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Major League Soccer it has hardly been business as usual since the arrival of Lionel Messi in Miami last summer. However, the league is much more than the Fort Lauderdale-based club. The 2024 season starts on Wednesday and 29 teams are fighting for glory. Here’s what you need to know.
Grip hardware
The 34-game regular season runs from February 21 to October 19. The team that tops the regular season table is crowned the winner of the Defenders’ Shield, one of four major trophies each year. of LA Galaxy and DC United currently share the record for most Supporters’ Shield wins with four each, while FC Cincinnati won the first last season.
Eighteen teams qualify for the playoffs (nine in each conference), with the winner of the knockout tournament winning the MLS Cup – generally considered the biggest trophy up for grabs. of MLS The Cup Final is hosted by the finalist with the best regular season record. of The crew of Columbus is the defending champion, while LA Galaxy still holds the record for most wins (5).
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The CONCACAF Champions Cup – North America’s version of the UEFA Champions League – is currently underway. Ten MLS clubs qualified this year with the final coming up on June 2. The winner will qualify for the expanded 2025 Club World Cup, which will be held in the USA next year.
The League Cup, a competition that includes all MLS and Liga MX teams, is in its second year. Inter Miami and Messi lifted the inaugural trophy last summer. The MLS regular season will be halted for about a month while the tournament takes place.
Inter Miami lift the Leagues Cup trophy after defeating Nashville SC. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu, Getty Images)
MLS is still working plans for her participation in the U.S. Open Cup, which is America’s oldest continuous national football competition and features teams from all levels of the pyramid. Last year, the league was controversial announced plans to enter its MLS Next Pro teams in the competition instead of the first teams. No resolution has been reached yet.
All regular season, playoff and Leagues Cup games are available through MLS Season Pass, a subscription platform, on Apple TV.
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– Tom Bogert
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Five great stories
Can Inter Miami make the postseason with a full year of Messi and Luis Suarez?
All eyes will be on Messi and Inter Miami in 2024. The squad is packed with former Barcelona stars who are preparing for their first full season in the league. messi, Sergio Busquets AND Jordi Alba joined midseason and led Miami to a League Cup victory, but fell short of making the playoffs. Suarez joined his former team-mates this winter. Expectations are high again in South Florida.
WILL Thiago Almada get his transfer abroad?
The first active MLS player to win a World Cup, Argentine attacking midfielder Thiago Almada remains in Atlanta United as rumors swirl about his future. He could be MLS’ new record signing, with Atlanta likely to want a package worth the $27 million he received from Newcastle for Miguel Almiron in 2019.
The summer seems to be a consensus as to when Almada will head to Europe, but will the offers come?
Almada was the 2022 MLS Rookie of the Year. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein, Getty Images)
Can the Crew of Columbus repeat? Can FC Cincinnati have another great season?
All roads lead to Ohio after in-state rivals FC Cincinnati (Supporters’ Shield) and Columbus Crew (MLS Cup) each won a major trophy in 2023. Both teams are reloaded and expected to fight for the top of the Conference again Eastern in 2024.
Is this the year the LA Galaxy return to power in the league?
The LA Galaxy went in a different direction this winter. After famous veterans Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and Douglas Costa left, the club targeted key replacements in the Brazil U-23 wing. Gabriel Pec and the Ghanaian winger Joseph Paintsil. The forwards were brought in for a combined fee of around $20 million.
A defense anchored by experienced center backs Maya Yoshida AND Martin Caceres raises questions, but the new-look offense could carry the team into a weak Western Conference.
Will the balance of power shift in Cascadia?
For seven consecutive years from 2015-2021, one of the cascading rivals in the Pacific Northwest represented the West in the MLS Cup Final. of Seattle Sounders AND Portland Timbers were previously established as a power in the league, but come into 2024 with different narratives: Seattle is a team with continuity while Portland revamped its coaching staff and roster.
North of the border, Vancouver Whitecaps are among those who seek to challenge even at the top of the West.
– Bogert
USMNT connections
Veterans
While most of the USMNT’s first-team players play in Europe, a handful of standout players play in MLS. Since 2024 that includes the goalkeeper Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids), who returns to the league after an injury stint with Manchester City and loan clubs in Europe.
A particularly large portion of the USMNT’s center back corps plays in MLS, incl Aaron Long (LAFC), James Sands (NYCFC), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Matt Miazga (FC Cincinnati) and Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC). Back right DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami) joins them among the USMNT backline representatives.
Further down the field, MLS is also home to the USMNT’s depth players Jordan Morris (Seattle) and Paul Arriola (FC Dallas), together with the attacker Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas).
He gets up and comes
MLS is home to several young players who have either made an impact with the US youth teams or are just starting to break into the youth team. This group includes a trio of goalkeepers worth keeping an eye on: Patrick Schulte (Crew of Columbus), Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati) and Chris Brady (Chicago Fire).
Interestingly, two of the USA’s best left backs are also playing in MLS right now: Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United) and John Tolkien (New York Red Bulls).
Wiley is a rising defensive option for the U.S. (Photo by Elizabeth Kreutz, Getty Images)
The group also includes a solid midfield trio Aidan Morris (Crew of Columbus), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union) and Timothy Tillman (LAFC), along with the exciting creative midfielder Diego Luna (The real Salt Lake) and attackers Duncan McGuire (Orlando City).
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Many of these players play major roles for their respective MLS teams, and many may also be in the picture to represent the USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which for men’s soccer is an under-23 tournament.
High-level European connections
US-based fans more accustomed to watching soccer in the morning — that is, soccer played in Europe — will find plenty of familiar names in the current MLS ranks. Los Angeles FC signed Hugo Lloris from Tottenham, hoping he can have a similar impact to his former team-mate Gareth Bale. New York Red Bulls brought in the midfielder Emil Forsberg from RB Leipzig, while Suarez joined former Barcelona teammates Messi, Alba and Busquets at Inter Miami.
Lloris joined LAFC this offseason. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy, Getty Images)
Other MLS notables who have previously played in major European leagues include xherdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire), Cucho Hernandez (Crew of Columbus), Christian Benteke (DC United), Mateusz Klich (DC United), Hector Herrera (Houston Dynamo), Martin Caceres (LA Galaxy), Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy), Teemu Pukki (Minnesota United), Victor Wanyama (CF Montreal) Carles Gil (New England), Roman Burki (The city of St), Federico Bernardeschi (Toronto FC), Lorenzo Insigne (Toronto FC) and Ryan Gould (Vancouver Whitecaps).
Four coaches have recently Premier League links: new Charlotte FC boss Dean Smith, Portland Timbers manager Phil Neville, former Leeds and Manchester United assistant Chris Armas (head coach of Colorado Rapids) and potential Minnesota United manager Eric Ramsay (Manchester United assistant). Tata Martino (Miami) had previous success with Messi in Barcelona and Argentina, while LAFC manager Steve Cherundolo was a mainstay of the USMNT as a player and spent his entire career at Hannover 96 in Germany.
– Jeff Rueter
(Feature photos: Getty Images)
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