<div id="attachment_94892" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/david-beckham.jpg"><div><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-94892" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-94892" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20140921_WST_117048_david-beckham-600x439.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=439" alt="David Beckham announcing a MLS team being brought to Miami." width="600" height="439" srcset="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/02/david-beckham-600x439.jpg 600w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/02/david-beckham-150x109.jpg 150w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/02/david-beckham-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/02/david-beckham.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></figure></div></a>David Beckham announcing a MLS team being brought to Miami.</div>
David Beckham’s continued difficulty in securing the long-term stadium deal he wants in Miami to start a new MLS franchise may have just gotten more complicated. On Friday, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the second-tier North American Soccer League (NASL) were sold to a Brazilian trio – Paulo Cesso, Ricardo Geromel, and Rafael Bertani. On the surface, the sale of a second division club should not impact Beckham’s plans or that of Major League Soccer but here is why it does.&nbsp;
New Strikers Owners have deep pockets and Shared Market
Beckham’s Miami MLS team is still years away from kicking a ball. While MLS has successfully poached other second division markets they have never set up shop in a market as complicated as South Florida where the existing club has owners with comparable financial resources to many in MLS. The estimated net worth of the new Strikers ownership is placed at somewhere near a quarter of a billion dollars. Should the Strikers choose to create a bloody turf war in the area with a significant head start this might just end badly for Beckham and MLS.
For those not familiar with the area, Fort Lauderdale and Miami are 21 miles apart downtown to downtown. In American big city terms, that is virtually around the corner. While it is theoretically possibly for both clubs to coexist in different league in the same market, particularly given the population of nearly six million in the catchment area, southeast Florida is a notoriously fickle market and could very stick with&nbsp;an established brand.
Strikers History
Ricardo Geromel who will serve as the Managing Partner of the club and take over day-to-day management was direct in his appeal on Friday. “Our vision is to boost the level of play in the NASL to the point where local players and fans won’t have to look any further than their own backyards to play and watch world-class pro soccer.”
Paulo Cesso added, “Who is the goalkeeper that made the best save of all World Cups? Gordon Banks! Who do Germans say is their own Pelé? Gerd Muller! Who did Pelé himself say was the best player in the world? George Best! These legends have all played for the Strikers! Other stars that played for our team were Elias Figueroa, Nene Cubillas, Marinho Chagas, and Ray Hudson. These players made us dream.&nbsp;&nbsp;We are proud and ready to announce that we will invest to turn the Strikers back into a household name.”
While this appeal may seem too based on nostalgia, the reality of today’s American soccer fans are that they are more connected to the European club game and legacy of South American National Teams than ever before. MLS’ approach of rebooting history from the mid 1990’s has proven in many parts of the country to fail, and that league has itself begun to embrace some history. But an established name like the Strikers who have yet effectively leverage the legacy of their brand due to budget constraints could have a massive impact in south Florida.
For those who argue the Strikers would then be going down a path similar to the New York Cosmos whose nostalgic-based approach has yielded mixed results, I would submit that the Strikers playing in the same stadium they did originally with many of the same personnel around the club make it more authentic and perhaps more likely to succeed. Additionally, the Cosmos have to contend with the financial juggernaut of <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/08/28/stevan-jovetic-beginning-to-prove-his-worth-for-manchester-city/">Manchester City </a>while Beckham has yet to secure the type of long-term deep-pocketed investors he will need to really make a go in the market.
Lack of Political Will
The situation in Miami-Dade County is perhaps unworkable for Beckham and his people. The naivety of their initial approach and carelessness of the public statements made by both Beckham and MLS early in the process poisoned the well locally. While the City of Fort Lauderdale long had said they were happy to speak to Beckham, Mayor Jack Seiler announced on Friday he is no longer interested in speaking to Beckham with long-term future of the Strikers now secure. Beckham’s public statements have boxed in the global superstar and while published reports and internet rumors keep popping that indicate the former Manchester United star is close to striking a deal locally nothing has been announced yet.
The Market
We have discussed time and again why <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/07/05/5-reasons-why-david-beckham-should-select-broward-for-his-mls-team-location/">Broward County</a> is a far better anchor for a south Florida professional soccer team than Miami-Dade County. Now that the Strikers have the type of ownership that will make the club competitive, simple geography and demographics would favor the locale of the Strikers over anything Beckham might do in Miami. Simply put, with the Strikers sale, Beckham is further boxed-in both to Miami-Dade County and perhaps to a bloody fight with a well-established neighboring pro club who will not give an inch in a battle for fans. If Beckham does get his team off the ground though, this could produce one of the most authentic and glorious derby matches in North American soccer.

