Kaka: Right time for MLS

As the Brazilian star weighed options these last few months – remain in Italy at AC Milan, go home to Brazil or join Major League Soccer – he felt the time was right to make the leap. On Tuesday, Orlando City announced the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year as its first-ever designated player.

“I think this is the right moment for me because I’m not too old and not too young, but I have the experience to come and to give a lot of things to the league,” Kaká said in a teleconference with reporters on Wednesday. “This is the right moment to come to MLS. I think the league is getting better every year, [improving] a lot, and I think the MLS will [have] a great, great future in soccer.”

Kaká’s becomes the latest example in a trend of top players coming Stateside earlier in their careers – a movement the Brazilian star sees growing as MLS continues to develop.

Orlando City’s big signing came on the heels of New York City FC announcing its big splash, Spain striker David Villa, who started 32 games for La Liga champion and Champions League finalist Atletico Madrid last season. Villa won the 2010 World Cup with Spain and scored for La Roja in the World Cup in Brazil this summer.

Other big names have recently joined MLS, including England striker Jermain Defoe and American stars Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley, both of whom had offers to play in top leagues in Europe.

“I think the European players start to think to play in America, not in the end of their careers, they start to think about playing here like [David] Villa just did, I just did,” Kaká said. “A lot of players can arrive the next years [still at] a high level to play in MLS.”

On the heels of the American team’s exit from the World Cup, the age-old debate of soccer’s place in the U.S. is sure to rage once again. Many within the U.S. soccer hierarchy see it not as a sudden “A-ha” transformation, but rather a long-term process. One World Cup won’t suddenly make the U.S. a soccer nation, but a growing league that will soon turn 20 years old can help accelerate the course – both with a focus on the development of American players and infusion of better talent from abroad.

Kaká has a vision for where the league may one day rank.

The 32-year-old midfielder says his expectation is that soccer “is going to be the first sport in America,” and that his legacy might be helping MLS rank with the world’s top leagues.

“I hope the American league can arrive to the top 5 leagues in the world,” Kaká said. “I have this target. To get other players, I think I can show them the American league is a nice place to play, you can enjoy [soccer] and in the future it will be one of the biggest leagues in the world, and players will be invited to play here, as I did.”

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