A watchability ranking of all 23 MLS teams. Base your viewing decisions on this pre-Week 2 list.
Week 1 in MLS gave us an impression of what most MLS teams will look like this season. We saw Houston come out firing in Atlanta. We got about 20 minutes of an exciting LAFC attack. We learned that New England probably won’t be very good.
With this information in mind, we ranked all 23 teams in terms of watchability — everything from tactical appeal, exciting players and fun storylines to local broadcast crews and stadium attractiveness will be taken into account. This is far from a ranking of top teams, and it’s obviously very subjective:
1. Columbus Crew SC
Gregg Berhalter’s pass-and-move style of play is the most aesthetically-pleasing in MLS, and it constantly creates intriguing tactical chess battles. Berhalter is the league’s best manager, both because of his defined set-up and the results it has attained. Add a crew of talented attacking distributors (including ageless maestro Federico Higuain) and a beautiful set of uniforms and you’ve got MLS’s most entertaining team.
2. Toronto FC
The reigning champs, owners of the attacking triumvirate of free-kick wizard Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore and Victor Vazquez, take second behind the team they lost to in week one. Their 3-5-2 and 4-4-2 diamond formations are run well, and Greg Vanney is a crafty manager. The talent on this team is too much to ignore.
3. NYCFC
It’s no coincidence that the managers of the top three clubs on this list also rank as the top three in MLS (in this order, by the way). Patrick Vieira has expertly designed a build-from-the-back style in the Bronx, built around a dominant midfield and the genius of David Villa. It’s a testament to their exquisite system that they rank so highly in spite of Yankee Stadium.
4. Atlanta United
Atlanta, sans a No. 6, got blitzed by the Dynamo in week one. Thanks to a combination of Tata Martino’s management (press and pass!) and a ridiculous front four, ATL check in behind NYC. Goals happen in Five Stripes’ games, and they get extra points for their new stadium and atmosphere.
5. Houston Dynamo
As per tradition, the Dynamo sprinted out of the gate. They stung Atlanta with four home goals in week one, with Alberth Elis leading a pacey attack that can win track meets and then create shots in the final third. Concern persists that they’ll relax their attacking intensity as they have in the past, but right now, they’re must-watch.
6. San Jose Earthquakes
The Quakes break the initial run of Eastern Conference teams. Their local broadcast features some of the best analysis out there, and their attack, which stung Minnesota in their first game, is multi-faceted. Danny Hoesen will shoot from anywhere, Magnus Eriksson can pass from the flanks, Vako Qazaishvili is electric on the ball, and Chris Wondolowski is, well, Wondo.
7. Seattle Sounders
Having Nicolas Lodeiro on your team does a lot for your watchability. Lodeiro is a genius, moving off the ball as well as any player in MLS and setting the tempo in midfield with an insane amount of passes. He’s a tireless worker and he never stops probing opposing defenses. Seattle are worth watching if only because of the Uruguayan.
8. Real Salt Lake
RSL’s fan atmosphere is great (“If you believe then just stand up on your feet …”) and color analyst Brian Dunseth is one of the best in the league. Those positives fit perfectly with a young and exciting roster, featuring Defender of the Year favorite Justen Glad and Slovakian No. 10 Albert Rusnak.
9. Chicago Fire
I could be underrating the Fire by ranking them so low. Veljko Paunovic built a tactically-pleasing possession system last year based around world-class passer Bastian Schweinsteiger and top-tier No. 6 Dax McCarty. They played from the back, pushed and pulled opposing presses, and got in behind with a talented attack.
10. LA Galaxy
We’re still waiting for Giovani dos Santos to circle back to his 2016 form, but the Galaxy have enough talent elsewhere to make up for him. Jonathan is dominant in midfield. Emmanuel Boateng is a lightning bolt. Romain Alessandrini is skilled on the ball and capable of ripping shots.
