MLS is Back: 3 things we learned from tournament draw
2. Derbies galore
If there is one thing that you notice when glancing over the draw, it is that there will be derbies galore throughout the group stages — this is not by accident, which I will touch on later.
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In fact, in every group, there is either a genuine heated rivalry or one that MLS has been trying to force over the years. Even before the draw was announced, it was officially released that Inter Miami would be placed into Orlando’s group and open the tournament against the hosts as the only two Florida-based teams.
This was just the start of the rivalry-laden schedule, however. Group B features Sporting KC, Real Salt Lake, Minnesota United and the Colorado Rapids. All of them are either in rivalries, are geographically close to one another, or are meant to have a rivalry if MLS had anything to do with it. Group C sees Montreal play Toronto. Group D pits Seattle and Vancouver against one another.
Then Group E is just two rivalries: the Hell is Real Derby and Atlanta United against the New York Red Bulls. And finally, to top it all off, El Trafico will again be a part of the MLS schedule in Group F. If you wanted to watch rivalries, this tournament is for you.