Soccer <\/p>\n
As is now tradition, my final piece of season preview coverage starts with a tip of the cap to the great Zach Lowe<\/a> for the inspiration, courtesy of his Annual Tiers of the NBA<\/a> opus.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n What follows are not hard-and-fast Power Rankings, per se, but rather something a little looser in terms of talent level, cohesion, chemistry and all the et ceteras that make teams tick (or not).<\/p>\n These teams are mostly in the order I think they’ll finish, but what really matters is the tier designation.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n These are the teams I expect to win a trophy this year, be it Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a>, Leagues Cup<\/a>, MLS Cup, US Open Cup<\/a> or the Supporters\u2019 Shield. These guys have to add something to their cabinet or they\u2019ll be disappointed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Seventy-four points. The greatest player of all time and three of his besties. A deep and flexible roster. An improved backline. Young players growing into bigger roles. New players in town to do more than just plug holes.<\/p>\n This is the deepest-ever MLS team (at least on paper), with the most top-end talent. They have a guy who\u2019s proven to be a match-winner in goal, can change shapes and formations, and have the ability to mix and match both the midfield and front line in ways that should keep them fresh even amid a jam-packed season.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> And yet I\u2019m more than a little concerned this is just too damn high. Remember that 2023 St. Louis<\/a> team we said was overperforming their underlying numbers to an unsustainable degree, and how they came crashing down the following season? Remember the 2022 Austin<\/a> team that followed the same pattern in the ensuing two years?<\/p>\n Yeah, last year\u2019s Herons<\/a> overperformed their numbers by more. A lot more.<\/p>\n They won a lot of games, collected a lot of points, made a ton of highlights\u2026 and also played a lot of bad, gappy soccer. Everybody<\/em> got run-outs against them. And look, preseason is preseason, and you\u2019d be stupid to read too much into it, but those structural issues from last year? Well, they sure don\u2019t look like they\u2019re fixed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n RAMIRO SLIDES ONE HOME ???? pic.twitter.com\/FpGBXtIN20<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) February 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n A single defender, stranded to defend a 2v1 in the open field, eh? Glad to see last year\u2019s tactical identity carried over under new head coach Javier Mascherano!<\/p>\n It should be<\/em> unsustainable. And yet I\u2019m still picking them to win the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup anyway. I can\u2019t bring myself to pick against Lionel Messi<\/a>, no matter what the underlying numbers say.<\/p>\n But they are SCREAMING at me that this team is going to regress.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-3-3: Callender; Alba, Mart\u00ednez, Avil\u00e9s, Luj\u00e1n; Bright, Busquets, Redondo; Allende, Su\u00e1rez, Messi<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n If not for this year\u2019s Miami team, this year\u2019s Sounders<\/a> side would be the deepest in MLS history (that holds true even after trading Josh Atencio<\/a>, since they\u2019re surely about to go out and bring in a U22 central midfielder to take up that spot, and also have an extra $1.3 million in GAM to throw at other potential holes).<\/p>\n Like Miami, they should be able to flex between a 4-2-3-1, a 3-4-2-1, a 4-4-2 and a 3-5-2. Like Miami, they\u2019ve got young players growing into bigger roles, a match-winner in goal, and new arrivals who should do more than just plug some gaps. That decade-long commitment to building their academy system and pipeline to the first team has paid off in every conceivable way. So this team\u2019s loaded.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> The question is whether they have big-game match-winners up top. Can Jes\u00fas Ferreira<\/a> hit another level? Can Pedro de la Vega<\/a> be that guy after an extremely promising preseason? Is Jordan Morris<\/a> going to bang in 20+ goals?<\/p>\n All they need is one \u201cyes\u201d from that bunch, because you know they\u2019ll have a top-three defense. And look, this team is so deep and balanced and devoid of weak links that they could win a trophy even if none of those three guys level up. But it\u2019d be a hell of a lot easier if one of them did.