MLS preseason officially hits full swing this weekend, with the rest of the league’s teams reporting for duty one week after the five Concacaf Champions League participants got things started.
All 26 clubs have plenty of storylines worth watching for, of course, and questions to answer in the weeks ahead. But these five stand out for me, whether it be for the promise they’ve shown entering 2020, the scale of the challenges in front of them or the personalities onboard.
Chicago Fire FC
Where to begin? The Fire have a new coaching staff, new brand, new NFL-sized stadium and, to a large extent, a new team this year. With just 17 players under contract on the eve of preseason – one a fresh draft pick and three teenage Homegrowns – the roster is barely half-full. While they’ll undoubtedly add to it in the days ahead, as they did on Saturday with the arrival of striker Robert Beric, the status quo underlines the workload, and time crunch, facing the all-new technical staff.
Beyond that, Raphael Wicky will be a fascinating figure to follow. The Fire’s head coach was convinced to leave U.S. Soccer and move across town less than a year into his tenure as the US Under-17 national team boss. And though that team’s disappointing performance at the 2019 U-17 World Cup dinged his reputation, he’d largely earned positive reviews for his proactive work with that squad, as well as his previous stop at FC Basel in his native Switzerland.
Columbus Crew SC
If the Fire are the definition of a work in progress, their heartland counterparts in Ohio are the inverse. The Crew finished last season on a high note as Caleb Porter & co. found a rhythm down the stretch, and they built on that further with some promising winter moves, highlighted by the arrival of Darlington Nagbe and club-record acquisition Lucas Zelarayan.
The Yellow Football Team look to be crafting a fluid, technically-gifted starting lineup with a fearsome central-midfield core. Now the challenge is to hit the ground running this spring and prove their bonafides in a crowded Eastern Conference field.
LA Galaxy
Chicharito. Need I say more?
OK, fine, I’ll say more. Beyond Javier Hernandez’s expected (blockbuster) signing, the Galaxy have reeled in Aleksandar Katai and Sacha Kljestan, extended the loan for Cristian Pavon and re-signed Sebastian Lletget, providing some luxurious attacking options for Guillermo Barros Schelotto as the OGs of El Trafico aim to punch back in the battle of Los Angeles.
Have they fixed that painfully wobbly backline? Ehhh, I’m not so sure about that. LA might just have to win a lot of 3-2 and 4-3 games again this year. But that’s just fine for most of us neutral viewers.
Montreal Impact
As a rebuilding side who also happen to be one of MLS’s CCL representatives, the Impact face a daunting start to their first season under Thierry Henry, who despite his legend status as a player remains very much an unproven product in coaching terms. And their opening foe, Costa Rican powers Saprissa, will be a very tough out.
That said, Henry’s footballing intellect is unquestionable and IMFC have a proud history of punching above their weight in Champions League. Can they get comfortable again at “The Big O,” their hulking, historic second home for cold-weather matches?
Seattle Sounders
The defending MLS Cup champs also have to figure things out quickly given the early start brought on by CCL, and they have the quality and desire to make a real run at the thing.
Problem is, they’ve bid farewell to some key figures this offseason and are paper-thin at the back, particularly in central defense, where the freshly-signed Shane O’Neill and Xavier Arreaga are their sole specialist options at present. And their CCL opener, a potentially dicey visit to Honduras’ Olimpia, is barely a month away. It’s a real job looming in front of coach Brian Schmetzer and his staff.
From SCCL to Campeones Cup, the Sounders are planning for their busiest year in recent memory.
"We’re going to have lots of opportunities for young players to come in and try to prove themselves because we’re going to have more reps.”sndrs.com/m62rg
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