<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>
<p>On Thursday night in Philadelphia, MLS Commissioner Don Garber was interviewed on the <em>Fox Football Fone-In</em> show by Eric Wynalda and Nick Webster. There was one particular statement that Garber said that peaked my curiosity. It was in context of MLS and how the league has been in business for 15 years. “For 50 years, professional soccer has failed [in this country].” said Garber.</p>
<p>The issue I have with Garber’s comment is that it belittles the incredible success that the NASL achieved in the United States and around the world during the 70s and early 80s. Yes the league eventually went belly up and ultimately failed, but the league achieved far greater success than Major League Soccer. Garber’s comment is also insulting to other leagues in the States such as USL, WPS, NPSL and former leagues such as the USA (United Soccer Federation) – that was popular in the mid-to-late 60s – and indoor soccer leagues, which were popular in the 80s and 90s.</p>
<p>I honestly believe that if it wasn’t for the rise and fall of the North American Soccer League in the United States in the 70s and 80s, we wouldn’t be where we are today in the soccer landscape in this country. And Major League Soccer would not exist as we know it.</p>
<p>The popularity of the NASL introduced the sport to the mainstream and created a solid fanbase in this country. On top of that, the league became popular on a national and local scale due to the press and TV exposure, as well as incredibly successful worldwide as some of the best players in the world (in their prime, I might add) moved to the States to play in the NASL.</p>
<p>It was not only soccer fans that were born during the 70s and 80s thanks to the NASL. US soccer players were also born. Young kids grew up on NASL, many of them idolizing their heroes on the field and later became some of the greatest soccer players the US has ever produced.</p>
<p>Ever since the league formed, MLS has long tried to distance themselves from comparisons to the NASL. More recently, when the new team was being organized in Seattle, officials resisted putting the name Sounders among the team names to choose from. After Seattle fans protested vociferously, the Sounders name was reluctantly put into the hat. And the rest is history.</p>
<p>The decision of the Seattle fans to choose the Sounders name and the resulting success of the team in the northwest is partly due to the legacy that NASL left. Sounders was the name of the NASL team that played in Seattle from 1974 to 1983. By selecting the Sounders name, the MLS team was able to tap into the legacy of NASL and the foundation of soccer support in the Seattle area. And then to build upon that, which they more than certainly did making Seattle one of the best team launches in the history of not only soccer but any sports franchise, according to Garber.</p>
<p>So yes, Garber is correct when he says that professional soccer has failed for 50 years in the United States. But he needs to add a disclaimer when he says that and give professional soccer credit where credit is due, whether it be the NASL, USL, WPS or other professional organization.</p>


MLS Needs to Credit NASL for Its Success - World Soccer Talk

MLS Needs to Credit NASL for Its Success

<div id="attachment_6499" style="width: 406px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div><p id="caption-attachment-6499" class="wp-caption-text">Don Garber will address the "Leaders in Football" conference</p></div>
<p>Over the next two days, many of soccer’s most influential executives from around the world will meet in London, England for the annual “Leaders in Football” conference. Included in that group are three representatives from the United   States: Don Garber, MLS Commissioner and CEO; Sunil Gulati, USSF President; and Tim Leiweke, President and CEO of AEG. Garber joins a panel discussion on managing the wealth gap in professional soccer leagues, while Gulati and Leiweke will be on hand to discuss strategies for weathering the current global economic crisis.</p>
<p>The MLS Commissioner has not released a full account of his speech to the conference, but he did take time to talk with The Associated Press about some of the subjects he plans to address. Garber specifically called attention to revenue sharing, the salary cap, and spending limits dictated by MLS policy that make certain the league’s economic stability. He goes on to conclude that the MLS model ensures “financial fair play” for all member teams.</p>
<p>“We believe to our core that every fan wants to believe that when the season starts they have the tools, the capability, the resources to compete so they can dream about their team winning a championship,” Garber said.</p>
<p>He went on to discuss how his single-entity economic model for MLS prevents runaway spending by individual team owners. “As a person who manages a sports league who is very focused on ensuring that we remain financially viable so we remain in business that’s not a system that could work here,” Garber said. “It would clearly create an arms race of spending that would clearly put MLS out of business as it did with the North American Soccer League in the early 80s.”</p>
<p>No one wants to see MLS follow the road of the NASL, but Garber will need to make changes to league policies that currently prevent the growth and limit the fortunes of individual teams. We don’t want to see financial parity in MLS result in mediocrity on the playing field. The “Designated Player” provision of the salary cap is a step in the right direction, as is allowing teams to build stadiums and collect their own revenue. However, there is more that needs to be done now to prevent stagnation of the product, and apathy among its supporters.</p>
<p>Most importantly, MLS needs to give teams more control over their rosters. One change would be to let teams compete for newly signed players to the league through the global transfer process. Let the team negotiate and pay the transfer fee on incoming players, not the MLS front office. Next, introduce free agency with the next MLS Collective Bargaining Agreement, a system that works in other professional sports leagues in the US. Also, mandate an immediate increase in the salary cap for next season and significantly raise – perhaps even double – the minimum player salary from its current $34,000 a year. Players with higher incomes and improved options in free agency become more accountable to the teams and their fans, resulting in an increase in their competitive play. Likewise, these changes in MLS policy will give each team the flexibility to build a roster they feel can best compete for the league championship.</p>
<p>Perhaps for a niche sport in an already crowded American sporting landscape, the conservative approach of MLS over the history of the league has proven acceptable. And in countries struggling to host a professional soccer league that can’t compete with the big leagues of Europe, the lessons learned in the US could translate successfully during economically difficult times. However, for the long term growth of soccer in the United States, MLS will need to loosen up their regulations and give the team owners more control over financial decisions.</p>


