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World Soccer XXXI: Golden Generation?

jericho said:
So Albany is getting an MLS Next franchise. I’ll ask the soccer experts on here: is this a good league to convert a casual fan like me? I coached the owner’s little brother in American football so I have a connection.
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It really depends on if you're ok with playing against the reserve teams of MLS, basically kids and prospects, or not. It's like watching any other minor league sport, cheap, not exactly the most skillful, but you'll get an early glimpse of talent (especially since Albany will likely be playing NYCFC II, Red Bulls II, and Philly Union 2, three clubs that have notable history of youth prospects).

Though, at the end of the day, it's a local team to root for.
 
Jimjamesak said:
It really depends on if you're ok with playing against the reserve teams of MLS, basically kids and prospects, or not. It's like watching any other minor league sport, cheap, not exactly the most skillful, but you'll get an early glimpse of talent (especially since Albany will likely be playing NYCFC II, Red Bulls II, and Philly Union 2, three clubs that have notable history of youth prospects).

Though, at the end of the day, it's a local team to root for.
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Is it correct that there are soccer academies that have franchises? That basically sounds like the Instructional Leagues.

It's necessary and perhaps even laudable, but I'm not going to root for Planet Fitness* if they compete in the Olympics.

* Though I would root for them over the US in the Summer Games.
 
Kepler said:
Is it correct that there are soccer academies that have franchises? That basically sounds like the Instructional Leagues.

It's necessary and perhaps even laudable, but I'm not going to root for Planet Fitness* if they compete in the Olympics.

* Though I would root for them over the US in the Summer Games.
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What do you mean by soccer academies? Are you talking about organizations like Red Bull or City Football Group that own multiple teams in multiple countries? Or are you talking about youth team setups that nearly every professional club in the world has?
 
Jimjamesak said:
What do you mean by soccer academies? Are you talking about organizations like Red Bull or City Football Group that own multiple teams in multiple countries? Or are you talking about youth team setups that nearly every professional club in the world has?
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I saw a chart which included things like Ideasport Soccer Academy, Intercontinental FA New England, and Kalonji Soccer Academy, and was asking whether they are competing franchises. They may just be "participating organizations" the way say MLB supports the Cub Scouts.

On the surface, these seem to be private academies that aren't associated with a location. Like having the Red Army team in the Russian hockey league.
 
Kepler said:
I saw a chart which included things like Ideasport Soccer Academy, Intercontinental FA New England, and Kalonji Soccer Academy, and was asking whether they are competing franchises. They may just be "participating organizations" the way say MLB supports the Cub Scouts.

On the surface, these seem to be private academies that aren't associated with a location. Like having the Red Army team in the Russian hockey league.
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Oh, you must be looking at MLS Next instead of MLS Next Pro.

MLS Next Pro is a US Soccer sanctioned professional 3rd division league that constitutes the reserve teams of MLS clubs plus some independent clubs like Carolina Core and Chattanooga FC.

MLS Next is a national youth soccer league featuring the youth academy teams of MLS clubs plus a number of youth clubs (somewhere around 100 IIRC) from around the country (including Shattuck-St. Mary's and even a couple of USL clubs). MLS Next is a continuation of US Soccer's Development Academy that ran until 2020. Once USSF cut the DA, MLS (literally the next day) announced they were going to run their own youth setup.

Yes, it's confusing branding.
 
Kepler said:
What do they and that other team have now, 100 of the last 110?
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Aberdeen won back to back in 1984 and 1985 and Dundee United won in 1983. Since then it's been Rangers and Celtic, they've won 109 out of 128. Celtic have won 13 of the last 14.
 
TBF, Scotland really isn't outside of the norm for most European countries. It's just in comparison to England where it looks strange.

Netherlands: Ajax, PSV, and Feyenoord have won 62 out of 70 professional titles.
Germany: Bayern has 32 of 61 Bundesliga titles.
Belgium: Not as bad, Anderlecht and Brugge have 52 of 120. Though add in Union and Liege it becomes 73 of 120.
Croatia: Dinamo Zagreb has won 25 out of 33.
Austria: Red Bull throwing things off lately but Rapid Wien, Austria Wien, and Red Bull Salzburg have won 73 of 111 titles.

France actually has a decent spread, though only because PSG was founded in 1970. PSG has won 10 of the last 12.

For England, Man U (20), Liverpool (19), and Arsenal (13) have 52 of 124. If Man City win this year it would put them at 10.

For comparison to the Americas: LA Galaxy have the most MLS Cups at 5 of 28 (the Galaxy and DC United have 4 each for Supporters Shields). Club America (14) and Chivas (12) only have 26 out of ~90 for Mexico. Palmeiras has 12 of 68 for Brazil. Boca Juniors (35) and River Plate (38) have 73 of 134 in Argentina.
 
Russell Jaslow said:
And we like to talk about domination like the Yankees, Canadians, and Celtics. Wow. Our dynasties pale in comparison to those numbers.
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Pretty much why the Champions League had to expand when TV really started in Europe in the 90’s, the teams needed competition. The domestic competitions are usually very boring because they’re essentially “play a bunch of games and team from (insert large city in the country) wins 90+% of the time.” And it’s usually like that across the continent. The PL is one of the most competitive leagues in Europe, and think about how often the same teams usually win.
 
Jimjamesak said:
Pretty much why the Champions League had to expand when TV really started in Europe in the 90’s, the teams needed competition. The domestic competitions are usually very boring because they’re essentially “play a bunch of games and team from (insert large city in the country) wins 90+% of the time.” And it’s usually like that across the continent. The PL is one of the most competitive leagues in Europe, and think about how often the same teams usually win.
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Makes me wonder whether the Super League concept was so bad after all. <ducks for cover> Sure, it was what college football is doing now eliminating the "poor saps", but in this case, it would greatly add competition.
 
Russell Jaslow said:
Makes me wonder whether the Super League concept was so bad after all. <ducks for cover> Sure, it was what college football is doing now eliminating the "poor saps", but in this case, it would greatly add competition.
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I said the same thing, the vast majority of teams would be better off with the big guns off in their own league. But they’re stuck with “tradition” and this idea that these superclubs are part of the national identity. Like, Ajax is Dutch football and Dutch Football is Ajax. Same thing with Bayern and Germany or Real Madrid and Spain.

It’s a bit under the surface but, there’s a trend among younger people that, because of the internet and global reach and social media, the whole idea of “support your local club!” is starting to die out. It’s not a huge issue right now, but it’s something for the future.
 
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