MLS Power Rankings: LA Galaxy on top, chased by Sporting KC, Dynamo & Earthquakes
The 2013 Major League Soccer seasons opens on Saturday and, in the minds of the Power Rankings Politboro, it might look a whole lot like how 2012 ended. A look at the last edition of the rankings before the season gets underway reveals that the LA Galaxy are still No.1 until someone proves otherwise, and teams like Chivas USA and Toronto FC still have a long way to go.
Note: Players in the Key Losses category marked with an asterisk are available to return to the team on loan during the course of the 2013 regular season. The Power Rankings are voted on by the editorial staff at MLSsoccer.com, while all comments are written by editor Matthew Doyle.
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
| Rank | Trending | Club | Comment |
|
1 |
2012: 1 |
|
OK, Beckham's gone and Donovan's in Cambodia looking for Colonel Kurtz. This would quite clearly throw any other team off. But the Galaxy hoist trophies for a living, and they're going to have to work really hard to convince us they're not the league's best team.
|
| 2 |
2012: 5 |
|
Lots of love for SKC this offseason, and the Power Rankings Politburo wouldn't be at all surprised if they put on a clinic from Day 1 this year. But even with the incoming talent they have, chemistry concerns (always an issue with tons of new players) could mean they need time to get on the same page.
|
|
3 |
2012: 2 |
|
On the face of it Houston might have the best, most complete team in the league. They can play boom-ball if they need to, can string passes together, and with Giles Barnes healthy, can run the diamond again — just like they did in '06 and '07. A thin central defense is the only real concern.
|
| 4 |
2012: 3 |
|
Handy-dandy warning alarm for the Quakes: This group stunk in 2011 when both Lenhart and Gordon were out (which, as it turns out, they both are). We expect they'll handle the absence of their targets better this time through, but the potential for slippage is there.
|
|
5 |
2012: 4 |
|
United were unstoppable for a bit last season when Andy Najar moved to right back because they had four guys who could absolutely kill you 1-v-1 (Najar, DeLeon, DeRo, Pontius). They'll still be good, but without that trump card they'll need consistent production from one of the center forwards.
|
| 6 |
2012: 6 |
|
The Sounders probably have the greatest potential for movement either up or down the rankings. They did lose their best defender and, arguably, their best forward, after all. If the replacements come in and jell, they could make a run at a Shield. If they don't, Seattle could be in a fight just to make the playoffs.
|
|
7 |
2012: 9 |
|
The Fire, like Seattle, have a lot of “either direction” potential. Replacing your starting central midfield, after all, is not easy. Compounding it is there’s still no proven goalscorer beyond Chris Rolfe, who’s notoriously streaky. The upside is they don’t look like a team that’s going to concede many goals.
|
| 8 |
2012: 7 |
|
Some are calling RSL’s new look an “overhaul,” but the reality is that they’re returning 14 of their top 19 in regular-season minutes. Most teams would kill for that kind of stability. They will need the youngsters, however, to start stepping up for real, not just on paper.
|
|
9 |
2012: 8 |
|
Another year, another new Red Bulls team. This one looks like it'll be playing either a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, which means the concern is "Who will help Dax win the ball?" Midfield recoveries are directly correlated to points, which means that Tim Cahill is probably going to have to do more defensive work than he's used to.
|
| 10 |
2012: 11 |
|
For the second year in a row, the Whitecaps have looked very, very good in preseason. Last year that led into a two-month run at or near the top of the Western Conference standings, and something similar wouldn't be a shock in 2013. They just need to avoid the temptation of blowing it up come June.
|
|
11 |
2012: 10 |
|
Hard to know what to make of the Crew. Their offense will live and die with Federico Higuaín, while their defense should expect to have a learning curve with all the new faces. Robert Warzycha will be under legitimate pressure to have all the parts moving in the same direction.
|
| 12 |
2012: 13 |
|
"David Ferreira + two forwards" seems like it should equal "goals, goals, goals." The question is if that will be true going in both directions. If Schellas goes with the diamond, there will be tons of break-outs going in the wrong direction. If not, Ferreira might not be as effective going forward.
|
|
13 |
2012: 17 |
|
The Timbers kicked around several different formations before settling up on the 4-3-3 to close the preseason, and strung together some nice moments in the process. They'll need Darlington Nagbe and Ryan Johnson to become regular goalscorers, though, and that's eluded both players in their pro careers thus far.
|
| 14 |
2012: 12 |
|
The Impact looked more solid and sound in winning the Disney Pro Soccer Classic, a nice change from their porous defense of 2012. How long they'll be able to keep it up once the grueling regular season starts is a legitimate question, however, considering the lack of youth in the team.
|
|
15 |
2012: 16 |
|
Straight up: The Union did not look good this preseason. The attack still seems like a mess, and it might be best if John Hackworth decides that one of the three strikers — Conor Casey, Sébastien Le Toux, Jack McInerney — becomes a supersub. And defensively, there's still a lot of sorting that needs to be done.
|
| 16 |
2012: 14 |
|
The new faces — Ecuadorian defender Diego Calderón and Chilean attacker Kevin Harbottle — will get most of the ink, but the real test for Oscar Pareja's side will be how quickly the central midfield jells. Hendry Thomas and Pablo Mastroeni seem to have overlapping skillsets, so it might be an uphill climb.
|
|
17 |
2012: 15 |
|
Still hard to figure out exactly what kind of team the Revolution will be, though it's pretty clear that "opportunistic" will be in there somewhere. Expect more growing pains this season as Jay Heaps continues to lay the foundation for future campaigns.
|
| 18 |
2012: 18 |
|
Given all that's happened in the past four months, please, please let someone be working on The Chelís Experiment book. Daniel Day Lewis would win an Oscar for the big screen version.
|
| 19 |
2012: 19 |
|
Their roster's not even close to complete yet, which means that Ryan Nelsen is already up against it before he's even coached a real game. Reds fans have been patient for a long time, and they'll most likely have to keep that up for the next couple of months at least.
|
).