Two legends joined Major League Soccer, Manchester United landed another striker and Wrexham made their Championship debut. Five Things From the Week covers all that and more.
1. Heung-Min Son’s arrival is massive for LAFC and MLS
As of Wednesday, two of the three most popular players on the planet are employed by Major League Soccer franchises. That is an incredible statement that should not be overlooked. Heung-Min Son’s introductory press conference after joining LAFC was an international event that every L.A. politician wanted to be part of. Even they understood how big of a deal it is. MLS’ next task is finding a way to make it mean something long-term, which is where it has struggled with Lionel Messi.
No one is ever going to question Son's dedication and professionalism. That's a good starting point. How the league handles him from a marketing standpoint will be fascinating. Will MLS plaster him everywhere like it does Messi? Is this going to turn into a two-man show? The numbers prove that the global audience doesn't care if Messi isn't playing. It will likely be the same for Son. Who knows the next time two true global icons will be in the U.S. at the same time. MLS has a huge challenge ahead of itself to make sure it takes advantage.
2. The Vancouver Whitecaps found the perfect star
There are only a handful of MLS teams with a realistic shot at landing stars coming from Europe. The Vancouver Whitecaps aren't one of them. Luckily for the Whitecaps, Thomas Müller is perhaps the most atypical star of his generation. There is nothing flashy about him or his game. It is easy to see him loving life in Vancouver. He just feels like a Whitecaps player. Nobody is saying that about the other players of Müller’s stature who have expressed interest in or come to MLS.
There's the on-field component too. Vancouver is a very good team with questions about its ceiling. Adding an extremely intelligent guy with 324 Bundesliga goal involvements should help. Müller is a low-maintenance serial winner coming to a team trying to learn how to do just that. The Whitecaps already have a creative force in midfield and an established goalscorer. Müller can slot between them and do exactly what he did at Bayern Munich. It all makes perfect sense.
3. The Manchester United brand still matters a whole lot
Benjamin Šeško had options. Teams playing in the Champions League – particularly Newcastle – wanted him badly. He picked a team not participating in a European competition with one top-four Premier League finish in the last four seasons instead. Šeško is evidently unbothered by the two other young strikers Manchester United acquired in the past two summers who have struggled mightily. Old Trafford is where he wants to be.
United’s earlier signings, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, came from mid-table sides. While they probably could have engineered a move to a team playing in Europe too, they saw an opportunity for playing time at a much bigger club and took it. That's at least understandable. But let's be clear: There is one reason and one reason only United were able to completely revamp their attack this summer: It's Manchester United. Everyone knows how bad the situation is. Nobody seems to care. That's brand power.
4. The North Carolina Courage didn’t need to make Sean Nahas’ exit so strange
The North Carolina Courage have used a variety of vague phrases to explain the club’s decision to fire Sean Nahas. Thursday’s press conference repeatedly cited a “multitude of factors.” That was followed by a statement Friday attributing it to “confounding performance issues, culture issues, and a perceived lack of fit” that created an “untenable” position. The Courage are currently one point behind Gotham FC for the final playoff spot, by the way.
The results were disappointing but not awful. There is clearly more to the story, and the club wants everyone to know that. Refusing to articulate why Nahas was dismissed with such urgency invites all kinds of speculation. The track record of the league doesn’t help either. If there were philosophical differences, why not say so? If there were concerns he wasn’t connecting with players well enough, why not say that? Results aren’t the only justifiable reason for making a coaching change. The whole thing is odd and uncomfortable.
5. Wrexham looked like they belong
Southampton and Wrexham were two divisions apart last season. Saints manager Will Still took the job after managing two different teams in Ligue 1. Southampton at least had some continuity while Phil Parkinson is basically building a team from scratch. Despite all of that, it was Wrexham who went into St. Mary's Stadium and created the better chances in the first half, going ahead through a Josh Windass penalty. Southampton were fortunate they didn't get a second goal.
The second half was much less impressive, but Wrexham still managed to keep a clean sheet until conceding twice in stoppage time. Last season's promoted teams came in 16th, 17th and 19th. If Wrexham consistently look like they did Saturday, they will finish higher than that. They are making too big of a setup to treat promotion as anything more than a dream. The objective is avoiding relegation and laying the groundwork for a future promotion push. There is plenty to feel good about in that regard even though they lost.