MLS will get more from Ljungberg than Beckham

2009-10-22T15:24:29-04:00

2008-10-29T00:17:04-04:00

2008-10-31T12:17:25-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/198/766/thumb/PCWork.jpg 137 NY

FCBarca

New York 199066

27 Yeah, I'd agree...Freddie has terrific pace, more than just about anything they've seen in MLS...even at his age...I suspect he'll score a lot of goals True midfield creativity is missing in the MLS...And while Becks can deliver the goods, his specialty is the cross, not much else. 3207085

2008-10-31T12:05:54-04:00

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CEU_CARMESIM

CAMPINAS 159670

26 I watched CHI X NE. Frankly you not only must give AS PLAYERS ALSO NEEDS Coaches. There was neither shadow of SYSTEM tactics. NO TWO TEAMS OF THE PR?? BACK LIBERTADORES. CEU_CARMESIM CAMPINAS-S??O PAULO-BRASIL 3206981

2008-10-30T16:04:03-04:00

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oranje-boven

Aberdeen 595545

25 You don't add credibility by aquiring posterboys that are known only by those that follow the sport already anyway. This is no different then when Carlos Valderrama ended his career in the US, although Carlos had a lot more to give than I think Beckham and Ljungberg will end up giving combined. A great player to watch, but he was only watched by those that already held the sport in high regard to begin with. Results is the ONLY thing that will give credibility to the MLS, and sustained results to boot. IMHO the MLS needs to spend some money and take some risks on players in/before their prime, start thinking long term and take a good, long look at the Ajax youth program and rebuild teams from the top down, not expect 1 or 2 big names to carry the rest of the team and instruct the coach on how to coach. 3198568

2008-10-29T21:09:38-04:00

richter

Austin 594832

24 A great league is defined by the type of players it creates, not the type of player it imports. This signing shows how out of touch this league is with the rest of the world. These players were relevant around the world 5-10 years ago. The MLS is becoming the premier destination for aging players that can no longer play at the highest level. These signing might be able to sell a couple of T-Shirts but the MLS is confirming its status as a league that is irrelevant. The MLS should focus on developing talent (age 14, from Brazil, Argentina and Central America) and exporting/exchanging it with Europe. It's a bad sign when these type of players start moving only one way. Slowly but surely the MLS has become the premier destination for retirement, and that in itself says everything. 3188898

2008-10-29T20:59:01-04:00

richter

Austin 594832

23 A great league is defined when great players are created, not when past players get imported. The MLS is concerned with getting players that have names that were relevant in Europe 5 years ago. Signing this type of player does not bring credibility, instead it shows how out of touch this league is with world soccer. The MLS should consider importing young talent (14-16 Year Olds from Brazil, Argentina, and Central America) and developing it here, then exporting and exchanging them with Europe. Once European teams start TRADING players with the MLS the world will start respecting this league. Big names can sell a couple of T-Shirts, but they are reinforcing the idea that the MLS is a very viable retirement home for soccer players. 3188826

2008-10-29T20:55:34-04:00

DodgyVillain

No City 594862

22 Ljunbergs got raw skills, even if he doesnt score people will still buzz off the talent 3188775

2008-10-29T20:54:04-04:00

DodgyVillain

No City 594862

21 ljungberg has got raw skills, even if he doesn't score, people will buzz off the talent. 3188757

2008-10-29T15:39:09-04:00

MetallicaCamaro

Berwyn 593704

20 I agree that players who play in Europe are the elite of the soccer world but they aren't all that great when they come over to play MLS. They have such little respect for MLS soccer that they only come when they are unable to keep up with the European team's soccer players. they come over at 32 or older when this is the only job they can get that will nopt embarass them or make them cut back on expenses. Sign a quality guy in his prime not on his way down the hill. this man wont do anything for the sport i love the midfield game and creating scoring chance for teammates its a great thing, but in the US that is not appreciated, the only thing that is seen is the number of goals scorred. Angel and Emilio were great last year because they scored 20 and 21 goals respectively but Blanco who creates scoring chances for the fires young forwards doesnt get that much credit and neither does Beckham who created a few chances for Donovan. in this country if you arent a striker you wont have any impact on the league, you might impact your team's players by increasing their goal totals but no one will be attracted to watch the game because of some one who has a lot of assists they will watch the names who are high profile and have alot of goals. 3185438

