2025 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs

[Gene]

Give and go with Suarez. woof!

 

[twsj91]

I literally could not careless about these game one games outside of our team. The first round is such a cash grab and the format is insulting to the fans.

Wake me if any of them get to game 3

 

[Gene]

3-1 final for Inter Messi.
YMMV, but I thought the match was a snoozefest.

 

[Fantazma]

I literally could not careless about these game one games outside of our team. The first round is such a cash grab and the format is insulting to the fans.

Wake me if any of them get to game 3

We will see what happens at end of first round but I think past two years the higher seed has gone thru like almost always. I think only two times lower side went thru.

If that happens then there is case to reduce the amounts of teams or just make it single elimination with top seed getting one week bye like before.

 

[mgarbowski]

You can't complain about this format without addressing how you will handle the fall FIFA breaks, plus CFB and NFL competition. Spend a few minutes counting games and looking at a calendar and it will be clear.

To avoid the FIFA breaks you have 2 choices:

1. Eliminate Leagues Cup, end the season earlier, and use the 2019 single game playoff system that everyone loved. But if you can't convince MLS and LMX owners to drop LC, this is a non-starter. This is also the first of many reasons I hate LC because I loved that format and schedule.
2. Flip the schedule.

Absent the other non-starter of making the MLS season 2-4 games shorter, you have no other options to avoid FIFA fall breaks. Then figure out why they created this schedule given the givens. It's not just because they are just stupid or greedy. Any alternative might fix what you hate but creates different problems.

Look at the calendar, think about the CFB and NFL schedules, and address those problems, or just complain to no purpose.

 

[moogoo]

We will see what happens at end of first round but I think past two years the higher seed has gone thru like almost always. I think only two times lower side went thru.

If that happens then there is case to reduce the amounts of teams or just make it single elimination with top seed getting one week bye like before.

last year, #1 miami were eliminated by atlanta , #2 crew were eliminated by the red bulls, #3 cinci were eliminated by us. so no the higher seed does not always go through.

 

[FootyLovin]

You can't complain about this format without addressing how you will handle the fall FIFA breaks, plus CFB and NFL competition. Spend a few minutes counting games and looking at a calendar and it will be clear.

To avoid the FIFA breaks you have 2 choices:

1. Eliminate Leagues Cup, end the season earlier, and use the 2019 single game playoff system that everyone loved. But if you can't convince MLS and LMX owners to drop LC, this is a non-starter. This is also the first of many reasons I hate LC because I loved that format and schedule.
2. Flip the schedule.

Absent the other non-starter of making the MLS season 2-4 games shorter, you have no other options to avoid FIFA fall breaks. Then figure out why they created this schedule given the givens. It's not just because they are just stupid or greedy. Any alternative might fix what you hate but creates different problems.

Look at the calendar, think about the CFB and NFL schedules, and address those problems, or just complain to no purpose.

If you got rid of the wildcard (which we've already been discussing how there are too many playoff teams), you could play all conference matchups as home and home.

Round 1 on October 21-22 and October 24-27
Conference semifinals on Oct 31-Nov 3 and Nov 7-9
FIFA on Nov 10-18
Conference finals on Nov 21-24 and Nov 28-30
MLS Cup on Dec 6

Those are basically the 7 match days they have already scheduled. The FIFA break between the conf semis and conf finals would feel pretty natural I think.

It just eliminates the wild card. Round 1 could even be started a day or two later to give slightly more cushion after season end. This would all feel a lot more like football as the world knows it instead of MLS turned MLB.