MLS: Andre Horta a reminder that Zlatan is becoming the anomaly
By Josh Sippie
MLS have been happily making the turn towards a younger league, and one arrival, even in the form of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, doesn’t change that.
If you were to compare the MLS of today with that of even three, four years ago, you would see a very stark contrast in the trajectory of the teams. Rather than teams being buoyed by the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard, surviving on star power alone, we are now seeing more and more young Designated Players.
Jesus Medina righted the ship at New York City FC. Sliding into a void that was produced by a combination of Pirlo and Jack Harrison. Ezequiel Barco joined up with an Atlanta United already firing on all cylinders with the likes of Miguel Almiron.
Jefferson Savarino has been making headway at Real Salt Lake and last but not least, the youthful New York Red Bulls have their own star in Kaku.
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Why did I list all these names? Because each and every one pushes MLS towards a future of young, promising players, locked in for long-term deals, rather than the Gerrard’s and Lampard’s.
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The arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic doesn’t change that. There are critics of MLS laughing and pointing at Zlatan saying that clearly MLS isn’t all that interested in getting away from their old “retirement league” mantra.
That’s silly. There isn’t a league out there that doesn’t have aging superstars. They all do it. And Zlatan is a bit of a different breed, the kind that, while certainly a ‘celebrity,’ is well worth his weight in gold.
Mainly because he isn’t even able to snag a Designated Player slot. Unlike all the propped up and old European players that came before him.
And now, with LAFC getting in on the fun with Andra Horta to add to Diego Rossi, almost as if to counteract Zlatan’s arrival across the city, it’s like the balance has gone ahead and shifted right back in the span of just a couple of days.
MLS is absolutely headed in the right direction. The longevity of the league is being kept alive, not by people like Zlatan, who are fizzling out around MLS with few remaining, but by promising young men like Rossi and Horta, who have a future in the league and with their team beyond just merchandising.
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To think anything less is to sell short the progress that is being made and, honestly, to fall into the trap of celebrity spotlighting that MLS is too often accused of. Horta, and those like him, are the new regulars, with Zlatan fading into the category of anomaly.