Every MLS player to watch at Copa América 2024
Forty MLS players and one MLS NEXT Pro player have made official rosters for Copa América 2024. Twenty-one of 29 MLS clubs are represented at Copa América, led by Minnesota United FC and CF Montréal's four call-ups. Canada have the most representation with 14 MLS players.
Atlanta transfer Giakoumakis to Cruz Azul
Atlanta United have transferred striker Giorgos Giakoumakis to Liga MX side Cruz Azul. The Greek international departs for a reported $10 million, opening a Designated Player spot as Atlanta enter the summer transfer window (July 18 to Aug. 14).
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We all expected more from the Philadelphia Union and Orlando City SC after last season. Philadelphia did typical Philadelphia things on their way to yet another top-four finish and a 55-point season. Orlando did something they’ve never done before and broke the 60-point mark en route to finishing second in the Supporters’ Shield standings.
On Saturday, Philadelphia left Subaru Park without a win for the seventh straight game after allowing a stoppage-time winner to an Inter Miami side missing Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Matías Rojas and two players who had already gone to the locker room after receiving red cards. They’ve won once in their last 11 games and they’re sitting eighth in the Eastern Conference on 1.18 points per game.
Meanwhile, Orlando came out in a 4-4-2 and did fine against LAFC. But fine only gets you so far against LAFC. Eventually, Denis Bouanga and friends pulled away to hand Orlando yet another home loss. They’ve averaged 1.00 point per game this year, tied with Chicago Fire FC, New England Revolution and Atlanta United for the worst PPG in the East.
Both Philadelphia and Orlando are tied for the worst home record in MLS. Only two teams have just one home win this season and it’s last year’s second-place and fourth-place finishers in the East. To put it mildly: It hasn’t gone well.
Of course, Philly and Orlando aren’t the only two teams to underperform expectations this season. But what makes them interesting is how much calm preceded their storms. The Union made next to no major moves this offseason. They re-signed left back Kai Wagner and midfielder Alejandro Bedoya and, well, that’s pretty much it. Goalkeeper Oliver Semmle has been thrown into some serious minutes after injuries to Andre Blake, but only one of their new outfield signings has found his way onto the field this year. Forward Markus Anderson has played 91 minutes.
Basically, every other signing filled out the edges of a team whose core has been well-established for a while now. If you’ve been paying attention, you know how good that core can be. Very, very few teams have had as much success as the Union over the last few years, even if the Union haven’t turned that success into Cups.
So when they decided to run it back with that group in 2024, no one could really fault them. As long as multiple players didn’t regress at once, they should be fine.
Well. Here we are. You’ll never guess what happened.
To be fair, it’s not like the Union are suddenly playing horrible soccer. They’ve been unlucky relative to their underlying numbers. But it’s becoming clear to everyone, inside and outside the organization, that moves need to be made.
“I think we should see now that we have to invest in the team,” Wagner said after Saturday’s loss. “We need players who can help us. We should not just believe our young guys can come up and play, and everybody just says ‘Okay, we have young guys coming up, they should help us.’ That’s not how it is.
“I think everybody sees it. The fan base, we see it. I think if that’s not clear and honest, everybody should know [in] the front office that we should go out now and get new players.”
Again, it’s not that the Union made the wrong call. Not yet anyway. It’s just that sometimes you need a refresh. Wagner went on to explain he’s not talking about bringing in big-money signings. He just wants to see players with different profiles round out the team. He thinks the Union need pace. And it’s very likely he’s right.
In some respect, they’ve already started retooling this team. Although losing forward Julián Carranza to Feyenoord probably isn’t what most folks had in mind. Carranza has been outstanding since arriving in Philadelphia. He’s earned a big move. But losing him doesn’t make the Union better. It’s going to take a lot more than exchanging a great forward for a new one. We’ll see how quickly… or even if the club can get it done.
Orlando followed a somewhat similar pattern. Even if some of us were eyeing their second half of the season run in 2023 with a ton of skepticism – they overperformed their underlying numbers by a hilarious amount – they still had a quality roster. With a few improvements, they could easily be near the top of the East again.
In particular, everyone saw this team needed to add an elite chance creator. Instead, they added the legendary but past-his-prime Nico Lodeiro. He has one goal and five assists on the year. He’s still good. But he hasn’t been the upgrade they needed.
They also went out and added DP forward Luis Muriel. But bringing him in felt a bit redundant in the short term once Duncan McGuire’s move to England fell through (the timing was weird there). Now, long term, it just feels like a miss. Muriel has two goals and two assists on the year and hasn’t looked the part of a DP-caliber player.
With no real upgrades elsewhere and all of their DPs struggling to make an impact, this team has cratered. There’s no quality underlying numbers to lean back on either. Right now, they are who their record says they are. It’s not clear what changes need to be made exactly, but it seems like changes are coming. Maybe a significant number of them. After the best year in club history, the Lions are likely going back to the drawing board.
This league is mean like that.
- Matt Doyle’s Sunday column is up and good.
Good luck out there. Meet interesting people.
