World Soccer - UK (2019-12)

his year was the

third time Seattle

Sounders and

Toronto had met in

the MLS Cup Final

• and the wait for
  a classic encounter goes on.
  In 2016 Seattle won the shoot-
  out after a goalless draw while Toronto
  had their revenge a year later with a
  2-0 victory, but both games were flat
  and forgettable.
  The 2019 finale drew an impressive
  crowd of 69,724 to CenturyLink Field
  in Seattle, but Sounders’ 3-1 success
  was something of a surprise, with
  Toronto dominating the first half and
  the hosts looking decidedly nervous.
  The 0-0 scoreline at half-time
  seemed farcical and the sense of
  unreality got stronger when, 12 minutes
  into the second half, Seattle opened
  the scoring.
  When defender Kelvin Leerdam
  slammed the ball hard and low across
  the Toronto goalmouth – maybe a shot,
  maybe a pass – it was deflected by not
  one but two Toronto players before
  ending up in the net. And the oddity of
  the goal was increased further when,
  rather than being ruled an own goal,
  it was given to Surinamese full-back

The wait for a

classic goes on

Seattle win disappointing season finale

11 wins with a stunning 2-1 victory.

An exciting team, playing all year with

tremendous brio, LAFC had scored 85

goals during the season – 12 more than

anyone else – and their big test in the

play-offs came against local rivals LA

Galaxy. In five past meetings there

had been three draws, with two wins

for Galaxy. The game had caught the

imagination of the city and was dubbed

El Trafico in a sly reminder of the city’s

traffic congestion problems.

Although they had yet to beat Galaxy,

LAFC’s confidence was high. They had

lost only one home game all season and

in Mexican forward Carlos Vela they had

the winner of the league’s Most Valuable

Player award and MLS’ top scorer.

Galaxy’s star in the previous games

had been the towering Swede, Zlatan

Ibrahimovic, who had scored eight goals

in those five games. Vela had scored

seven, so the sixth El Trafico became

Ibrahimovic versus Vela.

In a fast-moving, goalscoring game,

Leerdam. Seattle’s Raul Ruidiaz was

even credited with an assist.

Seattle pulled further in front with

goals from Victor Rodriguez and Ruidiaz,

and although Jozy Altidore got a Toronto

consolation in injury time it was hardly a

game to be remembered.

The true excitement at the end

of the season came in the play-offs,

with Atlanta (playing in their third MLS

season) and Los Angeles FC (a second

MLS season) strong favourites.

LAFC had won the 2019 Supporters

Shield for the team with the best regular

season record, finishing eight points

clear of second-place New York City.

The reigning champions Atlanta, so

sparkling and attack-minded in 2018,

spent most of the season struggling to

adapt to new coach Frank De Boer’s

more defensive tactics and opponents

were no longer being swept away.

Under new MLS rules, the play-

offs are now a single game, which was

a big help for Atlanta. Their superior

regular-season points

total gave them home

advantage and narrow

wins in dour games against

New England (1-0) and

Philadelphia (2-0) moved

them into the semi-finals

against Toronto.

No one had expected

Toronto to get this far. They

had only finished fourth in

the Eastern conference

and had been eight points

behind Atlanta.

But the play-off system

favours teams in form at

the end of the season and

Toronto, unbeaten in 10

previous games, made it

Champions...Seattle

Sounders celebrate

Ibrahimovic and Rooney’s readiness to return to Europe

confirms a feeling celebrity imports do not take MLS seriously

T

United States

PAUL GARDNER

M

L

S

R

e

v

i

e

w