If you can’t beat 'em, join 'em. And if you can’t join 'em, figure out why they’re beating you and then copy them.
The past 20 years have been a transformative time in CONCACAF. The US went from an also-ran to a top-15 team in the world. Costa Rica, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago made their first World Cup appearances. And, of course, we have our league here.
Through it all, the one constant has been the dominance of the Mexican Primera Divisiónin the region. Chivas de Guadalajara, Santos Laguna and the other top teams in Mexico have played the hard man in CONCACAF competitions for decades, with only occasional cameos on the winner’s podium by the likes of Saprissa and Olimpia.
Twice in MLS’ history, an American team has lifted the continental cup: Bruce Arena’s great D.C. United team of 1998 and, two years later, Sigi Schmid’s Los Angeles Galaxy both won the Champions' Cup. Success has been non-existent since.
In those intervening 10 years, MLS has largely been in a struggling-for-purchase mode. The Mexican League, meanwhile has flourished and claimed more than a few epic victories over MLS teams, the most recent being Cruz Azul’s come-from-behind win over Real Salt Lake in Mexico City last month (not to mention Monterrey's comeback over Seattle on Wednesday night).
The big television contracts, soccer’s status as Mexico’s national pastime and a long history of success all help.
But the most telling difference between the Mexican Primera and MLS is the former’s commitment to youth development. Clubs like Atlas and Cruz Azul have some of the best youth academies and scouting systems in the world. Most MLS clubs, until recently, didn’t even have their own academies.
Maybe the powers-that-be felt like it was finally time for MLS to begin copying the Mexican Primera’s approach to player development. And not a moment too soon.
Watch the best Mexican teams and you’ll see a seemingly endless supply of two-footed, quick midfielders who look like they were born with the ball on their feet and were destined to play with the other 10 guys on the pitch. That’s because, thanks to the youth academies, Mexican teams get their players as young as nine years old and have them training and studying within a framework that will carry through all the way up to the first team.
MLS teams, on the other hand, have had to rely largely on the SuperDraft. The NCAA and the US development academy at Bradenton, Fla., have both turned out some fine players through the years. No matter how talented they are, though, there’s always an adjustment period when making the jump to the professional level.
That’s where the most important gap is between the two leagues. A 21-year-old entering MLS is likely to have just spent a few autumns playing 20-odd games as an amateur. If he’s lucky, he’ll have played at one of the handful of college programs that doesn’t employ a kick-and-run style. And he’ll almost certainly have been the best player on the field about 95 percent of the time.
A 21-year-old suiting up for Chivas de Guadalajara is more likely than not to have spent a solid chunk of the previous decade working his way through the youth ranks, onto the reserve team and, eventually, into the first team.
He has spent time playing against professionals, trying to compete with guys who are bigger, faster, more experienced than he is. The moment he’s the best player on the field, he gets bumped up to the next level and has to start from the bottom again.
It’s an exercise in crafting a round peg for a round hole, as opposed to grabbing a peg and hoping it fits.
The news out of Dallas last week, when FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman let slip that MLS rosters might be expanding to 30 for next season (this is still unconfirmed and yet to be ratified, but for the purposes of this argument, we’ll accept it as true), is the latest step MLS has taken toward emulating the Mexican model.
It’s fitting the news came from Hyndman, since FCD have been the most aggressive in taking advantage of the league’s “homegrown player” rule and have one of the best academies in the league.
Dallas and the rest of MLS will be aided and abetted in their mission by a new NCAA rule that no longer prohibits athletes from competing on teams that also employ professionals. That means a star 15-year-old who might be good enough to go pro soon, but might want to attend Rutgers instead, isn’t jeopardizing his collegiate future by playing reserve games with a rehabbing Carl Robinson or a World Cup veteran like Andrew Boyens who just can’t quite crack the lineup for the first team.
It also means the next Freddy Adu won’t be thrust into a starring role at 15; he’ll get to earn it on a daily basis within a system.
As with everything else in MLS, these changes will take time to pay off. This is more likely to improve your favorite team in 2016 than it is in 2011.
But, eventually, your team – every team in the league, actually – will improve because of this. More roster spaces means more competition, more games, more chances to develop the next US star within a system rather than shuffling him between national team and club.
It’s the Mexican way. It’s the reason MLS teams are 0-for-forever down there.
If you can’t beat ‘em, copy ‘em.
