Soccer <\/p>\n
The revamped FIFA Club World Cup<\/a> is here, beginning this North American Summer of Soccer. And unlike the ghosts of Club World Cups past, it’s a big thing now: sleepy December one-offs between a UEFA juggernaut and some poor AFC side two days off a red-eye are gone in favor of real tournament \u2013 32 teams, a solid month of the calendar blocked off, with group stages and knockouts culminating with an actual chance to write yourself into the history books. Think of it as the World Cup for clubs (the tournament is doing what it says on the tin).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n This is, in other words, a trophy worth caring about and fighting for. And, in the case of some of the biggest teams actually competing, a trophy worth spending tens of millions of dollars trying to win.<\/p>\n Three MLS clubs are on the guest list. Seattle Sounders FC<\/a> were invited as the first MLS team to win the modern-era Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> in 2022. Inter Miami CF<\/a>\u2019s invite came courtesy of winning the 2024 Supporters\u2019 Shield (as a Shield truther for nearly 30 years, that was a big moment for me). And LAFC<\/a> dramatically punched their ticket two weeks back when Denis Bouanga<\/a>\u2019s extra-time winner pushed them past Club Am\u00e9rica.<\/p>\n (Why did it come down to LAFC and Club Am\u00e9rica for the last spot? Well, how about we don\u2019t get bogged down in minutiae and just enjoy the show!)<\/p>\n MLS, in short, are invited to the global party in a way the league hasn\u2019t really been before, bringing stars, narratives and maybe even expectations (caveat emptor). The Sounders got a taste of this two years back with a brief appearance in the previous iteration of the CWC. Now they\u2019re back, and Bouanga\u2019s LAFC side is here, too, and then there\u2019s Miami, with Leo Messi<\/a> and friends.<\/p>\n For them, and the league as a whole, this is a measuring stick. And for any long-time MLS fan, or for any potential new fan checking this thing out, that\u2019s all part of the draw. We\u2019ll get answers to some questions \u2013 about depth, scheduling and whether anyone’s center backs can hold up in late June heat \u2013 but the door is open.<\/p>\n MLS clubs are hopefully about to step through.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It won\u2019t be the Sounders. Sorry to the Rave Green gang, who are beset by injury, but even if they were healthy, few would be picking them to get out of the Group of Death (Group B):<\/p>\n As Commissioner Don Garber said to gathered press in LA this week, clearly MLS teams are at the lower quadrant of Transfermarkt value. Transfermarkt values are a blunt, but useful instrument in assessing overall squad quality, and we\u2019re talking \u201cLeicester win the Premier League\u201d just for the Sounders to get out of the group.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Miami have an easier task in Group A:<\/p>\n I still don\u2019t like the Herons\u2019 chances, though, because I don\u2019t like the Herons\u2019 ability (lack thereof) to keep the game compact through midfield.<\/p>\n That might not matter against Al Ahly, a team I thought Seattle outplayed two years ago (they just couldn\u2019t finish, which is not unusual for MLS teams in February). But I\u2019d be shocked if it wasn\u2019t determinative against Palmeiras and Porto.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n On paper, two of LAFC\u2019s Group D matchups are tougher:<\/p>\n So why do I think the Black & Gold will have a better chance of getting out of the group? It comes down to their comfort playing against the ball and the likelihood they\u2019ll spend 180 minutes doing just that against Chelsea and Flamengo.<\/p>\n I’ve knocked them for their absorb-and-counter tactics in big games in the past, but they are good at it, and in Bouanga, they have an open-field goalscorer who gets moments against anybody in the world.<\/p>\n They also just went out and added<\/a> Dutch winger Javair\u00f4 Dilrosun from Club Am\u00e9rica, taking advantage of the pre-CWC window. Dilrosun\u2019s got real playmaking chops from the wing, especially in transition, which\u2026 yeah you can do the math.<\/p>\n I do see a way. There is a narrow way through.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The most authentic PSG fan I know called their 5-0 win over Inter Milan more than just a win; it was therapy. They finally got that Champions League monkey off their backs and are now part of the club whose door they\u2019ve been trying to batter down for a dozen years.