How the USL became a league of its own

The United Soccer Leagues is generating, through the bizarre ownership controversy of the past week, the kind of headlines and mainstream media attention it could never have gotten for anything its teams accomplished on the field.

Reuters has taken note of the threat by USL First Division owners to break away because of because of this little novelty that those of us accustomed to the disjointed state of minor league soccer in America may not find all that striking:

“We are clearly at odds with USL, we have been at odds with them for two years over the fact that we are the only league in the world that doesn’t have (team) owners controlling it.”

Atlanta’s presence in this league has always been troubled. Ironically, two local entities — the Atlanta Silverbacks and the new owners of the USL system, Alpharetta-based NuRock Soccer Holdings — are at the heart of this potential rupture:

“This drama came months after Boris Jerkunica had withdrawn the Atlanta Silverbacks from the 2009 season. The Silverbacks had long advocated a more aggressive marketing posture from the league and had in fact built their own soccer specific stadium. Representing a top 10 national media market, Atlanta could have been the focal point of USL growth.

“Instead, Jerkunica’s repeated efforts to implement more owner control over the direction of USL were defeated. But Atlanta maintained an interest in USL by fielding a W-League side and making it known that they intended to return to USL-1 and PDL play in the future.”

Here’s a vote for the threatening owners to start their own league, and how the continuing turmoil could be bad for Major League Soccer as well:

“However odd and small MLS may be on the global soccer stage, it dwarfs and hugely outclasses the USL. USL’s biggest contribution to the world really isn’t its top division, USL-1.  The real hook is the sprawling and pleasantly productive Player Development League, which is doing a vastly better job of finding talent, developing it, and selling it on down the line – quite often to Europe.

“So … we have MLS teams that are not able – or allowed – to compete for players with real soccer set-ups.  And we have a battered, divided USL-1, continually losing top teams to MLS, where a lot of the owners are disgusted, and apparently want out.

“I would love – LOVE! – to see them start a new league, free of all financial restriction, and show MLS how it could be done. But I see no chance – NONE! – that meaningful competition can actually happen. Not now, and not like this.”

Is a team owner-run league all but inevitable? The continued stonewalling from NuRock owners isn’t helping. A blogger who follows the USL-1’s Puerto Rico Islanders hears from a team owners’ spokesman that NuRock has had no contact with any of them, and that an unnamed NuRock official was a college roommate of USL founder Francisco Marcos. (via Pitch Invasion)

NuRock also has not returned repeated calls from Atlanta Soccer News, which also is trying to reach Silverbacks officials.

Montreal Impact owner Joey Saputo, who could hardly be called media shy, is ready for a breakaway while he waits to elbow his franchise into consideration for a Major League Soccer franchise:

“It’s very disappointing that Nike decided to sell to a group that was unheard of instead of selling to the group of owners. During the due diligence process, there were other bidders out there, and they saw the importance of having the USL Division I and having the current teams in Division I. And we got calls from them to explain what they were willing to do, and if they would buy the league are we still interested in working with them and moving forward with them.

“But we heard nothing about NuRock. We heard about them in the 11th hour, 11:59 to be exact. “