Soccer <\/p>\n
Spring has sprung. We\u2019ll dig in on Atlanta<\/a>\u2019s personnel conundrum, what a bad night in Chicago<\/a> looks like, a false 9 for a very impressive San Diego<\/a> side, and more.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n But we\u2019ll start with a good use of home-field advantage in Colorado<\/a>. Let\u2019s dive in:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Let me preface this by saying, through the grace of God-tier shot-stopping by Zack Steffen<\/a>, the Rapids<\/a> have been just fine in the standings all year. They opened the season with two draws; they followed that up with two road wins. That\u2019s a good start, so even if they\u2019d lost on Saturday afternoon \u2013 which would\u2019ve been their second on the trot \u2013 the bottom wasn\u2019t dropping out or anything.<\/p>\n But even as the results rolled in, the collective performances have not been good, and we saw what the lack of Steffen meant in last weekend\u2019s 3-0 beating<\/a> by the Timbers<\/a>. They needed not just a bounce-back, but some kind of proof-of-concept about the whole enterprise. Proof that they could tighten their lines through central midfield; proof that they could dominate the game with the ball; proof that they weren\u2019t fatally compromised against transition-heavy teams.<\/p>\n So I\u2019ve been waiting for a show like Saturday\u2019s, which eventually became a ho-hum 2-0 win<\/a> over visiting Charlotte<\/a> (in which Steffen did not have to play the hero), for what feels like a while. This version of the Rapids is who they were in their home-and-home against LAFC<\/a> in Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> play (just over a month ago, but it feels like half a year), and it\u2019s the team they\u2019re designed to be over the rest of the season.<\/p>\n It is, in short, at least a little bit of proof.<\/p>\n Bear in mind they\u2019d been dealing with injuries, and still are. They\u2019d been dealing with fixture congestion, and (to a degree) still are. But really, the issue was they\u2019d let their energy drop and their discipline slip since playing very well but nonetheless getting eliminated by the Black & Gold. It\u2019s the ConcaChampions toll, and teams pay it every single year.<\/p>\n \u201cToday was a really good reaction from our team, after the last game,\u201d head coach Chris Armas said afterward. \u201cYou know, we\u2019re usually really good at home. It was mature, it was complete, and we\u2019ve been looking for that performance.\u201d<\/p>\n The mature part wasn\u2019t just that the Rapids 1) rebounded emotionally from that whipping they took in front of the home crowd last week, and 2) stayed tactically sound, which denied the Crown both space to combine and the time to pick out balls over the top. It was that they accomplished the above while also using the built-in advantage of their altitude.<\/p>\n Volume up:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Really great job by Colorado to keep the tempo up, make aggressive subs and punish the hell out of an opponent that had clearly lost its legs. pic.twitter.com\/tHLtg2LVaI<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n That was the first of Djordje Mihailovic<\/a>\u2019s two goals on the day. As Colorado\u2019s subs tilted the field and Charlotte\u2019s energy flagged, Mihailovic \u2013 who moved back to the No. 10 role for the final half-hour after starting the game as a playmaking left winger \u2013 found more space, and used it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most important thing in this game is you could see what we were trying to do,\u201d he said after the whistle. \u201cEspecially at the start of the second half was great, 20 minutes we were all around their goal, and [when the goal didn\u2019t come] we didn\u2019t get frustrated. We just put the work in.\u201d<\/p>\n That work paid off in goals, and you could feel them coming. Through the first 70 minutes, Colorado took 15 shots and Charlotte defenders blocked nine of them. Colorado took six more shots over the final 20 minutes, and Charlotte\u2019s defense blocked none. They just couldn\u2019t get close.