Should MLS be Preaching their Financial Parity Model to the World? - World Soccer Talk

Should MLS be Preaching their Financial Parity Model to the World?

<div style="width: 470px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div><p class="wp-caption-text">Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters</p></div>
<p>Despite his expressed interest to remain in Italy, it appears that David Beckham will return to the Los Angeles Galaxy for the 2009 MLS season.  The Friday February 13th deadline for a trade deal, which was set by MLS Commissioner Don Garber, has come and gone without A.C. Milan making an acceptable offer for Beckham.   Galaxy’s GM and Coach, Bruce Arena, stated that: “we did not receive an acceptable offer for [David Beckham].  As a result, David remains an LA Galaxy player and we look forward to having him back with the club starting March 9.”</p>
<p>As Arena’s statement indicates, Beckham is on loan with Milan until March 8, which means there is more time for a transfer deal to be brokered, one that could possibly include Beckham enhancing the transfer fee with money from his own bank accounts.  If all the parties involved in this little soap opera really want to get a transfer deal done, it would be in their best interests to go about it quietly, for all the press these past weeks did nothing but cause distraction and stir the pot.</p>
<p>Beckham’s recent statement that “at Milan I have found great players who have been of great help to me” sums up the heart of the situation.  While he may be one of the best known soccer players, Beckham is an excellent player with a good set of skills, but he is not in the pantheon of greatest soccer players ever, and, more importantly, he is not the kind of soccer player that can carry an entire team to victory, no matter the circumstances.  Beckham is a team player, in almost the purest sense of the term.  Yes, he is a star persona off the pitch, but on the pitch he excels when he is working with capable teammates – he best operates in an ensemble, not as a soloist.</p>
<p>If things continue on this path, then we will see Beckham return to our shores in a couple weeks and do another tour of the MLS, heck, we might actually see him in Houston in this time.  Beckham is a professional, and while he might not be happy playing for L.A., he’ll suit up without complaint and take the pitch, and the Galaxy probably won’t make the playoffs again.  Then again, maybe Arena will be able to develop a squad and a strategy that compliments Beckham’s skills and doesn’t expect him to be the team’s savior and top goal scorer.  With the return of Beckham, the Galaxy would be smart to transfer Landon Donovan to Bayern Munich, permanently, and take advantage of the transfer fee and salary cap room to improve the rest of its squad.  Get a backline that won’t be so porous and get some strikers who can take advantage of crosses and passes from Beckham.</p>
<p>There’s still a couple weeks left for something to happen, but for now I’m looking forward to watching the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday.</p>


Deadline Passes without a Beckham Deal - World Soccer Talk

Deadline Passes without a Beckham Deal

Latest news from Don Garber. Find out about all the news related to Don Garber on worldsoccertalk.com

ALL POSTS TAGGED "Don Garber - Page 4"

Leagues: MLS

MLS Needs to Credit NASL for Its Success

Leagues: MLS

Should MLS be Preaching their Financial Parity Model to the World?

Leagues: MLS

Deadline Passes without a Beckham Deal