The State of the States

Hello and welcome to the initial installment of The State of the States, a monthly column that will highlight some of the biggest stories currently making the rounds in American Soccer and identify what to look for in the month ahead. This time around, we'll discuss Real Salt Lake's victory in MLS Cup, the US National Team's injury woes, and the lower-division spat between the USL and the newly-formed NASL.

The Real Champions?

MLS Cup 2009 wasn't exactly a feast for the eyes, though it did present some real emotional drama on the field and an excellent atmosphere. Fittingly, the better team on the day was the one to lift the cup. But that does beg the question...Who are the "real" (if you'll pardon the pun) champions of Major League Soccer?

Real Salt Lake boasted a losing record in the regular season and needed to have other results fall their way on the final day in order to sneak into the playoffs. When they did get in, they qualified as the eighth-ranked team in a fifteen-team league and only the fifth-best team in their own conference. But a handful of results (four wins, though the final two were penalty kick victories after 120-minute stalemates), and they're the official league champions.

True, they did beat the regular season leaders (and defending MLS Cup champion), Columbus Crew, twice in the first round to give their claim some legitimacy. And playoffs are a standard feature of professional sports in the States, a fact championed by those who advocate a more "American" approach to league structure. However, there will always be arguments from some quarters that the best team over the 30-game season should be recognized as the champion, as happens in much of the world (thus the Supporters' Shield).

Of course, it would be hard to deny the do-or-die drama and glamor moments that cup finals bring. And so the debate continues...

The Shallow End

The US men learned their fate last week when they were drawn with England, Algeria, and Slovenia in Group C of the World Cup finals in South Africa next summer. The draw is generally regarded as a favorable one for the US, and expectations for advancement to the knockout stages will be high. But who will coach Bob Bradley have at his disposal when it comes time to pick his final 23-man roster?

The player pool is much deeper and stronger these days, but not enough to prevent a few key injuries from prompting talks of a crisis. Though forward Charlie Davies and defender Oguchi Onyewu claim they will be ready for the finals, it's hard to see Onyewu being anything more than severely rusty, particularly if he can't get minutes for AC Milan when he does work his way back. And Davies? Given the severity of the injuries he suffered, he's lucky that he'll be able to watch the games in South Africa, much less play in them.

Which leaves Bradley in something of a bind. Jay DeMerit is returning from injury, meaning that Bradley has two established first-choice center backs to choose from (the other being Carlos Bocanegra, who usually features as a left back at club level). But beyond those two, the pickings start to get slim. Jonathan Spector's audition for the role in the friendlies against Denmark and Slovakia last month wasn't a rousing success, and the other options are either relatively inexperienced, past their best, or their best was never good enough to begin with.

The story is much the same when assessing the options at forward. Davies was such a valuable find for Bradley this year precisely because the choices for a "quick" forward were limited to begin with after Eddie Johnson's career hit a brick wall. Where does he turn to now? Back to Johnson? To MLS flavor-of-the-month Jeff Cunningham? To the raw Robbie Findley? Speaking of choices...

Lower Division Standoff

The off-season shakeup in the lower divisions of American professional soccer will be fascinating to watch. The USL first division is now down to four clubs while the newly formed NASL (yes, American soccer fan of a certain age, you read that right) boasts ten, many of them former members of USL1. Currently, the competing leagues are in talks with the US Soccer Federation about their status as potential second-tier leagues for 2010.

It's extremely difficult to see USL1 being able to continue with just four teams. Which probably means we'll see those four merged with the current USL2 in some fashion. Assuming, of course, that they don't jump ship for the NASL as well. Given such a merger of the USL divisions, and assuming that the USSF doesn't want to run parallel second-divisions, the NASL would have to be the odds-on favorite to get the nod as the "official" American second-division.

Looking Ahead

With the domestic league season complete and World Cup qualification wrapped up, much of the action in the coming months will be off the field. Here are a few of the stories that will be making the headlines.

• The MLS Roster Dance: The expansion draft was merely the opening salvo. The next couple of months of the off-season will see the start of international transfer window, the MLS SuperDraft, and the general mad scramble to have staff and rosters assembled going into the 2010 pre-season. Additionally, three MLS clubs are still hunting for head coaches...
• Auditioning for South Africa: Word has it that the US will be facing Honduras in January as part of the annual gathering of the MLS and Scandinavian-based members of the player pool. While you would have to think that Bradley has most of his 23 already picked, injuries and lack of playing time happen. There are still spots to be won, and those who prove themselves in January will likely remain in the frame for South Africa...
• Union Building: In addition to the normal tweaking and overhauling of current MLS rosters, we'll get to watch another expansion team being built from scratch this year. Philadelphia Union boss Peter Nowak has already padded his expansion draft picks with the acquisitions of goalkeeper Chris Seitz from RSL and journeyman defender Danny Califf...
• Mind the Kids: In the buildup to the SuperDraft in mid-January, it'll be interesting to see not only which kids decide to jump from college to the pros early, but which of the youth national team players opt to join MLS. Overseas interest in some of the U-20 and U-17 players is reportedly strong, but some are making noises about sticking around to give MLS a shot...

Michael S. Hund is the creator of the Fullback Files, a blog covering DC United, the US National Team, and Major League Soccer.