MLS preseason storylines: Gregg Berhalter’s return, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami aim to bounce back and more

It is almost time for another MLS season to start, while teams watch to catch the Los Angeles Galaxy who won the MLS Cup last season. With San Diego FC who participated in the competition as a 30th team for the 30th season of the competition, things will look a bit different, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Cucho Hernandez is now back in La Liga, Miguel Almiron has returned to Atlanta United and Argentina -legend Javier Mascherano is now the head coach of Inter Miami.

With MLS parties who complete the preseason and kick off Concacaf Champions Cup this week, it is a good time to see what about the season that starts on 22 February.

Where are the productive 10s going?

At the end of last season, MVP finalist Evander placed a thread on X about why he no longer wants to play for the Portland Timbers because of broken promises. Although that was removed, he has not yet moved, and with the new MLS selection mechanisms about being able to pay cash for players within the competition, it is now realistic for a designated player to move in their own country where they earlier would have gone outside. There are a few reasons why Evander, MVP finalist with 15 goals and 19 assists, has not been moved and that is due to a domino effect around the competition.

Atlanta United was able to fill their emptiness on the 10 by bringing Miguel Almiron back from Newcastle United, but another team that could be in the mix is ​​FC Cincinnati. They have now seen Lucho Acosta to FC Dallas in a milestone movement for the competition. It is a step of $ 5 million with the potential of another million in add-ons funded by the new MLS-Cash-For-Players rule. In previous seasons, someone like Acosta would not move without going abroad and returning to MLS as he did when he left DC United, but now teams can be compensated reasonably for their stars, leaving top talent in the competition. With Evander who is younger than Acosta, there is no reason why a fee would not be comparable to him if it is not higher, but it is also clear that we have discussed a new ERA in the competition with former MVPs Swapping teams.

Change in Los Angeles

After winning MLS Cup last season, De La Galaxy will now look a bit different. Riqui Puig is still not only injured, which will put more pressure on Marco Reus, but Star -Spits Dejan Joveljic and his 21 regular seasonal goals now lead the line for Sporting Kansas City. The Galaxy was able to add a new striker to Christian Rameriez who joins the Columbus crew, but this is now the attack by Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel PEC. The duo has proven that they can be the leaders in this attack, but the expectations will be higher than ever after the Galaxy returned to the top of MLS last season. The remake of the midfield of adding Lucas Sanabria, Elia Wynder and Sean Davis should be enough to keep the galaxy at the top of the West, but they will have a lot of competition from their Crosstown rivals.

Mateusz Boguz has disappeared from the Lafc after they received an offer that they could not refuse from Cruz Azul, but he is not the only departure with Illie Sanchez, Stipe Bufos, Omar Campos and a few other players who leave. This is nothing new for black and gold, which are used to replacing several important players year after year, and the addition of Jeremy Ebobisse can add a lot to the attack. Olivier Giroud still has to walk the ground in MLS, so knowing that there is a reliable striker behind him, will be important with more pressure than ever on their leader Denis Bouanga. If he can keep this team at the top, he will be an important rival of Lionel Messi as a MVP candidate, but when scanning the competition for the greatest rivals to Inter Miami, they both live in Los Angeles.

Can Inter Miami bounce back?

It is not to be denied that last season was a disappointment for Inter Miami. Despite winning the shield of the supporters and establishing a new record of one season with 74 points during the regular season, the herons struggled in the play-offs, which made them eliminated to Atlanta United in the first round. But it was not the absence of League MVP Messi who delayed the herons during parts of the season, it actually missed Sergio Busquets who left the defense without an answer to opposing attacks. Under the new leadership of Javier Mascherano, this is something that the herons need to find out how to deal with if injuries arise.

Federico Redondo will have more time under his belt in addition to new signing Telasco Segovia. But it’s hard to judge Miami. They will roll many teams in the competition, but the regular season hardly matters when this is a team that will be assessed by silverware. One of only two teams participating in three non-competition matches with the Club World Cup, League Cup and Concacaf Champions Cup, this is a selection that will be stretched to the extreme. Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, Messi and Busquets are all a year older and Mascherano has a good job to manage that while balancing the different competitions.

Chicago in the course of the turnout

Almost the second that Gregg Berhalter was hired as general manager and head coach of the Chicago Fire, he had to find out his selection with decisions about who would keep the fire. With the season around the corner, he still didn’t stop fire as one of the most active teams in the open market during the low season. In Hugo Cuypers, the fire already has a Bonified star to build around, but during the low season Berhalter has shown one of his most important attributes that helped the United States national team – recruitment.

By adding Jack Elliott, Jonathan Bamba, Philip Zinckernagel and Sam Rogers, this team does not seem like the fire that missed the play -offs last season. Berhalter has a tough job for him to get these players on the same page, but if he can, it is clear to see who will be the most improved MLS side, and he would be clear in the race for coach of it years too. We have seen the fire publish in the past without showing results, but this low season feels different.