By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Jun 29, 2020) US Soccer Players – The growth of MLS over its 25 years of existence has depended in large part on the stadiums the teams call home. In the league's inaugural season in 1996, all 10 MLS teams played in large football stadiums. With MLS averaging 17,000 fans that season, stadiums looked mostly empty on television and offered very little in terms of . . .
The MLS is Back schedule stresses rivalries in the group stage
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jun 26, 2020) US Soccer Players - Like most Americans, soccer fans have a caffeine addiction. While caffeine dependency is not always great for personal health, leaning into it might be a good idea for followers of Major League Soccer this summer. The MLS Is Back schedule is out. It features several dates that will test the endurance of those fans committed to . . .
5 questions for the MLS is Back tournament
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Jun 26, 2020) US Soccer Players - Ready or not, MLS is Back, or at least on its way. In less than two weeks, the league resumes at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex on Orlando's outskirts. Though the central Florida region has become a flashpoint for the state's COVID-19 outbreak in the weeks since Major League Soccer announced the event, MLS is plowing . . .
The present and future of the Concacaf Champions League
By Luis Bueno – RIVERSIDE, CA (Jun 24, 2020) US Soccer Players - Amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic, soccer leagues worldwide are in flux halting operations to try and halt the spread of the potentially deadly virus. In North America, the fallout was as severe as it has been in other places. MLS teams got in two matches apiece before stopping. Only recently, the league announced plans to return. . . .
Chris Wondolowski, Kyle Beckerman, and what becomes of the 2020 MLS season
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jun 24, 2020) US Soccer Players - Soccer, as they say, is a young man's game. It's the rare player who's prime doesn't come in their 20s, when a body is at its peak fitness and the ravages of time and miles haven't yet slowed a person down. Age isn't always the determining factor in a player's effectiveness, but it's always an important one. Occasionally, a player . . .
MLS is Back asks a lot of the league
Wednesday's soccer news starts with Major League Soccer's clubs continuing to push forward to next month's MLS is Back tournament. With the pandemic issues in Florida, safety remains a primary concern for the unique restart to the season. The bubble approach is not unique to MLS, but it's also not anybody's idea of a normal way to operate a league. For 10 teams, this will be a way to get three . . .
Is the glut of games good for soccer?
Friday's soccer news starts with a question that may only be an issue in retrospect. With all of the world's professional sports leagues impacted by the global pandemic looking to get the games in, will this be the summer of too many options? The Bundesliga is the only major European league that will finish by the end of the month, but we now know the 2019-20 Champions and Europa Leagues will be . . .
Kevin Durant, the Union, and MLS celebrity
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jun 17, 2020) US Soccer Players - On Monday, NBA star Kevin Durant officially became a minority investor/operator of the Philadelphia Union, purchasing 5% of the team. Per Union majority investor/operator Jay Sugarman, the Union is worth $325 million, putting Durant's stake at $16.25 million. Durant also holds an option to purchase an additional 5% of the team in . . .
Is LAFC a tournament team?
By Luis Bueno – RIVERSIDE, CA (Jun 17, 2020) US Soccer Players - Like the rest of the world, Major League Soccer halted in its tracks due to the Covid-19 global pandemic just two weeks into the 2020 season. And like much of the rest of the soccer world at least, MLS announced its return. Next month, the league will hold a unique tournament that will help MLS try and salvage something out of this . . .
How good were the 2000 Kansas City Wizards?
By J Hutcherson (June 16, 2020) US Soccer Players - Major League Soccer decided early on that its version of parity would make them the league of no dynasties. To their single-entity way of thinking, this was a good thing. No dynasties meant no dominant teams defining their new league. They were wrong. DC United was the first MLS dynasty and the LA Galaxy was right there with them. Chicago emerged . . .
