In the United States, soccer is not the most important sport. Above him are American football, basketball, baseball… perhaps even contact sports like boxing or wrestling have more fans than the game of cue and ball; so popular in South American and LATAM countries.
However, the fact that it is not the most popular sport in the country does not mean that its managers do not work hard to make it an attractive product for its fans. They have spent millions of dollars on figures of international stature, such as Inter Miami with Lionel Messi.
Even in the nineties, they implemented innovative actions such as the ‘shootout’ instead of the traditional penalty from the eleven steps, this with the aim of attracting the public’s attention.
Its competition system is another clear example of this. Achieving a mix between the way its traditional sports such as basketball or American football are governed with the essence of soccer, the MLS uses a playoff system that is worth knowing.
MLS divides teams by conference. The first seven places in each of them directly access the postseason (playoffs), while the eighth and ninth places face each other in a direct duel that is usually known as: ‘repechaje’.
Two direct elimination games are played at the home of the clubs that finished with a better position in the general table. In case of a tie, there is no extra time. Everything is defined in a penalty shootout. The winners of the playoffs face the first ranked team in their conference.
The next round is played in three games, under the format: home, away, home, with the best positioned team being the one who plays two home games and one away game. Whoever wins two out of three is the one who advances to the semi-final round, to which four teams enter.
Unlike the previous round, this time the clubs face a single home match of the best placed team. If there is a tie, they go to extra time (two halves of fifteen minutes each), and then to penalties.
The winners of each conference face each other in a single-game final. If there is a tie, there will be extra time and then penalties, as occurs in the semifinals and final of each conference.
#MLS #Playoffs #work