I will admit that the title of this latest blog post is a slight stretch to compare former Montreal Impact defender Laurent Ciman's transfer from Dijon FCO to Toronto FC, to the forced, manufactured nature of rivalries between MLS clubs. However, I need to explain myself.
First, I will say that the optics of Ciman's move to Toronto FC are interesting. TFC have not had a good 2018 season defensively, conceding 64 goals in total, so at least TFC are trying to address their defensive woes with this signing. For Ciman, I believe he has mentioned that Canada is the best place for his autistic daughter to receive care for her, and it is an admirable thing for him to care so much for his child at the expense of his playing career. Both parties can fulfill needs of the other party, and instances like this will usually result in successful negotiations. I will also mention that because Ciman is trying to find a football club in a country that can adequately provide the care that his daughter needs, I would imagine that the player (and his agent) would have lost some advantage in negotiations with the club, while the club can just look for other defenders if negotiations fall through.
I have seen some unfortunate hot takes from Toronto FC supporters on social media stating that they would not give Ciman any respect in a Toronto FC shirt because he used to play for the Montreal Impact. Considering the situation with Ciman's daughter, I believe the man's intention to provide for her trumps any sort of petty tribalism between Toronto FC and Montreal Impact supporters. These opinions on social media are what prompted me to write this post and to think about the manufactured nature of MLS rivalries in general.
It is difficult for me to view MLS clubs as 'rivals' (even the more well-known and substantiated rivalries such as Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers, and Toronto FC vs. Montreal Impact), because of the corporate nature and structure of Major League Soccer and its clubs. Because of how MLS is structured, there is a lot of interaction and exchange between clubs (even rival clubs) in terms of player transfers and trades. For example, there are a number of players who have played for both Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact, including Raheem Edwards, Kyle Bekker, and Daniel Lovitz. You would not normally see this between rival clubs in Europe and South America. Major League Soccer even tried to fabricate rivalries by adding stupid cups to play for between teams that never had a rivalry to begin with (Example: the Trillium Cup contested between Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew), which is still hilarious to talk about.
Nowadays, it seems like the nucleus of what constitutes a rivalry is forming within certain teams (despite MLS's efforts to promote, yet somehow cheapen these rivalries by instituting a "Rivalry Week" sponsored by Heineken). Major League Soccer is still a young league, and the creation of these rivalries are still young as well. However, with time, history, and significant events and matches that will occur, the seemingly manufactured nature of these MLS rivalries will start to go away, and the authenticity will start to take its place. At least for now, I can still laugh at New York Red Bulls and NYCFC supporters fight each other on the street while NYCFC were still in their first season in MLS and despite corporations being the owners of these clubs.
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