World's Top leagues: Where should MLS stand?

[Oldtimer]

When they won they did.

They've lost 10 games so far this year.

The reality of a parity league, it's hard to stay on top.

[scooterTFC]

Germany and England both have a very strong 2nd and even 3rd division. MLS Clubs i think if were put in these leagues 2nd division they would get relegated...3rd division they may do just ok, but would not be a push over for MLS clubs thats for sure. Other leagues like Italy, France, Spain, Holland there 2nd divisions i do not think are as strong, MLS Clubs may survive in the 2nd divison. Leagues like Scotland, Belgium, Sweden, Poland, Switzerland, Portugal, Russia and so on i would hope MLS Clubs would beable to win in a 2nd division of these Leagues with no problem, there for beable to be in a Division 1 league.

I'd love to see a "made for TV" event where a top 5 calibre MLS team travelled to England and played their way up the English football league pyramid over the course of 3 weeks. Have them play 1 game against a mid table team from each league, beginning with Blue Square (5th Tier) going all the way up to the Premiership.

I don't think the standard of play in MLS is as poor as many people claim. Clearly the MLS standard is well below the top leagues in Europe (England, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Holland...) I would agree that The average North American player has a lower football IQ and probably less technical ability on the ball. However the speed, strength and athleticism of players in MLS is probably better than that of many tier 2 leagues in Europe. At its current stage of evolution, MLS game might not always be pretty too watch, but the sport is progressing here.

It will be interesting to see how the pro game evolves in North America in the next 5-10 years. European basketball evolved in a bit of a isolated bubble outside of the NBA game 15-20 years ago, and that style of play eventually came to influence on the NBA game of today. Maybe the MLS will offer the soccer world some new innovation 10 years down he line

[kodiakTFC]

J.League is far better than MLS as well. Honestly, MLS is top 20 but its goal should be top 8 by 2030. We're not that far off, I'd say were getting close to the 'other' European leagues. A top MLS side could challenge in the Eredivise for a European spot.

[Cashcleaner]

^ I agree. Above all else, MLS has the potential to be a top 10, perhaps even a top 5 league when you factor in the all-important economic side of things. Recession or not, the US still has the world's largest and most active economy, and the people who own the clubs here are often rolling in disposable income. As much as we don't want to believe it; even in sports, money makes the world go round. Perhaps the biggest barrier to MLS's success is the competition from other sports for the fan's dollar.

I'm quite confident that over time it will be a league that rivals some currently in the top places.

[james]

I was somewhat surprised to see the attendance figures myself and where they stack up in the world. The main difference though is sponsorship and T.V money which if the league finaly taps into will allow this league to really grow.

Well heres a glimpse on what other leagues average attedence in 2011/12. This does not include playoffs, or cup matches.

Denmark
1. Copenhagen 15,540
2. Brondby 12,608
3. Aarhus 11,012
4. Odense BK 7,560
lowest attendence in 1st division-
12. Lynby BK 2,168

Switzerland
1. FC Basel 29,775
2. Young Boys 21,104
3. Luzern 14,180
4. Servette 10,697
lowest attendence 1st division-
10. xmax FC 4,149

Netherlands
1. Ajax 50,147
2.Feyenoord 44,781
3. PSV 33,353
4. Tweente 28,237
Lowest 1st divsion attednece -
18. SBV 3,301

Croatia
1.Split 9,833
2.Dinamo 3,113
3.NK Istra 2,527
4. HNK 2,467
lowest attendence 1st division
16. NK Varazdin 653

Belgium
1. Standard Liege 25,113
2. Club Brugge 24,344
3. Andelecht 22,349
4. Genk 21,942
lowest attendence 1st division
16. RAEC 5,315

Portugal
1. Benifica 42,664
2. Porto 35,176
3.Sporting 34,934
4. Braga 15,029
Lowest attendence in 1st division
16. Nacional 1,886

Scotland
1. Celtic 49, 967
2. Rangers 46,519
3. Hearts 13,605
4. Hibs 9,654
lowest attendence in 1st division
12. St. Johnstone 3,923

Russia
1. Moskva 24,243
2. Kuban 22,753
3. Zenit 19,393
4. CSKA 17,632
lowest 1st division attedence
16.Spartak Nalchik 5,600

Poland
1. Legia Warszawa 20,928
2. Lechia Gdansk 17,732
3. Slask Wroclaw 16,944
4. Wisla Krakow 16,402
lowest attendence in 1st division
16. GKS 2,022

France
1. PSG 42,891
2. OM Marseille 40,455
3. Lyon 33,139
4. Saint Etienne 21,533
Lowest attedence in 1st division
20. AC Ajaccio 6,338

Greece
1. Olympiakos 21,523
2. PAOK 11,393
3. Panathinaikos 9,554
4. Aris 6,944
lowest 1st division attendence
16. Doxa Drama 672

Norway
1. Rosenborg BK 14,510
2. Valenrenga IF 13,337
3. SK Brann 13,012
4. Viking FK 10,250
lowest attendence in 1st division
16. sogndal IL 3,211

