For MLS, the most valuable signing never leaves the sideline
After years of trying to attract prestigious, if not aged, European stars MLS is learning a head coach is the most valuable signing.
Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kaka, Thierry Henry, Andrea Pirlo, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Robbie Keane, David Villa and, of course, David Beckham… they were all lured, at one point or another, to the United States with one thing in mind – growth. Primarily, every one of these signings was about catching the eye. It helped that these guys were pretty handy on the field too.
For so long, the path to building a successful team in Major League Soccer was through the signing of big names. The LA Galaxy, led by Beckham, Keane and Landon Donovan, won three of four MLS Cups between 2011 and 2014. Toronto FC, on the back of spending big on Joey Altidore, Michael Bradley and Sebastian Giovinco, also made back-to-back MLS Cup finals in 2016 and 2017, winning one and losing one.
There has been a change in the zeitgeist since then, though. Now, the path to MLS success isn’t through the luring of big names, but in the hiring of a top class coach. Bob Bradley and the astonishing record of Los Angeles FC this season goes some way to prove this, as does the achievements of Tata Martino’s Atlanta United last season.
Bradley is the best coach in the American game right now. Turned into a figure of derision by his short, ill-fated stint in the Premier League as Swansea City manager, the 61-year-old has restored his reputation at LAFC. The Californian club are setting a new standard at the top of MLS this year, losing just three of the 24 games they have played so far.
Some already believe LAFC are MLS Cup winners in waiting and have been since the opening few weeks of the 2019 season. MLS’s playoff format means Supporters’ Shield winners don’t always win the big prize (in fact, history shows they very rarely do), but Bradley’s team are so potent and so accomplished it’s difficult to look past them.
Last season, it was Atlanta United who swept to MLS Cup glory with Martino, a former Argentina and Barcelona manager, the mastermind behind their success. The worth of the coach in North American soccer has never been so high and the past two seasons serve as the ultimate demonstration of this.
Of course, both Bradley and Martino have benefited from having high calibre playing rosters at their disposal. Last season, Atlanta United had the best player in the league, Miguel Almiron, and the top scorer, Josef Martinez. This season, LAFC also have the best player and the top scorer in the league – Carlos Vela.
A top class coach on his own is not enough to guarantee MLS success. Bradley most likely wouldn’t have led the Vancouver Whitecaps, for instance, to the top of the Western Conference this season. Martino wouldn’t have lifted the 2018 MLS Cup had he been in charge of Orlando City instead of the most irrepressible team in the East.
MLS will welcome a number of expansion franchises into the division over the coming years. In times gone by, they might have focussed their efforts on finding big name players to sell jerseys, shift tickets and put a winning side on the pitch. Now, however, finding a world class coach is at the top of the to-do list for any ambitious franchise.
Just look at the recent media reports on both sides of the Atlantic linking Inter Miami, Beckham’s franchise set to start play in MLS next year, with former AC Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso and three-time Champions League winner Carlo Ancelotti all speculated to be on the club’s head coach shortlist.
Even if LAFC don’t go on to get their hands on the MLS Cup this year, Bradley, and Martino before him, will have established a new zeitgeist across the league. While North American teams in the past were guilty of overlooking who was in the dugout, now they are fully aware of their importance. This is just the beginning of the cult of the manager in MLS.
Wait until they find out Pep Guardiola has an apartment in New York.