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 3-4-2-1: Frei; Nouhou, Ragen, Yeimar; Arriola, C. Roldan, Vargas, A. Roldan; Ferreira, de la Vega; Morris<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Cincy<\/a> don\u2019t have the depth or flexibility of the two teams above them here, but they\u2019ve shown to be an elite defensive team over the past few years, and their newly revamped attack \u2013 built around club-record signing K\u00e9vin Denkey<\/a> and an MVP candidate in Evander<\/a>, as well as holdover Luca Orellano<\/a> \u2013 has the high-end pieces to hang four on anybody. Denkey and Evander are new, and Orellano held out for a few brief minutes this winter, so it might take a little bit of time at the start of the season. But honestly, these pieces fit pretty well, and Pat Noonan\u2019s game model is intuitive. So I don\u2019t expect an extended settling-in period; it\u2019ll all probably work from the jump.<\/p>\n That elite defense held together last year even when 2023 Defender of the Year Matt Miazga<\/a> suffered a midseason knee injury (PCL and meniscus) that ended his 2024, but just barely. Miazga is juuuust about back (they\u2019ve slow-played his return this preseason) and with him should come something close to the league\u2019s best overall group. That, in turn, will help Pavel Bucha<\/a> and Obinna Nwobodo<\/a> clean it up in central midfield, which in turn will help Evander and the attack. It\u2019s a virtuous cycle with few discernable flaws.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> The one obvious one, though, is that lack of depth. Cincy have acquired and bid farewell to the late Marco Angulo and Malik Pinto in central midfield the past couple of years, and have barely played young Stiven Jimenez<\/a>. Veteran Tah Brian Anunga<\/a> is here now, but he\u2019s just functional, not a game-changer. And for the best teams, even off the bench you need to have game-changers in the engine room.<\/p>\n Given that there\u2019s probably at least one U22 Initiative central midfielder on the way (they have two U22 slots open), Noonan\u2019s going to have to be a little more willing to play the kids than he has been the past couple of years. Doing that would keep the starters fresh for the stretch run and the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, and perhaps give this team a different tactical club to play every once in a while.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 3-4-1-2: Celentano; Hadebe, Miazga, Robinson; Engel, Bucha, Nwobodo, Yedlin; Evander; Denkey, Orellano<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Black & Gold<\/a> mostly discarded their other tactical clubs this offseason \u2013 they were a very good 4-3-3 possession team!! \u2013 to go pure 5-2-3 transition. All of their moves have been targeted towards that.<\/p>\n And look, when they play that way they are really, really excellent. There\u2019s a reason they\u2019ve won three trophies since Steve Cherundolo arrived in 2022 and come close to so many more. Denis Bouanga<\/a> is maybe the best open-field attacker in league history, so why not lean into a blueprint that gets him into the open field as often as possible? In a lot of ways, it\u2019s the smartest thing to do.<\/p>\n The hope, then, is Olivier Giroud<\/a> will settle in and be productive in his second season, David Mart\u00ednez<\/a> will expand upon his per-90 greatness, and the veterans in central midfield, defense, goal and at wingback will absorb, win the ball and get that front line (which will also probably include Turkish international winger Cengiz \u00dcnder, who\u2019s likely to be a starter) off to the races.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> Most teams will simply have no chance of stopping their Plan A. The question for LAFC is, what happens when they run up against a team that does?<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 5-2-3: Lloris; Hollingshead, Long, Tafari, Marlon, Palencia; Delgado, Tillman; Bouanga, Giroud, \u00dcnder<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n These teams have the pieces \u2013 or in the Galaxy<\/a>\u2019s case, will have the pieces once they get healthy \u2013 and the foundation to go out there and win something. If they do so, nobody should be surprised by it. If they don\u2019t manage to win, nobody should be too shocked.<\/p>\n But if they\u2019re outright bad? Then yeah, that\u2019d be shocking.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Everybody on the Galaxy has been clear this preseason that they\u2019ll have to change how they play without Riqui Puig<\/a>, who\u2019s expected to be out until at least August as he recovers from a torn ACL. And look, that has obvious downsides \u2013 Puig\u2019s one of the best passers of the ball in the entire world.<\/p>\n The silver lining, though, is it\u2019ll be a little bit easier to mitigate the risk with a more structured 4-2-3-1 out there, with Marco Reus<\/a> (or Diego Fag\u00fandez<\/a> when Reus needs a rest) playing as a more traditional No. 10 than Riqui ever has. This front office has made a ton of good moves to solidify that central midfield and defense, and just be hard<\/em> to play against.<\/p>\n Do that and rely upon the high-end attacking talent to go out and win the game. It\u2019s a good formula.