The Cosmos Conundrum

If you are a fan of American soccer, then by now you have heard that the New York Cosmos, arguably the most fabulous brand in the history of American soccer, are re-booting the franchise and making noise about becoming the 20th expansion team of the MLS.  With five NASL trophies, the Cosmos to this day remain the most successful professional domestic US soccer team ever (compared with DC United's four MLS trophies).  And yet, despite all the hooplah and noise surrounding the re-launch of the Cosmos brand, the franchise has yet to secure a spot in the MLS, announce any kind of stadium plans, or hire even one player.  For all the whiz-bang marketing flash presently surrounding the 'club' (can we call them that yet?), the absence of any visible concrete progress towards actually fielding a team is curious, to say the least.

A bit of history is in order.  When the old NASL folded in 1985, the victim of its own excess (with the Cosmos leading the way in over-spending), the club's manager G. Pepe Pinton secured the rights to the team and, for many years, was the custodian of the Cosmos legacy.  Over the years Mr. Pinton refused several overtures to re-launch the franchise as an MLS side, believing that the new league would not honor the Cosmos legacy.  But that changed when the MLS began reviving some of the other old NASL teams-- such as the Sounders, Timbers, and Whitecaps-- which convinced Mr. Pinton to finally sell the franchise to Mr. Paul Kemsley, the former vice-chairman of Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League.  Mr. Kemsley has publicly stated that he intends to re-launch the franchise as an MLS team, much to the delight of American soccer fans everywhere.

The problem is, since announcing his intentions last year, there have been absolutely no concrete signs of progress towards that goal.  So far, its all been marketing.  Sure, Kemsley did bring in former Cosmos superstar Pele as the club's Honorary President, and Giorgio Chinaglia as its "International Ambassdor."  He also brought on former Manchester United Star Eric Cantona to be the new Director for Football Operations, and he signed LA Galaxy star Cobi Jones to the role of Vice-Director.  Cosmos youth camps have been established in both New York and in California, and Kemsley has purchased billboard advertising in Times Square and (oddly) launched some major marketing efforts to promote the brand in Asia.  All of this gee-whiz stuff is great... but what about the stadium?  What about actually fielding some players?  So far, the whole enterprise has been one giant marketing exercise, with no actual football in sight.

This raises legitimate questons about what Mr. Kemsley's intentions really are.  For his part, Mr. Kemsley has certainly sent mixed signals.  Yes, he has said that he wants to 'play nicely' with the MLS and its league-centric way of doing things, which is encouraging for MLS fans; but he has also said that he wants to make the Cosmos the "Number 1 soccer franchise in the world," which is exactly the kind of talk that freaks out MLS executives.  We must not forget that the MLS league-control operational model was instituted precisely to avoid the kind of financial excess that sank the old NASL, so this kind of big talk from Kemsley does not endear himself to MLS commissioner Don Garber.

For his part, Commissioner Garber has made it very clear that he wants the league's 20th expansion franchise to be in New York.  With the New York Red Bulls already competing in nearby New Jersey, the advent of another New York side would create an instant and hugely profitable New York Derby, to the benefit of the Cosmos, the Red Bulls, and the league as a whole.  So on many levels the rebirth of the Cosmos as an MLS side makes sense.

But its not a done deal yet, and there are other suitors in the hunt.  The owner of baseball's New York Mets, Mr. Fred Wilpon, is also rumored to be interested in an MLS franchise, and from the league's perspective he may be a safer bet for an expansion franchise than the big-talking, free-wheeling Kemsley.  And there are other problems too-- both Kemsley and Wilpon are rumoured to have financial problems (with their core business investments all losing money these days), which may prevent either of them from actually being able to afford the MLS expansion fee (up to $100 million by some accounts), or the cost of building a new stadium in pricey New York City.  So, despite all the hopeful news and the presence of Pele and Chinaglia and Cantona and Jones, nothing seems 'real' quite yet.

So what is Kemsley up to?  I think the signs point to him being serious about standing the club up again, but I am not sure what his end-game is.  Will it really be the MLS?  Or could it be, as some other bloggers have suggested, that he actually will end up dodging the hefty MLS expansion fee in favor of joining the newly-reborn NASL?  Financially speaking the hurdles for joining the reborn NASL are certainly much lower than for an MLS franchise, so there is some logic there.

