20. Los Angeles FC
Total revenue: $155 millionEBITDA: $13 millionDebt as a percentage of value: 17%
Match day: N/ACommercial: N/ABroadcasting: N/A
Country: United StatesLeague: Major League SoccerLeague championships: 1Owner(s): Bennett Rosenthal, Brandon Beck, Larry BergStadium: BMO Stadium – 22,000 seating capacity
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New York Times
16 hours ago
- New York Times
MLS's calendar, roster changes aren't happening yet, but it's a matter of time
AUSTIN, Texas — Major League Soccer is moving forward. That was the message from commissioner Don Garber on Wednesday night ahead of the MLS All-Star Game. While the league's board of governors did not officially vote on any changes during its meeting this week, MLS is moving toward what could be significant changes, albeit at its own deliberate pace. Advertisement The league is weighing three tiers of major changes that would restructure what MLS looks like. It would be a new MLS — or what Garber branded as MLS 3.0. The first tier is flipping the calendar to a fall-spring format. The change would align MLS with the FIFA international calendar, allow teams to better leverage transfer windows and align the playoffs in a more attractive part of the year for the league's media partners. 'We believe that that alignment is something that makes sense,' Garber said. Official vote or not, that's as strong an endorsement as you'll get from the commissioner. He's doing it because there is a broad amount of ownership support. Flipping the calendar is a delicate dance that has many moving parts. It will force some northern markets to alter their stadiums and training facilities. It will upend when MLS plays its most important games. It's not a small step. 'Making this change is seismic,' Garber said. 'It's not something we should do lightly. We obviously have teams across multiple climate zones, multiple time zones, unlike any other league in the world, and if we do make the change, we're not going to go back on that decision.' But the board is behind it. One source told The Athletic that an unofficial straw poll conducted here indicated as many as 27 of 30 owners in favor of the change. The second tier of change would reformat the competition itself – changing the structure of the regular season and playoffs. 'It's going to make the regular season more meaningful,' Garber said. 'It'll be more aligned with the rest of the world in terms of how they play their competition. And I think our playoff format will be really cool, really unique, very different from anything that happens in North America.' The third — and most important tier — is what Garber called 'a review of our entire roster strategy.' Modernizing MLS's roster rules to allow it to truly compete in the global market, and by extension field more competitive teams. Advertisement MLS's roster strategy was built to limit costs as the league went through its growth phase. If we're entering MLS 3.0 now, MLS 2.0 was about building out infrastructure and permanence. League owners poured billions of dollars into soccer-specific stadiums and world-class training facilities. If MLS can turn some of that financial heft into the on-field product, the games we see on the field will improve. The hope is that eventually leads to bigger audiences, which in turn leads to more media revenue. As it stands now, MLS can't truly compete against other leagues with the system that exists now — whether that's in the Concacaf Champions Cup or the FIFA Club World Cup. Those three tiers of changes could completely redefine MLS as a league. They would also enhance other areas Garber discussed Wednesday, including strengthening the player development pipeline and continued investment in new stadiums (Miami, New York and Chicago are set to open new buildings in 2026, 2027 and 2028, respectively) and the continued evolution of the league's media partnership with Apple. Garber mentioned making it 'easier for our fans to get access to our game.' Of the major reforms Garber said: 'It is about moving forward, as we always do, with energy and with purpose and with ambition. It is about the next era of growth for our league.' That leads to a natural follow-up question: If it's all such a game-changer, then why hasn't it happened yet, and what's the hold-up? The X factor is the collective bargaining agreement. In order to flip the calendar, MLS needs the MLS Players Association's approval. Overhauling the roster rules will also require a new agreement. The current CBA is set to expire on Jan. 31, 2028. If MLS is going to make these changes in 2027, it'll have to rework the deal earlier than expected. Advertisement At this point, MLS and the MLSPA have not had any discussions about amending the current CBA or sitting down to potentially negotiate a new agreement on an earlier timeline. The players would be incentivized to do so. Changing the roster rules would likely put more money in the system and more flexibility in how to spend it. But tensions between the MLS and MLSPA flared around bonuses for the FIFA Club World Cup. The relationship feels strained. Nevertheless, if the goal is to put these changes into effect by 2027 — one year after what will be a transformational 2026 World Cup — the two sides need to get started as soon as possible. MLS already missed the opportunity to fully leverage 2026 by introducing these changes coming out of a tournament that millions of American sports fans will watch. The goal has to be to get an agreement done in time to hammer home that MLS 3.0 is coming with a marketing blitz during next summer's tournament. It's clear the league needs to grow, but MLS is being cautious. The CBA is a not-insignificant hurdle toward progress. Garber endorsing the changes on Wednesday night was at least a step in the right direction. MLS 3.0 is coming. How fast it can get here – and how impactful it can be – will determine the next phase of the league's story.
