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Recently, United States Mens National Team manager Jurgen Klinsmann stirred the pot when he openly questioned the competitiveness of MLS.

Speaking to reporters in a press conference, Klinsmann highlighted the lack of a promotion-relegation system as contributing to the lesser competition:

Im a deep believer in (the) promotion-relegation system. So its not up to me to say there should be MLS and the second division should be NASL, and there should be promotion-relegation. I just wish that we had a system in place where all the young players and all the players in general know that theres a next higher level and theres a lower level. If I play a bad season, then the lower level is waiting for me. If I play a very, very good season, then theres the chance to go up and play at one point whatever you describe then as the highest level.

Some critics, including Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News, defended the MLS and accused Klinsmann of "Eurosnobbery."

It's an ironic criticism considering MLS is modeled on the same principles as European socialism.

American sports leaguesincluding MLSemploy the opposite of the pro/rel model: Instead of demoting the dregs, they are rewarded with high draft picks. And the results are often perverse. The NBA wouldn't have a tanking problem if the Sixers had to spend the next season in the D-League.

Pro/rel leagues do not have such a safety net and are therefore more intensely competitive, especially at the bottom. Games between struggling sides have real consequences for the loser.

On the other side of the ledger, teams from the second divisiona role most likely played by NASL if MLS adopted pro/relcan dream about promotion into the big leagues.

Now, which system sounds more American?

Not only does it promote social welfare in the form of high draft picks for the poor, MLSlike the NFL, NBA and NHLcaps salaries and redistributes revenue equally among its 19 teams. Outside of the context of sports, these are principles that make conservative capitalists cringe.

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Promotion, Relegation and Socialism: Why Pro/Rel Is a Bad Fit for MLS