MLS Newcomers: Who They Are and Why They’re Important

On Sunday, July 26, Yankee Stadium hosted its second straight 8 goal game, this time with NYCFC coming out on top 5-3. The stadium was abuzz with the introduction of Andrea Pirlo midway through the game, which meant that other signings, Didier Drogba to Montreal for example, fell under the radar. It got me thinking about Major League Soccer and these past few weeks as we’ve seen a number of signings and/or players taking the field for the first time. Here are a few thoughts on these players (in no specific order) and what they mean for soccer in the United States going forward:

Andrea Pirlo – Enough has been said about Pirlo all over the Internet (myself included) so I don’t need to get into him too much. I’ll just say that I was very impressed with his first game. The guy is so smooth with the ball and reminded me a lot of David Beckham on field. Pirlo takes full control of the game when he has the ball and is able to slow it down if needed or better yet, speed it up. His quick back heel transition that he sent to Poku to set up Vialla’s second goal was the perfect example of that and the picture going viral of him pointing Saunders to the correct place of Kaka’s end-of-the-game free kick shows off his already acknowledged soccer IQ. NYCFC is a much better team with him on the field (and Grabovoy off it) and they are certainly poised to make a run in the second half of the season.

Giovani Dos Santos – Dos Santos signed a couple weeks ago with the LA Galaxy and I love this move for multiple reasons. First of all, Dos Santos joins Giovinco as another player joining MLS while still arguably in his prime. Either player could easily be plying their trade for top European teams but have chosen to bring their talents to the U.S. This is massive – the Pirlos and the Gerrards and the Kakas of the world are amazing for the league and I’m so glad to have them but to see MLS wooing great players in their 20’s (even if it’s the money) is incredible and it brings a tear to my eye as I remember the league in its 10 team format.

Another reason I love this move is related to LAFC coming to the league in a couple years. One of the great fears in MLS concerning NYCFC was that they were going to steal fans from the Red Bulls since NYC is a team in…well…NYC. As we’ve seen so far this year, there are plenty of fans to go around in the Tri-State area as both teams are having good seasons and the Hudson-River Derby has shown who the fans are and what they’re made of. A similar concern has been raised regarding LAFC since they will be a team in Los Angeles while the Galaxy play their home games outside the city in Carson and don’t have Beckham to sell tickets anymore. This move to bring in Dos Santos, among other big names, ensures the Galaxy will continue to grow their fan base (GDS is huge in Mexico and will certainly attract a larger Mexican contingent as well as other knowledgeable soccer fans who know what he brings to the table) and be the powerhouse in MLS they have been since almost the beginning of the league. Like I said, he’s a great Mexican player who is still in his prime and can do some real damage to the league – this is an excellent move by Galaxy, if not a little controversial given how they bought out Omar Gonzalez’s contract in order to make room for another DP.

Steven Gerrard – The LA Galaxy have been the bullies on the playground in MLS the last decade+, winning 5 titles and losing another in a shootout. Robbie Keane was already a great addition, joining the likes of Landon Donovan and David Backham to help create this dynasty. With Beckham and Donovan’s retirement, LA has not taken its foot off the gas and brought in Dos Santos and Gerrard to keep them right up there with the best in the league. Gerrard is a phenomenal signing on the field. He is a world class player and a Champions League winner. Like Thierry Henry with Arsenal, Gerrard will forever be a legend in Liverpool and easily has a couple more years of great soccer left in him. His first game in a Galaxy jersey was nothing short of spectacular, showing he has perfect chemistry with Keane, the kind of chemistry NYC fans are hoping to see from Pirlo, Lampard and Villa. Off the field, Gerrard is certainly not as big a name as Beckham but this is a team that acknowledges in the post-Beckham era, they must win over the people with wins. A lineup with Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard, Juninho, Omar Gonzalez, Giovani Dos Santos, and Robbie Rodgers will certainly get that done. They are my favorites to come out the Western Conference at this point in the season even with how hot FC Dallas is. The Los Angeles Galaxy have been the class of MLS from a management standpoint for years and they have shown yet again that they can still stay ahead of curve as they prepare for a new neighbor in their own city and continue to grow their (worldwide) following/brand.

Didier Drogba – Oh man…I know Drogba is on the wrong side of 35 and has maybe a year left in him, but this may be my favorite newcomer to MLS. Anyone who knows me knows that I talk about him all the time and even root for the Ivory Coast on the side. I have been waiting for this deal to happen (though I initially thought it would be to NYCFC) for over 6 months now and was so excited to see the deal happen during the NYC/Orlando game. For those of you who don’t know, Drogba is basically a hero – the man, along with his Ivorian teammates, helped end a 20+ year civil war in his country because, in the simplest of simple terms, they qualified for their first ever World Cup (2006) and the people of Cote D’Ivoire needed to stop fighting so they could watch the games (again, the simplest of simple). Drogba was the captain of that team and is credited with A) helping to be a part of the Ivory Coast cease fire, B) along with the Toure twins, putting Cote D’Ivoire on the map in the soccer world (so….the world, right?), and C) spearheading the change for Chelsea FC from bottom/middle table English team to the Roman Abramovich EPL and Champions League powerhouse they’ve been over the last 10 years.

Drogba is a finisher and will cherry pick up top the full 90 minutes he’s on the field and you know what? He’s the finisher a team like Montreal deserves. The Impact took us all on a ride this past winter/spring and were oh so close to becoming the first MLS team to win the CONCACAF Champions League for a birth in the FIFA Club World Cup. One thing Montreal was lacking was that pure finisher. Drogba brings a wealth of experience and winning to this young club and I think he’s an excellent addition to Montreal, Canada, and MLS as a whole.

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We’re still waiting for the debut of Lampard (and our level of caring is dwindling by the day) and this blog doesn’t even include the season debuts of Villa, Kaka, and Altidore among others. I will say I was happy to see Gilberto, who was the odd man out in the DP role for Toronto when they made their moves, found a place in Chicago this week as well. This a good move for a Chicago team that needs all the help it can get at the moment and they certainly have the salary space.

This is my favorite part of the season because it’s when we finally get to stop talking about signings and “making MLS more popular” and we get those players on the field and ready for a playoff push. In the end, that’s what this all is really about for us fans…it’s not about the popularity of the sport or the attendance figures. It’s about the team you root for bringing home a Cup, end of story. We are finally entering that time period and with 12 teams making the playoffs, every team will be making a push.

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photo sources:

 http://exepose.com/2015/05/19/steven-gerrard-needs-the-mls-more-than-it-needs-him/

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/07/ivorycoast200707