MLS: Breaking down the new playoff structure

Major League Soccer has changed the structure of the playoffs ahead of the 2019 season. Here, I break down the alterations to the MLS playoffs and give my opinion on what may or may not work.

Uniquely for a league in football, Major League Soccer is always looking for ways to improve and evolve.

While many of the world’s leagues are rigid, stuck in the old traditions, rather than pursuing that edge to continually develop and progress, MLS is relentlessly looking to build itself as a more complete and commercially successful league.

And this offseason, there are more changes made to the structure of the league that are designed to improve the watchability, the competition and the success of the sport, in America and beyond. They all start with a new structure to the playoffs.

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The new plan is quite simple. Four rounds. Each just one 90 minute game. 14 teams, with the top two seeds from each conference receiving a first-round bye. All played over three weeks between the October and November international breaks.

Other alterations include elements like the top seed will always host the one-legged tie. The seeding will be applied throughout the playoffs, with the seven teams from each conference seeded by their finish in the regular season standings.

This may not seem like a major change for the clubs themselves. And that would be true, to some extent. Perhaps the biggest change is the ridding of the two-legged system, meaning that teams cannot be overly cautious in the first leg. Everything is riding on one 90 minute match. There is no room for error. But there are some huge benefits for the drama and excitement of the playoff system for the watching public.

Perhaps most importantly, there is no international break in the middle of it. The international break repeatedly kills the momentum of the playoffs. It often sucks the life out of the most exciting part of the season. With this structure, the four rounds will be played over three weeks with the games coming thick and fast, uninterrupted by a two-week break in the middle. That is the perfect set up for excitement.

And excitement is the name of the game for MLS. The change to single-leg ties will also help heighten the drama. Games are more likely to be closely separated entering the final stages of the tie as they are played over 90 minutes, not 180 minutes. It will also encourage attacking football in the second halves with teams not defending desperately for the second leg. These changes have been made with drama and excitement in mind.

For the most part, the developments made revolve around making these the most riveting matches of the season. And they have largely succeeded — or at least, it seems as though they will succeed, by the time the playoffs roll around. But they have also extended the number of teams to 14. That decision is with the expansion of the league in mind, but for the next season or two, it may backfire. Mediocre teams will be in the playoffs. This season, for instance, the Montreal Impact and LA Galaxy would be in the postseason, travelling to Atlanta United and the Seattle Sounders respectively. Would they be competitive, exciting matches?

All in all, these changes will help the watchability and structure of the playoffs. They will benefit the league. But there may be some rough adaption thanks to the expansion to 14 teams. MLS is progressing and improving, and this is just another step in the right direction.