The U.S. soccer Hall of Famer and TNT analyst joined Mic'd up to discuss the state of soccer in America, from MLS to World Cup
DaMarcus Beasley has seen Mauricio Pochettino up close. He has observed how the new U.S. manager works with a star-studded group of players, watched the tweaks he makes on the pitch. A long time USMNT international himself – with 126 caps to his name – Beasley can see it all working.
"I'm really intrigued to see what he can do with the squad leading up to the World Cup," Beasley says.
But it's not just the national team that Beasley has his eyes on. After a 20-year professional career that carried him first to Europe, then Mexico, then back home to Major League Soccer, the left midfielder knows U.S. soccer inside out. And now, almost five years on from retirement, he can sit back, and appreciate the growth.
"The league is in a good moment. It's still growing… they're adding another team to the bunch with San Diego," Beasley says.
There is excitement to be found everywhere. Whispers of a potential transfer for Kevin De Bruyne to MLS grow louder every week. There are murmurs that Neymar could even unite with his former Barcelona teammates at Inter Miami. The whole thing has raised the standard of the league, Beasley says.
Still, Beasley has some concerns. A restrictive salary cap has placed limits on just how much MLS teams can spend, while there is no obvious approach to the impending, inevitable retirement of Lionel Messi. Figuring out what comes next is tricky. Either way, there's room for optimism, the U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer said.
Beasley discussed MLS, USMNT, Antonee Robinson, and post-playing life, in the latest edition of Mic’d Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
AFPON THE STATE OF MLS
GOAL: First of all, what do you make of the state of MLS right now?
BEASLEY: I think the league is in a good moment. It's still growing. As you know, they're adding another team to the bunch with San Diego. From the outside looking in as a fan of football, for sure. It looks like they're doing a lot of things right, ticking a lot of boxes. San Diego has a huge Latino community, so being able to get Chucky Lozano as one of their signings is huge for the club. And I'm sure you've seen the rumors that Kevin De Bruyne is in conversation. It shows you the type of ownership group that San Diego has and type of player that they're trying to attract. So I do think the league is in a good groove. It's growing, and I know that they're still trying to fix some different rules with the salary cap and more money into the league and giving players a bit more money. So that's always good.
AdvertisementImagnON MLS IMPROVEMENTS
GOAL: On that, where can the league improve? You mentioned the salary cap, you mentioned the money. Is that one of the weaknesses, if you will?
BEASLEY: I do think so. Because in MLS, to be honest, when you do well in the league, you get less money. It's like you're cursed for doing well in the league, and it shouldn't be that way. I don't know what rule that is or whatever, but I'm just kind of speaking in general. If they have more money throughout the teams and throughout the league that they can give the players raises and all those kind of things, I think that's something where the the league can improve.
GOAL: Obviously, we've had Messi come to the league, which has helped the profile, and maybe even raised the standard across the league. But are you maybe a little concerned about what happens when he leaves? What does the league do then, in your opinion?
BEASLEY: It's a good question, and everyone's got their opinion on what MLS is going to do, what MLS should do. But I think the league still has to find ways to bring those type of players right into this thing. Whether that's an older Neymar, he's kind of in those conversations. Kevin De Bruyne's going to help out. But MLS has to be a league that still can attract those type of players. We're never going to attract Messi again, because, look, there's no one better than Messi.
And to be honest, as a fan and as a former player of the league, I'm intrigued to see what they're going to do: what the Apple (TV) deal is going to turn into. From a competitive standpoint, you know, how is that going to change things? Because you look at the Inter Miami squad, and when Messi was out this past year for those eight, nine games, they won like eight or nine of those. So that mentality of winning every single game, that every single game matters. That's Messi. That's the players from [Luis] Suarez to [Sergio] Busquets and all those guys. It's not just about making playoffs. It's about winning. Every single game matters. We can't draw. We have to win. So I think that in itself hopefully can trickle throughout the league and players take more ownership as far as every game has to mean something to them.
(C)Getty ImagesON MAURICIO POCHETTINO
GOAL: Switching gears to the USMNT. You've had Pochettino come in. What have you made of his job so far? The results have been good, but it's more than that, right?
BEASLEY: Results matter. Yes, they had to slip up when they played Mexico. I don't think they played very well. You can make excuses that they didn't have a lot of their big players. But the fight that the US usually has wasn't there, so that's still something that Pochettino has to bring out to the whole squad. I think he's the right man for the job. I've gotten to speak to him and see his work up close a bit. What I like about Pochettino is that he's not afraid to change things up. He's not set in one way of playing football. Sometimes [the game] calls for a long ball, it can be a long ball. If you want to play a short pass, they can do that. I'm really intrigued to see what he can do with this squad leading up to the World Cup. Right now, we're in an OK moment. I think we have great individual players, but they need to come together when they come to the national team and actually start putting results against better competition.
GettyON ANTONEE ROBINSON
GOAL: Antonee Robinson won USMNT player of the year. Was that deserved, for you? Christian Pulisic had an amazing last 12 months, too.
BEASLEY: 100%. I think it was between those two. But I think [Robinson] with his performances for both club and country, what he's been doing in England and what he does when he comes back here and plays for the national team, has been phenomenal. You can't take anything away from his performances and his consistency. Throughout this year, he has been great. So it's fully deserved. As a fellow left back, towards the end of my career, the biggest thing for me in that position is consistency. Obviously, it depends on how your coach wants to play. But, he's a guy that's going to get forward, make it difficult for the attacker. That's rare for left backs to be able to do that on a consistent basis, up and down. So, yeah, 100% deserved.
