USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann said that MLS team owners' "'misconception' about his goals for the national team has led to the perception that he is at odds with the league," and he would "welcome the opportunity to sit down and explain his position," according to ESPN FC. Klinsmann said, "There is the feeling out there that MLS owners are not really on board, but it's because I was never given the opportunity to speak in front of them and explain the technical side of what we're doing with the national teams." He added, "So there's maybe a misconception with some people because I was never given the opportunity to explain, this, this, and this. There are very few people that can explain to you different levels of leagues, different levels of environments, different levels of continents." Klinsmann suggested that MLS owners' "limited perspective may be behind their differences." He said, "Our picture is the global picture. We need to know what England, Germany, and Spain are doing in Europe, and then Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay are doing in South America. But our benchmarks are internationally. So for a lot of people they define their world domestically, which is totally cool. They should think maybe a little bit more before saying things from the outside about the national team program" (ESPNFC.com, 1/23).
HOMEWARD BOUND: In Miami, Michelle Kaufman wrote Sounders F Jordan Morris' decision last week to turn down Bundesliga club Werder Bremen to play for his hometown team was a "great coup" for MLS. Anytime an elite American player "chooses to stay on U.S. soil rather than go overseas is another notch of validation for domestic leagues" (MIAMI HERALD, 1/24).
PRICE CHECK: SI.com's Grant Wahl said of the possibility of St. Louis getting an expansion MLS club, "The current market rate is $110 million. ... My guess is a St. Louis team wouldn’t have an expansion value that high, maybe more like Orlando -- they paid $70 million when they came into the league in 2015." He added, "A lot of people might not realize that, when they see they don’t spend billions on players, but these are wealthy owners, and that’s been the biggest hindrance to getting a team in St. Louis. There hasn’t been a billionaire who wants to bring MLS to St. Louis and commit to building a soccer-specific stadium" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/24).
