Soccer <\/p>\n
Guess what? Preseason starts in less than a week! Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> play begins in a little bit more than a month! And a week after that \u2013 about six weeks from now \u2013 the 30th MLS season will get underway.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Hope you enjoyed that very brief off-season. Now, let\u2019s shake off the winter cobwebs and talk about who I think we\u2019ll be talking about for the next 11 months.<\/p>\n These are the guys who I expect, to one degree or another, to define the 2025 MLS season. In we go:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Denkey<\/a> is, as of now, the record MLS signing, at a reported $16.2 million. The Togolese center forward\u2019s FBRef chart shows why:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Look at all that green. So, so pretty.<\/p>\n Understand that Denkey put up those numbers consistently \u2013 as in, each of the last three years in both domestic and continental play \u2013 for a Cercle Brugge side that was hardly a juggernaut. If the man wanted to eat, he had to work, and as that \u201cprogressive passes received\u201d number indicates, he worked.<\/p>\n I think Denkey will be good whether Lucho Acosta<\/a> is happy or not. More to the point, I suspect playing with a 9 who\u2019ll make the unselfish runs that Aaron Boupendza wouldn\u2019t stands to smooth out some of the choppy emotional waters Lucho\u2019s sailed into this offseason.<\/p>\n Another point I want to make here: If Denkey put up these numbers at age 20 or 21 in Belgium, he\u2019d be off to England or Germany. But because he didn\u2019t break out until his age-22 season and has now just turned 24 \u2013 which, as per the new big-five leagues’ orthodoxy, is now officially over the hill \u2013 Cincy<\/a> found an open lane for what could be a decade-altering purchase.<\/p>\n If Denkey hits, look for more MLS teams to shop for guys in his age range in the Low Countries.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n At one point last summer I\u2019d suspected it would be Weston McKennie. The Juventus and USMNT<\/a> midfielder has, by all accounts, a great relationship with new Fire<\/a> boss Gregg Berhalter, and is such an obvious fit for what this Chicago team needs. I would also argue Chicago \u2013 which would put the ball on McKennie\u2019s foot about 100 times a game and ask him to pull all the strings \u2013 fits what McKennie needs for the next step in his career.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to diminish his role with Juve, where he\u2019s become sort of the ultimate utility man\/glue guy. But he\u2019s not running the show there (he\u2019s in the 23rd percentile among midfielders for passes attempted) and never will. Here are the positions he\u2019s played across his past five Serie A matches:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Just as Clint Dempsey\u2019s most productive years for the USMNT came after he moved back to MLS and played a more central role for his club \u2013 which then translated for his country \u2013 I reckon the same could happen with Wes. Alas, he\u2019s probably proved himself too valuable as the jack-of-all-trades in Turin to become the master of one in Chicago.<\/p>\n Anyway, the Fire have two open DP slots, an ambitious new sporting structure, and an owner who has never been shy about spending. Whoever they go big on this winter will have the spotlight on him at all times.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Or maybe $25 million, even? Though I wouldn\u2019t be shocked if the Five Stripes<\/a> actually spent a little less on their big splashes this winter than we\u2019re all expecting \u2013 not pinching pennies, mind you, but not necessarily blowing the Denkey number out of the water. New CSO\/sporting director Chris Henderson has always been able to spot a bargain, and if you think you can get the same production out of a $12 million signing that you could out of a potential $25 million signing, well, getting the $12 million guy makes a lot of sense, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n Regardless, it all feels like it\u2019s on the table for this team, and the fanbase is as jacked as it\u2019s been in five years. Whether it\u2019s a $12 million signing or $20 million or more, they\u2019re bringing in someone to be a star. And we\u2019ll all be paying attention.