MLS ready for separate East and West All-Stars vs. foreign sides

Kasey Keller
Photo: AP

MLS has good reason to double the ante for its annual All-Star competition in 2010 by creating two separate East and West conference teams to compete against different international sides.

This story appears courtesy of SoccerLens, where it was first published this May and is revisited because of increased relevance. To read the original story, click here.

This July 29, English Premier League Everton competes against the MLS All-Stars at Utah’s beautiful Rio Tinto Stadium, the seventh and newest soccer specific stadium in the US. But the truth is, as evidenced by the success of the MLS-based USMNT Gold Cup team, that even in 2009 there’s plenty of talent to form another complete squad and play attractive soccer against international competition, sell tickets, and win.

International matches a success, regular season attendance down

This summer’s big-name international friendlies and the World Football Challenge tournament are bringing home financial results and attracting attention. The Chelsea vs Sounders friendly at Quest Field brought in 65,289 and the LA Galaxy vs AC Milan match sold out Home Depot Center. A spokesman for World Football Challenge said attendance exceeded expectations with a 71k sell-out crowd in Baltimore for AC MIlan v Chelsea, 81k in Pasadena for Chelsea vs. Inter Milan, 51k in Atlanta for AC Milan vs. Club America, and 32k in Palo Alto for Club America vs. Inter Milan.

Another reality is that MLS regular season attendance is down double digits for eight teams in June (LA, DCU, NE, CHI, NY, CO, SJ, and FCD) with Dallas down a whopping 32%. Only teams with big changes are getting positive results, ie. Seattle Sounders (new franchise) has the highest attendance with an average 29.9 thousand in June; Chivas had the most points early in the season and is up 13% to 16k; and Real Salt Lake has a brand new stadium and is up 6% to 16k, even though they’re tanking.

When MLS cut the reserves last winter, it became clear that the league needs additional revenue to grow talent and pay the talent they have. Critics claim the games are meaningless partly because the foreign sides are in preseason, but it’s a wash as the MLS-based All-Stars are new squads with a couple practices. The scoring results don't affect the regular season for either side, but financial results and an increased presence seem to be the most pressing issues for MLS at this time.

The biggest problem with fielding two All-Star sides is not finding the talent, but finding space in the heavy schedule that leaves short MLS teams playing up to three games in a week with tournament play. Given the interest in international competition and the potential financial gain, it’s only logical that the low-drawing regular season should be cut back, particularly during international fixture dates. Whether it means cutting out the triple meet-ups for local rivals or cutting back on matches with distant teams is fodder for more discussion, but there’s good reason to develop MLS involvement in international competition.
 

Shalrie Joseph
Photo: Dustin Hall

In the past four years, MLS won the international All-Star matches:

2008: West Ham 3-2 (Cuautehmoc Blanco, Christian Gomez, and Dwayne De Rosario)
2007: Celtic 2-0 (Juan Toja, Juan Pablo Angel)
2006: Chelsea 1-0 (De Rosario)
2005: Fulham 4-1 (Jeff Cunningham (2), Ronnie O’Brien, Taylor Twellman)
2004: East v West
2003: Chivas Guadalajara 3-1 (Ante Razov, Carlos Ruiz, Damarcus Beasley)
2002: All-Stars 3-2 USMNT
2001: East v West
2000: East v West
1999: East v West
1998: USA v World
1997: East v West
1996: East v West

Incentives for East and West Conference All-Star teams

1. Premier talent: With improved young American players and eight international spots in each of the fifteen parity-driven teams (16 in 2010), MLS is a league with a tremendous scale of ability ranging from basic to extraordinary.

2. Player incentive: Provide the better talent an opportunity to play and be seen playing at a higher level. The prospect of advancement is an incentive for players to compete in MLS, as well as for scouts and foreign coaches to observe player prospects and the league’s progress. The better MLS players carry their teams, which have a weak middle class, and it’s beneficial to let them to play with their peers.

3. Enhanced international relationships: As Inter coach Jose Mourinho noted, foreign clubs can learn much from American sports management and marketing and MLS can improve with enhanced relationships with foreign sides. There are major international opportunities in expansion teams, loans, and tournaments yet to be realized.

