Has football really gone in America? It started to take its place

The popularity of Major League Soccer is growing. During the match between American football clubs Charlotte FC and Los Angeles Galaxy on March 6, he set a record number of 74479 spectators in the stands. “Many players play in MLS as young talents or at the beginning of their careers.”

It was a historic night for the MLS. Charlotte FC – LA Galaxy (0-1) wasn’t the best soccer game ever in MLS, it was so far in 2022 The second largest in the world For a men’s soccer match. Only the Carabao Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley attracted more football fans so far. Furthermore, Charlotte FC has been around since December 2019 and played their first home game on March 6.

The fact that nearly 75,000 spectators were now present at a Major League game is for Robin Legdeckers, a journalist for the Dutch site. Sports America, no surprise. “More and more money is being invested in the competition,” he says. The growth of the league began in 2007 with the arrival of English footballer David Beckham. He was the first big name to play in the MLS. Since then, a major player comes to the league almost every year. For example, in recent years we’ve seen Zlatan Ibrahimovic (LA Galaxy), Andrea Pirlo (New York City FC) and Wayne Rooney (DC United) come to America.”

retirement contest

The top players came to MLS mainly in the fall of their footballing career and the league was known as “retirement period”. But in recent years, MLS has begun to shake off that image. Top Argentine talents Thiago Almada (20, Atlanta United), Alan Velasco (19, FC Dallas) and David Ayala (19, Portland Timbers) all moved to MLS in January. The arrival of Thiago Almada is particularly special, because he was also in the interest of major European clubs such as Manchester City, FC Barcelona and Inter Milan.

Thiago Almada has been in the interest of Man City, Barcelona and Inter Milan, but he still chooses MLS

“There are many players who play in MLS as young talents or at the peak of their career. This is because as a player you can now earn more than a few years ago and clubs can compete better with European clubs in terms of salaries.”

In addition, players influence each other. Thiago Almada, Alan Velasco and David Ayala will take inspiration from 22-year-old Argentine striker Valentin Castellanos from New York City FC.” Castellanos became the top scorer in Major League Soccer last year and is in the spotlight of major European clubs. In addition, the United States and Canada are two beautiful countries to live in. There are modern cities, beautiful nature and luxurious life. This will certainly contribute to the choice of the player.

By Rick Toinstra (@StampMedia)

Unique competition

Major League Soccer features a unique competition format. It is a competition in which equal opportunities are guaranteed. For example, each club has the same salary budget and is allowed to have three players earning more than the player’s maximum fixed salary.

Leijdekkers: “The MLS has a different champion in almost every season. The winner of the competition is the one who survives the knockout stage as we know it in the world championships. Anything is possible in MLS. This makes it a lot less boring than the competition in which a club can actually be crowned. Five games before the end of the match.

Leijdekkers doubts whether MLS will also become larger than the English, Spanish, German, Italian and French competition in the future. In terms of popularity and money, MLS can now be considered number six or seven. The competition will continue to grow, but I do not expect the competition to become more popular than the largest European competitions. Europe is already the birthplace of football and will remain so.