It's the end of an era in LA, where the Galaxy have parted ways with not only Stevie G, but also longtime leading light Robbie Keane. Normally, with two open slots for salary-uncapped Designated Players in the City of Angels, we'd already be throwing around the biggest names for these brightest MLS lights.
But the Galaxy – much like the NBA's San Antonio Spurs – managed to sneak the succession plan right under our noses, taking the L on an awkward adjustment for 27-year-old Mexico national team attacker Giovani dos Santos, who opens next season as the no-question No. 10 after a sneaky-strong sophomore campaign: 14 goals and 12 assists in 28 regular-season games; another goal and assist in three playoff appearances.
They enter the offseason looking for complementary pieces to push them across that final threshold in the #RaceToSeis, an exercise they've proven skilled in managing, like say … that time they did it by adding Keane to play alongside the LegenD during the initial DP (Beckham) Experiment.
Though Keane was both well-known and well-credentialed, he represented one of the first of a new class of big-dollar additions, one we can broadly label "The Opportunists." These players, having made their bones on the club and international levels, can still contribute at a high level, provided the team deploys them – and their teammates – in ways that accommodate their more refined skills. David Villa is showing how effective this remains as an MLS building block, offering not only on-field success, but also an off-field example (if not leader) for the rest of the roster, while also the star power to burst through a crowded local and domestic sports-scape.
The second iteration of Opportunists have begun to arrive, and now dot the rosters of MLS Cup contenders. Either top-tier youth prospects whose growth has stalled on someone's bench (See: GDS, Sebastian Giovinco) or players on the come up still seeking a solid situation (then 22-year-old Mauro Diaz; itinerant Ignacio Piatti; injury-plagued Bradley Wright-Phillips), their primes are being offered to MLS in the hopes of achieving the potential their talent always indicated could exist.
We've even seen Sacha Kljestan return stateside after a successful No. 6 sojourn for Anderlecht, unleashed as a peak-of-his-powers No. 10 at Red Bull Arena and forcing a return to the national team while leading RBNY's stampede toward back-to-back regular-season No. 1 status in the East. There's no questioning Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley have locked in their leadership roles for Toronto FC, returning to take on the pressure-packed mantle of sticker shock and sky-high expectations and push further their on-field acumen in ways that have benefited both club and country (… before last week, ugh).
That is to say, the common thread is not simply throwing together the biggest names, but identifying the ones that allow for a complementary construction. Altidore and Giovinco play off each other; Kljestan and BWP have each enabled the other's single-season statistical mastery; Piatti pulling the strings in Montreal allows for Didier Drogba's imposing presence to be backburnered for this spectacular run through the Eastern Conference bracket – the forwards can change, but it is Piatti oft breaking opponents' backs (and their souls. Never forget.)
As LA reforms like Voltron, take note of how they approach the upcoming decisions on star signings. Expect names with punch, but ones that hold as-yet untapped potential. Not every signing needs to result in Robbie Keane. The injection of Targeted Allocation Money (TAM), in two rounds, has softened the dividing line between designations, and smart money managers across the league have begun phasing players through these malleable barriers as best suits the current cap (See: SEA/Ozzie Alonso; See Also: POR/Diego Chara; SKC/Matt Besler).
Flexible and fluid is the future key: dial in on the difference maker and keep the options open around him. The Galaxy got their difference maker, and now, an opportunity arises.