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> They go into the season missing two of their DPs, as Joseph Paintsil<\/a> could be out until April. Reus, meanwhile, is 35 and is going to be asked to carry a big workload. And with the departures of Mark Delgado<\/a> and Gast\u00f3n Brugman<\/a>, did they lose too much central midfield ball progression?<\/p>\n I\u2019m less worried about Dejan Jovelji\u0107<\/a>\u2019s departure, but that\u2019s not nothing, either. It\u2019s a lot of change for a team that collected 64 points and a trophy last year.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-2-3-1: McCarthy; Nelson, Garc\u00e9s, Yoshida, Yamane; Sanabria, Cerrillo; Fag\u00fandez, Reus, Pec; Ram\u00edrez<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Did you know the Crew<\/a> had a higher PPG in the regular season without Cucho<\/a> last year than with him? Do you remember that they outplayed Tigres in the Concacaf Champions Cup without him?<\/p>\n If there\u2019s one thing we should all have learned by now, after four years of watching Wilfried Nancy as a manager in this league, it\u2019s that he won’t throw in the towel just because he doesn\u2019t have his ideal squad out there. Instead, he’ll squeeze more out of fringe rotation players than anyone ever thought they could give.<\/p>\n His tactical philosophy has proved resilient, the vast majority of the squad is back, and $20 million worth of help is likely on the way.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> Cucho was one of the best big-game players in MLS history, and Christian Ram\u00edrez<\/a> wasn\u2019t too bad himself. That\u2019s like half the team\u2019s total goals and a huge chunk of their attacking chemistry. Even if that $20 million of help gets here soon, it\u2019s a lot to ask for immediate integration (on both sides of the ball \u2013 Cucho\u2019s defensive work in shaping opposition distribution patterns was underrated!).<\/p>\n As I said above, Nancy\u2019s blueprint has proved resilient (and beautiful; this will still be my favorite team to watch). But it\u2019s also very high risk, and a single mistake can start a failure cascade. If more of those mistakes are happening as they integrate new pieces, it\u2019ll be a tough first couple of months.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 3-4-2-1: Schulte; Amundsen, Camacho, Moreira; Arfsten, Nagbe, Zawadzki, Farsi; Rossi, Chambost; Russell-Rowe<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Loons<\/a> very cleverly made their big 2025 additions in the middle of 2024 and rode their excellent summer transfer window into the playoffs. That produced a memorable Round One series win over RSL<\/a> (never go against Dayne St. Clair<\/a> in a PK shootout) and a palpable sense of optimism amongst Minnesota fans heading into the season.<\/p>\n The biggest reason for that optimism is the attack, led by Kelvin Yeboah<\/a> up top and ably supported by two attacking wingbacks (Joseph Rosales<\/a> playmaking on the left, Bongi Hlongwane<\/a> finishing from the right) and two No. 10s (Robin Lod<\/a> and Gass Theorem candidate Joaqu\u00edn Pereyra<\/a>). Add Tani Oluwaseyi<\/a> to a system that emphasizes generating transition opportunities, and there\u2019s a lot to like.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> Have they done enough to strengthen the central midfield and defense? To paraphrase The Athletic<\/em>\u2019s Jeff Rueter<\/a>: they\u2019re set up well against teams that don\u2019t have strong possession through the middle. But against teams who can<\/em> play like that \u2013 like the Sounders and the Galaxy \u2013 things tended to get ugly.<\/p>\n Also, it\u2019s worth noting Tani\u2019s been starting alongside Yeboah in preseason, with Pereyra as a true 10 and Lod coming off the bench. I\u2019m not sure if that\u2019s a temporary thing or not. And I\u2019m just going to mention Hassani Dotson<\/a>\u2019s trade request and offer no comment.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 3-4-2-1: St. Clair; D\u00edaz, Boxall, Harvey; Rosales, Trapp, Dotson, Hlongwane; Pereyra, Lod; Yeboah<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n For the fifth consecutive year, I\u2019m drinking the Five Stripes<\/a>\u2019 Kool-Aid. They went out and again broke the league transfer record, spending more than $20 million on center forward Emmanuel Latte Lath<\/a>. They also spent about half that to bring back old friend Miguel Almir\u00f3n<\/a> and got another DP \u2013 veteran Mateusz Klich<\/a> \u2013 from D.C. United<\/a> while absorbing just $300k of his salary (I still don\u2019t understand this from D.C.\u2019s perspective).<\/p>\n This is a very, very talented front six, and should have the ability to shift between a 4-2-3-1 and a 3-4-1-2. And while things look a little bit thin in some spots right now, they\u2019ve still got two open U22 slots, Chris Henderson doing the talent ID and an owner who\u2019s willing to spend. So reinforcements will be coming.