By Clemente Lisi - NEW YORK, NY (Aug 3, 2010) US Soccer Players -- The 1970’s are in vogue again. Women are stomping around in platform shoes, aviator glasses are a must-have accessory, and the musical “Hair” is a Broadway hit. The announcement on Sunday that the New York Cosmos have returned - with an eye towards joining MLS in the future - is another sign that what was popular over 30 years ago is back. The Cosmos revival could be another sign that this is the Summer soccer really has made its long-promised return to the mainstream American consciousness.
The Cosmos brand isn’t the only thing undergoing a revival. Some MLS teams appear to have embraced the throwback, free-spending days of the old Cosmos, who held a reunion Saturday featuring Pele and Giorgio Chinaglia.
“The most important thing you can do on the professional level is bring in good players and at least three superstars,” said former Brazil captain Carlos Alberto, who played for the Cosmos alongside Pele. “The American people love to see superstars.”
Major League Soccer has lived in fear of repeating the mistakes of the Cosmos and the North American Soccer League as a whole since the new League was launched in 1996. A business structure was put in place - known as single-entity - in an effort to contain costs and stop teams from drowning in a sea of red ink. The League has done well not to repeat the errors committed by the NASL, where several teams, spearheaded by the Cosmos, went scouring the globe looking to sign talent to multimillion-dollar contracts. The NASL was dominated by the star system. While the Cosmos were one of the few clubs that could afford to stack its roster with talent, the practice led to a league split into haves and have-nots.
15 years in, and MLS may be headed in the same direction. The New York Red Bulls, fresh off signing French striker Thierry Henry, unveiled Mexican defender Rafa Marquez on Tuesday to its ever-growing star-studded roster – making the team the only one in the League to have all three Designated Player slots filled. The other DP on the team is striker Juan Pablo Angel.
“Coming to New York and joining Major League Soccer was a chance that I could not refuse,” said Marquez. “I am committed to doing my very best to help the Red Bulls in their playoff push this season and compete for championships in the years to come.”
The 31-year-old Marquez is a veteran of three World Cups and played with Henry at Barcelona before signing with the Red Bulls. Although Marquez was a defender for the Spanish giants, he will likely play as a central midfielder to help the attack-minded Red Bulls try to make the playoffs.
The League has done a lot over the past 15 seasons to keep spending down, but the game’s growing popularity in this country has led to a loosening of the purse strings. Whether it is a positive step for a League still trying to build a fan base and compete against established sports remains to be seen. The rise, and eventual demise, of the NASL remains a model of what can go wrong with a league loaded with teams spending beyond its means.
It all started four months ago when the League announced that teams could sign a third Designated Player (the previous rule had limited it to two). Each player counts $335,000 against a team’s salary cap. Under the original Designated Player Rule guidelines established in 2007, the first DP counted $415,000 against the cap, with the second another $335,000. The rule change was an obvious attempt by the League to create an incentive for teams to buy marquee players.
The League, coming off the heels of a World Cup that saw record TV ratings, sees the move as one way of increasing attendance. The theory goes that if casual fans enjoyed watching big-name players in South Africa, then they will certainly go through the trouble of attending an MLS game if a few teams can sign some of these recognizable stars. At the season’s midway point, MLS has averaged 16,615 fans per game, an increase of nine percent compared to last season. For the Red Bulls, Marquez is an asset to a metropolitan-area loaded with passionate Mexican fans that now have a reason to go to Red Bull Arena.
In a conference call with reporters last April, Todd Durbin, MLS executive vice president for player relations and competition, said the DP rule was amended so that teams could put together a competitive team.
“What we’re trying to do is design a system that gives every team the opportunity to be successful,” he said.
It’s true that having more DP’s will elevate the quality of MLS, but at what cost? And when it comes to success, no team with a Designated Player has ever won the MLS Cup. Real Salt Lake won the title last year with no DP on its roster, defeating the David Beckham-led Los Angeles Galaxy on penalty kicks. Some DP signings have been total busts. Just ask Dallas FC about Brazilian midfielder Denilson and the Houston Dynamo about Mexican forward Luis Angel Landin.
Whether the League expected it or not, it has created disparity. When the season began, only five of the league's 16 teams had a DP on its roster - with the Galaxy featuring two in Beckham and Landon Donovan. Since the rule change, there are currently 12 DP’s on six teams: three in New York, two in LA, Toronto, Seattle, and Chicago, and one in DC. In competitive terms, that means 10 clubs do not have a designated player.
Big markets like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago demand star power, while smaller ones are already trending towards going without. MLS will without a doubt be a better product with more Designated Players, but at what price?
Clemente Lisi is the author of “A History of the World Cup: 1930-2006.” His new book "The US Women's Soccer Team: An American Success Story" will be available in June. Contact him at: CAL4477@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter at: twitter.com/ClementeLisi
A soccer league needs some disparity.
I agree that it will create disparity like in Europe, but I’m not so sure it’s a bad thing. It remains to be seen. I still don’t think that the Red Bulls or Galaxy will win MLS Cup and they have all the talent.
I think this is a two-edged sword for MLS. Alexi Lalas spoke against the expansion of the DP rule, or rather its consequences, at the All-Star game. He said that this young league should be wise to not repeat the mistakes of the NASL and expand to a point of collapse. That with the signing of Henry MLS teams are heading into a slippery-slope of too much too soon without the appropriate support to handle such big names.
I have to agree with him…to a point.
