Latest news with #Wright-Phillips
USA Today
19-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Retired MLS stars to play with amateur team in US Open Cup: What are they thinking?
Retired MLS stars to play with amateur team in US Open Cup: What are they thinking? Show Caption Hide Caption Messi 'never imagined' he would achieve what he has Lionel Messi says his dream was only ever to be a professional, and thanked God for all his success Stats Perform Video It's been a few months since Dax McCarty helped Atlanta United eliminate Lionel Messi and Inter Miami from the postseason, before retiring after 19 seasons in Major League Soccer. It's been a little over a year since Ozzie Alonso retired, and two years since Sacha Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips retired from MLS. Ask any former athlete in any sport: The desire to play again never goes away. The four are now MLS Apple TV analysts, but they're going to step onto a pitch once again in Kansas City, Missouri on Wednesday night. They'll play with six other retired stars on an amateur team from Iowa against a bunch of 19- to 24-year-olds aspiring to play in MLS like they did. They'll play for the Des Moines Menace on the road against Sporting Kansas City II inside Children's Mercy Victory Field at 7:30 p.m. ET. The match is in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup – the longest ongoing tournament in America soccer in its 110th edition. It will be available to stream on YouTube. At least the tournament is older than them? "I just ran sprints for the first time in four months. I still got it," McCarty, 37, said in a video on social media last week – breathing heavily before laying down on some grass. "I don't know how I got convinced, man," Wright-Phillips, 40, told USA TODAY Sports with a sigh. Kljestan, 39, played with the Menace for two games in last year's Open Cup. He did the convincing along with Benny Feilhaber, who is going to play against the MLS Next Pro team he coached for the last three years. The Brazilian national helped SKC win MLS Cup in 2013, the Open Cup in 2017, and is in the franchise's hall of fame. Kljestan and Feilhaber recruited McCarty — the trio competed for playing time together for U.S. Soccer at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Alonso, a four-time Open Cup winner and 2016 MLS Cup winner with the Seattle Sounders, said McCarty influenced him before a flight to their current day jobs. And Kljestan needed his "striking partner' in Wright-Phillips. Kljestan led MLS in assists and Wright-Phillips in goals twice each during their careers, and one of those times was in 2016 when they played together for the New York Red Bulls. "Sasha worked his magic, wore me down and convinced me,' Wright-Phillips said. The Menace is a USL League 2 team that plays from May to August and is typically filled with amateur players in college. The former MLS stars aren't getting paid for participation. They're just in it for the thrills. "When you retire, you can never get that feeling back of playing in a stadium, scoring a goal and hearing everybody cheer for you. There's just nothing in life that can replicate that,' Kljestan said. 'So, just getting that opportunity to do it one more time, or two more times, or three more times depending how many games we win, I think it's pretty exciting for us.' McCarty said he walked away from the game in great shape, but the day-to-day grind and being away from his family took its toll. He started playing some golf and pickleball in his spare time to feed his competitive fire. But it just doesn't compare. "I absolutely want that feeling back,' McCarty said. Alonso misses being in the locker room with his teammates and the pressure to perform. "I miss everything,' Alonso said succinctly. Wright-Phillips — who started his career Manchester City before eight MLS seasons – wants to make up for lost fun. 'I'm one of those players that I don't really miss the game,' he said. 'When I played, I was really uptight. It wasn't fun because I was very hard on myself to always score goals. I didn't enjoy as many games as I should have because you're always worried about three points and worrying about other teams' results. "So, I just want to enjoy the game, try to win and just have fun playing with my friends.' They'll be joined by AJ DeLaGarza, a three-time MLS Cup champion with the L.A. Galaxy who won the Open Cup with Houston in 2018. Victor Ulloa (FC Dallas, 2016) and Justin Meram (Atlanta, 2019) also won Open Cup titles. Matt Hedges (2016 MLS Defender of the Year) and Mikey Ambrose (former six-year MLS veteran) will also play. Their first order of business should be getting on the same page. Kljestan and Wright-Phillips want McCarty to play the whole game since he's the least removed from professional soccer of the bunch. "Their expectations are I'm supposed to play 90 minutes,' McCarthy said. "I don't know how that's going to work out.' They also need to figure out how far they really want to go in the tournament. McCarty said it would be "a little irresponsible and foolish to talk about winning the whole thing." Kljestan said his "dream scenario" would be to at least play against an MLS team in a big stadium again. "It's going to sound delusional, but I want to get to the final. I want to win this. That's the way I am in my mind,' Wright-Phillips said. "I'm not saying I'm going to be leading the line. I'll be on the bench like a great cheerleader. But let's try and get to the final.' On Tuesday, U.S. Soccer announced a record $1 million prize pool would be awarded during this year's tournament. The champion will win $600,000, the runner-up $250,000, and $50,000 for each of the three highest finishers from lower divisions participating. The Open Cup – despite its history – has been a bit of an afterthought in the American soccer space since the summer Leagues Cup tournament between MLS and LIGA MX teams was created in 2019. MLS nearly pulled its senior teams from the tournament last year, but eight competed in 2023, and 16 of the 30 of them will play this year. The former players don't feel responsibility to play in hopes of reviving the Open Cup, but believe their presence will bring some attention. "People over time have seemed to play it down. It's the oldest tournament in the country, and that's to be respected,' Wright-Phillips said. 'A lot of people made their name in this tournament. Why are we above it? Why would I not want to play in this tournament and get more people interested?' Added Kljestan: "This is just getting a group of guys that want to give it one last shot of playing together at the highest level, and it will shine a light to the Open Cup and hopefully bring more eyeballs for it.'