<\/p>\n I\u2019m bullish on the Rapids because of the way the pieces they have fit together. It hasn\u2019t started humming just yet, but Chidozie Awaziem<\/a> and Andreas Maxs\u00f8<\/a> together in central defense gives this team the ability to control games from the back, while Josh Atencio<\/a> at d-mid should do a ton to put out fires before they begin (Saturday\u2019s performance was by far his best in Burgundy). The rest of it just sort of snugs in around that group, with Mihailovic keying the attack.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll be surprised if there aren\u2019t more performances like this in store.<\/p>\n As for the Crown, they\u2019ve been pretty poor and defended extraordinarily deep in all three of their away dates thus far, and have now taken one point from the nine on offer in those matches.<\/p>\n Three of their next four are at home, so they have time to get into a rhythm before they head out on a late-spring Odyssey (eight of 10 on the road in May and June). It all bears watching.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n I really thought our Face of the Week was going to go to Brooks Lennon<\/a>, who absolutely trucked Hannes Wolf<\/a> in conceding a penalty that made it 2-1 New York City FC<\/a>. I even tweeted<\/a> about it!<\/p>\n But Pigeons center back Thiago Martins<\/a> had different ideas, and candidly expressed them moments after playing his part in conceding the winner to Emmanuel Latte Lath<\/a> in Atlanta<\/a>\u2019s come-from-behind 4-3 win<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here, folks, is our Face of the Week!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) March 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n My gut reaction was this was much more on Martins than goalkeeper Matt Freese<\/a>, but I wanted to be sure, so I talked to a bunch of ex-pros and folks around the league.<\/p>\n One said: \u201cBoth at fault, but at different times. GK should have read the play and come early, but when he didn\u2019t, the CB should have easily dealt with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Another\u2019s take: \u201cIf you\u2019re a CB urging your ‘keeper out and they aren\u2019t coming, you have to [expletive] kick the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n A third\u2019s take \u2013 and this is a former goalkeeper, so grain of salt and all that: \u201cI would literally fight him in the locker room for making a show of that like he did. [Expletive] enrages me.\u201d<\/p>\n The most balanced take was from Armchair Analyst special correspondent Calen Carr, who is always a diplomat: \u201cFreese is way too deep for some unknown reason, but Martins has time to hold his arms out (might as well just tell Latte Lath you\u2019re a dead man) and still tries to chest trap the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, Freese has made just two interventions outside the area all year<\/a>, which is dead last among starting \u2018keepers in MLS. He\u2019s got to be at least a little bit more aggressive coming off his line.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n But Martins has to handle that situation, which is one we see, what, two or three times a game, every game? And he should definitely not be showing up the guy who almost single-handedly saved the team a point last week.<\/p>\n Anyway, in a lot of ways, this game was a battle of mistakes:<\/p>\n The other two Atlanta goals were the more interesting ones. First was Alexey Miranchuk<\/a> getting forward to finish off a semi-transition opportunity in the first half. The other, though, might be telling us something longer term:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Full build-up here is nice.<\/p>\n Atlanta looked *much* better the final half-hour with Miranchuk as an 8, Fortune as a 6 and Slisz\/Klich on the bench.<\/p>\n At least partially game-state related, but still interesting! pic.twitter.com\/3qaRyBxqyl<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Ajani Fortune<\/a> has simply been better than either Bartosz Slisz<\/a> or Mateusz Klich<\/a> this year. At this point, I think he\u2019s the starter.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Miranchuk, meanwhile, has not been great. I think there are a few reasons for that, but one of the big ones is he\u2019s struggled to get on the ball as a pure attacking midfielder. So maybe moving him back a line (which we also saw last week) is a solution for that, and also limits the amount of build-out Atlanta are compelled to do through Lennon (who is good at getting forward, but less good at conducting the game from the backline).