Eventually. The MLS is going to have the most amazing FIFA 19 FUT lineup in... 2024.
That said, I can completely understand why players do it. You get paid a shedload of money, you'll still be famous but not the kind of oppressive fame that soccer stars get in Europe and as opposed to Qatar or China, coming to the U.S. won't be as much of an insane culture change, especially if you end up in NY/LA/etc. All you need to do is put up with a few sub-par stadiums and being a level or two above most of your teammates technically. As far as retirement plans go, it's pretty solid.
Griezmann is absolutely going to make his decision based on which city has the best NBA team though. 
I feel like I read that Griezmann and Clint Capela were friends from the same French athletic academy. Unless I'm misremembering he was supporting the Rockets a couple years ago due to that.
So, I hope you're right! 
The Euro-to-MLS thing has about a 50/50 strike rate. A lot of these guys come in and don't realize what the travel's going to be like, how they're going to be playing in the snow in Toronto one week and in 100% humidity in Houston the next, how MLS players compensate for technicality with athleticism, etc. The guys that seem to adapt are either consumate professionals, supremely skilled, or giant weirdos.
I have to say, as a Houston native, just sitting in the stands for evening games is kind of miserable. Dang weirdo MLS summer schedule.
One day, they'll put a team in Phoenix and some player from Europe will wonder how in the hell Americans manage to play sports on the surface of the sun.
Sigh.
You would think that after 23 years, RB would learn how to play in the playoffs.
Props to Zack Steffen for that last save, though. That one moment will likely define this whole series.
One day, they'll put a team in Phoenix and some player from Europe will wonder how in the hell Americans manage to play sports on the surface of the sun.
You mean like Phoenix Rising FC, who won the USL Western Conference yesterday because of a 73' goal from 40-year-old Didier Drogba?
U.S. ends 2018 stuck in neutral with questions over manager, depth, playing style
Sure, Tyler Adams looks like a future mainstay, as does Weston McKennie. Ethan Horvath's spectacular performance against Italy, one in which he delivered several stellar saves, showed that concerns about the state of the U.S. keeper pool were perhaps premature.But players such as Adams, McKennie and Horvath are in line with what the U.S. has produced in the past. The reality is there are simply not enough players who show the requisite comfort on the ball needed to keep possession and compete with the world's better teams, never mind the best. That was evident once again against Italy.
"We just couldn't get a hold of the ball," Christian Pulisic said. "We couldn't move forward as a team."
This isn't a new problem, of course. It's an area where the U.S. has long struggled. Yet at present, the issue is so acute that it almost makes the emergence of a promising striker such as Josh Sargent moot. If the U.S. can't find a way to get him or Pulisic the ball in dangerous spots, it will be nearly impossible for the team to begin to resurrect itself.
This has been the issue for years now, and I wonder if we'll ever get a "fix" for it. The US doesn't have to dominate possession in every game 70-30, but if we can't intelligently recycle the ball and attack with it when we're in possession, we are absolutely screwed and will never rise above "second best in CONCACAF."
The USSF really needs to address the dearth of technical ability in American soccer, because it's literally affecting our ability to compete.
Yep. These last couple showings have been pretty depressing.
It's a unfair comparison, but check out this GIF of Leonardo Bonucci.
It's not even that we don't have Center-backs that composed on the ball and capable of passing half that well (I'd argue the USMNT CBs might not even be a third as good), excluding Pulisic, I don't know if we have anyone on the entire squad capable of anything close to that.
We've got all these kids that are in or getting looks from Europe, but they're all young and we aren't remotely a cohesive team. I hope the manager they hire has some kind of system.
Man, I wish I could be concerned about our ability to produce world class passers, but right now, I'm a little worried that we're just going to not hire a coach for a couple of years:
My God. We've been without a manager since October 2017. That is, honestly, embarrassing, as we really needed someone to step into the breach by this time last year to set the path towards 2022. The Gold Cup starts in just over six months, and not having someone by now is a enormous own-goal.
My God. We've been without a manager since October 2017. That is, honestly, embarrassing, as we really needed someone to step into the breach by this time last year to set the path towards 2022. The Gold Cup starts in just over six months, and not having someone by now is a enormous own-goal.
This is pretty messed up, indeed. In times past people actually lobbied for this job.
People have been lobbying for this job. Julen Lopetegui (ex-Spain manager) expressed interest last week, and was told they were already too deep in the hiring process to consider someone else at this stage.
With someone else, I'd say they should let him in anyway, but given how Lopetegui's 2018 has gone, I'm going to assume that's a very diplomatic way of saying "Thank you, but no" and I'm fine with it (even if he's probably the most "qualified" candidate available).
With someone else, I'd say they should let him in anyway, but given how Lopetegui's 2018 has gone, I'm going to assume that's a very diplomatic way of saying "Thank you, but no" and I'm fine with it (even if he's probably the most "qualified" candidate available).
Absolutely. Have a non-disaster first, please.
As the NY Red Bulls enjoy yet another season with a Supporter's Shield but no MLS Cup, I can only imagine how confusing/infuriating that experience must be for European players coming from a place where, generally, the team with the best record in the regular season, y'know, wins.
