MLS weekend preview: where is the outrage over Fifa in US soccer circles?
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Version 0 of 1. Outrage in MLS has yet to match allegations of Concacaf graft On Wednesday evening, whilst other MLS clubs were playing meaningful league matches, Toronto FC hosted Manchester City for a friendly. After the final whistle, local and international media assembled for a brief press conference, where Manuel Pellegrini and Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney were asked their opinions on the day’s events, when Swiss police apprehended seven Fifa officials as part of a US Department of Justice indictment. Both coaches waved the questions away, essentially claiming they hadn’t paid attention but hoped justice would be served. Their responses were understandable. The rolling, complex drama in Zurich can sometimes feel distant, a reality show for governance wonks. And yet the latest Fifa scandal, as Simon Evans wrote for the Guardian on Thursday, cuts a large swathe through US soccer. It was after a federal US indictment that led to Concacaf president Jeffrey Webb’s arrest and subsequent banning from football by Fifa. Meanwhile Traffic Sports USA, a company implicated in the DOJ allegations, was a major founding partner in the North American Soccer League, and the Copa América Centenario, the first Copa tournament to be hosted in the United States and regarded as a major stepping stone in improving the US national team, was allegedly organized on the back of $110m in bribes. What all of this will mean for MLS is not yet certain; maybe nothing. It’s a surprise there hasn’t been more anger. Whether it’s because the details are too overwhelming, or the focus too centred on Fifa and Blatter rather than those accused of siphoning millions of dollars from Concacaf stretching back decades, the outrage in American soccer circles, including MLS, has yet to match the alleged crime. Parity time in the Eastern Conference? It was only a few weeks ago when the Montreal Impact were incapable of improving on their dreadful 2014 season, and the Philadelphia Union were a club in full blown crisis mode destined to finish dead last. But this is MLS, of course, so now Montreal are riding a two game win-streak on the back of the form of Argentinian Ignacio Piatti, who had a goal and assist in his last outing, a 2-1 home win over FC Dallas. Meanwhile the Philadelphia Union have managed back-to-back wins of their own, managing to defeat the New York Red Bulls away from home with goals from CJ Sapong and Vincent Nogueira. Meanwhile the ostensible “top” of the East are doing their bit to keep things interesting by dropping points galore; New England has managed three draws and a loss in their last four matches, Columbus have a loss and draw in their last two, and the Red Bulls have won only one game in their last six. Even league leaders DC United have got in on the act after a strong start to the season amid underwhelming performances: their three-game road trip has produced only a single point, a 1-1 draw against the Revs. This weekend Philadelphia visit a fatigued DC United for a rematch of the 17 May game in which the Union’s Zach Pfeffer stole the match with a 93rd minute goal for a 1-0 Philly win. Back then, the Union were underdogs, DCU strong favourites. We were so naive. Will Los Angeles’ slow improvement continue against Revs? It would be tempting, and possibly wrong, to look at the LA Galaxy’s recent run of form and conclude everything is back to normal again for the MLS Cup champions. Though the team’s makeshift defensive line – with midfielder Baggio Husidic continuing to fill in at leftback – posted their second straight shutout this past week, there are still issues going forward. After Juninho put a seventh-minute penalty away this past Wednesday night, LA were content to sit back a little, posting 12 shots to RSL’s 10 along the way to a 1-0 victory, not exactly an attacking masterclass at home. Not that this will concern Galaxy coach Bruce Arena. For one, it’s only May. For another, the increasingly vital Robbie Keane is still returning to full fitness, only putting in 45 minutes. Finally, as we’ve already seen, this is MLS; LA’s two one-goal wins have put it in within three points of their 2014 rivals, the Seattle Sounders. The Galaxy will face the New England Revolution on Saturday, another team attempting to restake their claim to the top of their respective conference (though without Lee Nguyen and Chris Tierney on red-card suspensions). They’ll prove a sterner test than RSL and Houston, and provide an opportunity for Arena’s team to get a better balance in attack and defense. Orlando City with chance to leapfrog the uneven Columbus Crew Orlando City were just another run-of-the-mill MLS expansion side until their 4-0 rout of the LA Galaxy two weeks ago, a victory which raised eyebrows and expectations that Adrian Heath’s side could do something special in a topsy-turvy Eastern Conference. Though the club followed that up with a 1-1 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes, a game which saw vital full-back Brek Shea sent off in the 51st minute, there is still a sense the club won’t be a pushover as summer approaches. Certainly a victory against the Columbus Crew at home would do much to shore up that image. Though still without Shea and defender Aurelien Collins to help stave off the threat of players like Kei Kamara, who scored a brace last weekend in a 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fire, Orlando’s Cyle Larin and Kaka have proved an intriguing and deadly partnership up front. A victory for the home side at the Citrus Bowl this weekend would put Orlando City ahead of the Crew by a single point, and stoke hopes that the club could be the first MLS franchise to make the playoffs in their inaugural season since the Seattle Sounders five years ago. Whitecaps aren’t in a slump … yet Vancouver Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson is no dummy. When asked if his Vancouver Whitecaps are “slumping” after two shutout losses against the Sounders and Colorado in a league where last year’s MLS Cup finalist dropped eight straight games midway through the season, he responded diplomatically: “Football is fine lines. Which is why when you get fine lines, especially in Major League Soccer, you look around the league and you can read into it what you want about how well a team is doing based upon results. You can think a team is going through a slump, but they’re still mid-table. A team’s struggling, but they win two on the trot and the team’s at the top of the table. Teams go through little spurts. It’s a very fine line in the league in general, but when you’re on, you’ve got to be on. In other words, this is MLS, a league where you stick with what works until it doesn’t and then you don’t panic, you retool, and you get a couple of wins here and there. Sports! Even so, at home in BC Place against an inconsistent Real Salt Lake one spot outside the playoff line (although on a 17 point total that would be good enough for third place in the East), the Whitecaps, should have reason to hope for a turnaround. Or not. |