The MLS Transatlantic #3 feat. Mike Ammann

The 2011 Major League Soccer season is fast approaching its climax. I haven't blogged on the subject since said season began in the Spring. It seemed like a fitting time to break that duck - with the thoughts of a very special guest, an 'MLS Original', if you will...



A year ago this month, on a trip to the United States, I caught my first glimpse of live MLS and it has intrigued me ever since.

Intrigued enough to stay up late every week to follow the games as they happen on dodgy internet streams? Not quite. Intrigued enough to extensively research stats & trends and blog updates on a regular basis? No.

Nonetheless, I've been to football games all across Europe in various competitions and nothing thus far has been anything like what Major League Soccer brings to the table.

Of course, there are many differences in football on this continent from country to country, both on and off the pitch. However, as with many cultural aspects outside of sport, the British are a lot more like their trans-atlantic cousins than European brothers far closer to home.

As a result, American soccer is somehow very similar and yet very different at the same time to the Premier League. So what lies in store for the future of MLS? Can it further emulate the success and popularity of the home-grown brand? Better yet, should it?

These are questions I'd be hard-pressed to answer alone, on the evidence listed in the second paragraph. But my freelance work at Charlton Athletic led me to meet a man who had more insight on the situation.

Mike Ammann was there at the very beginning of the MLS league in 1996, leaving Charlton to do so with the Kansa City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City).

Because of his connections to the Addicks, he dropped by before a recent home game to conduct an interview for their weekly radio show.

With this consisting mostly of Valley-related discussion (and understandably so), I decided to pick the retired goalkeeper's brain about fifteen years of American soccer growth.

"Everything we do in America is always on a grand scale", Ammann explained, "and my thoughts back in 1996 were that a new league in the US is going to be great and quicky grow into a fan favorite.

"Well that's not how it panned out but they have been taking steps in the right direction ever since.  I had hoped it would be big but the soccer specific stadiums were never on anyone's mind at the time."

In previous MLS-related blogs, I had brought into question the logic of building some of these soccer-specific stadiums well out of the way, sometimes even outside of the city the club is supposed to represent.

That said, my visits to New York Red Bulls (whose stadium is in New Jersey) and Philadelphia Union (Chester) twelve months ago showed me first hand that the fans were not put off by this, something Ammann saw coming from the start.

"Who cares if the stadium is downtown or in the suburbs," he said. "Find a location that wants you to be there and will support you and go with it.

"Loudoun County in Northern Virginia is one of the wealthiest counties in the country and has an extremely large soccer base.  DC United could build a stadium that would be supported each and every home game by the people of Loudoun and their supporters clubs are going to support the team where ever they go.

"Just because there is no public transportation does not necessitate fans travelling to a game.  Property values in downtown areas are obviously very high and the project needs to make financial sense but I think too much time is worried about the ideal location versus getting the job done."

It is the fans whom the 40-year-old believes are evolving Major League Soccer from a token national representation of a popular sport to a worthy addition to the diehard American culture, evidenced by the recent news that soccer had displaced ice hockey as the #4 pastime of choice in the States, behind NFL, MLB and NBA.

And he said of the accomplishment: "The additions of Seattle and Portland and Vancouver have been the reason for this.  We now see rivalries that we didn't have in years past but also those cities reflect their culture and population.

"I would love to see the game of soccer become the biggest sport in the US but I don't think I'll see it in my life time.  Hopefully it just continues to grow and we don't have any setbacks.  As the quality of the players and teams improves then the size of the crowds will follow.

On the influence of the fans, Ammann continued: "MLS has some great supporters and the supporters' areas in stadiums help create an atmosphere that is long overdue.  Tailgating is America, it's something we do and something I think makes your day out that much more enjoyable.

"We need to remember that it is a sport you are going to watch and sports are entertainment.  Sometimes you do things different in order to attract someone who may not be a true soccer fan.  But once they see a great atmosphere and above average product, you might have converted someone to your sport."

The former Kansas City Wizards and NY/NJ Metrostars stopper has been outspoken in the past about his home nation's shortcomings of operating as a successful footballing venture.

However, with his Twenty Four Seven Goalkeeper Academy one of a mass spurt of soccer schools in the country now, he remains optimistic that they can follow the lead of sports fans who 15 years ago may not have even cared for soccer and nurture MLS into a league of talent.

Said Ammann: "Our young kids need players to look up to and emulate.  If I go to watch an MLS game and the player that plays my position is far below the standard of someone I can watch on TV, what am I going to do?

"I hope they will continue to try and raise the bar when it comes to standard of players and at the same time providing a stepping stone for some of this country's more talented players.  We have seen some very good players start out in MLS and then move overseas to bigger and better clubs.  This process helps our national team in the long run."

He went on to explain that another area MLS needs to take notes from its European contemporaries is behind the scenes, saying: "I'd like to see more education and awareness around life after the game.

"I'd like to see more players involved with the front office and acquiring useful skills that they will need to possess after their playing days are finished. They could attend the office every other week and shadow an employee, get to know what they do and why they do it.

"I have a better appreciation for what the office staff and management go through now than I did when I played.  This is down to learning corporate America and how to run a business.  Some of my negative thoughts about MLS have gone away now that I understand the process.

"But the one thing that still remains is a lack of communication.  As a player you are only as good as your last game.  I've seen it personally as well as some of the better players to have played in the league.  Once you stop contributing during games your time is up and you best have a backup plan."

One question seldom posed, mostly thanks to the English soccer scene's seniority over the States, is what we have learned from them.

Perhaps not completely from their version of football, but at least from sporting operations in general Stateside there have been a number of influences on the Premier League and further down the pyramid system to a lesser extent.

Despite it not being discussed as much as it should, the Californian feels the learning process certainly goes both ways.

He said: "You are already taking American ownership and seeing how to market a club on a global basis.  That is something that our other major sports do a great job of but it comes down to owning that deep history.

"Teams in England need to do a better job of marketing themselves and creating brand awareness. Only a couple clubs are doing that at the moment.

"You guys have tradition in England and that can only be replicated over time here in the US. We are trying to build that and benefit our own game".

Details of Mike's Academy can be found online at http://www.247gk.com, and you should also follow him on Twitter @247gk for updates and information.