![]() “That's kinda how it was back in the day.” “Literally, I had to push his car,” Onalfo remembers. On this particular day in South America, he met an agent - whose car promptly broke down. So, on spare days, Onalfo would travel and forage for players. And there were no digitized libraries of game film. Officially, Onalfo was head coach of the Kansas City Wizards but in those prehistoric times, coach was also chief scout. ![]() Long before the evolution, in 2008 or thereabouts, Curt Onalfo jetted down to Argentina on a mission that typified an era. It's been nearly 17 years since David Beckham arrived in MLS in 2007 in what was the league's splashiest signing of an international star. Now, the teams and the league are much more sophisticated.” Now, they have foundations from which real ambition can bloom. “I don't think that the teams nor the league was sophisticated enough. “I wouldn't have said that 10 years ago,” one experienced club official clarified. In interviews over the past month, some advocated for a loosening of the rules or a lifting of spending limits.Īnd a few specifically cited this league-wide evolution in scouting and recruitment as evidence that they’re ready for more freedom. But many sporting directors - or “chief soccer officers,” CSOs, in MLS parlance - still feel constricted. The league, meanwhile, has rolled out some spending initiatives, which have allowed clubs to sign some of the talent they find. Their many responsibilities used to burden one head coach, or perhaps a single general manager now, they’re delegated to experts, who are increasingly capable of finding talent in far-flung corners of the soccer world. Most, if not all of the league’s 29 clubs have hired specialists in realms like player identification, analytics, economics and high performance. They’ve built modern scouting networks and sporting departments, full-fledged staffs and databases, infrastructure that didn’t exist when restrictive rules were formulated. So, in recent years, they’ve spent millions of dollars to improve decision-making. The implicit message behind the rules, as multiple club executives explained to Yahoo Sports, is that the league and owners don’t trust teams to make smart decisions with their money. ![]() Off the screen, though, an elemental reason for the restrictions is disappearing. They promote parity within MLS, but impede competitiveness with foreign clubs - for continental titles, and for TV audiences. Spending limits handicap the quality of play. While Lionel Messi dazzles, and owners boast of a future among soccer’s elite, self-imposed roster restrictions stunt their collective growth. Its present, at age 29, is full of incongruity and contrasts. The league’s childhood was one of volatility and austerity. The unseen evolution steering MLS through adolescence is a function of technology, money and necessity. The arrival of Lionel Messi has sparked a renewed push for the MLS to ditch financial restrictions in order to allow the league to blossom into one of the best in the world. ![]()
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