2008-10-29T13:35:08-04:00

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BlueWhiteLion

36617

19 soooooooo what analysis did you provide to prove your point? Holy cow, I was very interested in this article, but after reading I have gained nothing new. You told us how bad Beckham is, you refer to how he has made the team "a joke," but we are not given any sustance. We could argue against all your points that demean Beckham's affect on the MLS/his team. (which are you referring to, anyway? The title is one thing, your article content focuses on another). Of course he has had a demonstrably positive effect on the MLS, regardless of the jeers and the justifiable criticism. However, the striking discovery is that your article fails to sell us in a credible, factual way, on the Sounders new star. What kind of player is he? What has he done? What do we expect him to do? How might he help the MLS as a whole? Give us stats, playing style, quotes from the Sounders, info on how he will increase MLS stature across the board . . . on a level higher than Beckham! Your blog has added nothing, and certainly doesn't support your thesis, other than given off handed comments based on pure conjecture or expected Beckham hater vitriol. Really, I have nothing against you--I just expected WAY more professional input than I got. 3183758

2008-10-29T12:59:32-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/365/74/thumb/sp11.jpg 1571 CA

Big Chaco

Los Angeles 36694

18 Markazi writes on football? 3183406

<div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/fredrik-ljungberg-t1.jpg" alt="Fredrik-ljungberg-t1" width="298" height="236" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Freddie Ljungberg will do for MLS what Becks couldn't.</div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">AP</div> </div> <p>So MLS added a big-name European right winger in his 30s, who captained his national team, played in the English Premier League for a decade, has a penchant for getting injured, sports a fashionably short haircut and tattoos and moonlights as a male model.</p> <p>Where have we heard this one before?</p> <p>While <strong>Freddie Ljungberg</strong>'s signing by the Seattle Sounders on Tuesday may not have had the same fanfare and media attention that <strong>David Beckham</strong>'s did in Los Angeles last year, make no mistake that the two are from the same mold. Not just because both get paid for modeling underwear and like taking their shirt off more than <strong>Matthew McConaughey</strong>, but they were brought in for the same reason: give credibility to MLS and raise the profile of their new team. The two also signed for similar reasons, to grow their brand in the States and transition into a post retirement career in Hollywood.</p> <p>There may be no bigger name in sports than Beckham and no more talked about couple than Becks and <strong>Posh</strong>. But I have a feeling that Ljungberg will have a bigger impact in MLS than Beckham and will make a bigger splash in Hollywood when his playing days are over than Becks.</p> <p>Now it isn't a stretch to say that Ljungberg will have a more positive impact on his team than Beckham. After all, the Galaxy have been an absolute mess since Beckham arrived and they weren't much better off before he got there. They've missed the playoffs the past three seasons, had the worst record in the league this season and haven't scored on a set-piece since <strong>Cobi Jones</strong> was playing. OK, that's not true. It's only been 27 games (practically an entire season) but it feels like more for anyone who has watched them go through the motions this season.</p> <p>Not only has Beckham done nothing to improve the Galaxy on the field, he's turned the team into somewhat of a joke off the field as his management team seems to be pulling all the strings in the front office, making them look foolish when his people were speaking to AC Milan about a possible loan in the offseason; a development that was news to coach and general manager <strong>Bruce Arena</strong> when reporters asked him about it last week.</p> <p>Ljungberg, who played for Arsenal and West Ham for the past decade, is everything that Beckham is right now on the field except for all the hype and fanfare off it. He may be going to an expansion team for half the price as Becks, but he'll likely have the Sounders in the playoffs before Beckham's Galaxy ever get out of the basement, partly because the Sounders are building their team from the ground up the right way and because I don't think Beckham will be in MLS long enough to see the Galaxy turn this sinking ship around before he jumps overboard, er back to Europe. And while he might not be the celebrity Beckham is off the field right now, give him some time with Sounders owner <strong>Joe Roth</strong>, the ex-chairman of Disney and 20th Century Fox and he'll be in <em>US Weekly</em> and <em>People</em> more than <strong>Lindsay Lohan</strong> by the end of his first season.</p> <p>The problem, however, for the league as we've seen with the Beckham experiment in L.A. is whatever Ljungberg does off the field will likely be more noticed than anything he does on the field, where the <strong>Perez Hiltons</strong> of the world will likely give both players more coverage than any mainstream sports outlet. While that won't change anytime soon, Ljungberg at least has a chance to give fans something to talk about on the field next season, which is something his European male model counterpart hasn't been able to do yet.  </p> 18401 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/396/7/thumb/markazi_arash.jpg 118 CA

Arash Markazi

Los Angeles 3987