This week in Major League Soccer had some big games, teams in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals and a few notable summer acquisitions. Let’s dive into all of it.
Winners
Inter Miami and MLS
Lionel Messi, arguably the best soccer player ever, chose Miami over a massive salary in Saudi Arabia or a Barcelona reunion.
The news completely froze the futbol world momentarily and sent the reaction into a frenzy across the globe. Miami and MLS being the center of attention is massive. The magnitude of this move truly can’t be quantified. Not in the unreal boost of social media followers Inter Miami saw when the announcement was made, nor in the spike of ticket sales across the country. Messi mania, the Messi effect, whatever you want to call it.
The team, league and soccer in the U.S. is going to benefit on an unforeseen level. Less than a year after winning the World Cup, Messi will be playing in MLS. Not even in your wildest dreams would that sentence have even crossed your mind. Well, maybe unless you are David Beckham.
Atlanta United
The days of Josef Martinez running amok and Atlanta winning trophies are a distant memory, but Greek striker Giorgos Giakoumakis is trying to rekindle the flame. The Five Stripes’ designated player is the most lethal threat in the league right now as he’s tied for the Golden Boot lead with 10 goals. At this pace, he’s going to run right past the competition.
After scoring in the 3-1 win over D.C. United, he became the second player in MLS history to reach 10 career goals in under 800 minutes of regular season play. Many players coming from other countries often need time to adapt; Giakoumakis is not of that ilk.
Sporting Kansas City
Remember when people were worried about Peter Vermes and talking about him potentially being fired just a month ago? Things sure do change quickly, especially in MLS. Getting a fully healthy Alan Pulido back on the field helps a lot, but the turnaround from SKC has been remarkable.
They went winless in their first 10 games of the season, losing seven of those. Since the beginning of May, however, they’ve lost only a single match. Pulido finished with a brace and assist in the 4-1 win over Austin FC this weekend, and just like that they are now above the playoff line. The vibes are simply really good right now and teams are starting to remember that going to play at Children’s Mercy Park is a daunting task.
“We just at times were falling short, but we knew that it was going to come,” said Vermes. “We still have a lot of work to do. We haven’t even come close to where I believe we can be.”
Wilfried Nancy
Everyone knows Nancy is a great coach and his work in Montreal last season only helped remind people. Him taking over in Columbus this year has been nothing short of spectacular as the Crew are tied for an MLS-best 35 goals. Nancy was clearly walking into a comfortable role as the new man in charge of the Crew and he has made the best of it.
Defensively, work still needs to be done. But when your offense is firing in a certain manner and scoring some amazing goals, you have more time and freedom to work. The three-headed monster of Juan Camilo “Cucho” Hernández, Lucas Zelarayán and Christian Ramirez has been untamable. That was on full display Saturday versus Chicago Fire when Cucho ripped a shot from distance and it was luckily deflected past the keeper for the opening goal — the type of luck you get when your team is rolling.
Unfortunately, they conceded the equalizer to Xherdan Shaqiri in the 88th minute. 1-1 as the clock ticked, and then Zelarayán did this, submitting his bid for Goal of the Year:
Life is good for Columbus right now.
Real Salt Lake
RSL has been missing a true No. 9 to solidify their attack, but along the way they’ve been piecing it together. Damir Kreilach, Andrés Gómez and Jefferson Savarino have done a good job keeping things afloat, including a 3-2 Open Cup quarterfinal win over the Galaxy.
Things are about to get a lot better as they announced the club-record signing of Cristian “Chicho” Arango, who was an instrumental part of LAFC’s MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield 2022 season. In 2021, he won Newcomer of the Year after setting the league ablaze with a team-high 14 goals in 17 games. The Colombian is a certified assassin on the pitch and after a short, uneventful stint in Mexico with Pachuca, he’s back stateside to keep building on what he did with LAFC. He got the contract he wanted and deserved all along, becoming a designated player, and now has the opportunity to boost this RSL side tremendously. The goals will flow and it’ll for sure make life a lot easier for the rest of the attack, giving them more chances to score and create as well.
General manager Elliot Fall called Arango a “transformational piece” for the franchise. LAFC knows that’s nothing but the truth. Now they, along with the rest of MLS, get to watch the transformation take place in Utah.
Losers
Inter Miami
Putting the Messi hype aside, this is a really bad team. They have lost six straight league games, fired their head coach and are in last place of the East. Is there a sense of direction besides landing Messi? Doesn’t seem like it. And you have to be a bit naive to think one player, albeit it of Messi’s caliber, could come and fix this dumpster fire at ease. It would be a completely different story if midfielders Gregore and Jean Mota weren’t both dealing with long-term injuries.
There are too many glaring holes in this roster, which seems to be an issue since the inception of the club. The first order of business should be a new coach, and reports have Gerardo “Tata” Martino as the front-runner. Perhaps he’s just waiting for Messi to officially put ink to paper and seal the deal. But Messi is currently in China with the Argentina National Team, Tata is doing who knows what and Miami is just letting points slip away. By the time Martino (or another new coach) and Messi are finally in South Florida, the hole might be too deep to dig out of.
Los Angeles
The sun hasn’t been shining recently in L.A. and that’s the perfect metaphor. The Galaxy’s struggles this season have already been documented, but when one thing goes well for them it’s followed by more disarray.
Firing president Chris Klein and following it with a comeback win once again fooled us to think maybe they were turning a corner. Then they went to RSL, were eliminated from the Open Cup and lost star striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez for the season to a torn ACL. It is literally one thing after another for Greg Vanney. Salvaging a draw in St. Louis on Sunday almost felt like a victory for them. That’s how low the bar is right now. And their next opponent is a red-hot SKC.
Up the road, things are spiraling a bit for the Black and Gold. LAFC has spoiled us all so much that when they lose a few games the overreaction is a bit absurd, but the facts are they are winless in the last five games with just a single goal scored. The attack, that is a bit too over reliant on Denis Bouanga, has gone missing.
Losing to León in the CONCACAF Champions League final for sure took a lot out of this team mentally and physically. They tried to lick their wounds with a midweek match against Atlanta where goalkeeper Brad Guzan had an epic performance keeping LAFC scoreless on a night they mustered up 22 shots. If just one one those would’ve gone in, the conversation would be much different. That’s the same excuse we could use for the CCL Final too.
Losing 4-0 in Houston on Saturday is what has people concerned. Fatigue is in play but the schedule isn’t easing up for a flustered Steve Cherundolo and Co. Teams that make deep CCL runs typically deal with this type of slump. Add a few crucial injuries and an ineffective Carlos Vela to the equation and now there’s a complicated problem. Cherundolo has been good at solving those for LAFC, but he also hasn’t experienced a stretch like this.
How long will the hangover linger?
Colorado Rapids
It might officially be Wooden Spoon watch in Colorado. Nothing is going right, as evidenced by this weekend’s 2-0 loss in Orlando that saw the Rapids finish with nine men due to a pair of red cards. They have won only two games this season and their uninspiring roster doesn’t give much reason for hope. Frustrations are mounting for head coach Robin Fraser and the Rapids, who are just two seasons removed from winning the Western Conference.
“We are where we are and we have to dig ourselves out,” he said.
Easier said than done.