New York Post
21 hours ago
- New York Post
Lionel Messi daring MLS to punish him by no-showing All-Star Game
While Major League Soccer's biggest stars will take the pitch in Austin, Texas, Lionel Messi won't be one of them. The Inter Miami star will not participate in Wednesday's MLS All-Star Game, despite being voted onto the roster, and raises an interesting conundrum for the league. By not participating in the MLS All-Star Game for any reason other than an injury, Messi is flouting league rules that would make him eligible to be suspended for one game. Advertisement Lionel Messi could face a suspension for skipping the MLS All-Star Game. ISI Photos via Getty Images An MLS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post, but did tell The Athletic that the 'league office needs to speak with the club before we confirm player availability for Saturday.' Inter Miami is scheduled to face Cincinnati on Saturday in its final regular-season game before the league pauses for the Leagues Cup tournament. Advertisement Inter Miami's head coach, Javier Mascherano, had expressed a desire for Messi, and Jordi Alba, to rest instead of playing in the All-Star Game. 'The players are called up, I would like them to be able to rest but that is not my decision,' he said ahead of Miami's win over the Red Bulls last weekend. Alba is not participating in the All-Star Game as well. Lionel Messi (l.) and Inter Miami teammate Jordi Alba (r.) are both skipping the MLS All-Star Game. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Advertisement Messi missed last year's festivities due to the ankle injury he suffered in the 2024 Copa América final and Alba did take part in the skills challenge and All-Star match against stars from Liga MX. The Liga MX All-Stars will include Monterrey defender and former Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos. MLS has enforced its rule regarding players skipping the All-Star Game in the past, including against Zlatan Ibrahimović when he was a member of the LA Galaxy in 2018. Ibrahimović had sharply criticized the policy and in comments to reporters, he said that 'I come from a different world, I come from the real world.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
The most aggressive set-piece team in the world plays in Minnesota
Not many soccer players are as passionate about dead balls as Anthony Markanich. Then again Minnesota United, under the 33-year-old first-time head coach Eric Ramsay, don't play soccer like most teams. 'All the guys get really excited about set pieces, especially myself,' Markanich gushed last Friday after scoring a goal off a long throw-in by the center back Michael Boxall for the second time in a week. 'I told Boxy I love when he has the ball for throw-ins and stuff – I get so excited about that.' The wingback's match-winner against FC Dallas marked the third straight game Minnesota have scored from a long throw into the penalty area. It was their sixth throw-in goal before the MLS All-Star break – which falls about two-thirds of the way through the season. That's as many as Brentford's famous long throws produced all last season in the Premier League. Even though they're chucking more balls into the box than any Major League Soccer side in at least a decade, long throws might not be the Loons' most distinctive set piece routine. They've also borrowed a page from Sean Dyche's playbook by bringing their goalkeeper up to wallop free kicks into the opposition's box from around the halfway line, where almost any other team would tap the ball sideways to resume ordinary midfield possession. Minnesota's oddball tactics aren't just outliers in MLS. According to an analysis by Soccerment, a soccer data company, they take more long throws and deep free kicks than any other club in 30 of the world's top leagues, from the Bundesliga to the Brasileirão. The low-budget overachievers sitting third in the MLS Western Conference just might be the most aggressive set piece team on the planet. Ramsay's commitment to putting any possible dead ball into the mixer may look strange, even old-fashioned, but there's evidence to support continuing to do it. Across leagues, seasons and playing styles, long throws into the box are twice as likely to lead to a goal in the next 30 seconds as other throw-ins in the final quarter of the pitch. The same goes for deep free kicks into the 'Dyche Zone' at the top of the opponent's box, which are twice as valuable as other free kicks taken between the edge of a team's defensive third and the halfway line. Like the Moneyball-era Oakland A's, Minnesota found an analytical edge out of financial necessity. Ramsay's squad ranks 26th out of 30 MLS teams for player compensation, which has put an expensive passing game all but out of reach. 'It's not that we're a club that is unwilling to spend, but since I've been here, there's been a real efficiency drive,' he said. 