Jurgen Klinsmann, a smart guy who got one wrong
by Steve Davis on Oct 11, 2011 3:02 PM EDT
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This is why national team coaches don’t run their nation’s soccer leagues.
U.S. national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann has made his feelings known about the regrettably insufficient length of Major League Soccer’s season. Only through longer seasons and a greater run of matches can MLS properly develop international caliber high achievers, according to Herr Klinsmann.
For the record, this year’s 32-week Major League Soccer season began in mid-March. (The season covers 32 weeks, although each club plays 34 regular season matches.) The MLS Cup final is held annually in late November, although most clubs are done two or three weeks earlier, at least.
Here’s what Klinsmann said:
“The big challenge is for MLS overall, how can we stretch this season into a format that is competitive with the rest of the world?” the U.S. manager said during Monday’s presser at Red Bull Arena, where his side prepped for Tuesday night’s friendly against Ecuador. “Right now, it’s not competitive if you have a seven-, eight-month season; that’s not competitive with the rest of the world. We need an 11-month season for those guys. They can have three, four weeks off a year, that’s the maximum. Otherwise you’re not at the same level physically.”
Klinsmann is a sharp guy, and he probably has a good handle on how best to develop world class players. That said, he’s wrong on this one.
Here’s the thing: Major League Soccer’s charter mission is NOT to optimally create national team players. No more so than a big, weekly trip to the grocery store is all about “Sunday night dinner.” Yes, it’s part of the greater plan, but it’s never the sole goal.
So it is with Major League Soccer and its relationship with the national team. And frankly, I’m a little surprised that Klinsmann, worldly as he is, doesn’t see this.
(By the way, this is a universal truth in soccer. For instance, the English Premier League does not exist fundamentally to support the England national team, nor should it.)
It’s Klinsmann’s job to create the best possible national team, so I don’t begrudge his single-minded stance. And to that end, yes, it would surely goose his cause if the MLS season were a 10 ½ month operation. But there’s so much to consider here:
(... so keep reading ...)
First, Major League Soccer’s No. 1 target for 16-plus years has always been – and will continue to be for some time – survival. From there, Goal No. 2 is “growth,” followed by closely b “long-term stability.” That’s it. That’s where it all begins and ends for MLS, a league still in its relative infancy. Survival, growth and stability are big engines that simply must drive the train, no matter how many cars attach themselves along the winding tracks.
To this end, a hyper-expansive season may not fit into the cultural comfort zone of American sports. Thus, ideas of a longer campaign become a complete non-starter, at least until the professional branch of the sporting tree establishes slightly stronger support systems. At that point, more radical departures from the standard U.S. ways may be on the table. But not until.
There are weather concerns. While it might be possible to play more domestic matches in November, December, January and February, it certainly won’t be comfortable in plenty of markets. And that means fewer fans, a destabilizing factor that comes attached to a boatload of undesirable repercussions.
There are financial concerns. Most MLS sides lose money. Most, in fact, still lose plenty of it. Longer seasons mean stretching advertising and market budgets even further than they are now. Looping back into the previous deterrent, those winter-month matches would almost certainly dent average attendance, which would devalue sponsorship and TV deals.
Major League Soccer exists, essentially, to support Major League Soccer. That’s no easy ask. So there’s plenty on the MLS plate as it is.
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True, but MLS and the USMNT do have some common interests...
What you don’t mention is that MLS and the USMNT share at least one important interest: to produce the highest caliber soccer players possible. For Klinsmann it’s because he wants his national team to win, of course, but it must be a top priority for MLS, too, in order to put the best product on the field.
In time (many years) MLS may be able to compete on quality with the best Euro leagues. As they move slowly toward this goal TV ratings, salaries, ticket prices and franchise values will increase. The national team will certainly benefit, too.
As a matter of fact....
one of the reasons that the US got the 1994 World Cup was that it promised to start a Div 1 league that would be a way to build the pool of American players. Without that promise, we would have never gotten it. And MLS has served it’s purpose. Would I like the season to be a bit longer? Sure. Maybe by a month. That’s all that could honestly be afforded.
