Originally published on soccerstateofmind.wordpress.com
After the week Landon Donovan has had, who can blame him for wanting to leave? Coming off an impressive display in the World Cup, Donovan realizes he needs to capitalize now before the excitement dies down. And he better hurry.
First, the Los Angeles Galaxy suffered a horrendous 4-1 home loss to the Puerto Rico Islanders in CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday night. Then came last night. If you missed the MLS All-Star game, let’s just say that Manchester United proved in grand fashion just how far MLS has to go to catch up to the level of the big boys…or, even to catch up to their reserve teams.
Unfortunately, MLS has been under the belief system that having MLS All-Stars play against established club teams is a good idea. From a ticket sales standpoint, I suppose it’s been a success except for the fact that most fans came out to see United, not the All-Stars. And in their attempts to prove the quality of MLS, last night demonstrated the potential for disaster. MLS has been walking around with their chests puffed out because they could claim that no English side had beaten them in regulation (emphasis on “in regulation” since Everton beat them last year on penalties). Well, that’s a claim they can no longer make, so what now? The reality is that this loss validated that MLS actually is an inferior league who has a lot to learn and it effectively showed MLS top talent, like Landon Donovan, that if they want to be taken seriously as footballers, they need to go to a serious league.
Donovan was very respectful when asked about his future prior to last night’s game. Today it’s a slight different story as he’s admitted to weighing offers from England, Italy, and presumably other less desirable destinations. Frankly, he and MLS both know that he has to go. There simply will never be a better time for him and the league to cash in on his success than there is right now. Furthermore, to advance his standing in the global football community and also to advance the cause of US Soccer, he needs to prove he can be highly successful over a sustained period of time for a top team in a top league.
Here’s an idea…how about a swap deal with AC Milan for Ronaldinho? The Galaxy and AC Milan definitely have some history of working together. Seems like a win-win to me. What do you think?
Superior Intellect 
you are off base about the all star game…you conveniently ignore the fact that an average MLS squad beat Man U reserves (playing w/10 men for over 1 half). The all star team should not be expected to beat the Man U reserves because they are playing their first game together vs. a high quality (albeit high quality reserves) team that has played together previously.
Am I saying that MLS is on par with the EPL or Man U? absolutely not. I don’t think anyone would question that it is overall an inferior league. But your assertion that MLS is inferior based on the all star team losing to ManU is flat wrong. It is nothing more than a meaningless exhibition game full of players thrown together and attempting to play a high quality, experienced top tier team in ManU.
Posted by Joebob | July 29, 2010, 12:14 pmThanks for your comment. I actually wrote about how the MLS should change the format of the All-Star game a couple days ago and pointed out everything you mentioned. For instance, I proposed more friendlies between the big clubs and MLS clubs but having a traditional All-Star game (East vs West, etc). I am a huge supporter and fan of MLS and want to see it succeed. It troubles me that they willingly set themselves up for failure though. MLS wants to be taken seriously and attract and retain good talent. So I disagree that “this is a meaningless exhibition game.” If the MLS is going to be continually talk about how their best players can beat top English sides (who are in pre-season and playing a lot of reserves, some of which will be sent out on loan soon), they have to be prepared for the repercussions when they get embarrassed. Actually, it was the KC-ManU game that was a meaningless exhibition game. Sir Alex and Man Utd approached the All-Star game much differently in that they played to win. Regardless, my belief is that the perception that MLS is a league on the rise was already well-established, but the All-Star game provided a huge does of reality and reminded all of us what we already knew but didn’t necessarily want to be reminded of.
Posted by Adam Morris | July 29, 2010, 12:45 pm