Bu this too presents a problem, because it seems clear that Mr. Kemsley's ambition is far grander than merely standing up a Division II side, especially for this franchise.  I think that if the reborn New York Cosmos end up in the NASL, there will be a big push to jump-up the NASL to Division I status, leading to direct competition with the MLS.  This would be Very Bad News for American soccer: two rival leagues, one with a league-centric operational model, and one with an owner-centric operational model, in a nation that scarcely supports even one top-flight soccer league.  The NASL would be free to spend spend spend and that would certainly put butts in stadium bleachers; but haven't we been down this road before?  As I recall, that story did not have a happy ending.

For my part, I think the only way that a two-league situtation plays to the advantage of American soccer, would be if it led to an MLS-NASL merger and (more importantly), a promotion-and-relegation system, which almost every American soccer fan I speak to is in favor of.  The absence of a promotion-and-relegation system is one of the real weaknesses of American football.  But on the other hand... hazarding the fortunes of American football merely on the possibility of an eventual merger seems quite irresponsible, even if it potentially saves Mr. Kemsley a ton of money.  It looks like a bad bet for US soccer overall.

I think, at the end of the day, Mr. Kemsley must curb his ravenous ambition, pony up the money to play as an MLS side, build a new stadium in New York (however expensive that may be), abide by the MLS operational model, and then do his level best to milk the New York Derby for maximum profit.  As much as I am delighted to see the rebirth of the NASL-- and as much as I would like to see my beloved Fort Lauderdale Strikers as an MLS side-- the potential for disaster if the Cosmos go anywhere but the MLS, seems too great to risk.

The MLS model has succeeded where the old NASL failed.  The MLS has been in existence for 18 years now, compared with the 16 year history of the old NASL.  We live in a country where soccer has only fringe public interest, and has to compete with a great many other professional sports leagues.  Under those circumstances, any movement backwards towards an owner-centric operational model would be a BIG mistake.  This isn't Spain or Britain where football is the only big-league sport to watch.  Let's not mess with success. 

If Mr. Kemsley does this right and the Cosmos end up as an MLS side, he will be a hero and the rebirth of the most famous soccer team in American history will be a beautiful, wonderful thing.  We'll all cheer and I'll be happy to join in.  But if Mr. Kemsley's ambition and his financial limitations lead us down the path of inter-league competition, he may well earn a legacy as The Man Who Ruined American Soccer.  Let's hope he becomes a hero and not a goat.

Message to Mr. Kemsley:  Don't fuck this up, or the American soccer community will rise up in outrage and run you out of the country.  And stop playing these silly marketing games and either get on with it, or sell the franchise to someone who will.

Florida Derby Postponed, But DC United Ties Rapids

Although more than 6,400 fans had purchased tickets for Saturday's renewal of the Florida Derby, regrettably the restart of the old rivalry between the NASL Fort Lauderdale Strikers and the Tampa Bay Rowdies (or FC Tampa Bay... whatever), was postponed due to lightning and hazardous playing conditions at Lockhart Stadium.  The lightning delayed kickoff for several hours, and then the match was finally called off due to inclement weather.

Strikers President Tim Robbie issued the following statement about the cancellation:  "We are obviously disappointed that we couldn’t play tonight but we can’t control mother nature.  We’re looking forward to playing Tampa at a later date with the kind of crowd that was ready to turn out tonight. We appreciate our fans who braved the elements and we know they’ll be back for the rescheduled contest."

Let's hope so, and lets hope this cancellation does not diminish fan enthusiasm for the renewal of the old rivalry.  Based on the respectable ticket sales--which exceeded the Strikers season opener-- the reborn Florida Derby is showing every sign of becoming the premier derby of the new NASL, so the league really needs to get this show going.  Give me something to write about !