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> There\u2019s no real elite, ball-winning\/transition-stopping d-mid on the roster for one, and for two, that backline is iffy \u2013 especially compared to the ones in the tier above. Add in the fact that Brad Guzan<\/a> (who, to be clear, was very good last year) is into his 40s, and things feel a liiiittle bit flimsy in a spot where the best teams are traditionally strong as hell.<\/p>\n Oh, and I\u2019m not panicking about this, but No. 10 Alexey Miranchuk<\/a> was pretty meh last season. I\u2019ll chalk it up to arriving mid-year amid a roster and philosophical overhaul, but if it\u2019s late March and he\u2019s still struggling\u2026<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-2-3-1: Guzan; Amador, Williams, Gregersen, Lennon; Slisz, Klich; Lobjanidze, Miranchuk, Almir\u00f3n; Latte Lath<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Red Bulls<\/a> have somehow had an offseason that\u2019s been very encouraging (they\u2019ve brought in both starters and depth along the backline, and a veteran DP No. 9) and frustrating (there\u2019s still an open DP slot and a real appetite in the fanbase for a blockbuster move of the sort that Miami, Atlanta and both LA teams tend to make).<\/p>\n Still, whether that move comes or not, the Red Bulls will:<\/p>\n That months-long absence Forsberg suffered last year (during which RBNY went straight into the toilet) was a blessing in disguise in some ways, as it meant he was fresh for the final few games of the season and then for the entirety of the playoffs. Which, of course, ended with the club\u2019s second-ever MLS Cup appearance.<\/p>\n The pieces are here to make another push like that if things break right.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> They didn\u2019t really have any answers without Forsberg last year, so riddle me this: If he plays enough during the regular season to propel RBNY up the standings, does he have any gas in the tank for the playoffs? Conversely, if he misses a bunch of regular-season time and stays fresh for October and November, how much do the Red Bulls suffer in a much tougher East this year?<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the other DP, newly arrived Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting<\/a>. He\u2019s been awesome in preseason, but he\u2019s played 2,000+ regular-season minutes just once in the past decade.<\/p>\n What I\u2019m saying is a lot rests on the health of a pair of mid-30s guys. I\u2019d feel more confident if they went big on their final DP slot. We\u2019ve been saying that for a decade, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s not worth saying again.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-2-2-2: Coronel; Morales, Hack, S. Nealis, D. Nealis; Edelman, Carballo; Forsberg, Harper; Choupo-Moting, Morgan<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Crown<\/a> didn\u2019t do as much as I\u2019d expected this winter, and honestly, I\u2019m not sure that\u2019s a bad thing. They were a 51-point team last year that got a lot of value out of young players on the way up, and heading into 2025 they\u2019ve bet on those young players to improve (Patrick Agyemang<\/a> is the starting No. 9; Liel Abada<\/a> is probably the starting right winger; there is no doubt about who the central defensive pairing is now) while reinforcing them with a DP veteran who\u2019s tailor-made for Dean Smith\u2019s system.<\/p>\n That veteran is Wilfried Zaha<\/a>, the 32-year-old winger who\u2019s been a very productive player in very good leagues for the past dozen years. He won\u2019t likely change anything about Charlotte\u2019s tactical approach; he should just do what previous left wingers on the team have done with higher proficiency.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a good bet.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> You can counter your way to 55 or even 60 points, but low-possession teams haven\u2019t won many trophies in this league over the past dozen years unless they are also relentlessly high-pressing teams, which Charlotte are not.<\/p>\n Which is to say there needs to be some sort of Plan B this year. That becomes an absolutely urgent, five-alarm-fire of a need if soon-to-be 35-year-old Ashley Westwood<\/a> slips at all.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-3-3: Kahlina; Ream, Privett, Malanda, Byrne; Bronico, Westwood, Diani; Zaha, Agyemang, Abada<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n You could talk me into anything from 60 points and a deep playoff run to 40 points and a complete rebuild next winter for everyone here.<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, the parity of MLS is such that a buddy of mine suggested every single team belongs in this category. It\u2019s hard to argue that point.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Lions<\/a> only made a couple of moves this winter, but they were big ones: Facu Torres got sold to Palmeiras<\/a> for a reported club-record $14 million and replaced, like-for-like, by Croatian right winger Marco Pa\u0161ali\u0107<\/a>. And Eduard Atuesta<\/a> is in from that same Palmeiras side to start in Oscar Pareja\u2019s double pivot alongside C\u00e9sar Ara\u00fajo<\/a>, which is very much not<\/em> a like-for-like since Atuesta is a methodical orchestrator\/creator, while the injured starter he\u2019s replacing, Wilder Cartagena<\/a>, was a box-to-box destroyer.