Chad the Ref
season is fine
Think the season is plenty long, and packed with other tournaments to boot. Its good for seasons to feel like seasons. The offseason is really only about 4 months and part of that is taken up in the draft. Agree fully that the purpose of the league right now is to survive and thrive, it won’t do that in February.
With so many new players currently in the Bundesliga
Will Klinsmann be asking the Bundesliga to do away with it’s winter break?
Have a little faith
At what point do we choose to have faith in MLS fans? If you build it they will come, so to speak. January and February are really the only two months the league should try to avoid as they are the ones that get truly cold at least here in Jersey. Besides it would seem heat is what’s driving people away in Dallas. It’s also the reason outdoor summer sports seem to be a complete failure in Florida.
by Patrick MacDonald on Oct 12, 2011 8:40 AM EDT reply actions
Why not
I’m not sure what the reasoning is behind supporting the current 8 month season over a 10 or 11 month season; more games, more revenue? If the clubs are losing money, then more games equals more loss, but that should be adjusted for in the business plan, no? Or perhaps the team moved to a better market?
I like the uptempo USMNT play, and am quite concerned about the goal drought. But we need more central defenders to choose from. Drop Ream (not up to snuff), pull in Geoff Cameron and Omar Gonzalez!
I usually agree with you on most points but I disagree here
Two other people who disagree with you and agree with Klinsmann…Sunil Gulati USSF President and MLS Commissioner Don Garber, who rather comically said “Jurgen’s right. The season is too short. I’d like to have global warming take its effect.” So he does see that the cold could be a problem, but if the MLS fan dynamic is shifting from soccermoms and family to young adult males, which is what has naturally occurred anyway, then why wouldn’t they show up in the winter? They do it for football with painted chests and no shirts. Especially with the newer stadiums (Livestrong Sporting Park, Red Bull Arena, Rio Tinto Stadium) that include awnings for fans to keep them out of rain/snow, I don’t see it putting much of a dent in ticket sales.
Ummm, I think you forgot something
Toronto has a team. Do you really want to play soccer in Toronto in November or January? Or Chicago? Or Kansas City? In all of these cities the temperature turns brutal in winter. Oh, and don’t forget that Montreal has a team now also. There will be tons more injuries/pneumonia.
At least in England/Europe it doesn’t drop below freezing too often. It just hovers there and snow isn’t too common. The issue isn’t fan’s hardiness, it is the massive amount of rescheduling that would naturally have to occur due to weather nearly every season if it was made 11 months long.
MLS futbol isn’t at the level of the EPL. People aren’t going to turn up in droves during the winter for these games. One of the things that helps the MLS is that it plays during the NHL, NBA, NCAA football and NFL off season (I realize there are overlaps). Now you are asking them to compete with all of them. It just isn’t feasible no matter how much I would like it to be.
"The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they don't know the game" -Bill Shankly
Didn't forget
They already play into November in Toronto if they made the playoffs. I agree that the situation isn’t ideal, but I lived in Germany for two years and trust me, it drops below freezing and snows quite a bit. If there is deep snow the soccer would be bad, I agree, but we aren’t extending the season into windows that are drastically outside its current range. MLS Cup is taking place on Nov. 20 and the season starts March 4. If the start date gets moved to February you don’t have to deal with January weather. The logistics can be overcome.
The MLS Cup is at a neutral venue
So ideally they wouldn’t try and hold a MLS Cup in late November at the Meadowlands like the NFL has done with the Super Bowl for 2014. Either way, the Gulf Stream keeps the east coast from getting the brutal cold into the early months of winter. The last playoff game shouldn’t be too far into November if Toronto was to make it.
The average temperature in Berlin is about 10 degrees higher (and above freezing) than Toronto for the winter. In fact the average high is never below 35F. Definitely not the same in Toronto in January or February. The three highest snowfall months are January, December and February in that order. So if you want a 10 to 11 month season, when do you start? Montreal’s temperatures and snowfall averages are even worse. And Chicago also gets a ton of lake effect snow. This is the same reason the Russian league is over the summer, just like ours. If 4 teams are routinely cancelling games, then it is a difficult rescheduling job since I assume having a longer season would also mean more games. Trying to slot one in on a Wednesday night means even less attendance and less rest and it also means they have to hope it doesn’t get cancelled again. January and February weather are about the same on the East Coast.
