Believe it or not, Major League Soccer’s 29th season is set to begin Wednesday night when Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF host Real Salt Lake in the season kickoff before a full schedule begins on the weekend.
Let’s break down the favorites, contenders and a sleeper in each conference as the last part of our preseason coverage.
We start with the Eastern Conference. The Western Conference follows next Monday. FAVORITES: FC Cincinnati, Columbus Crew, Inter Miami CF
The East is a beast, and as such, there’s no clear-cut favorite. You’re talking about a conference home to last year’s Supporters’ Shield winners (FC Cincinnati), MLS Cup champions (Columbus Crew) and the greatest player on the planet.
FC Cincinnati
Messi is the GOAT, but the best player in MLS last season was Luciano Acosta. The diminutive playmaker is back, along with a host of other key cogs from a team that went 20-5-9, good for 69 points and the runaway winners of the Supporters’ Shield.
Of course, FC Cincinnati didn’t do the double. That’s because they fell to rival Columbus in a Hell is Real heartbreak in the Eastern Conference final. That should provide additional fuel this season.
Cincy is arguably stronger defensively this year with the addition of center back Miles Robinson, one of the biggest free agent signings this offseason. The US men’s national team defender will partner with 2023 MLS Defender of the Year Matt Miagza in front of rising goalkeeper Roman Celentano and behind defensive midfield standout Obinna Nwobodo.
Where they suffered a loss was up front with the transfer of Brandon Vazquez to CF Monterrey in Liga MX for a reported $7.5 million fee with an additional $1 million in add-ons. Vazquez had 26 goals and 12 assists in 62 regular season matches over the last two seasons.
There’s also the likely departure (whether it’s sooner or later in the summer) of left wingback Alvaro Barreal, an All-Star in 2023.
Can FC Cincinnati run it back this season and perhaps add another trophy this season?
Columbus Crew
We’re going to take a little credit here since we know MLS teams keep receipts of preseason predictions.
The Crew were listed as the Eastern Conference sleeper in last year’s preview. They went on to win a third MLS Cup in club history and did so in style.
They level up this year and are a favorite — I know we’re going out on a limb — but the defending champions have kept the core of last year’s team together, all 11 starters from last year’s MLS Cup final. That includes the attacking trio of Cucho Hernandez, Diego Rossi and Alex Matan, along with super sub Christian Ramirez and the midfield duo of Darlington Nagbe and Aidan Morris.
Hernandez had 16 goals and 11 assists in his best season of his career. After being named the MLS Cup final MVP, the Colombian will be among the contenders for MLS MVP this season.
The big addition comes in the form of Marino Hinestroza, a transfer from Pachuca. The 21-year- old Colombian can play a variety of positions for the Crew, a team looking to become the first team since the LA Galaxy in 2011-12 to win back-to-back MLS Cup titles.
Inter Miami CF
Wait, Inter Miami didn’t even make the playoffs last year and yet they’ll be a favorite this year? That’s what happens when the best player on the planet and a few of his friends embark on their first full season after their summertime arrival last year.
Joining Messi, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets this year is another former Barcelona teammate in forward Luis Suarez, who scored 147 goals in 191 appearances for Barca. And Julian Gressel is a free agent signing who has forged a reputation as one of the best crossers of the ball in MLS.
The Herons also signed Nicolas Freire, a center back on a season-long loan from Liga MX side Pumas UNAM.
And with the MLS transfer window open for a few more months, Miami aren’t done trying to strengthen a superstar-laden squad.
Unfortunately for Miami, the club lost 18-year-old midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi for two to three months with a sports hernia and winger Facundo Farias likely for the season due to a knee injury.
And there’s the question of how the former Barca boys can withstand a full 34-game MLS regular season, while competing on multiple fronts with Leagues Cup and Concacaf Champions Cup among the titles Inter Miami will compete for in 2024.
CONTENDERS: Philadelphia Union, Orlando City SC
Philadelphia Union
The Union are still in their championship window, but how much longer will it stay open?
By now, you already know the Union’s likely starting XI. All of them are household names who have been agonizingly close to a few titles over the last couple of years.
And you know what to expect from Philly, who are going to play direct and generally make things miserable for the opposition with their pressing ways.
The big question marks in the offseason were would captain Alejandro Bedoya, the club’s heart and soul, be back after his contract expired and would Kai Wagner, one of the league’s best left backs, stave off potential European suitors?
The Union managed to bring both back to a core that includes forward Julian Carranza, midfielder Daniel Gazdag, the center back tandem of Jack Elliott and Jakob Glesnes, elite goalkeeper Andre Blake and a possible breakout star in Jack McGlynn.
Carranza, for one, is in the last year of his contract and will likely be sold in the summer, perhaps lowering that window just a bit.
Orlando City SC
A year ago, Orlando finished second in the Supporters’ Shield standings with 63 points from an 18-7-9 record. Their hopes of a first MLS Cup title, though, were dashed following a home loss to the Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Gone are a few big names in center back Antonio Carlos, who was transferred to Brazilian powerhouse Fluminense, midfielder and captain Mauricio Pereyra, who returned to Nacional in his native Uruguay and club favorite Junior Urso.
It was also thought Duncan McGuire would be gone with the 23-year-old forward off to England to join Blackburn Rovers following a 13g/3a rookie season. But a paperwork snafu sunk that deal and McGuire is back in Orlando.
He’s joined by new signings David Brekalo, a Slovenian international who will likely start alongside Robin Jansson in central defense, Nicolas Lodeiro, a playmaking midfielder who was at the heart of Seattle’s success for eight years, and striker Luis Muriel, perhaps the most impactful addition, arrives from Italian Serie A side Atalanta as a Designated Player.
The question is, was 2023 a one-off for the Lions or can they continue on that championship trajectory?
SLEEPER: New York Red Bulls
New York Red Bulls
Long-suffering Red Bulls fans would love for the same success as last year’s sleeper because that would mean finally winning a first MLS Cup title after just one previous appearance in the title game.
There’s a new coach in German Sandro Schwarz, who arrives after previously coaching Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga. He’s well versed in the club’s pressing ethos.
But perhaps more importantly, the club appears willing to splash cash for impactful transfers. Exhibit A was nabbing Emil Forsberg, who could prove to be one of the best signings of the offseason. The Swedish international arrives from sister club RB Leipzig where he had 71 goals and 68 assists in 324 matches for a club that regularly competed in the UEFA Champions League.
He’s a DP signing who will pull the strings as the club’s No, 10 playmaker. Will there be an Exhibit B or C?
John Tolkin is already a cult hero after scoring the Decision Day goal to ensure the Red Bulls’ MLS-record playoff streak reached 14 consecutive seasons. The 21-year-old left back has competed for the US men’s national team and could be one of the league’s next big outbound transfers in the near future.
And winger Lewis Morgan, the club’s leading scorer in 2022 (14g/4a) is back healthy after an injury-plagued 2023.
But to truly be a sleeper and make a deeper than first-round run in the postseason, more additions need to make their way to Harrison, especially in the attacking third. That, or Dante Vanzeir (2g/ 1a in 19 matches) and Elias Manoel (5g/6a in 34 matches) seriously level up.
