Good Monday morning Caps fans, I hope you all had a lovely weekend and are gearing up for a pleasant work week.
MLS is on pause for awhile so we should get a break as fans alongside the players, right? Alas, things aren’t so simple.
I wasn’t going to bother dwelling on the Thomas Muller to Vancouver rumors given that Axel Schuster played them down on Thursday and thus I rejected them as idle internet speculation.
Well, I spoke too soon, as the possibility of the German superstar coming to the Caps getting the Tom Bogert stamp of approval. Muller has reportedly even kicked around the idea with former national team partner Bastian Schweinstager and all indications are this will be a go once the Caps wrestle his discovery rights away from FC Cincinnati.
Given that the Caps have never dipped their toe into the “aging European superstar” pool before, there is something undeniably exciting about it. Muller is a World Cup winner and would inject another layer of energy and interest into the team at a crucial inflection point in their history. He also would bring a level of experience to a team that just lost their biggest ever cup final 5-0.
But would this make sense on the pitch? I’m skeptical. The best case scenario is Muller would perform like Marco Reus, who has 12 goal contributions this season for a poor LA Galaxy side. Reus, however, had twice the number of goals and assists in his final Bundesliga season that Muller offered, even setting aside that Muller’s peak surpassed Reus’.
Muller is, let’s face it, 35 years old and would be an odd fit in this current Caps’ side in some ways. He would almost have to play as a forward and it is unclear how that would integrate with Brian White. Given his age and mobility, I don’t see him thriving in a deeper lying role.
It appears Muller will come on a TAM contract, which mitigates a lot of the risk. He seems pretty hard up for interest at a higher salary number in Europe and seems like he wants to be in North America and MLS teams just aren’t going to hand a 35 year old a DP deal anymore (well, unless they’re Messi). If the Caps do get Muller in on a lower number, well, it is probably something that you’d roll the dice on. There are plenty of reasons for excitement here and Muller could be the piece that pushes them over the top. I just am keeping my expectations somewhat tempered — these deals often end with some level of buyer’s remorse. Until I see what this all looks like on the pitch, I’ll remain skeptical that this will be different.
The good news for Vancouver is they didn’t need Muller on Saturday, smashing Sporting Kansas City 3-0 in a match chock full of good news and strong performances. Jayden Nelson was as good as he’s been since opening weekend and JC Ngando showed that he can be a credible alternative to Pedro Vite in central midfield.
When Vancouver is at their best they are just picking midfields apart with line breaking balls and clever switches of play and they did that perfectly on Saturday. SKC regained a foothold in the second but the Caps killed things off and saw out the three points with some help from a fabulous Yohei Takaoka save and another MLS Defender of the Year level performance from Tristan Blackmon.
SKC aren’t in a great place right now but they did enter this match on a good run of form and yet it didn’t matter. Vancouver is now two points off their 2024 point total and 12 points off the threshold needed to have home field advantage in the best of three — and August isn’t even here yet. The Caps will certainly have higher ambitions and will use the next two weeks to get healthy and rest up for the stretch run — and they certainly have earned it.
Shameless Self Promotion
Caleb offers his own (better researched) take on Muller to Vancouver. We have the post match analysis from Saturday’s thumping of SKC, while the podcast takes stock of where things stand for the Caps and Rise.
Best of the Rest
The war of words between MLS and BC Place officials takes a new turn.
The latest on where things stand with prying Muller’s discovery rights away from Cinci.
The Caps appear set to miss out on the Luc de Fougerolles loan sweepstakes.
Forge are now 15 games unbeaten with a 2-0 win over Pacific this weekend.
Don’t expect a new manager for Vancouver FC any time soon.
gotta agree with the above writer BUT he will bring a winning pedigree, a highly professional attitude and a work ethic second-to-none- in otherwords, LEADERSHIP for practices, in the locker room and on the field IF he stays away from leg injuries – Muller IS A WINNER and increased attendances will probably pay for the GAM and TAM monies – its the 2026 money i am concerned about
i would rather see the investment go towards 1-2 quality/experienced CB- LB defender now that Veselinovic and Adegukbe are out for the season
BUT Axel wants to make MLS and the City take notice – and any new investors
Salty
The transfer window is still open for another month, there’s a good chance that those other moves will also still happen
San Diego just signed a 19 year old midfielder; LAFC signed a 26 year old. Vancouver is courting a 35 year old. With the exception of Messi & his crew, teams haven’t seen a lot of success bringing in aging players. They spend a lot of money and don’t get much in return except the hype. I don’t know much about Muller, but what I have read is he’s not known for being fast and in recent times he hasn’t been much of a goal contributor so what’s the plan for him?
Sorenson’s style of play is fast and aggressive. The other players in Muller’s age group who have come and gone from VWFC haven’t been able to keep up and are injury prone.
I don’t see the upside.