Saturday’s match between the winless New England Revolution and the winless Minnesota United FC was never going to be billed as an instant classic. It never promised to raise hell in the cavernous amphitheater that is Gillette Stadium, but as far as home openers go, the people of New England should at least be expecting a product that befits the designation of America’s top soccer division.
Much was made of Minnesota’s first two matches, which they lost by a combined score of 11-2. Their match against Colorado last weekend eliminated almost every hot take that had greeted those two previous results — they looked a more cohesive unit defensively, and their attack proved that it’s going to score goals this season.
But what’s going to decimate Minnesota this weekend is nothing that they can control. While the rest of the world breaks for international play, MLS will chug along at the expense of six teams and the supporters who’ll pay to watch them.
Darlington Nagbe will be a big miss for Portland on Saturday. Photo: @thomasfloyd10 | Twitter
On that final point I could be wrong, maybe New England supporters will take a lot of joy from this match. Minnesota, and this shouldn’t be seen as a huge criticism to an expansion team, is short on talent and depth. This weekend is going to decimate that talent and depth.
On Saturday, they’ll be missing their most talented attacking player, Kevin Molino, to international duty with Trinidad & Tobago. They’ll be missing their most talented defender, Francisco Calvo, to international duty with Costa Rica.
Johan Venegas, who’s started every game in attack, will also be missing with Costa Rica. Rasmus Schuller, their most consistent player in midfield, will be away with Finland.
Additionally, starting goalkeeper John Alvbage is still out with an injury, midfielder Bernardo Anor is too and defender Justin Davis will sit out with a red card suspension.
If you’re on the Minnesota roster, you’re going to be playing this weekend. You’ve given up 13 goals in three weeks and who’s next? A New England team with no international call ups and players like Juan Agudelo, Kei Kamara, Xavier Kouassi and Lee Nugyen.
The cliches of Minnesota having to fight, that there’s no excuses, that this is an opportunity for players to step-up are well and good, but if we’re going to analyze this match in terms of value to the league, its merit and its gravity (all things the MLS should be striving to improve in its imperfect regular season format), it falls flat on its face.
The varnish of it being a regular season game needs only to be stripped away to uncover a mere formative notion of such — you won’t find a more uninspired meeting in the entirety of America’s major sports leagues.
Can you imagine the Minnesota Timberwolves playing the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, both teams chasing the final playoff spot in the West, and the Trail Blazers are at full strength but the Wolves have Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Ricky Rubio taken away from them for shits and giggles? What would be the point of that game?
Just to prove to the Timberwolves that no excuses? That other players have to step up?
The NYRB will be without captain Sacha Kljestan on Saturday. Photo: @MenInBlazers | Twitter
The only plausible outcome of this match is a scoreline that’ll be used as another stick with which to beat Minnesota, but that makes absolutely no sense given these circumstances.
If this is what MLS has to do to make the schedule work, I guess I can’t offer a fix. But that doesn’t dispel the feeling that such a farcical match sends the reputability of the regular season tumbling like a house of cards.
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