To begin the official Major League Soccer 2024 season we had the pleasure to have a glimpse of what Messi, Suarez, Busquests, and Alba are bringing to the league competition. Even past their primes, the four headed Barca stars are of the most importance to the growth of the MLS. Messi, clearly an elite player even at his age, shows how to have fun with a flip over a down defender that was unfortunately blocked before it could challenge the Salt Lake keeper.
The biggest takeaway from watching Messi play is that his control will be a problem for the entire season and all teams that he faced throughout the year as he preps for a pending Copa America attendance. He runs freely and always makes the right play. I expect Miami to be top of the table when it comes down to the end of the season as this ability to practice among these great players day in and day out should have a lasting impact on the entire squad.
A challenge that MLS needs to overcome as a league is the ability to finish on the easy plays. At times it feels like players want to have these highlight goals and make a name for themselves as they play around all-time greats. What makes all-time greats is the ability to have a high conversation rate of making the right play. Missing open goals, tap ins, turning the ball over on reckless passes is part of the game, but is not sustainable over a high volume.
Miami’s first goal came on a miffed block by the Salt Lake keeper who made contact with the block, but did not push the ball to the outside of his body. A major area that resulted in the ball deflecting under him and easily into the goal. These are the types of errors the views will easily be bored with and only sustained by bringing in big names that can take advantage of these minuscule but often errors.
The MLS has an opportunity to grow as it has done over the past 20+ years and if the league strives to play technical soccer and form its new identity many new viewers will tune into the season.