4. More competiton between East and West conferences: At the current rate of expansion and if the international roster and salary cap is increased as suggested by Commissioner Don Garber, the league could rethink competition and scheduling in a variety of ways. It’s possible the league could split into two separate conferences meeting only in the playoffs, and this could be a step in that direction. And if that should be the case, what is the difference in quality between the East and West conferences?

5. Increased profit: Two All-Star competitons provide twice the ticket revenue with less than twice the cost of one event, and more importantly, increased opportunities for sponsors and broadcasters. Broadcasters such as Fox Sports International Vice-President and General Manager David Sternberg drive the industry.

6. Challenge: Drawing only 20 players from 15 teams and saying, “This is the best we can do,” is not enough. There are easily forty world-class players in MLS. The recent USMNT Gold Cup success is evidence of this. Most of these players  – Brian Ching, Stuart Holden, Davy Arnoud, Kyle Beckerman, Jay Heaps, Kenny Cooper, etc. - are the bread and butter of MLS.
 

Fredy Montero
Photo: AP

Increased promotional opportunities for soccer stadiums

With the US lobbying to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022, twice the All-Star competition is a good opportunity to promote high quality soccer facilities in the US. Ten different venues have hosted the game and three (Giants Stadium in NJ, RFK Stadium in DC, and Crew Stadium in Columbus) hosted it twice, and Rio Tinto hosts it in 2009.

Limitations in terms of opponents are based on estimated ticket sales, and opponents with higher appearance fees could be scheduled for larger venues. Although Rio Tinto Stadium has soccer seating for only 20,000, this is viable for English and other teams already invested in the US and seeking to expand their brand.

Increased international visibility

Goal.com recently proposed doubling the number of MLS players playing in the All-Stars, but  missed the boat by suggesting the two sides play each other. Six times the East and West conferences competed, but the format works against the international nature of soccer and continues the isolationism that has hurt the sport this country. Most of the world has few opportunities to observe the improved quality of MLS and the results of an East v West format would carry little weight both internationally and domestically. Also questionably, Goal.com proposed both domestic sides be elected by MLS fan vote because, “This match is for them, anyway.”

Maybe not, maybe there’s more than MLS involved in the All-Star competition. Increased international competition sweeps on a grander scale and it shows that the US is ready to play ball with the rest of the world.

The 2009 MLS All-Star Roster

1. Kasey Keller SEA
2. Pat Onstad HOU
3. Geoff Cameron HOU
4. Wilman Conde CHI
5. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado SEA
6. Chad Marshall COL
7. Davy Arnoud KC
8. Kyle Beckerman RSL
9. Cuautemoc Blanco CHI
10. Brad Davis HOU
11. Stuart Holden HOU
12. Will Johnson RSL
13. Freddie Ljungberg SEA
14. Javier Morales RSL
15. Conor Casey COL
16. Brian Ching HOU
17. Landon Donovan LA
18. Fredy Montero SEA

Additonal 2009 MLS All-Star candidates

1. Chris Seitz RSL
2. Kevin Hartman KC
3. Frankie Hedjuk CLB
4. Gino Padula CLB
5. Jim Brennan TFC
6. Ben Olsen DCU
7. Jay Heaps NE
8. Chris Albright NE
9. Jimmy Conrad KC
10. Macoumba Kandji NY
11. Guillermo Barros Schelloto CLB
12. Steve Ralston NE
13. Patrick Nyarko CHI
14. Arturo Alvarez SJ
15. David Beckham LA
16. Dave van den Bergh FCD
17. Jaime Moreno DCU
18. Claudio Lopez KC
19. Darren Huckerby SJ
20. Robbie Rogers CLB
21. Colin Clark COL
21. Paulo Nagamura CHV
22. Shalrie Joseph NE
23. Brian McBride CHI
23. Yura Movsisyan RSL
24. Taylor Twellman NE
25. Dwayne De Rosario TFC
26. Yura Movsisyan RSL
27. Stuart Holden HOU
28. Luciano Emilio DCU

Read the original SoccerLens article here.

So readers, what do you think? Would East and West All-Star teams improve the image of MLS, showcase players, bring in some revenue? Are there players you would add to this list?

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