The 2015 MLS season is just 30 days away. The season starts on March 6, when the LA Galaxy host the Chicago Fire at StubHub Center (watch on UniMas.) Here are 30 things that have the staff here at MLSsoccer.com excited for things to get going.
1. EXPANDING OUR MINDS. Orlando City and New York City FC might be the most hyped pair of expansion teams in MLS history. Rightly so. Everyone's expecting big things. But on the field, will Year 1 see them go the way of the hapless 2005 Real Salt Lake side or the Cup-winning 1998 Chicago Fire?
2. BIG NAMES, BIG EXPECTATIONS. Speaking of hype, 2015 is already the year of star power. Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Sebastian Giovinco, Kaka, and Shaun Maloney are just a sampling of the new bold-faced names that will grace MLS fields this year. Let's not forget the American imports, either. Jozy Altidore, Sacha Kljestan, Juan Agudelo and Mix Diskerud are here, too.
3. UNHERALDED NAMES, UNKNOWN EXPECTATIONS.David Accam and Kristinn Steindorsson aren't quite on par with the headline-grabbers mentioned above, but the Chicago Fire and Columbus Crew SC signings, respectively, are fine examples of some of the under-hyped talent that's arrived in the league this year. MLSsoccer.com's Greg Lalas has his thoughts on a few more guys like this.
4. YOUTH GONE WILD. 2014 was a breakthrough year for a whole cadre of young players, including LA's 16-goalscorer Gyasi Zardes, Dallas's scintillating Fabian Castillo, New England's midfield stalwart Scott Caldwell, Crew SC's little general Wil Trapp, Chicago's fireball Harry Shipp, Colorado's versatile Shane O'Neill and D.C.'s ironman Perry Kitchen. Who's next in 2015?
5. APPOINTMENT VIEWING. Set your calendars, MLS fans, because Friday nights and Sunday afternoons/evenings, you'll be able to watch all these players and more in dedicated time slots. A more settled schedule has been a long time coming, and now ESPN, FOX and Univision are primed to lead the league and its fans to a TV breakthrough.
6. ALL ABOUT THE CLEVELANDS. Can MLS break the 1,000-goal mark? The 2014 campaign already saw a record 924 tallies, and with a net gain of one more team (34 more matches), plus a wealth of attacking players entering the league, we could see the goal total hit four digits if the scoring rate keeps up.
7. BOOT POLISH. On the subject of scoring records, we've seen a surprise Golden Boot winner more often than not in the last few years. Think Chris Wondolowski (2010 edition), Mike Magee (2013) and Bradley Wright-Phillips (2014). Will another new face come out of nowhere, or will the Golden Boot belong to an old hand?
8. CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES, COME ON! Regardless of who scores the most goals in 2015, everyone also wants to know what the creative types will come up with to top last year's goal celebrations?
9. IS THE WEST EVEN BETTER...? Sporting and Houston are back in the Western Conference – does this guarantee another year of West supremacy? Can the battle for the league's coolest trophy, El Capitan (below), take its place as one of the league's marquee rivalries?
10. OR IS THERE SOME EASTERN PROMISE?: Maybe it's just us, but it sure seems like the Eastern Conference clubs have re-armed much, much more than their Western counterparts. Of course, they needed to do something: Five of the last six MLS Cup winners have come out of the West.
11. BIG BLOODY AMENDS. Will Toronto FC put the Bloody Big Deal behind them and make the playoffs for the first time ever? The additions of Altidore and Giovinco are step one, and the ongoing construction of a solid core will be step two, and argubly just as important. We can't wait to see this beauty come alive at playoff time.
12. NO MOTLEY CREW SC. Everything is firing on all cylinders in Columbus. They've got a cool new badge and a new attitude. Plus they've got Kei Kamara, who could be the grateful beneficiary of all those gorgeous Federico Higuain deliveries. Mark our words: Crew SC will contend for the East title come October.
13. THE NEXT LANDON? It's a strange, Landon Donovan-less world the LA Galaxy and MLS will be entering in 2015 (at least until the MVP trophy is awarded), and while there's no replacing an icon like LD, that's one more roster spot for someone else to write his own legend.
14. GOLD CUP RUNNETH OVER. MLSers will be littered throughout the Gold Cup rosters this summer. But who will take the trophy? The USMNT certainly have to be favorites, as defending champs and impressive World Cup achievers. But maybe Erick 'Cubo' Torres and Mexico will regain the title. Or what about the slowly improving Canada? Could they rekindle the magic of 2007 and make another deep run?
