Mic'd Up: The former MLS and USMNT forward lauded MLS for its decision to switch to a Fall-Spring calendar and insisted there are playoff upsets ahead in the semifinals.
Taylor Twellman is relieved. MLS has been flirting with a schedule change for years now. And finally, after 24 months of testing and even longer of speculation, the league has finally switched to the fall-spring calendar that it always needed.
"It's simple. I look at the business sense. I love the way they've got it set up, where you take the winter break, the way they do in Germany. I love it. I think it's a huge, huge momentum builder for the league," he tells GOAL.
It may prove to be a meaningful moment for American soccer, which could use another lift heading into the World Cup. The growth of MLS – the sport’s flagship domestic league – is a significant part of that. The bigger picture is for 2027, though, and the present remains compelling. The playoffs are now on a less-than-ideal two-week pause for the international window, but they should deliver plenty when they resume. Miami are the obvious headliners, and while they needed three games to get past Nashville, Twellman came away impressed.
Miami got it done without Luis Suárez, which now gives Javier Mascherano a genuine selection dilemma heading into the next round. Suárez’s absence didn’t slow , and it opened up questions about how the team functions with and without him.
"When the spine of your team is Suarez and Busquets, both arguably the best in their position or their generation, but both players are very limited in range, mobility, all of that," he says.
Beyond Miami, several other teams impressed. LAFC dominated Austin FC. FC Cincinnati looked good after triumphing against the Columbus Crew. And Minnesota might be a threat, too, after besting Seattle. It all has everything poised rather nicely at a crucial time of year.
Twellman talked MLS Playoffs, Luis Suarez, and a massive change in the league in the latest edition of Mic'd Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL taps into the perspective of analysts, announcers, and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
GettyON INTER MIAMI
GOAL: Were Inter Miami ever truly on upset watch?
TWELLMAN: I don't think they were. Decision day alarmed Miami enough for the first 45 minutes, where Nashville completely played them off the field. They had an expected goals of over 3.1. I think that absolutely alarmed them enough that they had to change. And then in the second half of that game, they completely outplayed Nashville, and Messi scored a hat trick, so they kind of knew what they were going up against. I knew the game at Nashville was going to be difficult to win, and you know, if their goalkeeper makes a better decision, they might not lose that game and go to penalties. But did I ever think Nashville could really win that? I don't think so. And all of that is because of the way Decision Day unfolded. I think it made Nashville a little bit more timid going into the playoffs.
GOAL: Are Miami better without Luis Suarez?
TWELLMAN: I think it's a great conversation. I think it's a legitimate conversation, and honestly, I've been saying it for almost 14 months. And the reason why is that when the league is built on parity, you immediately have the quality in Messi. When you couple that quality with more quality, but less athleticism in Suarez, you now limit yourself on some level.
When the spine of your team is Suarez and Busquets, both arguably the best in their position or their generation, but both players are very limited in range [and] mobility. Listen, Suarez will do something special. Absolutely, he has all season long, but you have to give up something for that. And I think Game 3 really gave everyone a good inclination of what that looks like.
Now, Suarez was suspended after Leagues Cup, but they didn't have the full complement of players because of injuries. Right now, everyone's healthy for them. And so that he and Tadeo Allende and Telasco Segovia and all these young players. Yannick Bright is not even starting or playing a lot. There's a legitimate question against Cincinnati in 10 days of whether or not Suarez should start. And if anyone doesn't think that's a legitimate question, then I don't think they watched game three against Nashville, and I don't think they've watched Miami without Suarez or Busquets on the field at the same time. So you gain a little bit in athleticism, while you lose in experience.
GOAL: Put yourself in Javier Mascherano's shoes. What are you doing?
TWELLMAN: I put myself in his shoes for almost the entire season, and I haven't gotten there right. So the moment I saw three games into this season, I would have played three in the back, really. So, I'm going to preface your question with all season long, I believe Miami would be at their best with three in the back. If you were asking me about Mascherano, I still think Mascherano's Miami would be at their best playing three in the back. He's going to tell me otherwise. He has told me otherwise the entire season. I'll be shocked if Mascherano doesn't start Suarez. I'll be shocked.
