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World Soccer Mailbag

Are foreign players slowing growth of MLS?

Posted: Tuesday September 21, 1999 06:22 PM

CNN/SI's world soccer insider, London-based Gabriele Marcotti, periodically responds to questions and comments from readers. Marcotti writes a weekly column on international soccer for CNNSI.com

To submit questions or comments to Gabriele Marcotti, click here.

Question from Robert K. Padovano, Raleigh, N.C.:
A comment on Kasey Keller playing at Rayo Vallecano -- I am halfway expecting Keller to be with Real Madrid within two years. You may have looked at Keller's move to Rayo as a "step down", but Keller can now show his world-class talent in a world-class city. The Spanish League and the English league are equal, but the city of Madrid is quite a step up from Leicester.

Marcotti: I hope you're right. I hope the Primera Liga will offer him a better stage on which to display his talent. I just fear it may be more difficult at a team fighting relegation (like Rayo), compared to a mid-table club (like Leicester)

Question from Jon Delman, West Hills, Calif.
All day long I hear moaning and groaning over Anelka leaving Arsenal in a big huff. But what became of it? He is unhappy in Spain as he was in England. Last I heard he was considering quitting. He is young and not mature enough to handle the real pressures of a huge media frenzy. I think Davor Suker will fit in fine in Arsenal's lineup. They took a chance on Kanu, rarely used effectively by Inter, and it paid off. Wenger knows what he is doing and has the hisory to prove it.

It is sad to see teams resorting to buying their talent instead of growing it, but Championships mean more to fans than seeing locals. Chelsea has taken a real gamble in the last few years with all the foreign talent they have imported, but it has paid off, 4 trophies in 3 years.

Fans want to see the big stars play. If they want to see their countrymen play they can watch Euro 2000 or the World Cup. Club play is great because you can see Brazilians in Italy and Frenchman in England.

American sports could use a lot more foreigners in sports than we have. It adds flavor to the game. I'm pulling for Chelsea. I love seeing all the big names together on the same pitch.

My question is: have limitations on foreigners hurt the game more than helped it? I heard a while back that Spain was going to institute a rule that there can be no less than a certain percentage of foreign born talent on the team at one time. I know MLS instituted such a rule and I think it has hurt the league. What do you think?

Marcotti: As far as countries in the European Union are concerned, the point is moot, because labour laws prohibit limits on the number of foreigners, as long as they hold EU passports. Most countries have rules on the number of non-EU players you can field (in Italy, for example, it is three), but that rule is easily circumvented because it is not difficult to find a Portoguese, Spanish or Italian passport for South Americans.

Personally, I think foreigners have helped more than hurt. Some clubs have had bad experiences, but much of it is down to a lack of know-how in terms of who to buy and how to buy them. As time goes by, things will improve.

As far as MLS is concerned, I think it is one of the rare situations where a limit is desirable. The game simply hasn't had a chance to grow. And since most foreigners in MLS are, in my opinion, fairly mediocre, raising the limit wouldn't do much good, since you'd only get more mediocre foreigners. At that point, you're better of with mediocre, U.S. players.

Question from Abdulla S. AlNaboodah, Dubai,United Arab Emirates
It is not really a question -- it's an opinion, FIFA should organize a tournament with all the countries which won the World Cup only and I think it will be a very tough and very good plus the host country. This tournament will be instead of the world cup every 2 years what do you think?

Marcotti: I don't know that it would be a good idea. For starters, it would be limited to eight countries (France, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, England, Italy and the host). I'm not sure these are the top eight countries in the world (consider the likes of Spain, Holland and Nigeria, who would all be left out). Don't forget, Uruguay failed to qualify for the last World Cup and France and England were both absent in 1994. I'm not sure the game needs more international commitments either. If it works, why try to fix it?

Question from Mike Giordano, Oshawa, Ontario,Canada
Gabriele, my question is concerning the Azzurri's disgusting 3-2 loss to Denmark. I know they missed Maldini and Denmark is a good team but to blow a two goal thats ridiculous for Italy. Their starting midfield was ALBERTINI,BAGGIO(DINO),FUSER,and Di Francesco, which is to say awful compared to France,Argentina,Brazil, and Holland. I believe Zoff should play Totti in behind the two strikers as he did for Roma much of last year. What do you think?

Marcotti: Italy's midfield lacks depth, and I agree that the countries you mentioned are stronger in that department, but I'm not sure Totti is the solution. At Roma he tended to play wide, rather than centrally and I don't think it would work for the national team. It's an intriguing idea however...

Question from Gonzalo F. Martin, Madrid
Please Mr. Marcotti look inside of yourself and tell me sincerely that you enjoy the normal average Serie A match. I'd like also to know what's your opinion about how well would do teams like Roma or Celta in the Premier league? I also would like to contrast the information about merchandising you mention in your article because Mr. Sanz has stated in TV, in a very arrogant way, that since Real Madrid bought back its image contract last year, RM sells a lot more t-shirts than Barcelona and ManU in the world. Thank you.