<\/p>\n The Five Stripes really were dominant in that last half-hour \u2013 it was probably the best half-hour of soccer they\u2019ve played all year.<\/p>\n “We know we’re going to score goals. I’m not worried about that,\u201d head coach Ronny Deila said in the postgame. \u201cWe scored four now.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we need to defend as a team and we need to attack as a team. When that clicks, then we will be very, very, very good. But today, we’re not attacking or defending in the first half. In the second half, we did much better. In the end, we deserved to win.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n 13. D.C. United put in what I thought was<\/strong> their best performance of the season against what is clearly still a very good Columbus Crew<\/a> side. But the Crew are still, yeah, very good, and D.C.<\/a> still have issues in goal, and that together was good enough for them to come out of Audi Field with a 2-1 win<\/a> thanks to a Diego Rossi<\/a> brace.<\/p>\n One personnel note: Max Arfsten<\/a> started at attacking midfield next to Rossi, his second straight start at that spot after spending virtually all of his Crew career at wingback.<\/p>\n Not the solution I expected to the \u201chow do we replace Cucho and Christian<\/a>?\u201d issue, but with the Primary Transfer Window closing soon, it looks like it\u2019ll be the solution we get.<\/p>\n 12. I was really frustrated by this moment<\/strong> from Toronto<\/a>\u2019s scoreless home draw<\/a> with the Whitecaps<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Osorio taking ankles, Kerr with a very good turn and ball across the six… Bernardeschi just out there chilling at the corner of the box. pic.twitter.com\/sKQ3NFHjh6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n This isn\u2019t entirely egregious from Federico Bernardeschi<\/a> because this isn’t really a rehearsed pattern of play. But as a winger in a 4-2-3-1, you’re supposed to be a goalscorer. And to be a goalscorer in this situation, you’ve got to take risks off the ball to get on the end of service.<\/p>\n Four times out of five, that ball gets cut out or the defense deals with Deandre Kerr<\/a>\u2019s turn before he can even hit that cross. The fifth time, though, it gets through. And if you\u2019ve made the run, you get the goal.<\/p>\n You\u2019d expect a veteran to read the play.<\/p>\n Anyway, Kerr\u2019s injury took away the one fractional silver lining 2025 has given the Reds so far. They are struggling heading into next week’s Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire date with Miami<\/a>. And for the \u2018Caps, this was a real \u201cman, they miss Ryan Gauld<\/a>\u201d result. Felt like they could\u2019ve found one if he\u2019d been out there.<\/p>\n 11. The Revs are on the board!<\/strong> Carles Gil<\/a> bent home a free kick in the first half and banged home a penalty at the death for the grit \u2018n grind 2-1 home win<\/a> over the Red Bulls<\/a>.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t precisely a Gil masterpiece \u2013 like all 10s, he\u2019s at his best when the attackers around him are buzzing and giving him options, and New England<\/a> don\u2019t do much of that \u2013 but it was a true carry job by the captain. He had two chances to win the game, and he took both. Sometimes your No. 10 can go out there and just collect three points for you.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what you need from your top player,\u201d said head coach Caleb Porter. \u201cThat first goal was a thing of beauty. He deserved the second goal as well with how well he played. He got in great spots today. He was goal dangerous, that\u2019s the key.\u201d<\/p>\n The key for the rest of the season will be for Porter to figure out how to get the rest of his attack to be goal-dangerous. Still not much of that happening in New England.<\/p>\n Sandro Schwarz has to figure out how to inject the turgid RBNY attack with some pace. I understand (and applaud) the decision to become more of a ball-playing side, but both their on- and off-ball work right now is sloooooow. And in this one, the one time it wasn\u2019t they got themselves a goal out of it.