AdvertisementGettyON LAFC
GOAL: Were you at all surprised by how easy LAFC made the series look against Austin?
TWELLMAN: Austin just doesn't scare anyone in the attack, and they haven't all season long. So no, I mean, was LAFC at their best? No. Steve [Cherundolo] would tell you that. But they didn't look alarmed at all, they didn't look frustrated at all. And now they're going up against a team that, if you look at in the past couple of seasons, they've played each other almost every season of the playoffs, it seems, and in CONCACAF Champions League. So going to Vancouver isn't this real awkward thing for LAFC. I think Vancouver's extremely good. I think they're way more confident now that Thomas Mueller's in the lineup. Ryan Gauld's come back. But LAFC just seemed to me to fit that going on the road, weather the storm, kind of bend, don't break. And then you've got absolutely two home run hitters, so to speak, on the counter with Son and Bouanga. So, yeah, I expected them to beat Austin, and Austin didn't threaten them at all.
GOAL: There is loosely a parallel to be drawn between that obligatory Tottenham win against Manchester City and this game…
TWELLMAN: Yeah. Vancouver like the ball. They love the ball. They'll be on the front foot. The crowd is going to be fantastic. All of that's going to be in favor of Vancouver. It plays right into the hands of arguably the best counter-attacking player in MLS history in Denis Bouanga, and one of the best counter-attacking players ever, in Son Heung-Min. So, two contrasting styles that almost really suit each other. You almost fancy LAFC because of that.
Getty ImagesON OTHER FAVORITES
GOAL: If we look outside, the biggest names, if you will, who are your favorites? Are you still looking at the Philadelphia Union? Are you looking at FC Cincinnati?
TWELLMAN: I'll stay with what I said in June or July. I still think the Eastern Conference goes through the state of Ohio, and the reason why I said that is that was before the injuries at Columbus really hurt them. But Miami has to win on the road at Cincinnati, which is extremely difficult. And that's why I say the winner of that game, in my opinion, is the front runner to win the Eastern Conference. That's not disrespectful to the Philadelphia Union, but the high-end quality in a one off game, usually the cream has to rise to the top. And when you look at the high end quality of Cincinnati or Miami, it's very difficult for New York City or Philadelphia to really compete with that.
Now, in Philadelphia, the system is their star. I get that, and I think New York City is going to have their hands full, but I think Cincinnati-Miami the winner in that is the expected favorite to win the East.
In the West, Minnesota went to San Diego and beat them 3-1. The problem with this is Minnesota hates the ball. They can't stand it. They just won a playoff series without winning in regulation. They don't really care. They love long throw ins. They love set pieces, and they love to counter. San Diego is one of the most aesthetically pleasing teams in MLS history. You can make an argument that they're the best expansion team in the history of the league. And they're going to be at home. They're going to want to dominate possession. So that's an interesting one. I think anyone that writes off Minnesota is going to be short-sighted, because the game plays right into who they want to be. Now, if San Diego scores the first goal, Minnesota is going to have a problem. But if Minnesota scores the first goal, buddy, that could be really difficult for San Diego.
ImagnON NYCFC
GOAL: Were you surprised by NYCFC this year?
Twellman: I expected them to be in the playoff race. I think I underestimated Nico Fernandez and his impact on the team. You want to talk about one of the best purchases in MLS, and everyone looks at Evander and Kevin Denkey and all these other players that sure, absolutely have delivered for $10 million plus. But 8 million for Nico, my word, he's been brilliant. And he has completely changed that team. Now it's unfortunate. Andres Perea's injury was horrific, and that's awful. And then the second yellow to Aiden O'Neill. So their two center midfielders are now suspended for that game, so that's a difficult task for them. If those two are available, then you could probably get me to think that New York City may have the edge on that, because I think Nico is different, and I think Alonzo Martinez is the most underrated nine in the league. I have said that he loves goals, scores goals, and he does it in a variety of ways. I think he's really, really good. But I underestimated that $8 million purchase of Nico. He's been really good.