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Yeah, you probably guessed that I would get around to the reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP at some point, didn\u2019t you? Wherever Messi<\/a> goes, everybody watches. It\u2019s been like that for 20 years, and it\u2019ll be even more like that this year because this one could very well be his last. We\u2019ve got a finite amount of time to watch the greatest soccer player of all time ply his trade, and I won’t take it for granted.<\/p>\n Nor will I gloss over his, ahem, defensive shortcomings:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Suarez’s unbelievable late miss will be the highlight, but Miami’s other 3 Barca legends did not cover themselves in glory against Charlotte.<\/p>\n Yet another disappointing draw for the Herons. pic.twitter.com\/0tk9O65M2N<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) September 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n To be clear, it is always worth having Messi out there. But the structure around him was weirdly loose and lacking throughout huge chunks of last season, and new head coach Javier Mascherano\u2019s got work to do to improve that.<\/p>\n One other note: since the Concacaf Champions Cup (n\u00e9e League) changed to the single calendar year format back in 2018, no team that\u2019s competed in that tournament has won MLS Cup in the same year.<\/p>\n Miami<\/a> open their CCC campaign on Feb. 18 with a trip to Sporting KC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Colombian center back became a full-time starter with four games to go in the 2024 regular season. Upon his insertion into the XI, the Galaxy<\/a>\u2019s non-penalty xG allowed dropped from 1.46 per 90, which was 21st in the league (i.e., pretty bad!), to just 1.05, a number which held firm across those final four regular-season games and all five Audi MLS Cup Playoffs games, at the end of which the Galaxy hoisted their sixth MLS Cup title.<\/p>\n That 1.05 would be a top-five mark throughout an entire season. Garc\u00e9s<\/a> won the job and they became a championship-caliber defense. Sometimes the simple explanation is the right one.<\/p>\n Garc\u00e9s does have his weaknesses back there, most notably in the air. It\u2019s not that he\u2019s bad once he\u2019s up there, it\u2019s that he\u2019s got this weird lack of awareness when defending crosses. As such, his defensive profile in the box looks more like a fullback\u2019s than a center back\u2019s in a few measurable ways. That almost led to an improbable Noah Eile<\/a> equalizer in the 33rd minute of MLS Cup 2024 presented by Audi.<\/p>\n Still, I can\u2019t remember another time when a simple personnel adjustment along the backline so dramatically changed a team\u2019s fortunes. Garc\u00e9s will have immediate Defender of the Year juice heading into 2025 for the reigning Cup champs and the spotlight that comes with it.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n This dude\u2019s been on the way for the past three years, and the only question is whether he arrives in the winter window or once the summer window opens in July.<\/p>\n Given Atl\u00e9tico Madrid’s place in the standings (two points back of Real Madrid, with a game in hand), and how Griezmann remains one of the best players in the world even as he hits his mid-30s, my hunch is we won\u2019t see him until summer.<\/p>\n I was never a big \u201cRoldan<\/a> as a 6\u201d guy. I honestly thought his best MLS season was 2021, when he played as a sort of pressing 10 in a 3-4-1-2 with Lodeiro hurt for most of the season. He then shifted to the wing for 2022, where all he did was lead the CCL in assists as the Sounders<\/a> became the only MLS team in the tournament\u2019s modern history to win that trophy.<\/p>\n Roldan\u2019s strength was always his ability to defend from the front and be super dynamic in changing phases of play, which 1) got his team onto the front foot real quick, and 2) compensated for his lack of end product. He was, I thought, never really an orchestrator, or a natural backline shield.<\/p>\n But Jo\u00e3o Paulo<\/a> got hurt in Seattle\u2019s final match last August, so with plenty of options on the wing and things thin in midfield, Brian Schmetzer moved Roldan back to d-mid. And man\u2026 I don\u2019t have enough superlatives. It was genuinely the best run of games from any d-mid I saw in MLS last year.<\/p>\n It\u2019s tough to boil a No. 6\u2019s performance down to numbers, but I\u2019ll try: once Roldan got into the lineup at d-mid, Seattle\u2019s number of passes per possession rose, which means they controlled the ball more. At the same time, their possessions lost in their own defensive third dropped \u2013 i.e., they became harder to press \u2013 while their box entries skyrocketed, which means they controlled the ball more and<\/em> turned that into more penetration. And along with that penetration, their xG per passing sequence also rose, which means that penetration was turning into danger more often.