There are two factions amassing in Major League Soccer, each with a different approach to playing the game. Andrew Winner writes about the differences in styles of play within MLS.
On one side, there are the teams who can play attractive soccer at times but more often grind out results with rugged play. Teams like Houston and Chivas USA can make things tough on the opponent, both on the scoreboard and in the trainers’ room after the match.
On the other side, there are the clubs like the Seattle Sounders who focus attractive, flowing soccer. These teams want the League to evolve into a fan-friendly spectacle similar to Spain’s La Liga. More goals will lead to more interest from fans, they reason, and the growth of the League as the whole.
If well-played matches are the key to attracting more fans, many players wonder if Major League Soccer will progress into a more palatable on-field product.
“I think there are two camps,” said Kansas City defender Jimmy Conrad. “I hope it is going to graduate and evolve. I think there is a physical aspect to the game. I don’t know if we will ever dodge that completely, but the sooner we can get away from that style of game, the more fans we are going to attract.”
As this battle wages, there’s no denying the growth of two separate groups in Major League Soccer. And the referees are caught in the middle of it.
Around the League, there seems to be no consensus on what constitutes a yellow card and “play-on.” Reading the critical comments about the refereeing around the League, there’s a week-to-week ambiguity as to what actions will be punished, and how severely.
Paul Tamberino, Director of Referee Development for U.S. Soccer, leaves the decisions to the discretion of his match referees. He wants them to be free to interpret the game and instructs them to use their own judgment when calling a match.
“We discuss with our referees about trying to keep a consistency with how each game is officiated, but we also feel it’s important for them to feel the game to help them determine what calls to make,” Tamberino said. “Does the game need the card? Does the player need the card?
“There are also a lot different things that come into play – teams play differently each week and each referee has his own style, too. We want our referees to use more personality when refereeing. This shows the players that the referee has a feel for the game and that they respect the player.”
While to some extent disagreements with the officiating are endemic to any professional sports League, some say the variability of rules enforcement is emblematic of a larger, League-wide crisis. Simply put, no one has decided where the on-field product is heading.
“We as a league need to decide what kind of league we're going to be,” Sounders FC general manager Adrian Hanauer told the Everett Herald. “Then we need to communicate that to US Soccer and referees and the world, so that if we're going to protect attacking, creative play, we do that.
“And if we want to be a league of thugs and knee-high tackles and knees in the back, then tell us all that and we'll cut the players that are the creative, attacking ones and go sign a bunch of thugs.”
Hanauer’s frustration is evident. He built his club to play fluid soccer and this quote came after his two star players, Fredy Montero and Freddie Ljungberg, were the victims of some exceptionally violent tackles in the team’s opening match against the Philadelphia Union. Afterward, Philly’s unapologetic coach Peter Nowak remained defiant, calling out Ljungberg for diving and telling him to take up “curling or badminton or chess” if he wants to avoid contact. Ljungberg fired back, calling Nowak’s comments “laughable.”
That Ljungberg-Nowak exchange represents just one volley in the larger battle for the League. There are relative merits to both approaches.
For teams like Philly, which is very young, playing a physical style can keep them in the game when they are outgunned talent-wise. This approach can chop up the game and take the opponents out of their rhythm. A foul conceded in midfield doesn’t often lead directly to a goal, so there is caution in that approach. It also leads to lower-scoring games, which would magnify each scoring opportunity and make it easier to escape with a 1-0 or 2-1 victory, especially on the road.
The Union, who embody Nowak’s hard-nosed mentality as a player, has embraced the play-hard ethos but has had trouble striking a balance, earning two red cards in the first three matches.
For lack of a better term, “finesse” teams like Seattle play what is considered by most to be a more aesthetically-pleasing brand of soccer. A stricter interpretation of the rules would be in Seattle’s interests, as it would lead to harsher punishment for offenders, which would lead to more space for attackers and more goals.
If Seattle’s strategy was broadly adopted, the additional offense would make the games more palatable to the average fan who tires of a 0-0 draw, which would then lead to the growth of the League as a whole. In reality, it is the teams who have the ability to bridge the gap between the two camps that have found success.
Columbus, the 2008 champions, plays fluid soccer with Guillermo Barros Schelotto but also has a big bruiser in Steven Lenhart at the ready. The midfield of 2009 champion Real Salt Lake, led by Kyle Beckerman, plays with a dogged intensity that combines skill and finesse.
Houston’s roster has excellent skill players like Brad Davis and Brian Ching mixed with rugged players like Eddie Robinson and Brian Mullan. That dynamic style of play under Dominic Kinnear has brought the club back-to-back MLS Cups in 2006 and 2007.
“Houston does a great job of finding the balance,” Conrad said. “When they do tangle with some teams, Chivas being one, it does turn into a fight.”
Each League around the world has its own playing style. One can debate which styles are “better” or “worse,” but it comes down to personal opinion. In Major League Soccer’s 15th year, the League is still trying to find its identity.
It would be well-served to make a League-wide decision to reward attacking soccer.
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