It’s year 30 for MLS. To celebrate, the league added a 30th team: San Diego FC.
Here’s a storyline to watch for each of them as we head into the 2025 season.
Atlanta United are ... back? Probably?
Two new DPs, a new sporting director and a new head coach is a heckuva offseason. Is that enough to elevate a team that's largely unchanged in the middle and bottom of the roster after last year’s ninth-place finish in the East? Miguel Almirón and Emmanuel Latte Lath bringing out the best in Alexey Miranchuk and company is the key to a successful season.
The most Rodolfo Borrell team yet
After a year and a half of assessing what needed to be done in Austin, sporting director Rodolfo Borrell has officially turned this into his team. Josh Wolff is out as head coach and Nico Estévez is in. A (nearly) brand new DP attacking trio of Brandon Vázquez, Myrto Uzuni and Osman Bukari is set to try and elevate an Austin attack that finished last in the West in goals and xG created.
The most hyped Charlotte team yet
Charlotte led the East in fewest goals allowed last year – 2025 is about maintaining that level of solidity while (finally) getting a cohesive attack firing on all cylinders. Bringing back former DP Pep Biel and adding in DP winger Wilfried Zaha to an attack spearheaded by Patrick Agyemang should, in theory, put them in a great position to make that happen.
The sleeping giant starts to toss and turn in bed
Pssssst…..come in close……………….
Chicago… Chicago might make the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs?
Look, yeah, this happens every few offseasons or so, but it really seems like the infrastructure in Chicago has turned a corner with new head coach/director of football Gregg Berhalter utilizing the club’s deep pockets.
A new attack
Yes, Lucho Acosta is now in Dallas, but Cincy wasted no time in finding a new No. 10 with the addition of Evander, yet again proving Cincy's willingness to spend big. They also proved that this offseason when they broke the MLS transfer record – for a few weeks anyway – by bringing in DP striker Kévin Denkey. If Denkey lives up to his price tag, then Cincinnati’s defense will keep them as one of the best teams in the East, regardless of the new No. 10… probably. It’s tough to undersell how good Lucho has been.
Is year two under Chris Armas better defensively?
They’ve at least taken steps to sort out their defense. The Rapids added center backs Chidozie Awaziem and Ian Murphy, as well as midfielder Josh Atencio, as they try to improve on a 2024 side that allowed 60 goals. If the attack can replicate their 61-goal output from last season, they should be just fine.
Uncertainty is creeping in
This would have been a blurb about how the current team looked set to dominate MLS again. Then Cucho left for Real Betis in LaLiga (for reportedly around $16 million plus add-ons).
With Cucho gone and the everpresent worry head coach Wilfried Nancy gets called away to Europe midseason, there are more unknowns than expected this year with the Crew. But as long as Nancy is around, no one is going to get rich betting against them.
Christian Benteke is good
Uhhhhhhhh soooooooooooooooo…..
Christian Benteke is still here! That’s good!
And the transfer window is still open for a while! That’s good too!
A year of personal reflection and a growth mindest
Dallas jettisoned Nico Estévez, then decided to do the same to Jesús Ferreira, Paul Arriola and Alan Velasco. The optimistic view here is there's a lot of room to make moves and mold the squad for new manager Eric Quill. And they made a big one by bringing in Lucho.
Is the next step coming?
Losing Héctor Herrera and Coco Carrasquilla is huge, but bringing in Jack McGlynn from Philadelphia should help keep things from dropping off exponentially in midfield. The Dynamo are still going to play pretty soccer. The question is if they’ll add the additional talent needed to take this team to the next level.
A title or bust
Is it fair to call this a revenge tour? Messi and friends grabbed the Supporters’ Shield last year, but it felt like a hollow victory after they crashed out of the playoffs. Are they going to repeat last year’s regular-season magic with additional postseason success added in, or could the general uncertainty of a new manager and whatever this team has going on defensively be enough to keep an ultra-talented roster from winning the big one again?
Shiny trophy is still shiny
If there’s ever a time to win MLS Cup, it’s the game directly after the one where your superstar No. 10 picks up a long-term injury. It will be a very different Galaxy side for a while as they wait for Riqui Puig to recover and as they seek a Dejan Joveljić replacement (it'll be Christian RamÃrez or Matheus Nascimento).
The main goal this year, though, is to admire their reflection in MLS Cup until Puig returns. They’ll be fine until then. How quickly Puig gets up to speed and how long DP winger Gabriel Pec hangs around (there are rumors) will determine whether or not they can repeat last year’s postseason success.
What does the midfield look like?
LAFC are LAFC. They’re going to be ultra-talented, maybe a bit too conservative at times and they’re going to compete for trophies. There’s a big question hovering around this team, though (besides “When is Antoine Griezmann getting here). The midfield has a whole new look with Igor Jesus, Mark Delgado and Odin Thiago Holm helping replace the outgoing Eduard Atuesta, Ilie Sánchez and Lewis O’Brien.
The Kelvin Yeboah Show
The immediate success of DP forward Kelvin Yeboah last fall made the Loons dangerous in attack. Adding midfielder Hoyeon Jung to the squad should help keep them steady. The floor seems high.
Let’s start with staying healthy and go from there
Staying healthy would go a long way for this team after a year spent with various pieces of their starting lineup missing due to injury. They’re going to need a little more than that, however, if they’re going to build on last year’s brief playoff appearance. Maybe new DP striker Giacomo Vrioni can push them forward?
B.J. Callaghan's year one
It’s the first full season under head coach B.J. Callaghan. Nashville fans won’t have to struggle through watching sufferball full-time anymore, but that doesn’t always mean great results. Still, it’s a new era.