Japan
1. Urawa Reds 33,910
2. Niigata 26,049
3. Yokohoma 21,038
4. Kawasaki 17,340
lowest attendence in 1st division
18. Omiya 9,099

Argentina
1. Boca Juniors 41,700
2. Newells Old Boys 34,333
3. Belgrano 27,889
4. Racing Club 27,111
lowest attendence in 1st division
20. Arsenal FC 6,722

MLS - 2011
1. Seattle 38,496
2. LA 23,335
3.Vancouver 20,412
4. Toronto 20,267
lowest attendence in 1st division
18. San Jose 11,858

[OgtheDim]

MLS numbers are tickets sold. Pretty sure many European numbers are if anything artificially low due to tax implications to the teams (e.g. UK VAT).

[FIAF]

I don't believe MLS is top 20 at all...going by CCL no MLS club has won it and they have only been runner-up once recently even though it has the same berths as Mexico. The Costa Ricans have done better and other leagues like Honduras have matched it. It's not top-20. Maybe bottom-20...

[narduch]

I don't believe MLS is top 20 at all...going by CCL no MLS club has won it and they have only been runner-up once recently even though it has the same berths as Mexico. The Costa Ricans have done better and other leagues like Honduras have matched it. It's not top-20. Maybe top-30...

Two MLS clubs did win the tournament in its previous incarnation.

I think its only a matter of time before that happens again (especially with the new rules favouring the US teams).

[bigredone]

imagine if you will a team so spectacularly bad that a price freeze, on their already overpriced tickets, would be considered a kindness from their ownership group..

There are strange things done 'neath the midnight sun....

[ryan]

MLS is no issue really when it comes to gates...it's TV money where every league on the planet has us beat.

[trane]

The MLS is still low level league. The depth of talent in football, and not just on the field but on the bench and the offices in the rest of the world, and particularly Europe, is leaps and bounds ahead of here. Someone said that the Second division is not strong in Italy, Serie B is full of very skilled players on very organized teams, that would beat any MLS team more often then not. This league is build all wrong, with a very shallow talent pool and selects its players on the wrong attributes, is organizationally and tactically weak. The league is getting better, but we are light years away, teams like the Sounders, Vancouver and Montreal seem to be on the right path all thought the finish line is far, far away.

Someone is also saying that the Portuguese league will catch Serie A, I like Portuguese football, but no way, the depth of professional players in Italy is far beyond, pretty well any other country in Europe except Spain, at this point. Need I remind people that we just came to the last game of the Euros during a "down" cycle in Italy football, with mostly Serie A players. If "fair play" is actually introduced next year, Serie A will climb back to the top of world leagues due to the depth of Italian talent.

[james]

The MLS is still low level league. The depth of talent in football, and not just on the field but on the bench and the offices in the rest of the world, and particularly Europe, is leaps and bounds ahead of here. Someone said that the Second division is not strong in Italy, Serie B is full of very skilled players on very organized teams, that would beat any MLS team more often then not. This league is build all wrong, with a very shallow talent pool and selects its players on the wrong attributes, is organizationally and tactically weak. The league is getting better, but we are light years away, teams like the Sounders, Vancouver and Montreal seem to be on the right path all thought the finish line is far, far away.

Someone is also saying that the Portuguese league will catch Serie A, I like Portuguese football, but no way, the depth of professional players in Italy is far beyond, pretty well any other country in Europe except Spain, at this point. Need I remind people that we just came to the last game of the Euros during a "down" cycle in Italy football, with mostly Serie A players. If "fair play" is actually introduced next year, Serie A will climb back to the top of world leagues due to the depth of Italian talent.

i would say Italy is still a very strong league, and probably has strong home grown players as they pretty much always have had strong home grown players. But the league is not as strong as id say as England, Germany 2nd divisions thats for sure. And yes AC Milan and Inter Milan or Juventus exc are top teams and can be the best in Europe at times but its the teams at the bottom half of Seria A that can be weaker. There is a bigger gap between big clubs and smaller clubs. And i don't think there Seria B is as strong because of things like money and attendence and TV ratings. Only 4 clubs in Seria B were getting attendence average over 9,000 fans a game, the other 18 clubs was drawing between 1,000 and 8,000 fans last year. England didn't have a single team of there 24 clubs drawing under 9,000 fans in there 2nd divison, and Germany had only 2 clubs of there 18 clubs drawing under 9,000. Stadiums in Italy are often far behind German and England clubs, they often are run down and need serious renovations done, but clubs can often not afford to fix them up. Germany and England 2nd division also most likely have more money to bring in Foreign talent. Besides those 2 Leagues tho there 2nd division is probably just as good or better then in Spain...and better then any other leagues 2nd division.

Portugal is deffinitly far behind Seria A and B. Besides a few strong clubs such as Sporting, Porto, Benifica and Braga the talent drops off big time after that.