MLS 2011 First Kick....my first thoughts

I'm excited for our kids, because pro soccer in the USA is on the up.  Tonight, we had the LA Galaxy vs. the Seattle Sounders.  Galaxy won (yeah, I'm a Galaxy fan) 1-0 on Brazilian forward Juninho's hard, dipping shot that beat Sounder's keeper Kasey Keller to his right corner.  Here's a link to the video, pretty cool shot, note how he strikes it with the upper, outer surface of his right foot, producing the swerve on the ball that eludes even Keller, who is the former keeper for the US National team.



Landon Donovan also had an awesome run, being fed in on a break past the Sounders defensive line, and he nailed a hard shot that unfortunately hit the crossbar.  Beckham showed nothing spectacular, although he made a stoppage-time yellow-card foul in his own end that demonstrated his intensity for maintaining the Galaxy's clean sheet.

So that is the positive, and let me say there were plenty of plays in the game that were fun to watch.  However, the MLS still plays the ball in the air way too much.  That is a big problem. And I don't quite understand why some of the respected  MLS-oriented soccer blogs don't call them on it more often.

Sure, in the later stages of the game, the Galaxy went into a "prevent defense" formation, and focused on clearing the ball from their own end.  But when they cleared to a forward player, the player rarely seemed to settle the ball and keep close control of it.  What our young players in the USA need to see from the MLS is players who can settle the ball to the ground, keep tight control of it at their feet, and deliver precision passes to teammates. 

There is a lot of talent now in the MLS.  There are a lot of foreign players who have been brought in for their skills.  Let's see it, guys.  Let's see that Barcelona-type ball control.  You have the skills, now let's build that culture, right here, right now, in the MLS, in the USA.