You are not going to get fans to come watch these games while the “Big 4” + NCAA Football are in session. Baseball only gets away with it due to the shear number of games played. We can’t compete since soccer is pretty much a weekly sport like football. I understand where everyone is coming from in wanting this, but it isn’t realistic. I think it will be another generation of soccer youth coming through before futbol has enough draw to consider doing this and trying to make a dent in the other league’s attendances. The die hard fans aren’t enough to keep the MLS in business.
"The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they don't know the game" -Bill Shankly
Does it matter if Sunil Gulati agrees with him?
According to Kristian Dyer, Gulati also believes the season is too short.
I mean, I know Gulati is a USSoccer guy, but he’s also the president of soccer operations for the Krafts in New England. In fact, I saw him in the coach’s office after the Revs game two weeks ago. So I think he also has a vested interest in the viability of MLS, no?
Founder and Editor of The Bent Musket on SBNation.
Twitter: @Stoehrst or @TheBentMusket
Mr. Davis, you got it ALL wrong
1st. You can’t (CAN NOT) compare the EPL with the MLS for several reason which I guess you know.
2nd. ALL the leagues in the world, don’t have a franchise system, so they do NOT HAVE TO work in partnership with the national team. They DO control the national teams which they use to SHOW, EXPOSE AND EXPORT players to …guess who? the EPL, La Liga, Calcio in Italy, Argentina, and other countries who actively buy foreign players.
3rd. More games will increase a demand for US-grown players an opportunity at pro level.
4th. You talk about marketing, advertising budgets, and weather. Europe has the same “issues”. So… why they still play more games? Besides, marketing is improving..Have you seen the Seattle’s stadium? always packed? It will get better.
5th. You have no clue about soccer. Let Mr. Klinsman do the talking and you …just report to us what he says. Thanks!
contradictions galore
So, your 1st point is that you can’t compare EPL and MLS, but your 2nd and 4th points try to compare MLS to Europe.
3rd. It would increase supply (but only by 4), not demand.
5th. Why would you read the blog of a seasoned journalist if you don’t want to hear his opinions?
Luiggi, Luiggi, Luiggi
Tsk, tsk. I don’t even know where to start. … Wait, actually, I do.
If you have opinions, please share. If you can offer new perspective or introduce something fresh to the conversation, please try. But when you go “fifth grade” on us (“You have no clue…”) you’re really pissing in your own pot of porridge. In other words, your arguments lose all credibility when you resort to juvenile banalities.
Well they do, I suppose, unless you really are in the fifth grade. In that case, I sincerely apologize, and I commend you doing quite well at your grammar, spelling and punctuation. Keep at it, and you’ll get there! Please do, however, look up the spelling of the U.S. national team coach. Perhaps you’ll receive extra credit for nailing it next time!
by Steve Davis on Oct 13, 2011 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
Klinsi is Wrong
MLS should decide to do or not do a longer season based on what is best for MLS.
Frankly, I don’t see how a longer season helps the USNT. In theory, more games and more PT results in improvement. But once you’re a regular starter, do you get significantly better if you play 4 more matches than if you don’t? Here are a bunch of things that do NOT increase the MLS season but would have far more impact on improving NT talent:
—expand the club academy and reserve schedule so those players play more games. The reality is that guys like Agudelo (and Bunbury when he wasn’t starting) would use that to get valuable minutes.
—improve the caliber of coaching (with more emphasis on a style/system that is compatible with the NT and more tactical emphasis so players are more astute)
—improve the caliber of refereeing (which directly shapes the style of play and quality of play)
—more loan arrangements. Does anyone really think that Landon Donovan playing 4 more games with LAG is equivalent to him playing a month on loan in the Premiership?
—raise the caliber of talent that is being brought into MLS. When you bring guys who are in their prime and of a high talent level with good pedigree, you raise the competition level, especially when we’re talking players with speed and ball skills and tactical acumen.
All of those would likely help USNT talent. None of them would increase the length of the MLS season.
All great points
Very true statements, and I favor all of them