<\/p>\n They were either the best or second-best team in the world (I still think a healthy Barcelona takes ’em) all year long, and there\u2019s no reason to think they\u2019ll look like anything other than that in this tournament. There is no pressure now, just freedom to press teams into submission, and to start adding the types of trophies that codify them as one of the world\u2019s great clubs.<\/p>\n Vitinha is my favorite central midfielder in the world (non-Pedri edition), pulling strings and flitting from pocket to pocket, often before you realize one\u2019s about to open up. Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 pressing is terrifying, and\u2026 look, I could just name all their guys. All their guys are great.<\/p>\n The same is true for Chelsea, Atleti, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. Any of those could win this thing and it wouldn\u2019t be a shock.<\/p>\n But the two other teams that will occasion the most comment this tournament are the remade Manchester City and Real Madrid sides. City spent $80 million last week, about half of which went to Frenchman Rayan Cherki, who is maybe the most exciting true No. 10 in the world right now. He\u2019s probably even ahead of Est\u00eav\u00e3o in terms of \u201cplayer casuals haven\u2019t heard of who could steal the whole show\u201d ratings.<\/p>\n Real Madrid\u2019s rebuild is going a little slower \u2013 their spectacular young No. 10, Franco Mastantuono, will actually be playing for River Plate in this tournament before officially making the move \u2013 but the defense has been reinforced (they spent \u00a310 million to get Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool a month early), and boy did that need to happen.<\/p>\n Maybe more important is Madrid are taking this whole thing very, very seriously (hence the \u00a310 million for a player they were getting for free as soon as the calendar turned). And they have a long history of winning tournaments they take seriously (including the 2022 iteration of this one, a record five times).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n There have been zero non-UEFA winners since Corinthians pulled off the upset over Rafael Ben\u00edtez-era Chelsea (derogatory) in 2012. That\u2019s the only non-UEFA winner of the past 17 years, though Flamengo (2019) and Palmeiras (2021) did, at least, take the final to extra time in recent memory.<\/p>\n Of course, that was a smaller tournament with fewer UEFA teams and lower stakes (read: less prize money).<\/p>\n Even for teams as great as the current versions of Flamengo, Palmeiras and River Plate, just getting to the semifinals would be a massive accomplishment that would likely require at least one massive upset.<\/p>\n Suffice it to say, I will be rooting for any non-UEFA team that makes it that far.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal \u2013 the most decorated team in Asian soccer history \u2013 actually got to the final in 2022, by the way. They have a double-handful of great players from around the world and many of the best Saudi players as well, and probably have the best shot of the non-Conmebol teams of crashing what looks destined to be a UEFA-only semifinal party.<\/p>\n That said, Pachuca made it to the final of the Intercontinental Cup last year (which is the annual tournament that replaced the old version of the CWC) before getting taken to the woodshed by Real Madrid.<\/p>\n So it can<\/em> happen. The ball, as they say, is round.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n I think there are three real choices: Seattle midfielder Obed Vargas<\/a>, LAFC forward Nathan Ordaz<\/a> or Miami attacker Telasco Segovia<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Of the three, I think Ordaz probably has the lowest ceiling. But given how mobile he is, how likely LAFC are to play on the break and how smart a complementary piece he\u2019s become in that attack, the stars feel aligned to give him the best chance of the three to shine.<\/p>\n I love Segovia, though. Truly:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n ????Gol de Telasco Segovia (21 a\u00f1os). Relato para la se\u00f1al de origen de Conmebol.????\ufe0f<\/p>\n Telasco-Brujo-Telasco-Navarro-Brujo-Bello-Navarro-Savarino-Segovia. Combinaci\u00f3n que desmuestra que los nuestros pueden juntarse a trav\u00e9s del pase. ????<\/p>\n “Cuando hay atrevimiento, hay premio”. \u26bd\ufe0f???????? pic.twitter.com\/K7CGtJD7IR<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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