Agree or disagree, the kid makes a good point.
It’s the classic “the tournament devalues the regular season” argument from Seattle Sounders’ star DeAndre Yedlin who says he thinks the Supporter’s Shield is “more important” than the MLS Cup.
We see the same argument across a number of sports, from football to baseball to, well, now soccer.
When Seattle won the coveted Shield after beating the LA Galaxy and finishing with the highest regular season point total in the Major League Soccer season, the Galaxy responded in a few bitter ways that hinted at where their priorities lie.
Congratulations to Seattle for winning the S.S. You can have that one. But the Cup is ours.
— Stefan Ishizaki (@StefanIshizaki) October 25, 2014
The LA Galaxy Twitter account also posted a tweet at the full-time whistle of their defeat to Seattle saying “On to bigger things...”
Well, DeAndre Yedlin has slightly different priorities.
“I honestly think the Supporters’ Shield is more important than an MLS Cup championship,” Yedlin told reporters after the match. “In terms of the best team, this is the best team over a full season.”
He took some flak for his comments, but defended what he said on Twitter later last night.
What really represents the BEST team? Whoever has the most points over 34 games? Or whoever wins a month long tourney at end of year?
— DeAndre Yedlin (@yedlinny) October 26, 2014
In no way am I trying to take away the importance of the MLS cup but I feel supporters shield is the best representation of the best team.
— DeAndre Yedlin (@yedlinny) October 26, 2014
With his transfer to Tottenham Hotspur already complete and the kid ready to make the move, it seems he’s mentally prepared for the Premier League as well. That mentality fits perfectly into conventional soccer leagues in Europe which do not feature a playoff system and instead rely on just the grind of the regular season to determine the best team.
