itscalledsoccer

The first two match days of the CONCACAF Champions League are on the books and so far it’s been nothing but bad news to fans on Major League Soccer.

With DC United’s 2-0 loss to Costa Rician power Deportivo Saprissa MLS’ record in the competition fell to 0-4-1. When you factor in Toronto FC’s dismal run in the Canadian qualifing to the competition, against entierly USL-1 competition, the league’s record drops to 1-5-3. It’s hardly inspiring and it’s causing many fans to ask questions about the league’s direction.

Sadly, the same self-reflection doesn’t seem to be happening at the club level. There, the teams seem content to play out the Champions League straing so they can docus on domestic play. That attitude isn’t unigue to the world’s game–it’s common that teams will proioritize some competitions over others in every league in the world–but for a developing lewague like MLS it’s shortsighted.

Simply put, it’s important that MLS teams be successful internationally so that the perception of the league’s strength improves. With such an improvement, it becomes easier to attract top players and, ultimately, it produces more sponsorship dollars and better football.

There is still one more team to kick-off it’s Champions League. The two-time MLS Cup champions Houston Dynamo will play next week. Hopefully Houston can bring its game up to represent the league better than Chivas USA, DC United and the New England Revolution hasve so far.

Notes: 

It wasn’t all bad news for teams playing in U.S. leagues during the opening days of the Champions League. Both the Puerto Rico Islanders and the Montreal Impact onf USL-1 won their opening games.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS