From the signing of superstar and World Cup winner Lionel Messi to the introduction and dominance of new club St. Louis City, the 2023 Major League Soccer (MLS) season was nothing short of spectacular. The 29th installment of America’s top soccer league fittingly featured 29 teams, which had never been seen before.
The season started quickly and never dropped off, with FC Cincinnati climbing the ladder to eventually secure the Eastern Conference regular season title and the coveted Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the conference champion with more points. Their tally of 69 placed them fourth in the all-time rankings and topped the 56 points earned by their cross-conference foes, St. Louis City.
St. Louis, a recent addition to the MLS family, was not favored by many to succeed this past year. Most new clubs have shaky starts (Inter Miami in Florida) or mediocre finishes (Nashville SC) in their inaugural seasons. However, this team was different: a deadly attack consisting of Joao Klauss, Nicholas Gioacchini, and Samuel Adeniran combined for 28 goals to give St. Louis the Western Conference regular season title. The talented newcomers comfortably beat out the defending champions, LAFC, by five points.
Amidst the commotion of the regular season, Inter Miami sat at the bottom of the table. Suddenly, they made a bombshell announcement: World Cup winner and Champions League icon Lionel Messi was leaving Paris Saint-Germain and heading to Florida! Although his late arrival and injury issues prevented him from carrying Inter Miami into the playoffs, Messi was able to make his mark early in America by scoring a couple important goals to secure the League Cup for the club in August.
The playoffs brought excitement and upsets that rivaled those of many years past. Clear-cut favorites St. Louis fell in the first round to a bright Sporting KC team, while established Ohio clubs Cincinnati and Columbus Crew bulldozed the competition in the East and met in the Conference Finals. Columbus came out on top in a wild five-goal thriller by a score of 3-2 to secure their spot in the MLS Championship. In the West, reigning champions LAFC made light work of their opponents, now that St. Louis was no longer a threat, and set the stage for a matchup with Columbus.
The championship match certainly did not disappoint. In a heated affair featuring one penalty and seven yellow cards in total, Columbus knocked off LAFC 2-1 and reclaimed the MLS throne. Looking back, this year was one of the best in American soccer history. Next season looks promising, with returning talents, a healthy Messi, and the transfer window all adding to the mix-up!