If you're one of the thousands of people who have arrived at this website over the last five years by googling "Alex Morgan boyfriend/husband," congratulations! This is the section for you.įor the uninitiated, Alex Morgan is married to Orlando City midfielder Servando Carrasco. Yes, Alex Morgan's husband was a factor here
Their primary objective - and the best way they can sell tickets - is to have the best team in the league. Getting rid of her when her value was still very high and pulling in a massive haul was just as good of a marketing move as a soccer move for the Thorns. Trading Morgan isn't going to cause their attendance to dwindle, but failing to make the playoffs for a second year in a row might. They don't care about name recognition, but winning. You've probably read about their awesome fans. Star power or not, Portland is going to lead NWSL in attendance. The Mane Land blog The Mane Land Portland Timbers blog Stumptown Footy
Orlando felt like they had to get one of those superstars, and they paid the very steep asking price to get the best one that was available. After those players, there's a drop-off in name recognition and drawing power. Sydney Leroux is in even worse form than Morgan. Hope Solo has recently been suspended from the national team, is currently dealing with legal issues, and would probably be very upset about being traded away from Seattle. Abby Wambach didn't play in NWSL last season. The same goes for Megan Rapinoe, who is very unlikely to leave the Seattle Reign anytime soon. Carli Lloyd has ascended to Morgan's level of superstardom with her performance in the World Cup, but the Houston Dash probably have zero interest in trading her. There are a few other players on Morgan's level, but not many. A brand new women's soccer team needs a recognizable face for the franchise to get a few thousand people in the door, and you can't do better than Morgan. We all dream of a world where NWSL attendance directly correlates to team performance, but that isn't the world we live in right now. But Orlando needs a star more than a great team In NWSL, rookies tend to have an influence on a team faster than they do in men's sports.īasically, Portland swapped two solid starters, one of whom could regain form and become an attacking superstar, for five solid starters, four of which could potentially be attacking superstars. Portland's getting an extra international slot too, and on top of that, they're getting the top two young prospects in the league with the No.
#ALEX MORGAN EQUALIZER SHOW PLUS#
Kyle for an international slot, plus perhaps a squad player or lower pick, would be a fair trade. On the basis of value to their team on the pitch, Klingenberg for Morgan straight up would be a fair trade. She had a decent 2013, then was very average (mostly due to injuries) over the next two years. Morgan's still getting the benefit of the doubt for posting the best year in national team history, but she hasn't been a superstar since then. She scored 28 in 2012, when NWSL didn't exist. She also only scored six national team goals in 2013, five in 2014 and five so far in 2015. She did better in 2013, scoring eight goals, good for joint-first on her team and joint-fourth in the league. In 2014, she scored six goals, fourth on her team. Morgan hardly played last season due to national team commitments and injuries, finishing the year with one goal and two assists in four appearances. This is a very, very bad soccer trade for Orlando Pride. If NWSL were a league where big names were less important than winning games for a team's bottom line, this trade would be absurd, to the point where a league office might reject it on suspicion of a front office purposely not acting in the best interest of their club. From a pure soccer perspective, this is a robbery
Because they were able to pull this off, they're going to launch with arguably the USWNT's most recognizable star as the face of their club. The ability to acquire Morgan was a big factor in Orlando choosing to enter the league this year instead of waiting for next year, according to The Equalizer. Orlando Pride wouldn't exist without this tradeĭuring the NWSL championship game a few weeks ago, Commissioner Jeff Plush refused to confirm or deny that the league was expanding for 2016, and now we know why. There are a lot of elements to this deal, and ultimately, it's really good for everyone.
#ALEX MORGAN EQUALIZER SHOW FULL#
Full coverage of NWSL Your home for all of SB Nation's coverage about the National Women's Soccer League, from and our team blogs.
0 kommentar(er)
