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of MLS The playoffs are seven games old, but the format of the contest continues to generate discussion.
Starting this year, in an effort to increase the number of games it can offer on Apple TV as part of its 10-year, $2.5 billion media rights deal, MLS gave the playoffs its the most important review in a generation. While for most of the previous 20 years teams have competed in one-off or two-legged series familiar to the rest of the soccer world, in 2023 MLS introduced a best-of-three structure just for the opening round of the playoffs. off it. The first team to win two games wins the series, the aggregate score does not count and ties are broken by going straight to penalty kicks without overtime at the end of each game.
The format is without major precedent in the world of soccer and has drawn a strong reaction from most — and that includes our MLS staff (editor Alexander Abnos plus writers Tom Bogert, Elias Burke, Felipe Cardenas, Pablo Maurer, Jeff Rueter and Paul Tenorio ).
Here, we discuss our first impressions of the format as all but one series has played its first game.
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Abnos: I’ll start you all off with this, and then I’ll stop: The playoffs are exciting, important, and valuable because they create situations where every single moment in a given game matters, and where already great moments rise to legendary status. A great example of this is baseball, where regular season games tend to cruise lazily along, only for the postseason to create an environment where large crowds are fully invested in every single pitch, where one swing of the bat can make for a whole city to explode. . I think most past versions of the MLS playoffs had an element of this, especially when each game was once at the home of the top seed. My mind goes to last year’s cheaters Austin FC-Real Salt Lake’s playoff game as an example.
However, watching the opening games of these playoffs, what has struck me the most is how little some of the best moments matter – the goals in particular. Alvaro Barrealbrilliant hail; Denis BouangaThe second; Gadi Kinda‘racket from distance…they would have either increased their games total in a standard two-legged format, or put a crucial game out of reach in a format that involves nothing but an over. In this current arrangement, they did neither. With no overall score and up to two more games to go, those great moments may never have happened. It’s a shame.
Rueter: Even if the format were to better value individual goals, I don’t think this moment would be possible. Take the New England Revolution, for example, who lost 3-1 in Philadelphia. The Revs conceded a penalty in the first 20 minutes of that game, Philly rode that momentum to a 3-0 halftime annihilation, and Carles Gil came off after 23 minutes with a lower leg injury.
The problem? Game 2 won’t take place until November 8 – eleven days after the opener. That’s too long for the events of the first game to affect what comes next. An upset win by the Revs at home would leave the Union with a zero lead after possession of Game 1.
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Bogert: Last season, the play-offs were split between the October and November international breaks because the season had to take place at least a few weeks before the World Cup in Qatar. That provided a little breathing space between Decision Day and the First Round — some time to put the regular season into perspective and build toward the playoffs, but also one bright spot: A sprint through four rounds in one month culminating in the best MLS Cup in league history.
This year, MLS again has to honor the November international window, so this first round fills the slot in advance.
Maurer: However, the pacing kind of defeats the whole point of the series to begin with. Watch Philly vs New England Jeff series references above. These two teams played a very, very hostile game and as a neutral I would like to see them play again three days later. By next week, many of those animosities will have faded, and the narratives surrounding them will probably be gone as well.
Cárdenas: I found myself thinking ‘what’s the point?’ AFTER Sporting Kansas City4-1 demolition of Saint Louis SC. I’m not looking forward to the second game after FC Cincinnati hit New York Red Bulls. And why should it? Nashville feeling too down about losing a 1-0 playoff game to orlando when they go home and a PK win counts the same? It feels like the winners have to prepare for their second round opponents. This first round feels eternal and Atlanta United AND Columbus they haven’t even played yet.
Rueter: And it’s not the fault of the players involved – the games have been largely open and inspired as any other season. It’s good football, fun!
Cárdenas: Former Atlanta United and Inter Miami Defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez told me in 2019 that MLS players have too many days off and that he didn’t always feel like a professional in MLS. So I think that kind of schedule is a big adjustment for a lot of international players as well. I understand that footballers are playing a lot of games now and that rest is important, but sometimes it’s better to get on with it.
Maurer: Burnout can also be a factor. We’re over eight months into the season now and we’ve lived through Messi-mania and the Leagues Cup. It was exciting at the time, but that particular tournament, and the adrenaline rush associated with it, has made the rest of the MLS regular season feel a bit like a conclusion, not a climax.
Burke: I also noticed a distinct lack of enthusiasm in the crowd. I was at BMO Stadium for LAFC’s impressive 5-2 win over Vancouver Whitecapsand even before the game there wasn’t the reception from the Los Angeles crowd that you might expect from a playoff game.
Maybe it’s because it’s Los Angeles, where LAFC is currently competing with NHLThe kings of NBA‘s Lakers and Clippers, NFLThe Rams and Chargers plus college football for attention, but the empty seat rows are a disappointing reflection of how fans are reacting to the format change. And while the LAFC faithful are always loud, the atmosphere didn’t reflect a heightened sense of occasion. In fact, the early season MLS games, the CONCACAF Champions League and the recent Campeones Cup loss against Tigres felt more like a “playoff atmosphere”.
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Rueter: A friend of mine pointed this out Dallas’ hosting Game 2 against Seattle could come on the same day as a possible Game 7 of the World Series, which would be hosted by the Texas Rangers. Will Dallas players feel the same rabid support of a city behind their team between long breaks between games and whatever atmosphere — positive, negative or suspenseful — surrounds the Rangers at that point?
Cárdenas: Call me a purist, but a best-of-three series just doesn’t make sense for football. While traditional in other American sports, it is culturally abnormal for the international game.
Bogert: After the break, MLS returns to the elimination style that worked so well last year. It rewards regular season performance, with the highest title awarded hosting rights, and every moment counts. Fortunately, this round alone will last for weeks, and then we’re back to that all-out sprint.
Tenorio: To me, the easiest way to put it is that MLS was so focused on expanding inventory that it didn’t think enough about how the new format might affect the actual product on the ground.
Rueter: To paraphrase “Jurassic Park,” their schedules were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t stop to think about whether they should.
Tenorio: Would anyone be shocked if we hear about changes to this playoff format after the season and before the start of 2024? I’d say that’s a pretty good bet.
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(Photo: Jeff Dean/Getty Images)
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