Argentine Claudio Lopez, who recently signed with the Kansas City Wizards, is the latest South American star to come to MLS. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)
Soccer: John F. Molinaro
South American stars add flair to MLS
Last Updated Friday, March 21, 2008
by John F. Molinaro, CBC Sports
Forget about David Beckham. Forget about Toronto FC. Forget about the expansion franchise in San Jose. Forget about the Houston Dynamo trying to win an unprecedented third consecutive Major League Soccer title.
The real story to watch for in MLS this season is whether the league can capitalize on the worldwide publicity it gained when Beckham signed with the L.A. Galaxy last year by growing its fan base and improving the standard of play on the field.
And while most would naturally assume Beckham will play a pivotal role, it’s actually the league's growing contingent of South American stars that will ultimately help MLS achieve its goal.
This past off-season, the ranks of talented South Americans plying their trade in MLS swelled with the signing of two Argentine players: Marcelo Gallardo with D.C. United, and Claudio Lopez with the Kansas City Wizards.
Both come to MLS with glowing reputations – Gallardo as a playmaking magician during two lengthy stints with Buenos Aires outfit River Plate, Lopez having scored bags of goals for some of the biggest clubs in the world, including Lazio, Valencia and Club America – and both are committed to playing attractive, attacking and entertaining soccer.
They are exactly the type of players MLS needs, according to deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis, who said that the league's "primary goal this year is to elevate the level and standard of play on the filed."
Attracting talented South American stars to North America is not easy, especially when European clubs with more history, more prestige and more money than the average MLS team are vying for the same players. But Gazidis believes that MLS clubs are able to sign a lot of these players because of aggressive and effective scouting.
"Our teams are going out and targeting South American markets, Argentina being a prime example," Gazidis told CBCSports.ca in a recent one-on-one interview.
"Teams look for players in places where they're having success and the fact that [South American] players have come in and been successful in MLS, leads to more active scouting in South America and more opportunities for more South American players to come."
Indeed, you need only look at what happened in MLS last season when two of the three league MVP candidates were South American: D.C. United's Luciano Emilio (Brazil) and Colombian Juan Pablo Angel of the New York Red Bulls.
Angel joined New York a few weeks into the 2007 season and turned a mediocre club into a title contender, while Emilio ended up winning the MVP award and the league scoring title in his first MLS campaign.
Their exploits, and the exploits of the league's other top South American players, did not go unnoticed back home, according to Gazidis.
"The South American media and players are very interested in MLS because of all the players that have come here the past few years. We're very much on their radar screen as a potential destination and as long as players from South America continue to come to MLS and continue to be successful, it's likely to be a virtuous cycle," said Gazidis.
There is ample evidence to support Gazidis' claim.
Carlos Valderrama was one of the most famous players in the league when he played with Tampa Bay Mutiny during MLS's inaugural campaign in 1996. Valderrama won the MVP award that season as the Colombian established himself as an icon in MLS, and paved the way for a crop of South Americans to follow his lead.
Two years after Valderrama was honoured as the league's best player, Bolivian Marco Etcheverry won the honour as a member of D.C. United, and three of the last six league MVPs have hailed from South America: Argentina's Carlos Ruiz (2002) and Christian Gomez (2006), and Emilio (2007).
Another reason why South Americans flock to MLS is for the cultural experience. Claudio Lopez was lavished with a big contract to come to Kansas City, but the Argentine also said the chance to live in the United States and learn English played a part in his decision.
"It's a new experience, one I've been interested in living for a while,” Lopez said through an interpreter during a recent conference call with reporters.
With MLS set to expand to 15 teams next year with a new team in Seattle, 16 teams in 2010 (Philadelphia), and with more expansion expected, chances are you'll be seeing even more South American players here, bringing with them their creative skills and ability to entertain.
And that can only be good for MLS.
John F. Molinaro is a reporter for CBCSports.ca whose chief love is international soccer. Contact John here.
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