Where does Major League Soccer stand in relation to the other world leagues? What is the quality when held next to global standard-bearers?
Would an average MLS side get flattened regularly in a top-tier Western European league, such as England's Premier League, Italy's Serie A, Germany's Bundesliga, or Spain's La Liga? ("Yes. And how badly?")
Could the rank-and-file MLS starter stand alongside his peers in South America's top associations in Brazil and Argentina, or in some of the worlds other heavyweight leagues, such as the top flights in Mexico, Holland, and Portugal?
A reasonable starting point is that MLS hasn't reached a level anywhere near the better top flight international associations.
MLS players and managers seem to generally agree on that point. How close is the 12-year-old MLS to getting there, to consistently rivaling the quality of EPL or La Liga’s primera division? On that point, disagreement ensues.
As for individual player quality, the last prominent player to arrive here from the pool of "average" in England's Premiership became a smash hit in MLS. Juan Pablo Angel's formerly prolific strike rate at Aston Villa in the Premier League had waned over the two seasons prior to his spring arrival at Red Bull New York.
Here he's clearly a class above the field, having already claimed MLS Player of the Month honors twice.
This would indicate that the quality of the average Premiership foot soldier is a significant notch above his MLS peer.
The players from the Coca-Cola League Championship seem more comparable to MLS athletes. For comparison shopping, there's no better place to start than Toronto FC, where coach Mo Johnston seems bent on fashioning Major League's Soccer's newest expansion side into a British football look-alike.
Jim Brennan has shown himself to be an average MLS defender at the very best, which is exactly what he was in the Coca-Cola Championship. He spent the bulk of his late 20s at Norwich City, where he was in and out of the lineup, never truly establishing himself as a starting fixture.
He moved on a free transfer to fellow Coca-Cola Championship side Southampton in 2006 but was released a few months later.
He is now a starter for Toronto, albeit for one of the league's more wobbly defenses.
Toronto FC teammate Danny Dichio spent the bulk of his long career in England's second tier, generally starting and scoring at a modest clip.
He made 63 appearances over two seasons (2005-07) for Preston North End, scoring five goals as the club bid unsuccessfully for promotion into the Premiership. That's a modest scoring rate by most standards.
Here, MLS doesn't compare as favorably. Dichio had five goals in his first 12 matches for Johnston's side and now forms one-half of a dangerous striking tandem alongside Jeff Cunningham.
So is it true what some British papers have said lately in the Beckham ballyhoo, that MLS soccer is closer in quality to England's third tier?
It is possible even the best MLS teams would not survive in the Premier League. They certainly wouldn't compete for honors, and they would plummet immediately into the relegation zone.
13 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Joe G 11 months ago
You claim that MLS' quality is below that of the Mexican league, yet the US National Team (even when playing with a lot of MLS players) has a pretty favorable record against the Mexicans over the past few years.
You're right in that MLS still has a few years to go before it is taken seriously, but everybody underestimates the quality of the league. Chivas Guadalajara expanded into America a few years ago thinking that their policy of signing only Mexican players would allow them to walk through the league. They got embarrassed. Other foreign players have remarked at the amazing levels of fitness and physicality displayed in MLS games.
Take a look at this article, I try my best to defend MLS.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/31611-american-soccer-what-mls-is-doing-well-right-now
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j snake 11 months ago
Luciano Emilio won player of the month twice (once in 2007 and once in 2008). Does that mean the Honduran league is on the level of the English Premier League?
OF course not. Your reasoning is skewed and flawed.
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jb 11 months ago
Jim Brennan an average defender?! What are you smoking?
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Jonathan Brown 11 months ago
I'm an American and MLS is America's premiere league. I lived in Europe for 11 years. I learned to love the sport while living in Europe. I continue to watch Europe soccer but I find the American game just as exciting. I think that the top MLS teams could hold their own in the middle of the English Premiere League and the bottom teams from MLS and the top teams from USL could hold their own in the English Coca Cola Championship League. MLS is still a young league . MLS is still proving itself.
Watch Superliga, CONCACAF Champions League over the next few years. I think you are going to see these leagues increase their wins in these international tournaments. I think in the not too distance future there will be some international superleague play between MLS and European leagues.
As MLS's fanbase continues to grow - so will the player salaries and opportunities for American players and international players. I think it's good for some top MLS players to go play in other World leagues. I'm glad to see more and more top players such as Angel, Beckham and Blanco (to name a few) come to MLS. MLS now has an outstanding youth player development system. The base of quality American player's continues to grow.