'Ultimately where we use set plays, it comes from wanting to squeeze every advantage that we possibly can from the group of players that we've got.' Ramsay joined the MLS side last year from an assistant role at Manchester United, where he studied how teams like Brentford, Newcastle and Dyche's Burnley used direct set pieces to punch above their weight in the Premier League. 'Obviously it's not escaped my attention that teams with smaller budgets can out-compete teams right at the top end through set plays,' he said. 'It was one of the things I looked at from afar and thought prior to coming in that we could find an advantage.' In the Twin Cities, he found a squad well suited for long set pieces. Their strengths are a sturdy defensive line and a pair of tall strikers who excel on fast breaks, so there hasn't been much downside to bypassing midfield possession for booming free kicks from the goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair or throw-ins from the New Zealand international Boxall, who can hurl the ball 30 yards from a near-standstill. 'I think particularly when it comes to how we use throw-ins and deep free kicks, we probably give away between five and 10% what would be very easy possession in order to be high value in those situations,' Ramsay explained. 'If we wanted to have 47% of the ball consistently, we could do it like that. We would just choose to use set plays in a different way.' Their unstoppable long throw-ins can look hilariously easy. Markanich's two goals last week came from near-mirror image throws to a trio of Minnesota players jostling for position at the near corner of the six-yard box while he waited behind them in the center of goal and the striker Kelvin Yeboah peeled off from the penalty spot to help hunt for a flick-on header. 'Everyone's just wanting to flick the ball on,' Markanich said. 'I think everyone knows their roles, especially on set pieces.' Deep free kicks have more tactical variety depending on where they're taken, but every set piece starts from principles that Ramsay rattles off like a pop quiz: 'Do you have the right number of players in the contact area? Is the thrower or the set piece taker able to, with a real degree of accuracy, put the ball into a certain spot? Are you really well set for the second contact, and are the players on the move for the second contact? 'How is it that when the ball breaks to the edge of the box for a second, third or fourth phase, you can recycle the ball in order to get a second or third chance and continually upgrade the quality of your opportunity as you go?' This is the big idea behind Ramsay's set pieces: not that they'll score every time from a perfect routine, but that by using each stoppage to cram a bunch of bodies and the ball into a small area around the opponent's goal, his side can force errors, win second balls and string together chance after chance, set piece after set piece, always ratcheting up the pressure. New phase-of-play data from the livescore app Futi supports this line of thought. (I co-founded Futi with the data scientist Mike Imburgio, who consults on Minnesota's recruitment but isn't involved with set pieces.) Though only 14% of Minnesota's throw-ins into the box produce a shot, they lead to another set piece 20% of the time. Similarly, 45% of the team's deep free kicks reach a second phase where the ball bounces around the box while the defense is still disorganized. The Loons haven't managed a single shot in the first phase of a Dyche Zone free kick but they've scored three goals during those dangerous second phases, plus another from a subsequent corner kick. Add it all up and the value of Minnesota's aggressive set pieces is astonishing: their 10 goals within 45 seconds of a long throw or deep free kick represent nearly a third of the team's season total. Though their entire squad earns about half of Lionel Messi's salary at Inter Miami, Minnesota are perched above Miami in the Supporters Shield standings and doing a pretty good job of recreating Messi in the aggregate just by lobbing dead balls into the box. Related: The Club World Cup has shown MLS the cost of capping ambition Fans have bought into a style that might have been a tough sell if it weren't so hard to argue with results. 'There's a bit of an aura around us in set plays, particularly at home,' Ramsay said. 'Our crowd are wild for set plays. At corners, every single member of the crowd is swinging the scarf around.' After years of decline, long throws into the box are on the upswing in MLS and the Premier League. A new generation of managers such as Eddie Howe and Graham Potter are reconsidering deep free kicks, which like Dyche himself had fallen out of fashion as too 'pragmatic.' What looks exotic now may one day be as normal as putting kickoffs out of bounds near the corner flag or building out of the back from a short goal kick. 'I don't think anything we do is rocket science. I don't think it will take the opposition long to work out what sits behind our success,' Ramsay said of his team's extraordinary set piece record after the win in Dallas. 'But stopping it is very different.'
