Wednesday, August 22, 2007

10 (Well 9) Foriegn Players for the MLS

Martin Rogers lists nine players and a referee!? that could help improve the MLS.

The one thing that has separated the MLS from its American soccer forefunner, the North American Soccer League, has been its insistence in having American players play prominent roles on the field. This is a policy that should continue.

The problem with brining foreign players to the states to play is that we will start to rely on that foriegn star power to sell the league instead of developing our own star power. The MLS needs to display players like Jozy Altidore, Danny Szetela, Jonathan Bornstein, Chris Seitz and other young players who are making a mark in both U.S. Soccer on an international stage and in the MLS. By marketing, I am talking about deals beyond soccer endorsements and advertising directed at soccer audiences.

More exposure to the greater audience of these young, good-looking American players who like Landon Donovan are expanding the depth of American soccer is what is going to appeal to the American public. Soccer may be a hard game to understand, but understanding individual players is not hard for American sports fans.

Would the addition of Rogers' foriegn players increase the level of play in the MLS--without a doubt and that can help. But if MLS is going to make it as a major sports league in this country--it is going to do so on the marketing backs of American players.

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