15. SAN JOSE SHOWS THE WAY. Come for the largest outdoor bar in North America, stay for the soccer. Two forgettable seasons removed from their 2012 Supporters' Shield title, the Earthquakes open the league's newest soccer-specific facility, Avaya Stadium, after adding two exciting Designated Players (Matias Perez Garcia and Innocent Emeghara) and a proven coach (Dom Kinnear) in the past six months. They'll even accept your bitcoin.
16. THE WHITECAPS' SPEED DEMON.Kekuta Manneh's after-burners. Is there anything more exciting than when he gets the ball in space? (Sounders fans are shaking their heads right now)
17. ABRACADABRA IN DALLAS.Mauro Diaz, magic little unicorn. This is sorcery. More, please.
18. THE ADVENTURES OF A FANTASISTA: The Montreal Impact's Ignacio Piatti has all the tools to be one of the top playmakers in MLS. We think he's going to be a lot of fun to watch this year.
19. REVS UP AGAIN? Can the New England Revolution finally write a happy ending? They may not get another 18-goal season from Lee Nguyen, but after parting ways with some peripheral figures, re-signing Agudelo (and possibly now A.J. Soares), they'll certainly be pushing for silverware once again.
20. NAGBE GETS INTO HIS COMFORT ZONE.Darlington Nagbe, US citizen. According to Merritt Paulson, it's going to be officially (finally) in September. Of course, actually making the national team is another thing. Nagbe struggled in 2014, and it's head coach Caleb Porter's job to help harness the potential that made Nagbe a prospect in the first place.
21. KREIS-IS MANAGEMENT. Speaking of coaching, how will Jason Kreis come away from his time in Manchester? The NYCFC head coach forged a sterling reputation with RSL, but Gotham will present a whole different challenge with much bigger expectations.
22. DIFFERENT KIND OF BULL. On the other side of the Hudson, the New York Red Bulls will be completely transformed from their 2014 look. Gone are Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill and Jaimson Olave, and in come new coach Jesse Marsch and players Kljestan, Felipe Martins, Sean Davis and Leo Stolz. It seems underwhelming from a marquee perspective, but this younger version of the Red Bulls could surprise some folks.
23. RAPID RESURGENCE? Let's be honest, the Colorado Rapids were not good last year. They actually went 0-12-2 in their final 14 games of the season. But they're going to host the AT&T All-Star Game, and they've revamped the roster, adding midfielder Marcelo Sarvas and playmaker Lucas Pittinari to go with a core of young talents, including O'Neill, Dillon Powers and little Dillon Serna, who is capable of magic now and then, like this:
24 CUPLESS IN SEATTLE. While Open Cup glory is all well and good for the Seattle Sounders, now winners of four of the last six trophies, the cup of cups -- the MLS Cup -- continues to elude them. With Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins a year wiser, 2015 looks like the best chance for this iteration of the Sounders to finally capture an MLS title.
25. A SPORTING CHANCE. The 2013 MLS Cup winners aren't out of the woods yet following a brutally long 2014 – they will need to re-invent themselves in the back after losing All-Star center back Aurelien Collin to Orlando and overhauling the goalkeeping corps.
26. ARE DIAMONDS FOREVER IN SALT LAKE? There's been talk that RSL head coach Jeff Cassar could start angling away from the diamond 4-4-2 after a good half decade of success with that formation. File this under: "We'll believe it when we see it."
27. THIS MORTAL COYLE. Coaching imports have a spotty track record when it comes to MLS success – will Owen Coyle be able to break the mold in Houston?
28. IS THIS MLS'S YEAR IN CCL? With D.C. United and the Montreal Impact facing tough quarterfinal matchups, a first MLS win in the CONCACAF Champions League seems unlikely come May. But with just about as strong a delegation as the league can send, LA, Seattle, United, Real Salt Lake and Vancouver can lay the groundwork to make history in the 2015-16 edition.
29. LET'S OPEN THIS CUP UP! The US Open Cup is bigger and better than ever. One of America's oldest existing sporting competitions, the tournament will feature a field of 91 teams and a fixed bracket starting in the Round of 16. Better yet, FOX has reportedly agreed to broadcast the final.
30. Can we finally get an answer to the burning question, which fans have the best tifo game? Probably not, but we can't wait to see them try.
