The regular season was determined by…
Would a beloved striker in his mid-30s who has achieved so much in the game still have the hunger to perform and score, or did he just go to MLS for the money and his beach lifestyle? When he arrived from Europe during the season, was he able to adapt quickly? Would his brilliance almost single-handedly carry his struggling club to the play-offs? Yes, Billy Sharp’s storylines were compelling. Lionel Messi was also quite interesting. Tom Dart
Messi. 2023 will forever be remembered as the year the GOAT arrived in Major League Soccer. Okay, some of the best moments came during the Leagues Cup and the US Open Cup, but Lionel Messi’s decision to join Inter Miami marked a huge shift in the American football landscape as a whole. It has the potential to change everything. Watching Messi in the MLS will never get old. It shows what the league could one day become. Graham Ruthven
Best team not to make the play-offs…
“Best” does a lot of the heavy lifting in that sense, as MLS is a league in which nearly two-thirds of teams reach the postseason, which means that, by definition, underachieving teams are rewarded. All sides that missed lost records. (So did some who qualified.) Despite finishing in third place with the worst points in MLS, it has to be Miamia selection with Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Josef Martínez and DeAndre Yedlin. T.D
InterMiami. They were running out of steam towards the end, but the team that finished the regular season wasn’t the one that played the first half under Phil Neville. Inter Miami simply gave themselves too much ground to make up. A full year of Messi, Alba, Busquets and Tata Martino would have seen the South Florida club finish comfortably over the Eastern Conference play-off line. When everyone was fit and excited, Inter Miami was the most exciting team in MLS. GR
Your dark horses are…
Houston Dynamo. Ben Olsen’s side have lost just once since being defeated 3-0 at home by Minnesota on July 12 and a fourth-place finish in the West gives them home advantage over Real Salt Lake, who defeated them 3-0 in Utah in August defeated. They won the Open Cup by beating Miami in Florida, the smart Olsen is a former MLS coach of the year, the defense is stingy and veteran midfielder Héctor Herrera has 17 assists, second most in MLS.
Nashville SC. As the seventh seed in the East, some might expect Gary Smith’s team to bow out early in the play-offs, but this is a team that reached the Leagues Cup final this summer. Knockout Football Suits Nashville. They can be deep. They are dangerous when they play on the counter. They have Hany Mukhtar. However, they will not have a home field advantage at any point. Nevertheless, Nashville’s low seeding belies how dangerous an opponent they will be. GR
Player to watch…
Roman Burki. Goalkeepers don’t win MLS League MVP Awards – unless they’re Tony Meola – but number one St. Louis City is having a great season, with exceptional figures which help explain how the unimaginable expansion team overachieved (or “overachieved,” as they would say in Missouri) to win the West. If he continues like this, can the 32-year-old former Swiss international make a difference in the upcoming tight knockout matches? T.D
Duncan McGuire. If the rookie forward gets hot in the playoffs, it could be a game-changer for Orlando City. McGuire is a natural finisher, like as evidenced by his stunning first goal against Toronto FC on Decision Day and his record 12 goals in just 1,420 regular season minutes. No one really knows for sure how high McGuire’s ceiling is, but a strong playoff run would send his stock through the roof. It would also make Orlando real contenders. GR
Who sits in the hottest chair…
It was a sophomore wave for Thiago Almada, the 2022 MLS Newcomer of the Year, who scored 11 goals and 19 assists in the league for Atlanta United this season. The 22-year-old Argentina international will certainly become Young Player of the Year. He is vital to Atlanta’s hopes but will miss the opener in the tough best-of-three series against Columbus thanks to an unnecessary red card on the final day. So he’s expected to impress when he returns for what could be his final game in MLS. T.D
Peter Vermes. He may be an MLS management legend, but the Sporting KC head coach has faced criticism from his own fans all year, especially when SKC went winless through the first ten games of the season. Vermes took a victory lap after securing a playoff spot on Decision Day, but an eighth-place finish in the regular season did little to silence the doubters. A poor playoff performance could see Vermes become a target again. GR
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Team threatens to go out early…
Philadelphia Union. Since we were seconds away from winning the MLS Cup last season, anything less than reaching the finals again would be a regression. But don’t bet on it. The Union will play the New England Revolution, who defeated them on the last day of the regular season. If they navigate past New England, Supporters Shield-winning Cincinnati likely awaits in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Their form faltered in the closing weeks of the regular competition reports unrest among players cannot help. T.D
Columbus crew. Wilfried Nancy has done an exceptional job in his first season in Columbus, but a first-round meeting against Atlanta United presents an early obstacle. Atlanta may have struggled with consistency in 2023, but they have the best pure striker in the league (Giorgos Giakoumakis) and one of the best midfield creators (Thiago Almada). On their day they can beat anyone. Columbus will have to be at its best to make progress. GR
Eastern Conference Finals
Cincinnati 2-1 Orlando. T.D
FC Cincinnati 1-2 Columbus Crew. GR
Western Conference Finals
LAFC 2-1 Houston. T.D
Houston Dynamo 1-2 Seattle Sounders. GR
MLS Cup Final
Cincinnati F.C. The best record in the regular season, with only five losses; home field advantage; the goals and assists of Luciano Acosta, the probable League MVP of 2023. This should be the year of the FCC, even if the reigning champions can boast the winner of the 2023 Golden Boot, the streaky Dénis Bouanga. T.D
Seattle sirens. Brian Schmetzer’s side are the form team in the West and ended their regular season campaign with an eye-catching victory over St. Louis City. The Sounders boast the best defensive record in the league and have a track record of peaking at the right times in the postseason under Schmetzer. An experienced team can still be a winning team. GR