Everton’s Tim Cahill is the latest player heading to the USA, trading in his Toffees football kit for a place in the Major League Soccer team, the New York Red Bulls.
After losing Arteta last season, are Everton missing a midfield maestro?
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The attacking midfielder has scored 68 football goals over 278 appearances for the Merseyside team and has been an almost constant feature for them ever since his debut against Manchester United in 2004.
The lure of ‘soccer’ in the USA is gaining momentum and after the David Beckham success story it wouldn’t be surprising if more players leave the Premier League to skip over the Atlantic. Beckham’s career at LA Galaxy has catapulted him to international superstardom, as if he wasn’t famous already. He has fitted in with the Hollywood lifestyle and become a cash cow for anyone manufacturing football accessories anywhere. I doubt Cahill will have underwear lines and movie premieres on his mind though.
The Australian came to England in 1997 when he signed for Millwall from Sydney United on a free transfer. He was then instrumental in Millwall’s fairy-tale run to the FA Cup final, including a goal in the semi-final against Sunderland. Millwall eventually lost 3-0 to Manchester United in the final. So no football medals or football trophies against Cahill’s name, although he does currently have 53 international caps for Australia having played in the last two World Cups in South Africa and Germany.
Major League Soccer is America’s Premier League. Although it’s not given much time over in England, or indeed Europe, it has been gathering pace and is gaining popularity. It’s still a long way off from being as popular as the NBA or having as large a fan base as the NFL. Nike tracksuits are sold with the New York Jets logos and Chicago Red Bulls kits are rife, but it’s a rare sight to see MLS football kits flooding the streets.
As a largely unknown league, it’s difficult to think of five MLS teams offhand. Outside the New York Red Bulls and LA Galaxy, the rest of the teams have yet to hit the headlines with much regularity.
MLS is split into an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference – just like the NFL, which has North and South. The big-hitting New York Red Bulls are currently top of the Eastern Conference, with Sporting Kansas City second and Houston Dynamo third. The Western Conference sees the San Jose Earthquakes top, with Real Salt Lake second and the Vancouver Whitecaps third. LA Galaxy are fifth – mid-table.
The names of teams are partly mimicking European teams, like Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake, but there’s also a heritage and cultural aspect to the names some teams have chosen. Like the Colorado Rapids, named after a famous aspect of the state; the Chicago Fire who have one of the world’s most famous fire services, and the New England Revolution.
The MLS will benefit from signing players of Cahill’s calibre, and it can only be a matter of time before bigger names in European football start to take notice and perhaps be tempted over the pond.
Image Rights: Ben Sutherland
