Welcome to Starting XI, our Friday rundown of what to watch for this weekend in MLS and beyond. And don't forget to get your Spanish-language fix with FutbolMLS.com.
Our recommended listening for this holiday weekend comes from editor Andrew Wiebe is "Who Needs You" by the Orwells. Remember summer? Yeah, me neither. This song will make you feel all warm inside, though.
- MLS reveals 2015 regular season schedule
- When are the rivalry matches this year?
- Strength of schedule? Good luck, Quakes
1. BELLY OF THE BEAST: This is why the rest of the country, with its fresh air, personal space, reasonable cost of living and a distinct lack of 24/7 insanity – Wait, why am I here again? – looks at New York City and says, "I'm down to visit, but I can't possibly live (or support a team) there." First, New York City FC had everyone stumbling around in the dark grasping for Frank Lampard clarity (lies and nonsense!), then the Red Bulls unceremoniously disposed of a legend in Mike Petke, the only head coach in the history of the club to hoist silverware in front of the South Ward. Needless to say, this town isn't for the faint of heart. The once-cursed Red Bulls already knew that, and now NYCFC is getting a lesson in the combustible undercurrent of fandom in Gotham. – ANDREW WIEBE
2. BAKY DROPS A FIRE BOMB:Bakary Soumare must have his Civil War history down pat because he left a Sherman-esque swath of scorched earth between Chicago on Montreal after being introduced as the Impact's newest (well, second-newest) center back this week. Soumare used the beat-up surface at Toyota Park (also a target of Mike "I win Twitter" Magee) as a metaphor – "The grass represents the club" – for the state of his hometown team. That's a sick burn, but here's the snippet that will make Chicago fans really cringe: "I don’t want to knock them too much, but there’s a lack of will to succeed on every level." The statements on either side of that comma are, well, incongruent. To be fair, though, Soumare wasn't exactly the solution, either. Chicago were 4-6-15 in his 25 starts last season, recording just five shutouts, and Montreal were even worse. Looks like someone just heaped fuel on the smoldering conflagration at the bottom of last year's Eastern Conference standings. – ANDREW WIEBE
3. PLEASE COME TO MLS, ADEBAYOR: Steven Lenhart's days as a Twitter punching bag for MLS fans are waning and MLS needs a new villain. Who better than Emannuel Adebayor? No one. The answer is no one. The dude once sprinted the length of the field to piss off fans who, less than a year before, had sung his name. So what if he has fallen out of favor with the last four clubs he's played for? America is the land of the fifth chance. And, to top it all off, there’s such an easy #bae joke waiting to happen. Sign him up. – MATT FOLGER
4. WINDS OF CHANGE: Don’t bother watching for Jozy Altidore on Saturday when Sunderland take on Liverpool. It’s far more interesting to follow along online, where the USMNT striker has recently been linked to Toronto FC, the Portland Timbers and the New York Red Bulls. Although the most recent report has RBNY opting out of a whopping $5-6 million price tag for a guy who’s an afterthought in the EPL, it’s encouraging for US fans to know that at least MLS is negotiating to bring Altidore home. Stay tuned. – NICK FIRCHAU
5. NOT DEAD YET:One guy picked in last year's SuperDraft will be at USMNT camp this month. Another could be with Canada. Another with Jamaica. Then there's a guy who got an assist in MLS Cup, and a couplemore who have real US Olympic team aspirations, and a few more beyond that who have the look of long-time MLS starters.
My point? Even in the day and age of MLS academy success, the SuperDraft is still relevant. Here's our pre-Combine Mock Draft for some light reading. – MATT DOYLE
6. G-MAN: The Galaxy lost star power. The Galaxy found star power. It's not 100-percent clear yet how Steven Gerrard will fit once he arrives in Carson, but I've got some ideas. – MATT DOYLE
7. CHILD'S PLAY: If you’re like me and love watching international tournament soccer, and also want to see some of the region’s stars of tomorrow, you’re in luck. The CONCACAF U-20 Championship begins on Friday, and will feature both current and future MLS players (games will be televised on FOX Sports 2 in the US). The US and Canadian U-20 squads are both looking for a berth to this summer’s U-20 World Cup in New Zealand. Not all of these guys will turn out to be superstars, but there should be at least a few who will make it to the USMNT or CanMNT. And by the way... Jurgen's watching. – ALICIA RODRIGUEZ
8. REMEMBER THIS STORY? He helped to build up a team that went on one of the most successful runs in MLS history and now Garth Lagerwey is gone. Along with their GM, Real Salt Lake have seen multiple key contributors leave the club this offseason in Nat Borchers, Ned Grabavoy, Chris Wingert, Sebastian Velasquez and El Tri prospect Carlos Salcedo. Could this club miss the playoffs for the first time since 2007 in the unrelenting West, or are Rimando, Beckerman, Plata and Sabo enough to keep the streak alive? – BEN BAER
9. TWEET(S) OF THE WEEK: Mix Diskerud is already bringing out the best in some future (maybe?) opponents.
10. SOCCER AFTER DARK: Say you want more international soccer beyond the CONCACAF U-20s…what to do? If you’re a night owl with One World Sports, you can see the AFC Asian Cup, which began very early Friday morning. And with a couple of MLS players at the tournament (Tim Cahill of Australia and Justin Meram of Iraq), you may catch something spectacular. – ALICIA RODRIGUEZ
11. PIPELINE PROBLEMS: Bad news for the United States national team and the 2042 World Cup on Mars. Looks like the US has decided to scale back its presence at 15 different military bases in Europe – including ones in Germany! – in an effort to cut costs. Everyone knows the 2014 World Cup team thrived with players who were the sons of military men in Europe – three different German-Americans scored a goal in Brazil – so does this spell the end for the US’ ability to import talent? Will it actually come to – gasp – growing the guys on our own? – NICK FIRCHAU
