Sports Illustrated columnist Bill Syken says MLS was the biggest loser at this World Cup. Case in point: New York Red Bulls’ Youri Djorkaeff appearing in the stands of the France-Brazil quarterfinal after taking a leave of absence from the team for “personal reasons.” That’s embarrassing for both the team and the league — Djorkaeff had traveled to France to visit his ill mother — you can be sure the big clubs in Europe would never allow something like that to happen. Says Syken: “This should be the best of times for MLS … I am among those people gaining appreciation for soccer this summer. But if I keep up with [it], I’ll follow the European leagues on Fox’s futbol cable channel. I feel no desire to watch MLS at all.” Simply put, the best players in the world don’t play in MLS. In American football, the best players play in the NFL. Likewise, the best players in basketball flock to the NBA. With hockey, they come to the NHL, etc. Djorkaeff’s disappearance underscores how unimportant what’s happening right now in the MLS is compared to the World Cup. The best players don’t play in the MLS, and that, Syken says, is “un-American.” The performance of the U.S. national team in Germany didn’t help MLS either, he says. “Unlike in 2002, the American effort at the 2006 World Cup has made the domestic game look smaller.” So should we watch MLS just because they’re American, just cause they’re ours? David Beckham, who has often expressed an interest in playing in the U.S. someday, said it best, perhaps: “I want to play at the highest level for a few more years yet. Going to America is one of the ideas that I’ve thought of in the future.” Right, as soon as I’m no longer wanted in Europe , then I’ll bring my brand here to collect some cash and a few more endorsements.