Marcotti: I assume your question about Serie A has to do with the fact that often the games are heavily tactical and many times overly defensive. I do enjoy it, but I agree it is not as entertaining in terms of attacking quality as the Primera Liga or the Premiership. This is especially true on television. If you watch the games live and you enjoy the tactical aspects (which I do) then they are quite fun. And, since the top players are so good, you do get glimpses of skill which are very rewarding. Overall, I agree however that it is less entertaining than Spain, England or Brazil. I think Manchester United is easily superior to Celta on paper, but Celta could give the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Leeds a run for their money. My guess is they could finish anywhere between second and fifth. The same applies to Roma, provided Capello can provide some tactical solidity. As for Sanz's comments, I really don't know. The guy says a lot of things, some of which turn out to be true, some of which don't. I'd be very surprised if Real sells more than Manchester United, for the simple reason that United's network of distribution points worldwide is much, much bigger.

Question from Melusi, Cape Town, South Africa
First of all I say you are doing a wonderful job in your column. question: I understand that the English league is the richest in the world and that Man. united is the richest team in the world, yet their league is a bore. There is just no quality (in terms of players)in the league because they "can't" pay big money. In football what does it mean to be rich? Logically, no club should be able to "poach" from the Man. united kraal, but come June Keane might go! The money they have, where & when is it used if it can't be used to hold such quality? Another English side Leeds could'nt hang on to Hasselbank, opting to replace him with an average player, Macmannaman is getting more than double what he was getting at Liverpool, Anelka is cashing big as well. What's the story about an English man and money? What's the story about an English man and money?

Marcotti: Actually, in terms of money available to spend on players, the English league ranks behind Serie A. And, while English clubs are rich, top players can earn more at top clubs in Italy, Spain and Germany. That is the problem and that is why Keane, Hasselbaink and McManaman left.

Question from Christopher Murphy, Boston, Mass.
What is the Worthington Cup? I know it has prestige and I've heard it referred to as the old Coca Cola Cup, but I don't understand what it represents. How does it differ from the F.A. Cup. Who plays (are allowed to play) in it and why was a spot in Europe given to Tottenham last year for winning it. Thanks for any insight.

Marcotti: The Worthington Cup is the English League Cup. Unlike the F.A. Cup (which is open to amateur teams), it is limited to the 20 teams that make up the Premiership and the 72 that are in the Football League (Divisions 1, 2 and 3). England has traditionally awarded a UEFA Cup spot to the winners. In recent years, it has been snubbed by a number of top clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal who tend to field weakened teams in the early rounds.

Question from John R., Montreal, Canada
My name is John and I wanted to know if you think that Canada has a chance for the 2010 world cup to be selected for hosting the world cup event people have bean saying that Canada was going to try to have this event but I have got no resent news on it I my self think that it would be such a good thing to promote the wonderful game of calcio in North America.

Marcotti: I'm not sure how Canada's bid is going, but I think it will be difficult to get it by 2010. If South Africa gets 2006, then I think it's a given that a European country (England or Germany) will get 2010. Europe is too powerful to be left out for that long. By the same token, if a European country gets 2006, South Africa will probably be rewarded with 2010. Canada's best bet may be 2014.

Question from G. Shin, Moscow, Russia
How would you rank the various European leagues in terms of quality and difficulty? Moreover, I doubt that you can base your conclusion that Barcelona are better than Real Madrid purely on what occurs in a given week. That would be like asserting that Rayo Vallecano are of a higher standard than Valencia. It is also interesting to note that Real Madrid's side have incorporated 5-6 of their new signings in their first two league matches. Barcelona, on the other hand, have only really made use of 2-3 of theirs. Wouldn't it be more prudent to reserve your judgement for a few weeks until the league is in full swing? To me, your conclusion seem rather hasty and premature.

Marcotti: My assessment of Barcelona and Real Madrid was linked to my previous week's column, where I talked about why I felt Barca was stronger. The first week's results merely supported my theory, so I pointed out. I agree that reserving judgement would be more prudent, but sometimes you have to go out on a limb. Feel free to point out my errors of judgement in the future however. Part of what makes this game so great is that anyone can be proved wrong by the facts.

Question from Jonathan, Washington, DC, USA
Although I know that pro soccer in the US isn't very well known yet, do you think that DC United deserves some recognition? Perhaps MLS isn't the most famous league in the world, but we do have some world class players, like Carlos Hermosillo, Carlos Valderamma, DC's beloved combo of Marco Etcheverry and Jaime Moreno, and Lothar Matthaus is coming next year. DC has performed quite well in international play, defeating Vasco along with winning quite a few CONCACAF championships. And Jeff Agoos, Roy Lassiter, Ben Olsen, and Eddie Pope are all on a US National team that performed quite well at the Confederations Cup, along with beating Argentina 1-0. So, am I just dreaming of fame for MLS and my dear DC United? Or could we finally get some recognition?

Marcotti: I hate to burst your bubble. DC United is a good club, but it has a long way to go, just like MLS. Hermosillo is solid, but Valderrama is 38 years old and is no longer a world class player. Moreno was a failure in Europe. Etcheverry is a true talent, though I wish he could perform more often on the world stage.

I wouldn't put too much stock in the Confederations Cup either. Most countries treated it as a Mickey Mouse competition. I think the U.S. team will get serious recognition before MLS does. And I think it will do so sooner rather than later, as long as guys like Pope and Olsen continue to develop.