I'm not casting judgement, particularly, I just imagine it's gotta be nuts to show up and be like "wait a minute, we played 38 games, had the best record and didn't win the title?"
As the NY Red Bulls enjoy yet another season with a Supporter's Shield but no MLS Cup, ...
My wife was wondering why I couldn't bring myself to watch the game tonight.
Sigh.
5 Stripes!
ESPN is reporting it's Berhalter.
A team from Atlanta not only got a lead in a Championship game and held it, but won to boot!
The game was a bit meh, but good for ATL. They were easily the class of the MLS this season, and their fans showed out all season long.
They were easily the class of the MLS this season
What an odd thing to say about a team that finished second in the table.
Congrats to them, though, they really are deserving champions.
I will credit them when they put something in the damn trophy cabinet for once! 
Zack Steffen is unlikely to ever play for Man City. So why did he join them?
Good article, I think. I'm fine with American talent going overseas to improve in ways they simply won't in the MLS right now, but that's assuming they get to play.
Even more peculiar was City’s move for Mix Diskerud, a solid but unspectacular semi-regular USA international who had been deemed not good enough for NYC FC. Diskerud was then loaned out to IFK Goteborg before joining Ulsan Hyundai in South Korea until this summer. There’s not a chance that he will ever turn out for Guardiola, unless Guardiola one day needs someone with an in-depth knowledge of Gothenburg’s best restaurants.
I'd forgotten about that. I have no idea why Diskerud left to join City, other than $$$, which, fair enough, I guess.
Christian Pulisic's splashy transfer exposes gaping flaws in US Soccer
As a new year commences so too does a period of reflection on the past 12 months and what potentially waits ahead. When trying to evaluate the state of US Soccer few conclusions seem more fitting than the start to Charles Dickens’ classic A Tale of Two Cities. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Christian Pulisic realises his dream by moving to the Premier League
Read moreAfter all, we are just days into January and Christian Pulisic has broken the record for a transfer involving an American. His $73m move from Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea far exceeds the previous record held by John Brooks when he relocated from Hertha Berlin to VfL Wolfsburg for $22.4m in 2017 and it also makes Pulisic the third most expensive player aged 20 or younger, behind Kylian Mbappé and former Dortmund teammate Ousmane Dembélé.
Elsewhere, there is a steady emergence of US talent. Some had already agreed transfers to Europe ahead of the new year, such as Tyler Adams and Zack Steffen who will join RB Leipzig and Manchester City respectively. Then there are those already in Europe such as Bundesliga duo Weston McKennie at Schalke and the promising Werder Bremen striker Josh Sargent, to name but a few.
Unfortunately, the optimism centered around what these players could bring to US Soccer is cast alongside a poor couple of years for the federation. Failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup was equal parts embarrassing and devastating. The subsequent process to hire Gregg Berhalter took almost a year and felt turgid, poorly organized, and only ever focused on one candidate – it was hardly a comforting first step into a new era.
It is also one of the reasons there is so much pressure on Pulisic. A move to Chelsea comes with a degree of expectation, but at what level will depend on the club’s summer business. Chelsea are a club in transition. Both Willian and Pedro are in their 30s, and there is also uncertainty surrounding Eden Hazard’s future at the club.
As if that was not stressful enough the 20-year-old is also seen as the poster boy for US Soccer. Although there are many talented players within the system, it is Pulisic that is seen as having the most potential. Put simply, he is the man to drive the country forward.
Unfortunately, his own situation also serves to highlight why there are still many flaws in the US system. The Pulisic family likely celebrated their son’s life-changing move to Stamford Bridge, but what of young Christian’s youth team, the PA Classics? They should, in theory, be due a solidarity payment estimated to be around $547,000, which is a vast sum to any youth club.
Fifa has two youth development regulations: Training Compensation & Solidarity Payments. When a player is sold overseas, up to 5% of the transfer fee is set aside to be distributed to the youth clubs involved in his training and is known as a Solidarity Payment. The exact amount depends on how much time the player spent at the youth clubs between his 12th and 23rd birthday.
The PA Classics are unlikely to receive that, however, due to the fact the US does not participate in FIFA’s Solidarity Payments System. At the time of writing, Washington based youth club Crossfire Premier have submitted a petition to Fifa’s Dispute Resolution Center arguing that the club is entitled to collect solidarity payments for its involvement in DeAndre Yedlin’s development.
This is viewed by many as a landmark moment in U.S. Soccer. If Fifa find in favor of Crossfire they would be entitled to a substantial sum of money from MLS in the wake of Yedlin’s transfer to Tottenham Hotspur in 2014.
Feels like this is another area where MLS and probably SUM are keeping our youth development system crappy. As many have pointed out, solidarity payments could help offset the pay to play system. If you can get rewarded for training a great player, suddenly you're incentivized to train the best kids regardless of their economic background. Right now the incentive is to train the best kids from families who are reasonably well-off.
Two in two for young Timmy Weah at Celtic. I think it's a good move for him, since he just wasn't going to get regular playing time behind Neymar/Cavani/Mbappe (even though Neymar just got injured, Di Maria is right behind him).
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