Major League Soccer will kick off its 20th season on Friday. Here are a few stories to watch in 2015.
Can TFC make the playoffs?
After eight seasons without a single playoff berth to show for it, Toronto FC looks poised to end their drought of futility. Yeah, I know, you’ve all heard this before (see last season with Jermain Defoe and the “Bloody Big Deal”) and you’ve been burned so many times that you don’t want to get your hopes up.
But this really could be the year. For one, the addition of two expansion franchises means the playoff format has expanded from 10-12 teams. Instead, of having to finish in the top five in the Eastern Conference, TFC can qualify for the playoffs with a sixth-place finish. Also, their path to the post-season is significantly easier with Sporting Kansas City and Houston Dynamo now in the West and replaced in the East by the two expansion teams (more on that later).
Plus, Defoe is gone (as is the soap opera that surround him), the club signed Italian playmaker Sebastian Giovinco (who at 28 looks ready to take MLS by storm), and added quality pieces up front, in midfield and in defence. This team has never been better set up to make the playoffs. No excuses this year. None.
Whitecaps have momentum
The Vancouver Whitecaps were one of the “feel-good” stories of 2014. Led by a coach in Carl Robinson who wasn’t afraid to give chances to young players, the Whitecaps did well to finish fifth in a very competitive Western Conference. Pedro Morales was one of the best newcomers in the league, guiding Vancouver its second MLS playoff berth.
A first-round playoff exit under controversial circumstances ended a bright campaign on a sour note. Robinson is back after being signed to a contract extension, and with most of last year’s team in place, the Welshman will try to guide what looks to be an exciting Whitecaps side to a second consecutive playoff appearance.
Rebuilding in Montreal
After making the playoffs in their second MLS season, the Montreal Impact came crashing down to earth in 2014, finishing in last place with just six wins and a meagre 28 points. Part of the problem was that Montreal stood still, and didn’t bring in enough newcomers to fill holes and revitalize what was at the time an aging squad.
Management was far more active this off-season, adding English veteran Nigel Reo-Coker, Italian midfielder Marco Donadel, forward Dominic Oduro (acquired in a trade with Toronto FC), and Belgian defender Laurent Ciman and fellow centre-back Bakary Soumare of Mali. The Impact still lacks depth at the forward position, but the retooling of the roster suggests they’ll be much better this year.
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New teams enter the fray
The number of teams in the league will swell to 20 with the additions of Orlando City and New York City FC this season.
NYCFC will play its home games at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, challenging the New York Red Bulls for soccer bragging rights in the city. Orlando will play out of the Citrus Bowl, and its introduction marks the league’s return to Florida—both the Tampa Mutiny and Miami Fusion were contracted in 2001.
New faces in the league
MLS is adding some serious star power in 2015 with the off-season signings of Brazilian Kaka (at Orlando City), Steven Gerrard (LA Galaxy) and Spaniard David Villa and Chelsea legend Frank Lampard (New York City FC). These three veterans should help make their respective expansion franchises punch a bit above their weight in their debut campaigns.
While Kaka and Villa, both named team captains, will begin the season in MLS, Lampard isn’t scheduled to join New York until the summer after he finishes the current Premier League campaign with Manchester City. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of shape NYCFC is in by the time Lampard arrives, especially in relation to fellow newcomer Orlando.
New alignment, expanded playoffs
The expansion of the league to 20 teams, and Chivas USA being rebranded and set to return as Los Angeles FC in 2017, means the Eastern and Western Conferences will have a new look this season.
Orlando City and New York City FC will compete in the East, while Sporting Kansas City and Houston Dynamo have moved over to the West. Both conferences will have 10 teams—unlike last year when there were 19 clubs, meaning a 10-9 split in favour of the East.
This season also features an expanded playoff format from 10 to 12 clubs. The top six sides in each conference will qualify for the post-season, with the top two in the East and West receiving a first-round bye in the playoffs.
The first round of each conference has the third-seeded team hosting the sixth seed while the fourth-seed hosts the fifth. In the conference semifinals the top seed plays the lowest remaining seed while the second plays the second-lowest.