<\/p>\n Pa\u0161ali\u0107’s goalscoring record can\u2019t match Torres\u2019s, but he seems a little more direct, which I think makes sense for this team. That\u2019s especially true with Ramiro Enrique<\/a> seemingly the first-choice No. 9 (a role he earned last year and deserves to carry into this season, and same with Mart\u00edn Ojeda<\/a> at the 10).<\/p>\n On balance, I actually think this makes Orlando stronger because:<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> That second part may not be true, largely because the center-back pairing is still questionable at best. Is Rodrigo Schlegel<\/a> really a starting CB for a contender in 2025? Is David Brekalo<\/a> going to have a Gass Theorem year? Is Thomas Williams<\/a> ready for minutes? Does Robin Jansson<\/a> have one more Best XI-caliber year in him as he hits his mid-30s?<\/p>\n There are depth issues in central midfield \u2013 exacerbated now following the conscious uncoupling with Nico Lodeiro<\/a> \u2013 winger, and both fullback slots. Luis Muriel<\/a> was\u2026 not great, and may not play much this season. Very bad use of a DP slot! Pedro Gallese<\/a> has always been up and down.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s how Facu was their main guy. Thirty-four goals across all competitions over the past two years is a lot, and there\u2019s no guarantee they\u2019ve done enough to make up for it.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-2-3-1: Gallese; Santos, Jansson, Schlegel, Thorhallsson; Atuesta, Ara\u00fajo; Angulo, Ojeda, Pa\u0161ali\u0107; Enrique<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n They made the move they needed last weekend in acquiring Josh Atencio<\/a>, the rangy, transition-stopping, ball-winning d-mid that they so badly required (and they so clearly lacked in their playoff beatdown against the Galaxy last season).<\/p>\n He slots straight into an XI that’s mostly back \u2013 along with a few other depth pieces via the academy, SuperDraft, and some wheeling-and-dealing from the front office \u2013 after registering 50 points and a third-place finish in Leagues Cup last year. It was, by basically every measure, a very successful first season under head coach Chris Armas with room to grow.<\/p>\n An underrated part of this roster comes from the flexibility of their two best players, Cole Bassett<\/a> and Djordje Mihailovic<\/a>. Bassett can play either as an 8 or a pressing 10; Djordje can play either as a more traditional 10 or a playmaking winger. That gives Armas the ability to mix and match his personnel with tactical considerations in mind, all without ever changing the formation, structure or principles of play.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> Of their final 16 games against MLS teams last year (across all competitions), they won just four of them. That coincided almost exactly with the sale of Mo\u00efse Bombito<\/a>, a human eraser of a center back. Chidozie Awaziem<\/a> \u2013 a very good MLS center back \u2013 is there now as Bombito\u2019s replacement, and Atencio\u2019s defensive nous at d-mid should lead to fewer emergency defense moments this season.<\/p>\n But man, it got ugly and stayed ugly without the Canadian international last year.<\/p>\n I\u2019m also mildly concerned about the goalscoring (is Rafa Navarro<\/a> legit?), but not in comparison to the potential defensive (and goalkeeping) issues.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-2-3-1: Steffen; Vines, Awaziem, Maxs\u00f8, Cannon; Ronan, Atencio; Mihailovic, Bassett, Cabral; Navarro<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n St. Louis went hard last summer, bringing in five new starters \u2013 and an interim coach \u2013 to rebuild a team whose 2023 success was a house of cards. They\u2019ve continued the rebuild into this offseason, bringing in at least two more new starters and a new, permanent head coach in Olof Mellberg. In a lot of ways, it feels like a second crack at an expansion season.<\/p>\n The good news is they\u2019ve got proof of concept with their best players. Marcel Hartel<\/a> and Cedric Teuchert<\/a> were both awesome upon arrival last summer, and Eduard L\u00f6wen<\/a> has been good to very good since Day 1. Simon Becher<\/a> was a pleasant surprise, and Roman B\u00fcrki<\/a> has strung together two excellent seasons in goal.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve got talent just about everywhere, and where they don\u2019t have talent they\u2019ve at least got potential. I like this roster.