Most European's support their local professional teams no matter what division they are in. This is the way it should be. You can watch EPL on television. You can go a short distance and watch your local MLS or USL team. This makes the game significantly more exciting than watching the technical abilities of teams on television.
Stop worrying about the quality of MLS or USL. Just get out and support your hometown teams and your country's national team(s). Support your local youth soccer. Support your local junior high and high school teams. Support your university teams. As you do this - the quality will continue to grow.
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Danny Brown 11 months ago
Wow, you really need to do some research and get your facts right...
* "The last prominent player to arrive was Juan Pablo Angel" - While he's probably one of the higher profile names from England to come to the MLS, Laurent Robert of Toronto FC is a bigger name in terms of reputation in Europe. Add in Danny Dichio and Rohan Ricketts (who admittedly were never the cream of the crop in England, but are making a great name for themselves over here) and you have at least three players in Toronto that give Angel a run for his money.
* How can you possibly compare a new league like the MLS to the English game, or anywhere telse where football is a national sport? Remember, many teams in the English Premier league have been going for more than a hundred years so maybe your comparison can wait a few years yet? The fact that the league is beginning to attract the name players is a great example of how the MLS is beginning to earn respect throughout Europe and beyond.
* Jim Brennan has consistently won plaudits from fans, players, managers and the media alike - not bad for an "average defender". He has consistently shown himself to be one of the most solid and reliable defenders in the league - seriously, do your homework.
You had the chance to make a really good article here but blew it with some erroneous and basic generalization's. Try using Google next time...
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T SaadiQ Kamali 11 months ago
compared to the international game he is avergae by my standrads. he is not in the same class as a puyol, fernidad, alves, cannavaro etc. etc.
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T SaadiQ Kamali 11 months ago
Everyone knows that it will take years for MLS to catch up with La Liga and EPL. But still, people will compare.
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Danny Brown 11 months ago
The only people that will compare the MLS to the top leagues around the world are the ones that don't want it to succeed, and will use the same argument every time.
As I said, once/if the MLS reaches 50,60, even 100 years of existence, THEN it can be fairly compared to other, more established leagues.
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T SaadiQ Kamali 11 months ago
Angel, I beleive, is a higher quality than Robert, Dichio, and Ricketts.
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Danny Brown 11 months ago
No-one is saying he isn't - but putting him out as the only decent arrival from the Premier League is a misnomer.
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Danny Brown 11 months ago
Also, with regards your response about the player (I assume you're on about Brennan) not being in the same class as Puyol, Ferdinand, Alves, Cannavaro - you're right, he isn't. But then, how many defenders in the bigger football leagues are?
This is a guy that plays in the MLS - try comparing him to defenders in that league as opposed to ones that have been going for numerous years. That's when a fair comparison will be more visible.
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Tim Bator 11 months ago
You critique of this still young league is a little harsh i found. As other's have previously stated, the league has no-where near the history, nor the actual draw that these other "top flight" leagues do. Premiership football is watched even here in North America, whereas it is hard to find a man from Europe who has seen an MLS game. I will say that the MLS is certainly in a developmental stage, but so is soccer, of shall i say Futbol, on this continent. So perhaps it would be best to leave the comparison's to the greatest leagues in the world, involving the world's most popular sport, for a little while until the rest of us in this part of the planet have acclimatized to a game that doesn't stop every few minutes for a television break.
i love soccer and am an avid TFC fan, as well as a member of the Canadian team's supporters group. Believe me when i say we have to be patient....
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e sho 10 months ago
Pretty shoddy analysis -
First - Angel achieved a high level of success early in his stint in the premier league, until he was beset by injuries and had difficulty re-claiming his spot. He still performed in spot duty and was a fan favorite.
Also, your analysis of Dempsey is way off. Fulham has been a lower level side, but Dempsey has been influential in keeping them up in the EPL over the past year and a half, including important goals against big 4 sides.
Also, you have to consider some players who were marginal in MLS but were very solid and even performed better in the EPL than MLS - McBride is in this category, along with Simon Elliot.
Overall, MLS still trails the primary global leagues, but not by the margins some have speculated. The salary cap is a limiting factor in the near term, but is helping the league build and solid and sustainable foundation. The result is that MLS has far less depth but the overall quality is climbing quickly.
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