It's gotten ugly in the Six as the Italy international forward has had enough with Toronto FC's style of play
MLS is, and has been, a league of stars. It's just the way that things are designed due to the league's salary cap. On most teams, there will be a few players in a different tax bracket than their team-mates, and getting those players firing is often the difference between success and failure in this league.
Toronto FC are very much a team built on stars. They're the league's highest spenders, an ambitious club that has always created shockwaves by signing big names. Right now, though, they're the Eastern Conference bottom-feeders and one of their big-money stars let loose after another damning loss this weekend.
It was a tough week for Toronto FC, but a good one for a potential Supporters' Shield favorite in FC Cincinnati. Luciano Acosta and co. continue to cook, making statement after statement by squeaking out close wins.
Those two teams, Cincy and TFC, are clear winners and losers, respectively. Here's a look at the other big takeaways from a chaotic MLS weekend:
WINNER: FC Cincinnati
A bit of a rehash from our midweek picks but, after a Hell is Real derby win over the Columbus Crew, Cincy deserve it.
Last season, FC Cincinnati was good at turning losses into draws, and this season they're turning draws into wins. It happened again this weekend against the Crew when Roman Celentano made a heroic save in second-half stoppage time to seal the 3-2 win.
Luciano Acosta, perhaps the MVP frontrunner, was at his best in this one, scoring two of the goals. Acosta is a player that can win you games on his own, and there will be plenty of times he does just that this season.
That win is their eighth in eight at home, as the club has turned their home field into a legitimate fortress. That's always a good start for a Supporters' Shield winner, and Cincy certainly has all the makings of that based on what we've seen.
Superstar attackers, good goalkeeping and, perhaps soon, a shiny DP striker after the big-money sale of Brenner. That last part is what's most interesting: this team can still get better. It feels like they will, too, as they somehow haven't looked as good as they did for stretches last season, despite their stellar record so far.
Up next are a series of road games that will serve as a real test of their credentials. Survive that and the trophy talk can really begin.
AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Bob Bradley and Toronto FC
There are plenty of things to say about Toronto FC's disaster of a season, but star winger Federico Bernardeschi is the one that has said it best, so we'll let him take the lead here.
“Sincerely, this team, this city, the fans, everybody don't deserve this, and I think maybe we need to change something," the Italian said. "We need to [have] a little bit more tactics. We need an idea of how we play because this is the real problem for me. It's impossible to play like this when we play without [an] idea. This is the big problem for me.”
He continued: "We lose every game. We tie, we lose, we tie, we lose. Sometimes we win. But I can't believe this sincerely. This is no good for the young players. They need to get better, no? And grow up with an idea of football, and the players with personality, they need to help, help us to understand and follow the idea of football. But we need the idea of football. This is the real situation.”
Yikes! You never want to hear one of your star player questioning just about everything the club is doing, do you? Well, that's exactly what Bernardeschi did, taking aim after TFC's 1-0 loss to Austin FC.
It's an unflattering description of life under Bob Bradley, to say the least. Bradley is an American soccer legend, no doubt, but there's also no doubt about the fact that TFC have been very, very bad this season. They're last in the Eastern Conference, struggling with injuries, form and, apparently tactics. It's all a big mess.
Is the clock ticking on Bradley? It's hard to be sure. He'll likely be given a chance to turn things around. However, as Bernardeschi said, something has to change. We'll have to wait and see what that is.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Bradley Carnell
When just about everything imaginable goes to plan, you have to give credit to the one who made the plan. Bradley Carnell and St. Louis City SC beat the snot out of Sporting KC, kickstarting their new rivalry with a 4-0 win at CITYPARK. It was a one-sided beatdown, and a statement from MLS' newest team.
"Happy that the boys responded in a certain way that they took this almost personal," said Carnell. "They took it personal; what it means to St Louis and what it means to every individual who works for this club."
There are plenty that will earn praise from this one, including goalscorers Indiana Vassilev, Nicholas Gioacchini and Eduard Lowen, but we're using this section to give Carnell his flowers. The South African coach hasn't been perfect, but he's been pretty close to it when it comes to establishing an identity for this club.
He's tweaked his tactics, for sure, in recent weeks after some rough results, but his best work has been in getting players to buy into an overall idea of what this team is and could be. Just watch his postgame speech to get an idea of what Carnell has built so quickly:
After floundering a bit after their fantastic start, St. Louis find themselves third in the West. If Carnell can keep them there, it'll be one of the better expansion performances we've seen.
Getty ImagesLOSER: LA Galaxy
The Galaxy simply can't stay out of these columns, can they? Another week, another capitulation and, somehow, this may have been the worst of them all. A close game, a catastrophic Jonathan Bond error and then, 10 minutes later, a 3-0 D.C. United lead from nothing. It was a totally preventable disaster, much like this LA Galaxy season.
This game, in many ways, was a summary of this season, one that started off the rails and has somehow gotten worse by the week. Even when they look good, which they did for large stretches of this one, they find a way to throw it all away in the most ridiculous way.
With no signings incoming due to their summer transfer ban, there isn't much to look forward to for the Galaxy, which is a sad state for a team that is arguably MLS' biggest.
A quick shoutout to D.C. United, though, as Wayne Rooney has them playing some pretty good soccer. They've gotten 14 points from their last seven, beating the teams they're supposed to beat along the way. And, unfortunately for the Galaxy, right now, they're a team that pretty much everyone else in the league will see as a team they're supposed to beat.