolina FC announced its move from the NASL to the USL on Nov. 16.

“Although we believed in and have supported the NASL business model, our franchise has proven to be unsustainable in the Edmonton market. Our decision today is further reinforced by the continuous uncertainty being forced upon the NASL by the United States Soccer Federation,” FC Edmonton co-owner Tom Fath said in a statement. “We sincerely hope the road to long-term stability can be found for the NASL as the NASL pursues the lawsuit against the USSF in the US courts.”

Edmonton is one of the founding franchises of the NASL, which launched in 2009.

Rishi Sehgal, interim commissioner of the NASL, released a statement on Friday following the announcements made by FC Edmonton and the San Francisco:

“As we anticipate what we hope will be a favorable outcome in the U.S. Court of Appeals, we have been working diligently to build a strong foundation for the 2018 season. We are looking at making a number of changes to our business structure, and we are encouraged by the amount of expansion candidates that are ready to join the NASL.

During this time of change, two of our clubs, FC Edmonton and the San Francisco Deltas, will be departing the league.

“We are very appreciative of FC Edmonton’s contribution to the NASL as a founding member. As the club’s owner, Tom Fath was a tremendous ambassador for the league and his genuine passion for the community did so much for the fans and the people of Edmonton.

“In San Francisco, it’s unfortunate that the Deltas’ business plans did not materialize in the way they had hoped. We remain a big believer in the market, as evidenced by the atmosphere and crowd at the championship final earlier this month, and we still believe that the city deserves a professional soccer team. We are in active discussions with potential ownership groups and we aim to keep professional soccer in San Francisco in the future.

“We appreciate the support of the soccer community as we continue our plans for the 2018 season, and we remain confident ahead of our appeal hearing on December 15.”

The USSF has denied the NASL second division status for 2018 due to its small geographical footprint, and a court upheld that decision earlier this month after the league filed suit. The appeal will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York.

This season the league fielded franchises in Brooklyn, Miami, San Francisco, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Puerto Rico (Bayamón), North Carolina (Cary) and Edmonton.

San Diego and Fullerton are being eyed for NASL expansion should the circuit go forward.