<\/p>\n They need to figure out how to get someone threatening and occasionally attacking in behind. Right now it\u2019s just not part of how they play.<\/p>\n 10. So yeah, Leo Messi didn\u2019t look entirely comfortable<\/strong> trying to kick the ball with his left foot \u2013 got to assume that groin issue is still lingering \u2013 so he just got out onto the field and scored with his right instead. No problem.<\/p>\n To the Union<\/a>\u2019s credit, they didn\u2019t let the game die even when they were down 2-0, and if anything the 2-1 final<\/a> flattered Miami. Philly were relentless in the game\u2019s last half-hour:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n 90 seconds of Philly creating chance after chance \u2013 virtually all from set pieces or out wide \u2013\u00a0trying to claw back into the game after going 2-0 down in Miami.<\/p>\n Probably should’ve taken a point from it. pic.twitter.com\/NdmI1ayOmC<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any chance they’ll move away from this formula. Nor should they, even after two losses in three.<\/p>\n As for the Herons, I maintain my stance that they\u2019re a better team than last year, and Javier Mascherano\u2019s done a great job of 1) keeping things straightforward, and 2) rotating the squad.<\/p>\n Which is my way of saying that I hope Toto Avil\u00e9s<\/a>\u2019 start on Saturday means he\u2019ll be on the bench for Wednesday\u2019s CCC first leg at LAFC, while his presence in the XI next Sunday vs. a limping Toronto side should be TBD.<\/p>\n 9. Speaking of LAFC, they spent the first 40 minutes<\/strong> of Saturday\u2019s 3-2 loss<\/a> at San Diego<\/a> getting battered, then dominated the five minutes heading into halftime, and then saw a 53rd-minute red card to Igor Jesus<\/a> effectively end the competitive portion of the game.<\/p>\n Olivier Giroud<\/a> and Jeremy Ebobisse<\/a> both missed this one, and it\u2019s not clear if either will be available on Wednesday. Denis Bouanga<\/a> started up top as the No. 9 in the 4-3-3, and I suspect that\u2019s what we\u2019ll see midweek.<\/p>\n The Ni\u00f1os (or the Chrome and Azul, as I guess they\u2019re trying to be called) were once again very, very good, and much less vulnerable in transition than they\u2019d been last week. Anyone who\u2019s read this column knows I\u2019m not a big False 9 guy, but Onni Valakari\u2019<\/a>s movement in that spot gave LAFC\u2019s backline a ton of trouble, and he ended up with a goal and assist for his effort.<\/p>\n You can get a sense from the network passing graph that Valakari (he\u2019s No. 8) is perfectly situated to either drop in and create a numerical advantage in central midfield, or push up and become the focal point of the attack:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Anyway, first home win for SDFC. And a return to the field for Chucky Lozano<\/a>, who got on for the final 20 minutes.<\/p>\n This team\u2019s real good.<\/p>\n 8. FC Dallas are not real good<\/strong> \u2013 at least not at this point \u2013 but they took care of business in their 2-1 home win<\/a> over Sporting KC<\/a>, capitalizing on a pair of massive individual errors (again; nobody\u2019s gotten more gifts this year) to overturn an early(ish) 1-0 deficit.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know what else to say about this game. Both teams are finding themselves right now (or trying to, anyway), and Dallas<\/a> have a little more cohesion and talent, and are better at brute forcing results because of it.<\/p>\n Sporting\u2019s winless skid across all competitions, going back to last year, is now 13. They\u2019re dead last with one point from six games. The fans, as is their right, are fed up<\/a> and are calling for manager Peter Vermes to resign.<\/p>\n 7. No longer dead last are CF Montr\u00e9al,<\/strong> who got the new-coach bounce after dismissing Laurent Courtois<\/a>. They went to Soldier Field and fought off both the Fire<\/a> and the rain to come away with a largely deserved point thanks to a 1-1 draw<\/a> in their first outing under Marco Donadel.<\/p>\n Two big changes to note under Donadel:<\/p>\n You can see from this graphic, courtesy of MLSstat<\/a> on BlueSky, that they tilted the field in a meaningful way, which allowed them to attack somewhat effectively via the central channel:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n I don\u2019t know if this is real or not, and I have my doubts about the overall talent level even if it is. But I do know this looked more like what we thought Courtois was going to try to craft this team into.