MLS Cup was less than two weeks ago, but in sports, the next day starts the next season. With an offseason already full of playoff schedule and format changes, an expansion draft for FC Cincinnati and stadium news for Columbus and Austin, clubs and fans are ready to get started again.
Gregg Berhalter has made his first public decisions as U.S. men’s national team coach, picking the 2019 USMNT roster for the January camp. Berhalter, hired on Dec. 2, named 27 players based entirely in MLS for the annual three-week January training camp, which will culminate in friendlies against Panama and Costa Rica.
While most of Texas was focused on national signing day for college football, another sport made big news in Austin, the largest U.S. city without a top-level professional sports team. The city of Austin and Precourt Sports Ventures announced a landmark $225 million Austin FC stadium deal on Wednesday morning.
On Monday MLS announced sweeping changes to the format and schedule for the MLS playoffs starting in 2019.
As expected with anything these days, there were immediate complaints. Whether from long-time MLS fans not liking the changes or non-fans who love to have a gripe at the league. These changes have been coming for some time and with good reason.
Beginning next season, Major League Soccer will introduce a new playoff format that addresses a number of key criticisms of the previous renditions. In 2019, the number of teams that qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs will increase from 12 to 14. With the addition of FC Cincinnati, there will be 24 clubs in MLS next year.
It’s official: Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not be joining AC Milan or some other European power come January — instead, the Swedish striker will focus entirely on the 2019 MLS season with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
“MLZ (Major League Zlatan) Im not done with you yet,” said Ibrahimovic on Twitter, putting to bed some rumors that the striker himself has continuously distanced himself from since the close of the regular season.
FC Cincinnati will make its Major League Soccer debut in 2019. While reasonably successful in the United Soccer League the last three years, MLS will present a far greater challenge for the Orange and Blue. Fortunately for fans in the 66th largest city in the U.S., a number of recent FC Cincinnati signings this week have the club trending in the right direction.
The 2019 MLS season is behind us. Atlanta United capped off an amazing first two years as an expansion club. But such as things are in sports, the page turns quickly looking ahead to the next season. The MLS free agency period kicked off this week and a number of experienced vets across the league are now available to make moves.
According to Showbuzz Daily, the 2018 MLS Cup Final averaged 1.5 million viewers on FOX, making it the second-most-watched final in league history behind MLS Cup ’97 (which garnered an audience of 2.2 million people thirsting for Marcelo Balboa). Atlanta United beat Portland 2-0 in front of a record crowd for an MLS match on Saturday.