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> The defense remains questionable, and Mellberg\u2019s track record as a manager is underwhelming. That might not mean much \u2013 Wilfried Nancy\u2019s track record as a manager before getting his first MLS gig was non-existent \u2013 but it\u2019s worth noting, especially as he changes the shape from the 4-2-3-1 that worked so well under interim John Hackworth to the 3-4-2-1 he\u2019s preferred in his 200-ish games in charge of various clubs in Scandinavia.<\/p>\n So\u2026 I don\u2019t know. What if the stuff that worked last year was a product of Hackworth\u2019s system? Will Mellberg change? What if Jannes Horn<\/a> and Timo Baumgartl<\/a> don\u2019t actually shore up the defense? What if Becher\u2019s goalscoring was a mirage, and Jo\u00e3o Klauss<\/a> is just the guy he\u2019s been the past 18 months?<\/p>\n I\u2019m on the more optimistic side about this team, but there\u2019s reason for caution.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 3-4-2-1: B\u00fcrki; Horn, Baumgartl, Kessler; Wallem, Durkin, L\u00f6wen, Totland; Hartel, Teuchert; Klauss<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Ok yeah, I\u2019m officially buying it. The one thing you can count on Gregg Berhalter to do no matter where he goes, club or country, is to build out a structure and fix the defense. And what we\u2019ve seen so far in preseason \u2013 I know, I\u2019m an idiot to over-index on preseason form or results \u2013 suggests he\u2019s doing the same for the Fire<\/a>. This comes in conjunction with the team adding five new starters (maybe six if Sam Rogers<\/a> beats out Carlos Ter\u00e1n<\/a> to partner Jack Elliott<\/a>), which should gas up everything about how they operate.<\/p>\n And, well, that\u2019s the other thing: with Berhalter in charge, you can bet your life that there will be a very clear \u201chow they operate.\u201d You can already hear players talking about it, with homegrown attacker Brian Guti\u00e9rrez<\/a> discussing at length<\/a> the team\u2019s structure and identity whenever he gets a chance, and other Fire players echoing the same sentiment.<\/p>\n The final thing to remember: Gyasi Zardes, Ola Kamara and Kei Kamara are all traditional No. 9s who had their best seasons under Berhalter. Hugo Cuypers<\/a> is that same type of No. 9, and in Guti\u00e9rrez, Jonathan Bamba<\/a> and Philip Zinckernagel<\/a>, he\u2019s got attackers around him who know how to provide the final ball.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> It\u2019s the Fire. It\u2019s almost impossible to think things will work out for the best. This team has been cursed for the past 15 years, as have the city\u2019s entire contingent of pro sports teams since the Cubbies broke their curse in 2016 (shoutout 2021 Chicago Sky tho).<\/p>\n Do I believe in sports curses? No. Well, maybe. I don\u2019t know. Ask me again in October.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-2-3-1: Brady; Gutman, Elliott, Ter\u00e1n, Barroso; Acosta, Kouam\u00e9; Bamba, Guti\u00e9rrez, Zinckernagel; Cuypers<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Talent is the most important ingredient in the stew of success, and Austin have spent a lot of money to increase their talent.<\/p>\n It started last summer with about $7 million on right winger Osman Bukari<\/a>, then continued into this winter with nearly $25 million combined spent on left winger Myrto Uzuni<\/a> and center forward Brandon Vazquez<\/a>. Add in some other less, but still not negligible acquisitions \u2013 $3 million on Nicol\u00e1s Dubersarsky<\/a>, about $1.5 million on Oleksandr Svatok<\/a> \u2013 and a host of free agent signings, and this should<\/em> be the most talented Austin roster of the club\u2019s brief existence.<\/p>\n In fact, they\u2019ve probably got enough talent to go out and brute force some wins by\u2026 having more talent. They should be particularly good in both boxes.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> I\u2019m not 100% convinced they\u2019ll be good between both boxes. I like the idea of their midfield balance, but Ilie S\u00e1nchez<\/a> is in his mid-30s, Dubersarsky and Besard Sabovic<\/a> are unproven in MLS, and Dani Pereira<\/a>\u2019s been a free 8 in theory, not in practice. Plus none of these guys is a true chance creator, which puts a lot of pressure on that front line.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve also got big questions about the entire defense, all of whom were around last year when Austin\u2019s xG allowed was scraping the bottom of the barrel (among West teams, only the Quakes<\/a> were worse).<\/p>\n New head coach Nico Est\u00e9vez has a ton of toys to play with, but he\u2019s got a lot to fix, too.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-3-3: Stuver; Biro, Hines-Ike, Svatok, Desler; Sabovic, Ilie, Pereira; Uzuni, Vazquez, Bukari<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n NYCFC<\/a> have basically $15 million worth of talent, stretching from the backline to the front, that previous head coach Nick Cushing couldn\u2019t (or wouldn\u2019t) develop last year, even when they were dying for a winger* who could add some off-ball punch and secondary scoring.