<\/p>\n As for Chicago, this is officially what a bad night looks like for them in 2025. Which, when you consider where they\u2019ve been for the past 15 years, kind of makes it a good night?<\/p>\n 6. And it was finally a good night for FC Cincinnati,<\/strong> who went to Nashville<\/a> and came away with all three points thanks to an Evander<\/a> golazo and a late K\u00e9vin Denkey<\/a> penalty for the come-from-behind 2-1 final<\/a>.<\/p>\n The real star, though, was Roman Celentano<\/a>, who did this just after saving a Hany Mukhtar<\/a> penalty:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Outrageous. Though this really does put an exclamation point on Cincy<\/a>\u2019s need to figure out their defensive issues, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n Nashville have figured out most everything \u2013 result notwithstanding they\u2019re playing really excellent soccer, and B.J. Callaghan\u2019s got Josh freaking Bauer<\/a> underlapping like Steven Moreira<\/a> \u2013 except how to take a PK. Hany\u2019s now missed four of his past seven and Sam Surridge<\/a> is English, so there are no obvious options.<\/p>\n 5. Daniel was arguably just as good as Celentano<\/strong> in preserving a home point via the 1-1 final<\/a> for San Jose<\/a> against the Sounders<\/a>. The Quakes got themselves a 1-0 lead through Beau Leroux<\/a> a half-hour in after some clever pressing from Ian Harkes<\/a>, and then Seattle put them in hell for the next hour until Albert Rusn\u00e1k<\/a> finally found an equalizer. Bruce Arena\u2019s still trying to figure out the right balance and personnel for his team, and said as much in the postgame presser.<\/p>\n Same with Brian Schmetzer. A big thing he hasn\u2019t managed to solve for is Jes\u00fas Ferreira<\/a>, false 9. The big difference between the first half and second half was getting a true No. 9, Danny Musovski<\/a>, onto the field and getting Ferreira into a sort of half-a-winger\/half-a-second-striker role.<\/p>\n \u201cI made the decision to start Jes\u00fas at the No. 9, but we can all see he likes to play in pockets,\u201d is how Schmetzer put it afterward. \u201cWe wanted Paul [Rothrock] and Cristian [Roldan, playing as a winger] to stretch the field.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Musovski was effective. It was a total tactical sub. [Jo\u00e3o Paulo] wasn\u2019t playing poorly. They didn\u2019t have much. We just felt we needed to make that change rather than wait. Musovski did a good job and Jes\u00fas was real effective where he was playing.\u201d<\/p>\n Schmetzer went on to say that Musovski, with Jordan Morris<\/a> still out, is a good bet to start next week against San Diego. Given what we\u2019ve seen so far \u2013 the Sounders need a real 9 out there, basically \u2013 that makes a lot of sense to me.<\/p>\n 4. Pass of the Week goes to everyone involved<\/strong> in this masterpiece during Minnesota<\/a>\u2019s 2-0 win<\/a> over RSL<\/a> in a monsoon:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Well this is pretty much perfect soccer. pic.twitter.com\/zbl9pQut2r<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Of note: this game was the first time I thought Joaqu\u00edn Pereyra<\/a>, who assisted on Tani Oluwaseyi<\/a>\u2019s second goal, looked DP-caliber.<\/p>\n RSL\u2026 oof. They\u2019re now 22nd in the standings and 28th in xG differential. It\u2019s still too early to read too much into xG stuff, but the season-long numbers are bad, and they\u2019ve lost the xG battle in five of their six games, and my goodness does all of that match the eye test.<\/p>\n 3. The Galaxy blew their own foot off<\/strong> late Saturday night. No other way to put it.<\/p>\n They were cruising along with a 1-0 lead, courtesy of a true No. 9\u2019s goal from Christian Ram\u00edrez<\/a>, 75 minutes in. They\u2019d limited Orlando City<\/a> to few shots, all of them of low quality. And they weren\u2019t conceding much danger to speak of.