Ludovic Giuly to MLS? Let's hope not
by Steve Davis on May 19, 2010 11:39 AM EDT
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It’s the silly season: transfer time in the international soccer market.
And you can’t swing a corner flag without hitting a 33-year-old attacker in winter, one looking to squeeze a few more drops from the lime, hoping for a nice payday to wind down the ol’ career. You know, someone who wants to sip placidly from the margarita glass of MLS, punctuating his playing days with a nice, easy victory lap. Or so they seem to think.
Giuly, 33, is now with Paris St. Germaine. His best days were in the middle of the last decade during a three-year run at
Giuly has been with the
Here’s the thing: I continue to believe that this is going the wrong way. MLS should do as a philandering 40-something businessman does: go young.
I don’t think MLS will pay a transfer fee in this case; it’s not something the league wants to make a habit of doing. On the other hand, considering Giuly’s transfer fee two years ago was $3 million and change, it wouldn’t take a princely sum to grab him now. Still, I just don’t see a reason to pay ANY amount for a 33-year-old winger.
What’s the real return? He would be 34 before he plays an MLS match. He’s small (about 5-foot-5), which means he’ll get pushed around in a physical league. He’s clearly on the decline.
From the marketing end, no offense, but Giuly is not Thierry Henry. Henry has enough global presence that he can actually move the attendance needle a smidge. Not so with Giuly, who just isn’t widely known enough to move tickets on his name. Sponsors, too, will respond to Henry in a way they won’t for Giuly.
MLS needs to focus on the Marco Pappas, not the Giulys. Pappa is the 22-year-old Guatemalan currently stationed at attacking midfield for the Fire. He’s good. He may or may not stick around. But if they do lose him in Bridgeview, it will be because a team plucked him for strong performance at
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There are currently rumors of Jozy returning to the Red Bulls and this would be great for the league. He’s a young player you can build the league around. He would also benefit greatly from someone like Henry.
The league needs young American players in each market to start building up. Paying aging international players isn’t the way to build up the league. It will become the WCW of soccer where you aren’t building a future, just a present.
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Those two seem unrelated?
The league needing young Americans and NOT needing older international stars don’t seem directly related in my opinion. I don’t think we need young Americans or aging internationals. We need the best players we can get given the resources available to MLS – US or international, early in the career or older. It’s when we start thinking solely about selling tickets without considering the on-field performance that warning flags should go off. I think Giuly may fall into that category as he is not a proven world-class player for an extended period of time.
Some philandering 40-something businessmen are content with women their own age
Just thought I would point that out.
Agreed on this particular case, Steve
I like Giuly, and have since he hauled Monaco to an unexpected Champions League final (aided and abetted by Jerome Rothen and Fernando Morientes). However, his size is a huge issue. I somehow don’t imagine Giuly trying to play centrally against, say, the Rapids and their dual destroyers will end as a victory for the beautiful game.
The other, more pressing issue, is that Giuly isn’t a “name.” Even among dedicated soccer fans, Giuly might not ring a bell. Even if they do recognize his name, they’ll probably remember him as that guy that couldn’t get a game at Barcelona because he wasn’t Messi or Ronaldinho. That’s not going to bring in the kind of ticket and jersey sales needed to justify going after a guy currently with a European club. Giuly isn’t Beckham, he isn’t Henry, and he isn’t even Gallardo (who at least has a World Cup with lots of starts to boost his name).
However, if Chicago wants to sign him anyway, DC United will gladly take Marco Pappa off their hands in exchange for the MLS rights to Rod Dyachenko.
From the Ground Up
Until MLS has the $$$ to play with the big leagues this is the best it’s going to get in terms of start power (i.e. old players wanting to finish their careers here). As we all know MLS is going to take is slow and grow gradually, so how do you slowly build a league? Invest from the ground up in developing the immense amount of youth players we have here in North America.
Some of the best US U18’s and USMNT young players are too good for MLS, which means they need to move. I see nothing wrong with this as it is just a testament to the talent MLS can produce. Until MLS and soccer in general can support a wealthier and larger league MLS’ main goal should be to produce, not purchase, good players for the US and the world to see on a larger stage.
Once it can afford to keep these players, then you sign them and begin to attract young players from Europe. MLS right now is seen as a retirement league by many, and by attempting to make it into a top-flight producer of talent it changes the reputation immensely.
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