<\/p>\n This, of course, was in conjunction with Roldan getting on the ball more and dictating play with his passing (so much better than I\u2019d remembered it!) and his ability to read the game, step out of his zone and win the ball in advantageous spots.<\/p>\n The truth is, even if he plays that well again, people won\u2019t be talking that much about him. Obed Vargas<\/a>\u2019s story \u2013 and looming eight-figure deal somewhere \u2013 is too compelling, as is the reported acquisition of Jes\u00fas Ferreira<\/a>, as is the production of Jordan Morris<\/a>, as is the development of Pedro de la Vega<\/a>, etc.<\/p>\n But Roldan\u2019s the one who\u2019s going to make the game for this team. He was awesome last year.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Two summers ago, Coco<\/a> won the Golden Ball as the best player at the Concacaf Gold Cup<\/a>. He led Panama past the USMNT and into the final, where they ultimately fell to Mexico.<\/p>\n It was deserved. Coco was awesome running the show as a pure No. 8 in central midfield, getting on the ball as often as possible and using that inimitable footwork to create time and space where there should\u2019ve been none.<\/p>\n The Dynamo<\/a> haven\u2019t used him that way the past couple of years, as that No. 8 slot has mostly been reserved for H\u00e9ctor Herrera<\/a>. But HH is gone now, and my guess is it\u2019ll be Coco \u2013 who, at age 26, is at his absolute prime \u2013 moved inside to replace him. \u201cGet your best players in their best spots and let them dictate the game\u201d is a good rule of thumb for building a team, and there\u2019s no doubt who Houston\u2019s best player is. Nor is there any doubt about what his best spot is, no matter how good he\u2019s looked in that false winger role the past couple of seasons.<\/p>\n I hope we get a full year of the 2023 Gold Cup version of Coco for the Dynamo. There aren\u2019t three more entertaining players in the league.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Calling this guy a forward does him a disservice:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The interchange between Cucho, Rossi & Ramirez is so tough to track. None is ever actually matched up directly with a center back — they’re always drifting into and out of half-spaces or channels.<\/p>\n They force you into constant coinflip choices. It’s beautiful & relentless. pic.twitter.com\/9NoAr0zTp7<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) July 14, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n At his best, there is exactly one player in MLS who\u2019s better than him. And that guy also happens to be better than anyone who\u2019s ever played the game, so\u2026 yeah.<\/p>\n Anyway, Cucho<\/a> was born to play the beautiful game, and nobody in MLS has played it more beautifully than this Crew<\/a> team under Wilfried Nancy. They won a trophy in 2023, and then another in 2024. I\u2019m setting the over\/under at 1.5 for 2025, and smashing that \u201cover.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n I had to take a flier on a prospect, so let\u2019s go with the most obvious one there is. Sullivan<\/a> didn\u2019t exactly dominate MLS NEXT Pro<\/a> last year, but he was a net positive overall as a 14-year-old, especially with his dribbling and passing. He then didn\u2019t look out of place in his few cameos with the first team over the second half of the season. He\u2019s got a flair on the ball that\u2019s unusual for domestic products, and a playmaker\u2019s instincts that are downright rare.<\/p>\n If Cavan becomes the same level of athlete as his older brother Quinn<\/a> \u2013 a good athlete, but not a world-beater \u2013 he will play in MLS until the day he turns 18, then jump on a plane for Manchester. That\u2019s how high his skill level and IQ are.<\/p>\n Watching how he develops, both as an athlete and a soccer player, is going to preoccupy a lot of folks on both sides of the Atlantic for the next few years. And it won\u2019t just be Union<\/a> fans on this side of the pond \u2013 folks who identify first and foremost as USMNT fans (and who are no doubt seething about that McKennie blurb above) will be watching with real, borderline pathological interest as well. Is there a chance he plays himself into the frame for the 2026 World Cup<\/a>?<\/p>\n It\u2019s remote, but it\u2019s there. And if he manages it, we\u2019ll all be paying attention.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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