CDNFootballer Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 The Aging Stars of Major League Soccer A flood of highly paid, past-their-prime European players are coming to the U.S., raising questions about whether their star power helps the American game or hurts it. http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/07/major-league-soccer-pirlo-drogba-lampard-gerrard/399779/#disqus_thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmonte Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Look, Villa and Kaka are both top 10 in the league in scoring. Guys like Lampard were having trouble moving over to NYCFC because Man City found him to be too effective just a few months ago. If they stay healthy and play enough games, hey, leading the team in scoring and attracting tens of thousands to watch the game? The only downside is that some of them may be overpaid for this stage of their career. But in terms of development, guys in Orlando get to watch and learn from a former Ballon D'Or winner, for chrissakes. As for me, I could care less what some guys in England think of our product. That's really what articles like this are about. I know it's improving, and screw what they think, I'm going to watch and love it, and same for more and more North American who are tuning in to watch some of the biggest names actually playing in stadiums near them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shamrock Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Kaka and Obi Martins aren't that old (if that age is correct in the case of martins), but Drogba and Pirlo are. Some are effective and some aren't. I think that a player with superior skills can last longer than an athlete, which is why I would choose Pirlo over Drogba. In any case, looking purely at value, a latin player in his prime offers the most bang for buck (Laba, Waston, Rivero, Piatti maybe Venegas to name a few). If you can afford a European star in his prime (Giovinco) that's all the better, but him and Altidore are the exception really. I really think MLS is going more and more Latin, especially with the young Designated player scheme and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I don't see it hurting MLS at all, only helping. Look at it this way, in the short term (5-10 years) MLS should strive to be at the level of the Turkish Super Lig. Teams in Turkey would most definitely covet any of the aging MLS stars to compliment their rosters... as long as the whole team isn't old it's all good. Also, it's going to help those young players develop in the future. If you want to be a top league faster you go younger quicker... that's why this guy would have been perfect for MLS instead of one of those aging guys: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulinho_(footballer) 27 years old with 30+ caps for Brazil... I'm sure he could have been tempted if he went to China. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuillermoDelQuarto Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I don't see how it can possibly hurt it, in terms of actual quality, learning from legends, etc etc. The one thing I do think it does is detract from the actual overall quality, because people can throw around that "retirement league" bs. I'm really hoping young guys start taking over the scoring leads soon, and preferably some homegrown guys, so we can put that to bed. I'll be honest I watched five years ago and I had to turn it off, but the on the field product has improved dramatically, to the point where I couldn't personally justify not supporting our domestic league anymore. Call me a bandwagoner, but this is a very good sign. I'm a bit of a former eurosnob convert, and that should encourage you faithful guys who have been here all along. I've sait it before one this forum(in my three weeks here) and I'll say it again. Canadian soccer has never been better in terms of interest(at least in my lifetime). Its time to capitalize on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Kaka and Obi Martins aren't that old (if that age is correct in the case of martins)and Pirlo are. Some are effective and some aren't. I think that a player with superior skills can last longer than an athlete, which is why I would choose Pirlo over Drogba. In any case, looking purely at value, a latin player in his prime offers the most bang for buck (Laba, Waston, Rivero, Piatti maybe Venegas to name a few). If you can afford a European star in his prime (Giovinco) that's all the better, but him and Altidore are the exception really. I really think MLS is going more and more Latin, especially with the young Designated player scheme and all. It's (Oba)femi Martins and your post could do without you questioning his age. There has never been any evidence to suggest Martin's age was falsified so you are painting all Nigerians with the same brush and I find that offensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Pirlo is also not a good fit for NYCFC (and arguably MLS). Not because of his age but because of his skillset. Same goes for Xavi which is why it was good that he never came. Pirlo won't be a bust but he's not going to be a superstar. He needs 9 quality outfield players to benefit from his brilliance, and right now he has Villa, Mix and Poku. He'd have been better off signing with a much more balanced team like LA or Seattle - but really a salary capped league with 3 elite players surrounded by scrubs is not conducive to getting the most out of Pirlo. Drogba will be the more effective of the two by far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moldy9 Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 I feel it's just envy and jealousy. Some people are just haters and wish they could be racking in the cash. Some probably are jealous that MLS can get these names despite being past their prime they're still attractive. You can't tell me that no league or team would want Pirlo, Gerrard, Villa, Drogba, on their team or in their league. And yes it's a benefit to have them cause they can raise the level of the game, pass on their knowledge and experience to younger players and garner interest for future stars to come to MLS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDNFootballer Posted September 26, 2015 Author Share Posted September 26, 2015 NYCFC's aging Euro stars come to Vancouvers BC place, will they play on the turf? A Mysterious Case of Turfitis http://www.northernstartingeleven.com/a-mysterious-case-of-turfitis/ For NYCFC to make the 2015 playoffs, they will need Giovinco to come down with a nasty stomach flu, Drogba to twist an ankle and Kaka to drop dead. So it is with this hope that NYCFC coach Jason Kreis, has brought the injury prone Big 3 to Vancouver, supposedly intending to risk their aging fragile legs on sketchy turf against the best team in MLS in a desperate attempt to earn 3 points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I've never cared for EPL so I don't know him well, but is Frank Lampard always such a sniveling shit of a dishonest player? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnamed Trialist Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 The problem yesterday was the ref being intimidated by that stuff, falling for it. I do not mind gamesmanship, and having someone with prestige on a club able to tell the ref where he's wrong is fine. It is part of the game. Another thing is having a spineless guy running the show who gives a guy jumping out of the way of a perfectly good tackle a penalty. Though Vancouver had so many chances to win it it is hard to say that is the reason we lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greatest Cockney Rip Off Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I've never cared for EPL so I don't know him well, but is Frank Lampard always such a sniveling shit of a dishonest player? Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masster Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 NYCFC's aging Euro stars come to Vancouvers BC place, will they play on the turf? A Mysterious Case of Turfitis http://www.northernstartingeleven.com/a-mysterious-case-of-turfitis/ For NYCFC to make the 2015 playoffs, they will need Giovinco to come down with a nasty stomach flu, Drogba to twist an ankle and Kaka to drop dead. So it is with this hope that NYCFC coach Jason Kreis, has brought the injury prone Big 3 to Vancouver, supposedly intending to risk their aging fragile legs on sketchy turf against the best team in MLS in a desperate attempt to earn 3 points. I don't understand this turfitis talk that was so prevalent in the media regarding whether the NYCFC guys would play in Vancouver. Just look at history, and the answer is almost always yes...they will. Henry was the only exception I can think of. Beckham, Nesta, Di Vaio, Cahill, Keane (although he complains), Dempsey, Martins, Giovinco...they have all played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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