The Real Start of The MLS Season
What Messi tells us about the second half of the MLS season
Apple TV recently aired the end of Ted Lasso. I have yet to catch up with the newest season, but among the season finale over the weekend came some what of a chapter close for the league and a push towards a new dawn in MLS. LAFC lost at home to Club Leon in the CONCACAF Champions League last Sunday failing to secure a back to back title for MLS clubs. I’m not here to talk about how or why LAFC lost; I’m not going to debate the salary cap or advocate for the opening of transfer fee floodgates. I’m here to talk about what sort of implication that loss has on this new reset to the season. Simply put, MLS just had their midseason finale with that loss. This LAFC CCL felt like it was loading and a forgone conclusion for LA to win. Alas they didn’t; and soon after the league would move on to a new storyline that carries a much more heavier and meatier gravitas than a continental trophy.
That weight that lays squarely on MLS and all over the public eye is of course the signing of Lionel Messi to Inter Miami. It’s still yet to be official, but by the rumblings and rumors it looks like it’s going to happen. My friend, Jared Geisler, who I do the Centennial 38 podcast with, recalls the moment he found out about Beckham joining the Galaxy in the time before social media; an ESPN sports center ticker update. He witnessed the news that Beckham had joined the Galaxy and shortly thereafter the spring/rise of MLS as a league with spunk and ambition to sign a player is doing it again only years later, a whole advancement of technology later, and this time a much bigger fish.
Lionel Messi needs no introduction. Anyone reading this will know the name and coming off his World Cup win a trip to the league is going to be massive for this league. If “World Cup winner Thiago Almada” wasn’t enough to load headlines with, “World Cup winner Lionel Messi” propels this league into a new phase of clout that I’ve never seen before. And when you look at the package deal to bring him here, it’s a very big offer that shows the league’s spunk and ambition.
https://twitter.com/Juanners715/status/1666287384999124993?s=20
Now, this isn’t meant to be a piece about Messi coming to MLS. I’m not the first to emphasize how much it means for him to play proffesional footy in the states and I’m not going to be the last: it’s really fucking important. However, where I want to shift the focus is on to the rest of the season and specifically tonight. LAFC after their crash from the CCL will be playing a rotated side against Thiago Almada and company. The true story for me, at least tonight, is how does Thiago Almada respond to the Messi news. It’s no doubt they are friends and were teammates during the World Cup, but how much of that shine do you think motivates Almada? Does he then go on an absolute tear between now and his expected departure? What other Argentines are clamoring to move to MLS to join in on all the fun Messi is having. Argentina and MLS have always been very close with many of the league’s best players having hailed from that country. More importantly, how does this news overshadow LAFC who still have every right to claim and fight for their place in the league now with no fixture congestion.
And more importantly, when does “The Messi Effect” really set in for Inter Miami? They are still without a permanent coach, have their current key player in Gregore injured, and are dead last in the Eastern Conference. I wonder if Messi is enough at his age to overturn and right the ship right for Inter Miami.
If not for MLS Cup, maybe Messi can bring some prestige to the blatant cash grab: the Leagues Cup? Moving forward, Messi or no Messi, I think Almada has a lot to prove. And in tonight’s midseason premiere of MLS, I think a stellar performance may be what’s enough to get his name in the bright lights of Europe, chasing the same dream and inspired by the illustrious Lionel Messi. Either way, MLS is going to be exciting these next couple of months; And it all starts tonight. (And also some US Open Cup, can’t forget about those games either. )
We’ll be having a Midseason Review and Midseason Preview releasing this week sometime before Matchday 18. I saw someone say that MLS pre-season is officially over. And now’s due time to really see some fireworks.