Comments on: Sepp Blatter Has Some Advice for MLS…

By: buce

buce — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:19:55 +0000

Sepp Blatter is an idiot. Even with a break during the coldest months it would be very hard to do. If he can come and play 90 minutes in Toronto in November or March I will agree that soccer should be a winter sport. Toronto, Chicago, Colorado, Salt Lake, New York, and New England will be very unpleasant to play in or watch from the Middle of November to the Middle of March. A three month siesta would still mean a largely summer season because the current season runs from April to November.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:58:25 +0000

I’m sorry that Sepp didn’t discuss just MLS’s refusal to recognize the international calendar and leave it at that. That particular issue is a huge impediment to American soccer reaching world class levels.

But no, he has to say that nobody good plays in MLS based on Bob Bradley’s callups.

It’s not true that the best Americans are all in Europe. It is true that Bob Bradley has a Europe fetish that makes him call up players who are playing in Europe regardless of whether they’ve actually taken the field in the past season. (It’s also true that Bradley has his MLS-based “binkies” like Brian Ching and Sacha Kjlestan, who get called up regardless of form.)

It may be different with the next coach. (Who, with luck, will come very, very soon.)

By: Mac

Mac — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:41:18 +0000

A Euro-Style season would be the worst idea ever. I’d much rather watch matches in the 100+ heat we get in Chicago in August than in the -30 windchills we get here in January and February.

…Seriously, we had a week of -50 in February this year. A WEEK! What kind of winter break would allow for that?

Plus, it’s nice to have footy in the summer.

By: Thad

Thad — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:58:22 +0000

leaving apart competition from other sports from august-may, I think even many huge footy fans would prefer to keep the summer schedule. I don’t really pay attention to MLS until the Premier League/Champions League etc is all over and if they ran simultaneously I probably wouldn’t watch MLS at all–not enough time in the week.

soccer-specific stadiums owned by the clubs are definitely a must, but not because of scheduling issues. They are a must for creating a good atmosphere at the matches and building a true soccer fan culture.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:16:42 +0000

Chris- So, I am assuming you are talking about the weather in those areas. It’s not exactly 70 degrees and sunny in Chicago, Columbus, Colorado, Salt Lake City, Kansas City November through March.

By: mlyons

mlyons — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:16:03 +0000

Sepp might be a little over the top, but it would sure be nice if MLS would at least make an attempt to accomodate international play and the hot summer weather. Washington DC (and Philadelphia, Dallas, and Houston) are not exactly ideal places to play a hard 90 minutes in August. A split season would work out a lot better on both fronts, I think.

By: Bella

Bella — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:14:56 +0000

I read the interview and actually think he was trying to be helpful. (Clearly fifa would want a successful league in the US to boost their quest for supreme domination of the universe — sorry, back to the scheduling conflict.)

It’s always seemed to me that even avid soccer fans in the US don’t understand quite how important it to players all over the world to be included in their national teams. The World Cup is the pinnacle of every players dreams and your club won’t take you there.

The pool of good players we can attract is certainly going to be smaller if playing here makes international involvement less likely. PLUS, when our clubs do get international players and they spend so much of the MLS season on international duty, that kind of defeats the purpose.

As long as we keep this schedule, it might help if MLS at least took breaks for international dates, like the winter leagues do. And also have deeper rosters, like many of the teams in the other summer leagues mentioned.

By: chris

chris — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:46:26 +0000

“It’s also interesting that Sepp didn’t mention Russia, Ukraine, Argentina, or Mexico when talking about summer schedules.”

Geography, my dear friend.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:37:59 +0000

It’s also interesting that Sepp didn’t mention Russia, Ukraine, Argentina, or Mexico when talking about summer schedules. Just enjoy your back rubs from Jack Warner with optional happy endings and keep your mouth shut, Sepp.

By: andersen

andersen — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:04:53 +0000

wasn’t it 3 years ago sepp was saying how he wanted other leagues to switch to a summer schedule, much like MLS.