We are the champions!

Recently we’ve shared that various soccer luminaries such as Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson has advocated a spring-to-fall schedule change in advance of the 2022 World Cup.  Now we find out that UEFA itself is advancing well past the thinking stage.

The British press is reporting that the English Premier League and Bundesliga are gearing up to fight a UEFA (specifically, Michel Plantini) plan to implement a spring-to-fall schedule permanently for UEFA member leagues and alter the qualification calendar for international events.  The plan, which would hypothetically be put in place by 2015, supposedly echoes a proposal Plantini wrote for Sepp Blatter and FIFA in 1998 to change the calendar then, but was scrapped because of opposition from Italy and Spain.

All European leagues would run their schedule from mid-March to the end of October.  Qualification for the World Cup or European Championship would take place from November to mid-December, with the final tournaments played mid-January through February.  The articles also reveal that FIFA officials have been planning for a winter World Cup in 2022, despite their assertions otherwise.  In fact, it looks like Qatar was always going to be a winter World Cup, with the executive committee moving forward with January 2022 planning since the December 2 vote.

My first thought on reading this is I am glad UEFA is planning to make the move three years before the Russian World Cup, where I am sure a winter World Cup will be….quite pleasant.  But it seems like the movement toward a winter 2022 Cup (and consequently a spring-to-fall schedule) has been in the works for at least the past 45 days, probably more.  So anything FIFA has said so far about the 2018 and 2022 bid process has to be somewhat doubted if they’ve lied about the Qatar scheduling.

My second thought is that the major European leagues would never go for this.  I think some of the smaller European leagues (I’m looking at you Scotland) would fall in-line with UEFA, but this would be a major headache to the EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue Un.  It would be especially bad for Italy and Spain where summer temperatures approach 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

But let’s assume UEFA is 100% in favor of this and forces all their leagues to switch to spring-to-fall.  All of the sudden, little stubborn MLS would be a trend setter in the soccer world.  The same nation whose president was told to his face that they needed to conform to the rest of the world’s schedule would now be the one to whom the world would conform.  Quite a nice vindication for Don Garber and USSF who have remained unmoved by the international pressure.

What are some of the other consequences of a European schedule switch?

• No more Landon Donovan to Everton loans for a few months.  If MLS and UEFA play at the same time, American stars cannot go to Europe for a few months and return for the second half of the MLS season.  While this would alleviate some of the Beckham transfer drama, my fear would be that big name Americans would just go to Europe and not play in MLS at all during their peak years.  This could exacerbate the league’s talent drain.
• Fewer tours of the U.S. by big European clubs.  Manchester United and Barcelona probably wouldn’t want to do a 12-day tour in the winter with the chance of their matches being snowed out.  So either they would tour the South (excellent for Miami and Dallas) or limit themselves to only one or two stops.  And if international qualifiers are occurring, then the biggest clubs would be reduced to their second team even more so than they are now.

I will believe a UEFA spring-to-fall when I see it, but we have definitely learned two things from this story: the fall-to-spring schedule is not sacrosanct and FIFA’s pronouncements cannot be trusted.

Two of the more controversial things in the soccer world combined yesterday for an early Christmas present to both soccer bloggers and Don Garber.

In an interview with Arsenal Magazine (and reported on The Telegraph website), Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger complained about fixture back-up due to inclement weather and how it impacts his squad (and other clubs too of course).  For those who don’t follow EPL, a number of matches were canceled last weekend due to snow and a bunch more may be canceled on the popular Boxing Day weekend.  While most EPL pitches are heated, many of the matches are canceled over concerns for fan safety.

The EPL has built-in cancellation dates for these matches, but Wenger is concerned that clubs (like Arsenal) who play in multiple tournaments will face a backlog of matches later in the season, putting title-competing clubs at a disadvantage to teams who only compete in one league or competition.  In response to a question about a possible winter World Cup in 2022, he not only said it would not be a bad idea, but the world soccer calendar should change because of it:

“That [the heat in Qatar] is a big problem.  They have spoken about maybe having the World Cup in the winter. Why not? I’m not against that at all. But I think overall, in the whole world, football should be played between February and November, and then you could organise (sic) it for winter.”
Now the Wenger schedule would be different than the current MLS schedule – matches would begin in February and players would have a long summer break to recuperate from fixture congestion.  But it is not a coincidence that this was the lead story on the MLS website this morning.  I suspect that MLS officials will continue to highlight this kind of support for a spring-to-fall schedule as the possibility of a January 2022 World Cup is considered, and Wenger will not be the only major figure to suggest a schedule change.

Does Arsene Wenger’s support for a February-to-November schedule change your opinion on spring-to-fall scheduling?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  The last week has been a barrage of news and rumors in the world of MLS, and the next few weeks will likely be the same with the 2018/2022 bid announcements and re-entry draft.  But for one day, let us step back and give thanks for all of the good things that MLS (and soccer overall) gives to us every day.  Sports are an escape for every day living, an alternate world where curving a soccer ball earns you millions or being the right height guarantees a job for twenty years.  And without it, society would be a much more depressing place.

This Thanksgiving, here is what I am thankful for:

I am thankful for Dax McCarty going to DC United – quite a good trade yesterday for DC United, sending Rodney Wallace to Portland for the former FC Dallas player.  The Black and Red now have another creative midfielder to score goals, something that has been mysteriously absent from RFK this year, as well as another offensive threat to pair with Andy Najar.  I think this is the beginning of a good rebuilding for DCU.

I am thankful for expanding technology to watch even more games – do you realize that I can practically travel anywhere and watch a soccer match?  If I have a laptop/mobile device, wireless, and headphones, I can pull up ESPN3, foxsoccer.tv, YouTube, or a number of video sites and watch highlights or an entire match.  It has never been easier to enjoy the beautiful game and the league(s) of your choice.

I am thankful for balanced scheduling, at least for another year – even with two new clubs this season, I will still have the opportunity to watch every club at least once in my home team’s stadium.  You can’t say that about many American sports, and I think it’s something we sometimes take for granted.  And in that vein…..

I am thankful for living so close to an MLS club – I live within a half hour of an MLS club, and have the opportunity to see my home team in action, something residents in many large cities (let alone rural areas) do not have the chance to do.

I am thankful for U.S. soccer supporters – overshadowed by English hooligans and fan clubs, the U.S. has its own great fan base for soccer.  At the national level, Sam’s Army travels to all the matches and provides a good base of support for Bob Bradley’s squad.  At the club level, every team has great supporters, and some like Seattle go above and beyond the call of fandom.  Good fans really help make a match a great one.

I am thankful for Don Garber and Sunil Gulati – I am the first to criticize these gentlemen at times for their boneheaded decisions, but their jobs are not easy.  They have to grow a sport in a country where the sport’s landscape is already crowded and soccer is sometimes seen as a foreign influence.  Their job is not easy and I am thankful they are there to do it.  Plus, they provide constant topics for posts on the site.

And finally, I am thankful for you – Thank you to everyone who reads, comments, Tweets, and shares the content on this site.  Without you, this site would not be as dynamic as it is and full of diverse thoughts and opinions.

What MLS or soccer things are you thankful for this year?