Saturday, the 30th season of Major League Soccer will kick off with Los Angeles FC hosting Minnesota United. While initially Lionel Messi and Inter Miami were supposed to kick off the season before their Concacaf Champions Cup match was postponed but there will be no shortage of star power on display as the league kick off.
From faces in new places like Lucho Acosta in Dallas, Jesus Ferreira in Seattle and Evander in Portland to big name coaching hires like Gregg Berhalter to Chicago and Bruce Arena in San Jose. Even a major return in Miguel Almiron coming back to Atlanta United. The stage is set for quite an opening weekend of play but let’s take a look at some things to watch for.
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San Diego join the league
While San Diego will have to wait until Sunday to kick off their inaugural journey in MLS, there’s a lot to like about Mikey Varas’ new team — just maybe not their jersey. Hirving Lozano is quite a star to hitch their team to in San Diego’s inaugural season, but there are other solid additions like Luca De La Torre who could make this a side to watch this season. The roster build has been a slow one, but an intentional build that could pay dividends.
All eyes on Miami
After setting an MLS points record last season, Inter Miami got knocked out of the playoffs in the first round to Atlanta United. The disappointment has led to a new manager taking over in Javier Mascherano. The loss of Leonardo Campana and Diego Gomez will leave questions that need to be answered for Miami, but luckily for them, those are easier to do with Lionel Messi on the pitch. The Argentine won’t be able to do everything which is where Miami will need to show that they’re a complete team to live up to expectations for the club to win everything in their path.
Spending spending spending
This has been an offseason for the ages with four of the top 10 incoming transfers ever happening ahead of this season. Big expectations will be on Emmanual Latte Lath, Kevin Denkey, and Hirving Lozano, all joining from abroad for big fees, but FC Cincinnati also set a domestic record along the way. Teams can now acquire up to two players for cash in a season which Cincinnati used to acquire Evander from the Portland Timbers. They needed him with Acosta departing for FC Dallas, but with this new spending mechanism, Cincy was able to spend a record $12 million to an MLS team for his services. While abroad a transaction like this may seem common, this is the first time that MLS teams have been able to spend cash to acquire a player within the league setting a new market in the process.
MLS Opening Weekend schedule
All times Eastern, All matches are available on MLS Season Pass
Saturday, Feb. 22
Los Angeles FC vs. Minnesota United, 4:45 p.m.
Inter Miami vs. New York City FC, 7:30 p.m.
Columbus vs. Chicago Fire, 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta United vs. CF Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union, 7:30 p.m.
FC Cincinnati vs. New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
D.C. United vs. Toronto FC, 7:30 p.m.
Austin FCvs. Sporting Kansas City, 8:30 p.m.
Nashville SC vs. New England Revolution, 8:30 p.m.
Houston Dynamo vs. FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
St. Louis City SC vs. Colorado Rapids, 8:30 p.m.
San Jose Earthquakes vs. Real Salt Lake, 10:30 p.m.
Seattle Sounders vs. Charlotte FC, 10:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 23
Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps, 4 p.m.
LA Galaxy vs. San Diego FC, 7 p.m.
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