Meanwhile, in MLS news... our beloved DC United managed to post a tied score against MLS league champions Colorado Rapids.  The first half was a wet and sloppy affair in which both sides seemed listless and unmotivated.  Colorado scored first on a dead ball free kick, yet another example of United surrendering a goal on a set-piece play this season.  Fortunately, in the second half United looked like a completely different team, mounting an aggressive attack that finally paid off when Chris Pontius was pulled down at the edge of the box, resulting in the equalizer PK goal by Pontius.  United then had several more chances to score but was unable to convert, resulting in a 1 - 1 tied score.  Considering that the match was against last year's MLS Champions, I suppose this is an acceptable if uninspired outcome for United.

DC United has a friendly later this week against Dutch powerhouse Ajax, another one of my favorite sides and a clear candidate for inclusion in the stable of 'Jedi Soccer' teams that this blogsite tracks.  But with both Charlie Davies and Josh Wolff out due to injuries, this could prove to be a very difficult match for United.

Luckily, friendlies don't count in the standings.

Strikers & Battery Both Lose

Yesterday saw both the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and the Charleston Battery lose their respective Division II matches in NASL and USL-PRO League action.

Of the two losses, the defeat suffered by the Charleston Battery is the more pitiful of the two, as the Battery delivered USL-PRO expansion side FC New York its first-ever franchise victory, a 1 - 0 outcome that was secured despite that fact that the Battery outshot New York 10 shots to three.  The loss was the Charleston Battery's first loss at Blackbaud Stadium since the 2009 season.

For the Strikers, Friday's 4 - 2 loss agaisnt the Carolina Railhawks is especially bad timing, as the team prepares for the re-inauguration of the Florida Derby against cross-state rivals FC Tampa Bay, AKA 'The Team that Should Be Called The Rowdies."  The Strikers took the early lead in the eighth minute with a fine right-footed goal by Patrick Otto, but then the defense collapsed again as the Strikers surrendered three consecutive goals to give the Railhawks a 3 - 1 lead.  The Strikers' David Santamaria then scored another goal in second-half stoppage time, but Carolina added one more goal to end it, with the final line of 4 - 2.

So, needless to say, it wasn't the outcome the Strikers would have hoped for, going into today's renewal of the ancient rivalry, but if they can just beat Tampa Bay, all will be forgiven.

Barca Wins La Liga Again !

Last night FC Barcelona tied Levante 1 - 1 to secure the final point it needed to officially win the Spanish League Championship, it's third consecutive La Liga title.  Seydou Keita's first-half header goal was all that was needed to secure the tied score and the championship, surely a memorable goal in Keita's career.  With this championship, Pep Guardiola's side has now won 11 titles in three seasons, an amazing tour de force of professional football, the likes of which has never been seen in the history of the sport.

In Spain, the daily Sport newspaper summarized this achievement, saying that this was 'A title that rewards soccer in capital letters, practiced by a generation of players that continue to extend their legend with a voracious appetite,' and that Barcelona is 'a squad based on the youth system and that wagers on an attacking brand of soccer against any opponent and in any stadium.'

All true.  And so the comparisons with Johan Cruyff's 'Dream Team' of the past, now begin.  For his part, Pep Guardiola has downplayed the comparison-- perhaps in deference to the pivitol role he played on that team-- saying, 'We cannot match the Dream Team because that was a pioneering generation.  For all the titles that we win, they will always be at the top and that's the most important thing.'

But with all due respect to Sr. Guardiola, we here at Jedi Soccer beg to differ.  During his tenure as the manager of FC Barcelona, the brilliant Johan Cruyff led the club to 11 titles in seven years, and now Sr. Guardiola has matched that achievement in three years.  With all due and well-earned respect to Johan Cruyff, this current incarnation of FC Barcelona surpasses the achievements even of the famed Dream Team of FC Barcelona history, and is now the Greatest Team not only in the history of this club, but perhaps in the history of Association Football.

If Barca wins the Champions League title later this month against Manchester United, it will be Pep Guardiola's 12th championship in three seasons.  Surely that would settle the matter, beyond any reasonable argument?

But regardless of that outcome, it is now clear even to casual observers of the sport, that this current generation of FC Barcelona is now in the historical realm of the greatest sides ever to play the sport.  Their football is not just Soccer from Another Planet, it is Soccer from Outer Space.

It's Jedi Soccer!  And FC Barcelona are the Jedi Knights of Football.