Is it that kind of Caleb Porter season?
Caleb Porter-led teams love to follow up a year where they miss the playoffs with a run to the playoffs (and more). If the Revs follow the same pattern, it will be thanks to a revamped roster that now includes midfielder Jackson Yueill and striker Leo Campana.
Time to find out how much of an effect Nick Cushing really had
It’s largely the same team but with a brand new head coach, no James Sands and a potentially departing Santi RodrÃguez. So, not really the same at all! It doesn’t feel like they're a true contender right now. But there’s plenty of time to make some typical City Football Group moves and there’s always a chance new head coach Pascal Jansen is the real deal.
Making it back to MLS Cup doesn't happen by accident
The Red Bulls finally found a way through the Eastern Conference Final, but are still looking for that first MLS Cup title. An elite attacking DP (as always) would help them get there. They have an open spot after Dante Vanzeir’s departure. They did add DP No. 9 Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting this offseason, but one more big move would go a long way.
Finding answers without Facundo Torres & Wilder Cartagena
Former DP winger Facundo Torres was transferred to Palmeiras for reportedly up to $14 million and central midfielder Wilder Cartagena is out for the season with an Achilles tear. They replaced Torres with DP winger Marco Pašalić, but his numbers for Croatia’s HNK Rijeka don’t fit the profile of an immediately successful DP in MLS. Cartagena's replacement is Eduard Atuesta, a familiar MLS face.
This group can still be a typically solid Oscar Pareja Orlando City team, but Pašalić and Atuesta have some big shoes to fill.
The Curtin era, closed
For the first time since June 2014, the Philadelphia Union have a head coach that isn’t Jim Curtin. Curtin’s surprising dismissal this offseason signaled a desire for the Union to get back to their most high-pressing, direct ways, and former St. Louis head coach Bradley Carnell is well-suited to implement the exact style sporting director Ernst Tanner wants to see.
That won’t make it any weirder to see someone who isn’t Curtin leading the way. And it won’t make losing Jack McGlynn, Jack Elliott, José MartÃnez, Leon Flach and Julián Carranza over the past six-plus months any less concerning for Union fans heading into the season.
Can they replace Evander's production?
After a breakout 2024 season that saw him put up 15 goals and 19 assists, and an offseason where things got weird between him and the Timbers, Evander was dealt to Cincinnati. Portland acted quickly to replace their star, bringing in DP midfielder David Da Costa to pull the strings, but will he be able to replicate Evander's MVP-caliber production?
At least Timbers fans can take solace in the fact that returning forwards Jonathan RodrÃguez and Felipe Mora were outstanding last season.
June 2024 feels so long ago now
A few months ago, RSL were near the top of the West and thriving thanks to standout performances from Chicho Arango and Andrés Gómez. Then Gómez left, Arango went sub-zero cold and RSL never found their footing down the stretch. Now, Arango is with San Jose and RSL have real questions to answer in attack.
Is a DP No. 9 on the way? What's up with Elias Manoel? Can talented young winger Diego Luna take another step forward and lessen the burden? Are last year’s summer additions like DP No. 10 Diogo Gonçalves up for the task? Is there enough high-end talent here? And so on…
A welcome party
Expansion life is usually full of immediate success or immediate cellar-dwelling with very little in between. Regardless of what side of the spectrum San Diego fall on, the first year of building a fan base always feels special. For what it’s worth, with DP wingers Chucky Lozano and Anders Dreyer, plus midfielder Luca de la Torre, they might be ok in year one.
Bruce Arena is here to do Bruce Arena things
Bruce Arena has won everywhere he’s been in MLS. With Arena as head coach and sporting director, the Quakes have given him full reign to figure out how to turn one of the league’s most underperforming clubs into a contender again. He’s already added Chicho Arango, Josef MartÃnez and a handful of former Revs to try and get things heading in the right direction.
It could be Seattle’s West to win
The Sounders went out and added Dallas standouts Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola to an attack that needed a spark after last season. If Ferreira lives up to expectations and Young DP winger Pedro de la Vega starts to look the part, the Sounders should have the firepower to rack up a ton of points thanks to their excellent defense.
At least this is interesting again
Sporting KC have been wallowing for the last three years. They finished 12th in the West in 2022, eighth in 2023 and 13th last season. They’ve tried to course-correct this offseason by bringing in DP No. 9 Dejan Joveljić via a cash-only trade with LA, signing DP No. 10 Manu GarcÃa and adding winger Shapi Suleymanov. What they haven’t done is add major defensive help. That… could be problematic. But for now, it’s at least fun to think about what this attack could look like.
The first big changes
St. Louis might have been doomed by success in 2024. Their 2023 season went a little too well despite less impressive underlying numbers. When St. Louis tried to run it back with mostly the same group last year, things predictably came crashing down to the mean.
Now though, they’ve made significant changes. New head coach Olof Mellberg has taken over and DP midfielder Marcel Hartel is set for his first full season after arriving last summer. The roster could maybe use a little more TLC, but St. Louis will at least look a little different this year.
Another year one for a new coach
John Herdman only lasted a year in charge. Now, Robin Fraser is running things in Toronto. He might have to guide them through another year of struggles, but he could be the steadying force they’re looking for as they try and dig themselves out of a rut.
How does a good team become a great one?
With head coach Vanni Sartini and DP midfielder Stuart Armstrong gone, the Whitecaps have some work to do if they’re going to get over the hump this year.
We know Jesper Sørensen is Sartini’s replacement, but Vancouver still need to replace Armstrong. An ambitious signing there would go a long way toward pushing them past the perpetual state of “good but not great" they’ve been stuck in.
