From the start of preseason in January all the way to MLS Cup in early-December, the Major League Soccer season is one serious grind.
Players compete in hundreds of training sessions and dozens of matches, pick up countless injuries and endure hour after hour on the training table.
Sometimes it can all feel like a bit much, especially for the two teams that advance all the way to Cup. Their shot at a trophy comes with a price: Six extra weeks of training, six extra weeks of treatment and, let’s not discount the importance of this, six extra weeks of hearing your coach in your ear.
But, as Sporting Kansas City defender and 2013 MLS Cup champ Matt Besler detailed in his recent story “How to Survive the MLS Cup Final” on The Players’ Tribune, that extra effort is all worth it in the end.
Besler offered up plenty of tips for Columbus Crew SC and Portland Timbers players ahead of Sunday’s final (4 pm ET; ESPN, WatchESPN and UniMas in the US; TSN and RDS2 in Canada). His most poignant note? No matter how many of your peers are posting photos from the beach, savor MLS Cup – you never know when you’ll be back.
Check out his full article here.
