Doug Banks Boston, Mass. With Jose Luis Morales put on waivers by the New England Revolution, will MLS make any more attempts to attract Spanish players (whose style of play would make MLS much more attractive than the German style that seems to attract Americans going abroad)? Why isn’t there a stronger connection between players in La Liga and MLS, compared with the Bundesliga and MLS, for example. Mike Woitalla: YouÆve brought up import and export issues, Doug. IÆll start by saying that thereÆs no doubt in my mind that MLS should strive to have as much Latin influence in its style of play as possible. I also believe that American players who venture abroad would be better off playing in Spain than in Germany. (Germany became a choice destination for American players because the trailblazing of Paul Caligiuri and lesser known players in the 1980s created an underground railroad, so to speak, that gained further momentum in the mid-1990s, when a German player agent developed a tight relationship with the U.S. national team.) The key to addressing both export or import issues is the fact that Latin or Mediterranean soccer has a much greater emphasis on the individual skills that delight crowds and consistently prove to be the key to successful soccer. The powers-that-be in American soccer have been slow make this realization, probably because the U.S. Soccer Federation has historically been controlled by men of European ancestry whose attitude toward Latin soccer has been ignorant at best and hostile at worst. Fortunately, when MLS launched in 1996, the league made a concerted effort to sign Latin American soccer talent. Former deputy commissioner Sunil Gulati, who was charged with shopping for foreign talent with limited funds at his disposal, managed to acquire, among others, Marco Etcheverry (Bolivia), Carlos Valderrama (Colombia), Jorge Campos (Mexico) and Mauricio Cienfuegos (El Salvador). These four players were the best of their generation from four countries with huge immigrant populations in the United States — a fact that made their signings practical in terms of drawing fans from the burgeoning Latino population. Since the early round of signings, MLSÆs emphasis on Latin soccer has waned. And itÆs no coincidence that attendance has decreased as well. Signing Spanish players, however, is practically out of the question for MLS for the same reason you hardly ever see Spaniards playing abroad: Spanish clubs pay enourmous salaries. A Spaniard willing to accept an MLS wage is unlikely to be very good. MLS runs into the same problem with Mexican players, which is why MLS has been limited to signing a few Mexican stars and sharing their services with Mexican clubs in order to afford them. (I highly recommend Ridge MahoneyÆs article, in the Nov. 27 issue of Soccer America, which delves into MLSÆs history of foreign-player signings.) So on the export front — indeed, Americans should try to seek opportunities in Spain. When it comes to imports, Spain isnÆt the answer, but MLS coaches should continue to scour Latin America. (If you have a question for a Soccer America Magazine editor, click “Q&A with SA Editors” in the left column of the home page under “Interactive.”)