Now that Rafael Marquez has signed with the Red Bulls, the strong inclination to most is that NY is now loaded and the team that might have bought its MLS Cup. Having three DPs in the team certainly gives them a leg up on the competition–at least on paper. A team still has to play as a team instead of individuals on the same field. Can Henry and Angel continue the success they showed against Houston? Can Rafa alone make the NY defensive line a solid wall? All these questions still have to be answered, but once we know the outcome of this little investment by the Red Bulls, it could show a cautionary tale at the end of this season.
If New York fails to do anything in the playoffs, regardless if it indicated that they were looking at 2011 as the year to win it all, then it shows a real reason to not invest in names without a real guarantee that they can win with them. Having these three DPs (which are all over 30 by the way) may be the worst thing for the Red Bulls and the best thing for the rest of the league. Showing that DPs alone don’t make a winner, will definitely limit some of the other clubs out there from spending big money that they don’t really have. On top of that two of the three teams on top don’t have any DPs: Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake.
Even then, some teams that would love to have a DP can’t get one because of simple geography. Colorado has stated this season that it’s had talks with international players, but has had no luck because most of these international players see Denver as a small, insignificant town.
But having a DP isn’t the Pandora’s Box that Lalas makes it out to be. I think that wise teams could use that DP spot to promote improvement for the league and for longevity. I think the way Seattle used its DP to sign Alvaro Fernandez is brilliant. A young developing player from Uruguay and still in his prime, Fernandez can add an excellent backbone to that offense and yet he probably wasn’t as expensive as Henry was. Sure his name isn’t known through out the water coolers of soccer fans, but his impact would be much more significant to a team in transition like the Sounders are.
And that’s what MLS really has to do, get the players out there that have good solid skills, but that won’t kill your budget at the end.
Why not go to Japan, South Korea, South Africa, Australia for talent? The MLS can use its DPs to bring in young talent that would love to show the world that they can play. The MLS could be that place as the stepping stone to greater things.
This is a way DPs should be used for the betterment of the league and its teams.
Quality and entertainment, not parity are what we should be talking about now. The names are great….but the quality and style of play must elevate along with the salaries and headlines. Ultimately, crash and kick 0-0′s and 1-1′s all look the same, regardless of the names on the jerseys. Let’s hope the talent and tactics will evolve together.
Quality and entertainment, not parity are what we should be talking about now.
Agreed.
I’m kind of surprised to hear from this website. For many years Jay and others have hammered the league for the faux parity that single entity caused. Writers on this site have argued before that MLS needed to allow teams to grow stronger then others. We have that now. I just glade that the league isn’t just adding over the hill players but are bringing in young international talent.
I’m still wondering how Redbull talked Marquez into coming to MLS. He could have gone to another Euro team or even back to Mexico but he’s really chooseing to come here at 31 is really big for the league. Its going to be an exciting the playoff push over the next two months.
I don’t think the league will crash in burn b/c of over spending the same way NASL did. Single entity is much more built for this kind of thing. There is the revenue sharing and the fact that the league can halt a team from acquring a player if its going to far. Remember single entity means all the teams are own by the league and franchised out. I don’t think the league will allow itself to self-destruction. All the teams must work for the benefit of the parent company (MLS). But this is still a risk but the league felt it was the right time to push the needle a little more and see if they can hit pay dirt.
Wish Rafa would of gone to El Calcio or Premier League. I’m disappointed that he chose MLS but I can understand his perspective. A good retirement without the demands of European competition. Also, the potential marketability and Star treatment he’d get in the Bulls is unique plus the foreseen impact he could make in the MLS probably convinced him. Plus he’s closer to family in a shorter league, gets winters off and is able to over see his business in Guadalajara. One thing he did make clear. He’d never return to the FMF(Mexican League) because it’s all about the owners making money and not the quality of the game to improve. Which is way true. These owners do what’s convenient to them and not the player.
I’m kind of surprised to hear from this website. For many years Jay and others have hammered the league for the faux parity that single entity caused.
There’s no party line here. I don’t have to agree with what a writer wants to say for it to make it on the site. And for what it’s worth, I haven’t changed my opinion on single-entity or ‘faux parity,’ a phrase I quite like.
Bottom line, the one thing that this league has that the NASL didn’t,… stadiums. In addition to SUM there are at least two clear and consistent revenue streams that help to ensure the liquidity of the league. FC Dallas has had horrible attendance and tv numbers for years but just two years ago were one of the few profitable franchises in the league. In addition, there are more rules in place to ensure that teams only spend money if they can and the others have their salaries protected by the league. Cost controls, more consistent revenue streams, and revenue sharing in the form of the 3rd DP luxery tax,… bottom line, it may not be parity but it is far from the NASL. False alarm.
2/11 or 3/11 is not that much of a difference. Teams will still be able to keep their identities. Young American players will be able to learn from star players, and most probably the stars will attract larger audiences, so it’s a win/win situation if you ask me.
DP’s will hurt the league. Let’s help US players grow. Look at what has happened in leagues in Europe. Foreigners have taken over and hurt the domestic growth. Just look at Italy and England!!! That’s not progress.
Jim, The league needs to sale tickets and get better TV ratings. The league needs to push its on-field quality and its competitiveness. We’ve seen 15 years of growing players and MLS will continue to as thats what makes the league viable. But DPs and foreign talent is what is filling out the rosters which would be impossible w/o the imported talent. Its a necessary evil.