Last season proved that MLS is on the right track by bringing in more players from South America. There can be no doubt that the likes of Luciano Emilio, Juan Pablo Angel and Guillermo Barros Schelotto improved the quality of the league, and SI.com’s Gregory Sica says that it serves as a testament to the league’s ambition that the trend is continuing.
Indeed, scan the top clubs from the top leagues in Europe and you’ll see a whole host of rosters loaded with South Americans. “If the 13-year-old league’s goal is to eventually join the world’s elite,” says Sica, then MLS clubs couldn’t be headed in a better direction than by adding Argentines, Brazilians, Colombians and Uruguayans to their rosters.
D.C. United recently set an MLS record by adding its ninth South American to the club’s 23-man roster. That player was Argentine playmaker Marcelo Gallardo, who will occupy United’s designated player slot next season. However, his arrival means that compatriot Christian Gomez will be on his way out (most likely to Colorado). Gallardo might not be Major League Soccer’s last big name signing from Argentina. According to Sica, veterans Ariel Ortega and Claudio Lopez “are on the verge of joining MLS.” Meanwhile, Boca Juniors’ Martin Palermo has expressed interest in joining the league in the near future. Rumor also has it that Juan Sebastian Veron is still eyeing MLS from his beloved Estudiantes.