MLS Season Preview
Seventy-eight days after New York City lifted the MLS trophy in Portland, Oregon, the 2022 season is set to kick off in Philadelphia. From Los Angeles to Atlanta, major preparations have been made, with each team hoping they have done enough with their new signings to better prepare themselves than anyone else. Especially for Atlanta United, LAFC, and Cincinnati fans, the future is looking very bright with new young coaches and players being brought in. While already established powerhouses such as Inter Miami, Toronto FC, and LA Galaxy, bringing in big names to help their hunt for the MLS cup. To get a better look at who will be the underdogs and who will be the flops, the big names, and the breakout stars, here is the MLS season preview.
Where better to start off than at Atlanta United? After appointing their new head coach, Gonzalo Pineda, near the end of last season, he has made some strong additions to the side to help Atlanta’s hunt to repeat their MLS triumph of 2018. Argentinean wonder kid, Thiago Almada, has joined for an MLS record sixteen million dollars, a fee that could rise to twenty-two million if certain goals are met during his time in Atlanta. However, due to Almada’s departure from his team, Pineda has been forced to allow fan-favorite Ezequiel Barco to leave for River Plate in Argentina, with Atlanta native, George Bello, also leaving the club, for German club Arminia Bielefeld. Pineda seems to be content with his squad, opting to invest time into his current roster rather than overloading the team with new members. Only time will tell if this is a masterstroke or a critical error for Atlanta United’s season.
Elsewhere on the east coast, there has been quite a lot of movement just north of Atlanta, as Charlotte FC prepares for their inaugural season of MLS action. Upon appointing new head coach Miguel Ángel Ramírez, from Brazilian team SC Internacional, the club has worked quickly to complete business, to excite the fans, and get on the nerves of their rivals. Further north, New York City prepares for their title defense with the addition of Thiago Martins from their sister club in Japan, Yokohoma F. Marinos. Head coach Rony Delia, like Pineda in Atlanta, wants to keep his squad from last season together to retain their MLS Cup, a feat only achieved once in MLS history.
The final big team to keep an eye on the east is David Beckham’s franchise, Inter Miami. Beckham’s superstar status has attracted big names to the club such as DeAndre Yedlin, Blaise Matuidi, and Gonzalo Higuain from clubs across Europe; yet, they are still searching for their first appearance in the playoffs since their inaugural season two years ago. Even with the addition of new head coach Phil Neville, from the International Women’s Team of England, they still struggled to find an identity all last season. However, it seems as Neville is starting to help the team turn a corner, releasing nearly twenty players in the offseason, and bringing in only five. Neville wanted to make the size of the squad smaller, so they feel more of a family with one another, giving them possibly that extra fight to get them finally into the elusive playoffs.
Moving across the country to Toronto where the MLS’s most heavily paid player, Lorenzo Insigne, is supposed to arrive in the summer. Until then, new head coach, Bob Bradley, will have to build a squad that will not heavily rely on Insigne, with the additions of Carlos Salcedo from Tigres, Liam Fraser from Columbus, and Jesús Jiménez from polish side Górnik Zabrze needing to hit the ground running if Toronto has any chance of doing well this season. Elsewhere, LA Galaxy prepares for the season with the mega signing of Brazilian Douglas Costa from Juventus with Greg Vanney looking to move on from his disappointing first year in the dugout. With Mexican superstar, Javier Hernandez, already leading the line along with him, it could be an attack that leads the Galaxy to not only the playoffs but the MLS Cup as well. Other teams to keep an eye on are LAFC, whose ambitious owners range from Will Ferrell to Magic Johnson, the Seattle Sounders, who are looking to reclaim the MLS title they lost last season, and Austin FC, who will look to make a big impact on the league during their second year of existence. So with the cast assembled, the stadiums shining, and money being thrown around like confetti, it’s time to sit back and enjoy the 2022 MLS season.
By Luke Birch