There was "plenty of top-tier talent on display at StubHub Center" during yesterday's NYC FC-Galaxy match, the result of an "impressive season" of international acquisitions for MLS, according to Noah Smith of the N.Y. TIMES. Even "luckier for the league -- and in contrast with years past -- this game also featured a new type of star player on the MLS stage," Galaxy F Giovani dos Santos, who chose to play in the U.S. "despite being coveted by European teams and, perhaps more important, is under 30 and in his prime." With dos Santos, MLS "now has a world-class player in his prime." For the league, and his new team, it "certainly does not hurt that he is the Mexican national team’s star." dos Santos’ impact was "felt before Sunday’s game, which sold out more than a week ahead of time." Before the game, Galaxy fans "tailgated in the parking lot," and many were "first-timers who said that the signing of dos Santos was a factor in their giving MLS another look." The game was "hyped about as much as a regular-season professional soccer game has ever been" in the U.S., and on "many accounts, it delivered" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/24). In L.A., Kevin Baxter notes a "sellout crowd of 27,000" attended the game, and it was also seen by "an international television audience." More than 300 credentialed media members attended -- "triple the total for a typical Galaxy game." Galaxy D Omar Gonzalez said, "There was a lot of buzz around this game. It did feel like an important game, maybe a little bit more than it was. Because it really is just a regular-season game." Galaxy GM & coach Bruce Arena said of the atmosphere at yesterday's match, "This will eventually become a norm in this league, not only here, but in all the venues around the league. We've come light years. Today was maybe a bit of recognition of the growth of the league" (L.A. TIMES, 8/24).
FOREIGN FLAVOR: The L.A. TIMES' Baxter noted a majority of MLS players this season -- 50.9% -- "were born outside the U.S.," something that has "never happened before." Galaxy MF Steven Gerrard said, "There's a buzz about the league. People want to be a part of that." Galaxy President Chris Klein said, "The quality of our league is getting better. ... More teams are spending. It's not just the Galaxy. You have Toronto. You have New York. You have Orlando." Baxter wrote the development of domestic players was "among the league's founding principles, and that too had been affected by the influx of players from overseas." But while the percentage of U.S.-born players in MLS has "dropped dramatically in the last 12 years," from a high of 68.7% in '04 to 49.1% this season, expansion has "helped the overall number of domestic players in the league to grow to 247 this season, the second-highest total ever" (L.A. TIMES, 8/23). Gerrard said of the quality of play in MLS, "A lot better than I thought. It surprised me. I think the level is very good. The level's a lot stronger than what people's opinions' suggested before I came" (MLSSOCCER.com, 8/23).
HEY, BIG SPENDERS: SI.com's Brian Straus wrote building an MLS winner without highly paid designated players will "likely prove more difficult as the league grows." Spending "continues to rise," and if MLS "intends to reach its stated goal of being one of the world’s top leagues by 2022, it will have to spend even more." What the league and its several owners "now understand is that big-name players will attract the attention, attendance and TV viewership that will finance the necessary growth." There are still teams that "don’t spend to that level." As of last month, NYC FC MF Frank Lampard alone was "making more than the full roster of 12 MLS clubs." Thanks to "savvy scouting, chemistry and good coaching, some of those teams are successful." But they "don’t necessarily move the needle, especially on TV." As soccer grows in the U.S. and Canada, fans will "demand a product that looks more like the one produced in the sport’s leading countries." The pressure to "invest in top talent, and then win by filling in smartly around them, will only increase" (SI.com, 8/22).