NBC News
21-02-2025
- Sport
- NBC News
MLS preview: What to expect from Lionel Messi, plus other key storylines to watch
Right now, where do you put MLS among the world's best leagues? Twellman: They're not at the Premier League level, and nor should they be. English football has over a 100-year history. Naturally, when you're trying to establish yourself in credibility, you got to do so in the world market. And I would say over the last five to seven years, Major League Soccer has exponentially grown. The way I judge that is, when you talk to scouts around the world, how quickly are they getting to the United States and Canada and Major League Soccer? They're getting there very quickly. I think Cavan Sullivan is a great example of that with Manchester City deeming him the best 14-year-old in the world. He's now playing for Philadelphia Union before he goes to Man City. Wright-Phillips: I love and hate this question because it's so hard. My personal opinion, just having played in both (the MLS and English Premier League) ... let's take the top teams like Inter Miami and Columbus Crew, the teams that have been very dominant over the last year or so. They would have no problems in the Championship, maybe bottom of the Prem. That's how I see it and how I like to see it. It's so difficult to judge. Lionel Messi had an incredible first full season in MLS. What are your expectations for him this season and how good can Miami be? Wright-Phillips: We weren't sure how he would react to being in the MLS, but he's taken it by storm. He's the Messi we've known and loved over the years. What I do know is that, especially in America, Inter Miami won't be seen as a successful side until they win the MLS Cup. So Javier Mascherano, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets — I think that'll be the No. 1 thing on their list. Until they win that, I don't think people will say it's been a huge success. But saying that, they've been a joy to watch. Twellman: He had 36 goal contributions in 19 games last year. If not for a horrific ankle injury from a slide tackle in Copa America, he would have played probably 25 or 26 games, and he could easily have had 45 goal contributions. If he's healthy this year and he plays 25 games, I think he could be the first repeat winner of the MLS MVP ever because the way he changes Luis Suárez, the way he changes everyone around him. I'm nervous for Miami because I don't think they're as deep as they were last year. They've got to figure that out. Besides Messi, what players are must-watch this season? Wright-Phillips: You'll always enjoy watching Darlington Nagbe. I think a young striker like Patrick Agyemang for Charlotte is very exciting and upcoming. Jack McGlynn just went to the Houston Dynamo. This will be good for him, starting every week. Talking about young players starting every week, I'm thinking of Brian Gutiérrez for Chicago under Gregg Berhalter. Twellman: On LAFC, Denis Bouanga is one of the best players this league has ever seen. You do not have to be a soccer fan to see his impact and to see how he plays. He plays at a high level, 90 minutes of just relentless pursuit of goals and assists. He's had 20-plus goals in two straight years. An unreal player. What other storylines are you watching for? Twellman: The FIFA Club World Cup being in this country, two MLS teams being a part of that, all the eyeballs around the world are going to be on the United States in 2025. It's a perfect preview of what the World Cup is going to be in 2026. Major League Soccer now has the infrastructure, the momentum to really catapult itself with all the eyeballs in the world in 2025 and then ultimately in the World Cup. That's where it's going to be different than 1994. Wright-Phillips: I don't think the casual MLS fan realizes how good of a player Wilfried Zaha is. I was surprised that there isn't a lot more noise around his name for how good he is as a player. We got to remember, this guy was tearing it up at Crystal Palace in the Premiership. It didn't work out for one reason or another, but this is the kind of talent we're talking about that's coming to the league. And I think very soon after Matchday 1, we're going to see a top player and you'll hear his name a lot throughout the season. What team that missed the playoffs last season could take a big step? Wright-Phillips: I'm going to go with Chicago. [Gregg Berhalter] has all the pieces. He has a good young No. 10 in Brian Gutiérrez and then they brought in a really good winger in Jonathan Bamba. He's another player that loves to run at defenders. And then if you were worried about their defense, they bring in Jack Elliott from the Philadelphia Union, who I think is a really underrated center back in the league. Twellman: I'm interested to watch Austin this year. They went out and spent $10 million on Brandon Vázquez. He comes back from Mexico and is a goal scorer. There's a new manager (in Nico Estévez). I don't know if the manager gets them to winning the MLS Cup, but I think he improves Austin to a point that the fan base is now rejuvenated the way they were in the first couple years of their existence. Who is your pick to win the MLS Cup? Twellman: The transfer window changes everything in the summer. The teams you see on Feb. 22 are not the teams you see come MLS Cup playoffs. A lot can change. But as of Feb. 20, I think people are really overlooking Atlanta United and Cincinnati. They had the best transfer windows. Wright-Phillips: You have to look at Cincinnati. Over the years, Cincinnati has always been a team that doesn't concede many goals. ... Now you add Evander, one of my favorite players. You're putting him on a side that is defensively sound. He has a striker in front of him now in Kévin Denkey who is very efficient in front of the goal. When you talk about attacking talent, adding Evander, and you talk about how good they are defensively, that's a team that's built for the playoffs.