<\/p>\n <\/em> Folks around the club tell me Agust\u00edn Ojeda<\/a>\u2019s been immense this preseason. He\u2019s my prediction for 2025 Young Player of the Year.*<\/p>\n New head coach Pascal Jansen should be able to do more with that. And they\u2019ve got a returning, ace No. 9 whose goal tally did not seem fluky (99th percentile in non-penalty goals; 96th percentile in non-penalty xG), very good fullbacks, an elite No. 8 who\u2019s a one-man field-tilt machine, center back depth and one of the favorites to win Goalkeeper of the Year.<\/p>\n Also, they could have two open DP slots.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> That’s because they’re reportedly selling DP No. 10, Santi Rodr\u00edguez<\/a>, who was their best and most productive player last year. It was a Godfather offer, to be fair \u2013 a reported $17 million from Botafogo. You\u2019ve got to take that.<\/p>\n But between that and the loan (and subsequent injury) of starting d-mid James Sands<\/a>, they suddenly have two massive question marks in central midfield. And given the CFG tactical blueprint, central midfield is where a lot of games are won or lost.<\/p>\n So they\u2019ve got work to do, but as always, NYCFC are a black box. Nobody has any idea of whether that work is just getting started, or about to be completed, or not even on the radar.<\/p>\n Are they waiting for summer to bring in Kevin De Bruyne? That\u2019d be cool! Could they be a home for former academy prodigy Gio Reyna, who needs to get playing time somewhere? Hell yeah! Is there another version of Santi on the way? That\u2019d be dope. Or is it the Maxi (Moralez) and Maxi (Carrizo) show at the No. 10? I\u2019d be into that, but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s how titles are won.<\/p>\n So yeah, black box. No idea what the real plan is.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-2-3-1: Freese; O\u2019Toole, Tanasijevi\u0107, Martins, Gray; Parks, Haak; Ojeda, Moralez, Wolf; Mart\u00ednez<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A few weeks ago, it looked like Dallas<\/a> were headed toward Wooden Spoon contention. They since upgraded right back, one of their center back spots, the No. 10 and, by virtue of upgrading that No. 10 spot, the No. 8 (since Patrickson Delgado<\/a> can now play there full time). They\u2019ve got a new No. 6 as well, who should probably help them with some of their defensive issues, and the new head coach is the guy who helped the most talented winger on the roster have his breakout season as a pro in the Dallas pipeline four years back.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve still got a guy who should be one of the best No. 9s in the league, plus one of the better goalkeepers in the league. And while there are a lot of moving parts here \u2013 like, A LOT a lot \u2013 that new head coach, Eric Quill, has gotten rave reviews at his previous two stops for playing an intuitive formation and tactical system that puts players in their best spots and lets them get to work. So I\u2019m thinking the learning curve won\u2019t be too steep.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> These pieces fit in theory, but in practice, we just don\u2019t know. Is Ramiro<\/a> (the new d-mid) gonna be any good? What about any of the new center backs? Can any of the wingers on the roster be starting-caliber? Will they get the happy, productive Lucho<\/a>, or the Mr. Hyde version?<\/p>\n I\u2019m bullish, but the bottom could drop out here real quick, especially if they can\u2019t defend.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-2-3-1: Paes; Farfan, Abubakar, Urhoghide, Moore; Ramiro, Delgado; Julio, Acosta, Kamungo; Musa<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Just a gut-punch of an offseason for \u2018Caps<\/a> fans, who had to watch as the most successful head coach in the team\u2019s MLS history was dismissed<\/a> and then as the team was put up for sale<\/a>, followed by the third DP \u2013 Stuart Armstrong<\/a> clearly elevated the side in the playoffs, and was a big part of them playing the best ball they\u2019d played since their arrival in the league \u2013 got homesick and headed back to the UK.<\/p>\n Still, this group\u2019s got an excellent one-two attacking punch in Brian White<\/a> and Ryan Gauld<\/a>, an excellent d-mid, a very good backline, and a history of recent success. They\u2019ve won three straight Canadian Championships<\/a> and made the playoffs three of the past four seasons, and basically everyone relevant is in their prime*.<\/p>\n <\/em> Kind of a monkey\u2019s paw situation, though, as they really could\u2019ve used another year of Armstrong and Faf\u00e0 Picault<\/a>.*<\/p>\n That includes Ecuadorian orchestrator Pedro Vite<\/a> and Canadian box-to-box ball-winner Ali Ahmed<\/a>. If those two guys level up, then the whole team will follow.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> Their big offseason acquisitions are two attackers (Jayden Nelson<\/a> and Emmanuel Sabbi<\/a>) who might not raise their ceiling. There’s no proper backup for Gauld, while White\u2019s backup is Daniel R\u00edos<\/a>, who\u2019s been\u2026 okay.