After an extra-long off-season due to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Major League Soccer’s 27th campaign kicks off with 14 games across Canada and the United States this weekend.
Canadian teams CF Montreal, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps will all be in action, while the LA Galaxy and LAFC square off in a special edition of the El Tráfico derby at the Rose Bowl, where they could break the league’s single-game attendance record (74,479 showed up at Bank of America Stadium for Charlotte FC’s inaugural home match against the Galaxy last year).
Here’s what else you need to know about the 2023 MLS regular season.
New playoff format
The MLS playoffs will look a lot different this year, as the league announced on Tuesday the expansion of the post-season from 14 to 18 teams.
The top seven teams in each of the Eastern and Western Conferences clinch playoff berths, while the eighth and ninth seeds will face off in a one-game wild-card match from Oct. 25-26. The winners of both wild-card games move on to the first round, now made up of best-of-three series (rather than single elimination contests).
In the best-of-three, no games can end in draws. If a match is tied at the end of regulation time, it’ll go straight to a penalty shootout. The first team to win two matches will advance to the conference semifinals.
Both the conference semifinals and finals will remain one-legged affairs. The highest remaining seed will host the MLS Cup Final on Dec. 9, as has been the case since 2012. All of these games will go to 30 minutes of extra time, followed by a penalty shootout (if necessary) if they are tied after 90 minutes of regulation time.
An off-season of major changes at CF Montreal
Last year was a remarkable campaign for CF Montreal after it finished 10th in the Eastern Conference in 2021. Led by coach of the year candidate Wilfried Nancy, Montreal pushed the Philadelphia Union for first place in the Eastern Conference right until the last day of the 2022 season, ultimately finishing just two points back. With 63 goals, Montreal also had the third-best attack in the East and won 11 of 15 games (with just one loss) to close out the regular season.
But a lot has changed for Montreal since a disappointing home loss to New York City FC in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with a number of key players leaving for new clubs. Alistair Johnston was sold to Scottish club Celtic, and fellow Canadian Ismaël Koné transferred to English side Watford. American Djordje Mihailovic was bought by Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar. Argentine midfielder Joaquín Torres was traded to the Philadelphia Union. Canadian defender Karifa Yao didn’t have his contract option picked up and is now with the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Off the field, there have been issues. Nancy ended up leaving to take over as coach of the Columbus Crew after reportedly falling out with Montreal owner Joey Saputo. Veteran striker Kei Kamara was late to report to pre-season camp and has been vocal about wanting to leave, and even announced on Twitter that he wanted to be traded.
New coach Hernán Losada still has eight starters from last year’s team, so all is not lost, and it’s not like he has to start from scratch. But the ongoing Kamara affair, the bitterness over the nature of Nancy’s departure and the roster turnover could lead to more off-the-field drama if the team doesn’t hit the ground running under Losada.
Toronto FC looks to end playoff drought
Toronto FC had the second-worst defence in MLS in 2022 when it coughed up 66 goals, tying the franchise record it set the previous year. It also failed to make the playoffs for the first time in back-to-back years since 2013 and 2014.
Club management was very busy this off-season, signing a new U.S. international goalkeeper Sean Johnson, centre backs Matt Hedges (a former MLS defender of the year) and Sigurd Rosted, and left fullback Raoul Petretta. It’s an almost entirely new starting back five for Toronto, with Canadian right fullback Richie Laryea the lone holdover from last season. If TFC is going to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in three years, they must stop leaking goals and become a much tighter defensive unit.
TFC’s starting 11 looks solid on paper, highlighted by Italian Designated Players Federico Bernardeshci and Lorenzo Insigne, who combined for 14 goals and five assists in 24 league appearances after they both arrived last summer. But questions remain about the strength of the team’s bench and whether it has the depth to be competitive this season.
Can Vancouver Whitecaps rebound under Vanni Sartini?
Things looked grim for the Vancouver Whitecaps when Vanni Sartini took over as interim coach after the firing of Marc Dos Santos in the summer of 2021. At the time, Vancouver was in last place in the Western Conference table and looked like a sure bet to miss the playoffs for a fourth straight year. The team suddenly came together under Sartini, winning seven of its last 14 games (with just two losses) to qualify for the playoffs.
The club rewarded Sartini by making his appointment permanent in the off-season. Whatever magic the Italian manager wielded to get his team into the playoffs seemed to have disappeared last year. Although the Whitecaps won the 2022 Canadian Championship, they stumbled in MLS, finishing a disappointing ninth in the Western Conference and had one of the league’s worst defensive records (with 57 goals against). All of which raised questions about whether Sartini was the right man for the job.
Sartini remains in charge as the 2023 season kicks off, but one wonders for how long. He’s incredibly popular with the fan base due to his jovial nature and displays of exuberance on the touchline. But if the Whitecaps struggle early on in the season, it’ll be interesting to see if management would make a coaching change.
There have been notable player departures this off-season. Canadian forward Lucas Cavallini didn’t have his contract renewed after failing to meet goal-scoring expectations. Also gone are fullback Jake Nerwinski (now with St. Louis City SC) and midfielder Michael Baldisimo (who joined the San Jose Earthquakes).
There have also been some quality additions. Venezuelan forward Sergio Córdova should be able to score the goals that Cavallini couldn’t, and Uruguayan centre back Mathías Laborda will be looked upon to help anchor the back line.
St. Louis City SC welcomed into the fold
It’s not just the MLS playoffs that have expanded for 2023 – so has the league with the addition of its latest expansion team. St. Louis City SC makes its MLS debut on Saturday at Austin FC as the league expands to 29 teams. St. Louis will play its first home game at its brand new CITYPARK Stadium on March 4, when it hosts Charlotte FC, which joined the league last year.
Brazilian forward Klaus and German midfielder Eduard Löwen, the team’s two designated players, have European club experience and will be looked upon to guide the expansion outfit through its maiden season in MLS.
The roster also features defender Kyle Hiebert, a 25-year-old native of La Salle, Man., who previously played with the expansion club’s reserve team, St. Louis City SC 2.
Team to watch: Philadelphia Union
Philadelphia was the class of the Eastern Conference last year, topping the table with a stellar 19-5-10 record and finishing second place in the overall league standings. Andre Blake was named MLS goalkeeper of the year, Jacob Glesnes took home the top defender honour, and Jim Curtin was voted the league’s best coach. The Union had more players on the MLS Best XI than any other team: Blake and Glesnes, as well as defender Kai Wagner and midfielder Dániel Gazdag.
The Union didn’t slow down in the playoffs, breezing past the New York Red Bulls, FC Cincinnati and defending champions New York City FC in quick succession. From there, Philadelphia duked it out with LAFC in one of the all-time greatest MLS Cup finals, losing a heartbreaking penalty shootout.
After coming so close in 2022, the Union have to be considered one of the pre-season favourites in 2023, as Curtin has kept the core of last year’s team in place.
Player to watch: Dániel Gazdag
The Philadelphia Union midfielder finished in a tie for second in the scoring race last season with 22 goals, adding an impressive 10 assists. Yet, the Hungarian international wasn’t even named among the five finalists for the league’s MVP award. Gazdag was one of the best two-way midfielders in MLS last season and looks set to build upon his breakout campaign.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.