Beckham's Miami FC Deal Complicated By Strikers Sale - World Soccer Talk

Beckham's Miami FC Deal Complicated By Strikers Sale

<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/javier-mo-e1410238959670.jpg"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/javier-mo-e1410238959670.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-115978" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20140909_WST_115977_javier-mo-600x399.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=399" alt="" width="600" height="399"></a></figure></div>
What if, instead of trying to bring in another David Beckham, <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/08/26/mls-again-creates-new-rule-to-appease-owners/">Major League Soccer</a> signed more players like Javier Morales? It wasn’t a hypothetical, though it was rhetorical. I was among a group of reporters gathered after MLS Cup three years ago when the question was asked by a league official. At the time, Beckham’s future was uncertain, and although the league’s commercial messiah he would come back for one more year, the post-Beckham world was already taking shape.
How would Major League Soccer replace its biggest star? To their credit, MLS recognized Beckham was unique. After all, <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/08/26/thierry-henrys-impact-on-field-cant-increase-fortunes-off-it/">Thierry Henry</a> was brought in to create a similar buzz on the other coast and&nbsp;<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/08/26/thierry-henrys-impact-on-field-cant-increase-fortunes-off-it/">came up short</a>. The league he realized the singularity of its biggest star, and while finding another Beckham would be nice, it also wasn’t an option. Besides, Beckham had served his purpose. The league’s profile was higher than ever, both domestically and abroad. While that didn’t guarantee fans would flock to the product, it did assure eyeballs.
People willing to give the league a chance had probably already watched a game. Those who’d stuck round were doing so for something beyond Beckham. That something was the product. The league knew it. They knew the quality of play needed to improve, a realization that came while economic conditions in South America meant established talents were willing to look north of Mexico. Thanks to players like Seattle’s Fredy Montero and RSL’s Morales (among others), MLS had a series of success stories that allowed them to sell a new, more stable career to Latin America’s talents. It was a competitive advantage, one that would allow the league to make up ground. That Morales would be the archetype instead of a Beckham or an Henry may seem strange, but consider what the Argentine has done in Salt Lake.
Now 34, the former Lanus, Arsenal, and Newell’s Old Boys midfielder has spent seven years in Utah. During that time, he’s averaged 6.6 goals and 12 assists per 34 games, helping RSL to two conference titles and the 2009 MLS Cup. Along the way, he’s become one of the most respected players in Major League Soccer, one often evoked by peers discussing the league’s most skilled players.
Those skills became part of the bedrock of a team that prides itself on possession soccer. During a time when speed, strength, and athleticism were still the dominant traits in the MLS, RSL turned to players like Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson, Andy Williams, and Robbie Findley. The team’s big advantages — strong scouting; the emergence of head coach Jason Kreis; an expertly executed 4-3-1-2 system; and, the orchestration of Javier Morales – helped turn a small, expansion market into a success, one built on its attractive product.
What if, instead of following the Galaxy’s Beckham example, the league targeted a new group of skill players? An infusion of players just like Javier Morales? Instead of focusing on a single name that would hold national attention, the league could try to convert its new, casual fans into loyal disciples. What if MLS gave its on-field product a big push? Over the past two years, that question has been answered. Establishing a presence on the ground in Argentina — one that’s helped the league connect with clubs, players, agents — MLS has opened the flood gates, the occasional transfer fee from the league’s shared coffers helping a series of new playmaking talents land on North American soil. Columbus’s Federico Higuain was one of the first to come in 2012. Portland’s Diego Valeri came the next season, with FC Dallas signing River Plate-trained Mauro Diaz to a young Designated Player deal that July.
This year, Cristian Maidana has joined Philadelphia, while Matias Perez Garcia moved from Tigre to San Jose this summer. And that’s just the playmakers. Vancouver’s Matias Laba has shown the potential to be one of MLS’s best defensive midfielders, and attacker Ignacio Piatti was invigorated Montreal since his move from San Lorenzo. Real Salt Lake hopes newly-signed forward Sebastian Jaime can help them navigate a treacherous Western Conference, while even with less celebrated talents like Andres Romero (Montreal) and Maximilliano Urruti (Portland) help raise the league’s level.
Though detractors still evoke stereotypes of overly-direct play, the skill the league’s injected over the last two years has led to a much-improved product. Sunday’s game in Portland was an example of that payoff. A game between the Timbers and Earthquakes might not otherwise hold a neutral’s attention (they’re fifth and eighth in the West), but combine Valeri’s talents with San Jose’s counterattacking approach, and you have a recipe for six goals, 44 shots, and 17 attempts on target. And on an individual level, you get three assists, nine shots, five shots on target, and 12 chances created from a player who has become the poster boy for MLS’s Argentine infusion.
It’s not the only way MLS is trying to improve, and as Guillermo Barros Schelotto’s success in Columbus shows, Argentines didn’t suddenly start making an impact two years ago. But in heightened quality the league’s seen since targeting the&nbsp;Primera, MLS has answered its own question. What if the league forgot about a new Beckham and targeted more Javier Moraleses? In two years’ time, MLS would see a huge payoff.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "david beckham" - Page 2

Leagues: MLS

Beckham's Miami FC Deal Complicated By Strikers Sale

LA Galaxy

The pros to signing more players like Morales instead of Beckham