11. LAFC
We’ve only seen one game of LAFC, and partially due to the game state, they tailed off as their 1-0 opening day win in Seattle ticked down, but Carlos Vela is already one of the league’s most talented attackers. Add Diego Rossi, whose screamer from range beat the Sounders, and LAFC have Atlanta-caliber talent up front.
12. Portland Timbers
The Timbers were unimpressive in Giovanni Savarese’s managerial debut, a 2-1 loss to the Galaxy. Knowing Savarese’s history of attractive tactics and the draw of Diego Valeri, it’s safe to say the Timbers will be a fun team to watch. They have to find their rhythm and accustom themselves to Savarese’s coaching style.
13. New York Red Bulls
Without Sacha Kljestan, the Red Bulls dropped a bit, but Jesse Marsch’s press is still here, and his level of tactical attention to detail is one of the most impressive in MLS. Tyler Adams is a fun young player, and Bradley Wright-Phillips is arguably the best pure finisher in the league.
14. Orlando City SC
We haven’t had an opportunity to truly get a look at the newest incarnation of Orlando due to suspensions and injuries, but in their 1-1 home draw against D.C. United, which was spent down a man for more than 45 minutes, we got a look at Jason Kreis’s diamond formation. Justin Meram looked like a star.
15. Sporting KC
SKC, as we’ve come to expect, are an interesting paradox: They play a high defensive line and press relatively aggressively, but their games are low-scoring and often scrappy. The former element, which would indicate interesting tactics and up-and-down game flows, is sharply contradicted with the latter, which can create less exciting games. Never change, Peter Vermes.
16. D.C. United
Like Orlando, we didn’t see enough of D.C. in a normal game state to rank them especially high or low. We can assume, though, that they will be a more appealing attacking team with the likes Ulisses Segura and Yamil Asad joining Luciano Acosta and Paul Arriola. It’ll be interesting to see how much Benny Ball will come from DCU this season.
17. FC Dallas
No one really knows what the heck has gotten into FC Dallas. They slept walked through a disgraceful CONCACAF Champions League defeat to lowly Panamanian club Tauro, and they needed a late RSL own goal to escape with an opening day home draw. Oscar Pareja’s men look way off, put simply, and there hasn’t been many signs of them getting out of their funk.
18. Philadelphia Union
Philly looked pretty good in their decimation of nine-man New England last Saturday, riding a dominant performance from striker CJ Sapong (he’s really underrated!) and a solid debut from 18-year-old No. 10 Anthony Fontana. They’re still very much the Philadelphia Union, but there are promising signs.
19. New England Revolution
Brad Friedel’s team, currently holding Lee Nguyen hostage and already shopping ill-conceived midseason signing Krisztian Nemeth, does not hold much promise for this season. There’s still plenty of talent on the roster, but the backline is a flaming pile of trash, and in classic post-2015 Revs fashion, all of that talent will not be used correctly. This team is at a “morbid curiosity” level of watchability.
20. Minnesota United
Despite their week one loss in San Jose, the Loons seem to have moved out of the “worst team in the league” title thanks to the Revs’ red card adventures. They struggle to move the ball in midfield and defend through the spine, but their attack is sometimes good enough to keep pace with opposition’s goals, making for high-scoring games.
21. Colorado Rapids
They didn’t look too Mastroeni-like in their opening CCL loss to Toronto, creating some good chances and showing some level of organization in midfield. We didn’t get to see them in week one, though, and the real test will be Anthony Hudson’s week to week tactics. Hopefully he stays away from bunker and counter stuff.
22. Montreal Impact
Sometimes I feel like I don’t really know what’s going with this team. Like, who even plays for them anymore? That’s an over exaggeration, but the Impact are starved for storylines. Nevertheless, Ignacio Piatti is a god.
23. Vancouver Whitecaps
Vancouver, as ever, hit a ton of crosses and sit deep, relying on a compact shape and a squad full of rough-and-tumble d-mids and center backs to break up plays. Welcome to the Carl Robinson Experience.