<\/p>\n What I\u2019m saying is Gauld and White have been remarkably healthy over the past few years, and if either misses any time \u2013 or if White slumps like he did in 2022 \u2013 that\u2019s all, folks.<\/p>\n They\u2019re on a knife\u2019s edge here. That\u2019s not a great place to be when three of the four teams just behind them in last year\u2019s standings seem to have gotten better.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-3-2-1: Takaoka; Adekugbe, Blackmon, Veselinovi\u0107, Laborda; Ahmed, Cubas, Vite; Sabbi, Gauld; White<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Timbers<\/a> return two-thirds of the most productive trio of DPs in the league last year. And while the one guy they parted with (Evander) was the best of them, it\u2019s not like they didn\u2019t replace him, as they went out and spent a good chunk of their winnings on his direct replacement, Portuguese midfielder David Da Costa<\/a>.<\/p>\n Da Costa\u2019s probably not going to be the goalscorer Evander was, but the Timbers tend to get plenty of that from other spots on the field, so it\u2019s not likely to hurt them too much. Where Da Costa looks superior to Evander is on the defensive side of the ball, where his effort is much more reliable* and his impact has been much more sustained throughout his young-ish career. He can help the point-of-attack defense for a team that badly needed it last year.<\/p>\n <\/em> Evander can be an awesome defensive presence when he chooses to be, but he only chooses to be about once a month.*<\/p>\n There\u2019s also a bit more depth \u2013 Joao Ortiz<\/a> and Jimer Fory<\/a> might both start but even if they don\u2019t, they\u2019ll contribute; Kevin Kelsy<\/a> is likely going to get a lot of minutes at the 9 even if Felipe Mora<\/a> holds the job down for one more year \u2013 and, hopefully, a return to form from the goalkeepers.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> However you want to finesse it, this team was carried by its DPs last year. Of that group, one\u2019s gone, one\u2019s injured and one\u2019s old. Fory and Ortiz might be starters, but neither\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 exactly screams \u201cclear upgrade.\u201d Kelsy is very, very toolsy, and is the type of young No. 9 to take a flier on, but he was not an effective soccer player for Cincy in 2024.<\/p>\n So do they have the pieces to survive if their DP production takes a 15% hit? Boy, I dunno.<\/p>\n Head coach Phil Neville has had to experiment with lineups and formations throughout preseason. I\u2019m putting a 4-2-3-1 as their default below, but don\u2019t be shocked if it\u2019s a 3-5-2 until Jonathan Rodr\u00edguez<\/a> is back.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n 4-2-3-1: Cr\u00e9peau; Fory, Miller, Zuparic, Mosquera; Chara, Ayala; Rodr\u00edguez, Da Costa, Moreno; Mora<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The hope is Walker Zimmerman<\/a> stays healthy and returns to his best, and Hany Mukhtar<\/a> stays healthy and returns to his<\/em> best. At the same time, Sam Surridge<\/a> \u2013 the third DP \u2013 finally starts looking like a 15-goal scorer, Gast\u00f3n Brugman<\/a> becomes circa 2022 Dax McCarty, and new winger Ahmed Qasem<\/a> can add a third attacking heat this team\u2019s never had.<\/p>\n Will Edvard Tagseth<\/a>, another new signing, add some ball progression from central midfield? I think that\u2019s what he was brought in for, but through most of preseason he was actually playing as a sort of right midfielder who\u2019d tuck inside to let new right back Andy Najar<\/a> overlap.<\/p>\n For the past five years, this team\u2019s competence (and occasional excellence) was based upon their ability to dominate in both boxes. In theory, they have the pieces to be that team again.<\/p>\n My Worry:<\/strong> For one, they sure weren\u2019t that team last year, and for two we\u2019ve already seen head coach B.J. Callaghan scrap some of his plans. Word initially was that he wanted to go with a 4-3-3, but after a couple weeks of preseason went back to the type of counterattacking 4-4-2 (or 4-4-1-1 with Hany in a free role) that\u2019s been this team\u2019s primary alignment and tactical gameplan since their inception.<\/p>\n So if there\u2019s improvement, it\u2019ll have to come from personnel. But most of Nashville<\/a>\u2019s key players are on the wrong side of 30 \u2013 Zimmerman, both fullbacks, Brugman, goalkeeper Joe Willis<\/a>, and backup No. 9 Teal Bunbury<\/a>. Hell, even Hany will be blowing out 30 candles by the end of next month.<\/p>\n Maybe Qasem or Tagseth can help, but when\u2019s the last time Nashville really<\/em> killed it with a new signing from overseas? You\u2019d have to go all the way back to Hany.<\/p>\n First-Choice XI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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