<\/p>\n Then Miki Yamane<\/a> needlessly dove in on Eduard Atuesta<\/a> at the corner of the box. Penalty to make it 1-1. Fifteen minutes later, John McCarthy<\/a> fumbled Luis Muriel<\/a>\u2019s speculative 35-yard free kick into the net. And that\u2019s how you craft a rip-your-own-heart-out-of-your-chest 2-1 home loss<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you going to say about the second goal? Honestly, there’s nothing to say about it,\u201d head coach Greg Vanney said. \u201cAt the end of the day, it should have ended 1-1 on what I think is a soft penalty call. But we allowed another goal. That just can’t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s the worst start ever for a defending MLS Cup champion. MLS is forgiving \u2013 nine of 15 teams in each conference make the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, remember \u2013 but this has been brutal.<\/p>\n \u201cI can go through, I don’t know how many goals we’ve given up over the course of the season, I’d have to add them up, but at least half of them have been somewhat ridiculous for us,” Vanney said. “There’s points inside of those goals that we’ve lost because of it; and that, to me, is unacceptable for where we are at this point, and coming back as champions to be giving up these types of soft goals in ways that, you know, again, I mean, you’re losing points.”<\/p>\n Orlando are up to 10 points, which puts them seventh in the East. I don\u2019t think Oscar Pareja loves the way they\u2019re defending, but they have been wildly entertaining to start the year, and that\u2019s a very nice foundation to build from.<\/p>\n 2. The Dynamo, every single week, dare teams<\/strong> to turn them over and beat them in transition. The Timbers<\/a>, on Sunday night, took that bet. They went end-to-end on their first two goals, getting into the channels at a dead sprint after Houston<\/a> had lost possession 80 yards upfield. They pounced on a mutinous Jack McGlynn<\/a> back-pass for the third.<\/p>\n It finished 3-1<\/a>. In between the Portland goals, the Dynamo scored a set piece and played a lot of good ball through midfield. Plus Femi Awodesu<\/a>\u2019s rise continues to be one of my favorite stories in the league this year.<\/p>\n But they are a team short of both difference-makers and speed<\/a>, and they look it. Portland lack neither, and they showed it.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n That was the whole story of the game.<\/p>\n 1. And finally, last week I said that<\/strong> Osman Bukari<\/a> was in danger of entering the RigoniZone. For one glorious moment on Sunday afternoon, he definitely came out of it:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n 1. This is brilliant play over and through the St. Louis press (hat tip to Stuver)<\/p>\n 2. Austin’s been waiting a while for Bukari to make plays like that. Maybe the floodgates open now. pic.twitter.com\/OWAw9RL6YI<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n That was the only goal in Austin<\/a>\u2019s 1-0 win<\/a> at St. Louis<\/a>. The Verde & Black got that lead and predictably battened down the hatches \u2013 they took only two more shots the rest of the way.<\/p>\n Can\u2019t blame them for doing that against a St. Louis side that\u2019s shown very little going forward most of the season, and were hamstrung (in some cases literally) with injuries. Head coach Olof Mellberg started five (or four-and-a-half, depending on your Jannes Horn<\/a> take) center backs across the backline, with two d-mids and a wingback in central midfield.<\/p>\n And so they really had nothing until the game entered the Tactics Free Zone with about 25 minutes left.<\/p>\n I will say injuries have been a confounding factor and I understand Mellberg\u2019s fixation on improving the defense, which is much better than the past two seasons.<\/p>\n But, man. This team was really fun to watch the second half of last year, and the vast majority of that joy has been sucked away. The biggest part of that is tactics, but a significant part is Mellberg’s approach. Where were Caden Glover<\/a> or Mykhi Joyner<\/a> in a game like this? Why finish with Timo Baumgartl<\/a> up top when you could’ve brought in one of the high-upside kids coming through the academy? How come exactly one player under the age of 25 even got on the field?<\/p>\n It’s too risk-averse, and for a team in one of the great talent hotbeds in North America, way too slanted away from local talent.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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