Editing Major League Soccer (section)

===Arrival of Designated Players===
[[File:Red Bull Arena on the First Day.jpg|upright=1.15|right|thumb|The 2010 season also brought the opening of the New York Red Bulls' soccer-specific stadium, [[Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)|Red Bull Arena]].]]
In 2007, the league expanded beyond the United States' borders into Canada with the [[Toronto FC]] expansion team.<ref name="Expansion">{{Cite web |title=MLS 101: MLS Expansion Draft and Allocation Money |url=https://www.timbers.com/news/mls-101-mls-expansion-draft-and-allocation-money |date=November 22, 2010 |publisher=Portland Timbers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812213229/http://www.timbers.com/news/2010/11/mls-101-mls-expansion-draft-and-allocation-money |archive-date=August 12, 2014 |access-date=September 20, 2014}}</ref> Major League Soccer took steps to further raise the level of play by adopting the [[Designated Player Rule]], which helped bring international stars into the league.<ref name="forbes-2014-09">{{Cite web |title=Has The 'Beckham Rule' Worked For MLS? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbymcmahon/2012/08/05/has-the-beckham-rule-worked-for-mls/ |last=McMahon |first=Bobby |website=[[Forbes]] |date=August 5, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924164245/http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbymcmahon/2012/08/05/has-the-beckham-rule-worked-for-mls/ |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |access-date=August 20, 2015}}</ref>
The [[2007 Major League Soccer season|2007 season]] witnessed the MLS debut of [[David Beckham]]. Beckham's signing had been seen as a coup for American soccer, and was made possible by the Designated Player Rule. Players such as [[Cuauhtémoc Blanco]] (Chicago Fire) and [[Juan Pablo Ángel]] (New York Red Bulls), are some of the first Designated Players who made major contributions to their clubs.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Lalas |first=Greg |date=April 17, 2007 |title=Foreign exchange program |magazine=Sports Illustrated |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/greg_lalas/04/17/mls.signings/index.html |url-status=dead |access-date=April 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421234847/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/greg_lalas/04/17/mls.signings/index.html |archive-date=April 21, 2007}}</ref>
The departures of [[Clint Dempsey]] and [[Jozy Altidore]], coupled with the return of former U.S. national team stars [[Claudio Reyna]] and [[Brian McBride]], highlighted the exchange of top prospects to Europe for experienced veterans to MLS.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A brief guide to Major League Soccer |url=http://tbrfootball.com/a-brief-guide-to-major-league-soccer/ |date=June 8, 2012 |website=The Boot Room |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510025120/http://tbrfootball.com/a-brief-guide-to-major-league-soccer/ |archive-date=May 10, 2015 |access-date=September 20, 2014}}</ref>

By 2008, San Jose had returned to the league under new ownership, and in 2009, the expansion side [[Seattle Sounders FC]] began play in MLS.<ref name=Expansion/> The Sounders set a new average attendance record for the league, with 30,943 spectators per match, and were the first expansion team to qualify for the playoffs since 1998.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Romero |first=José Miguel |date=November 5, 2009 |title=Sounders success story, by the numbers |page=C3 |work=The Seattle Times |url=http://old.seattletimes.com/html/sounders/2010203684_soundersnumbers05.html |access-date=December 2, 2019 |archive-date=November 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091108012102/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sounders/2010203684_soundersnumbers05.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The 2010 season ushered in an expansion franchise in the [[Philadelphia Union]] and their new PPL Park stadium (now known as [[Subaru Park]]).<ref name=Expansion/> The 2010 season also brought the opening of the New York Red Bulls' soccer-specific stadium, [[Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)|Red Bull Arena]], and the debut of French striker [[Thierry Henry]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=New York Red Bulls sign international star Thierry Henry |url=http://www.newyorkredbulls.com/news/2010/07/new-york-red-bulls-sign-international-star-thierry-henry |date=July 14, 2010 |website=New York Red Bulls |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716223438/http://www.newyorkredbulls.com/news/2010/07/new-york-red-bulls-sign-international-star-thierry-henry |archive-date=July 16, 2010 |access-date=July 14, 2010 }}</ref>

The 2011 season brought further expansion with the addition of the [[Vancouver Whitecaps FC]], the second Canadian MLS franchise, and the [[Portland Timbers]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlanta expansion signifies changing landscape ahead for Major League Soccer |url=http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2014/04/17/atlanta-expansion-signifies-changing-landscape-ahead-major-league-soccer |date=April 18, 2014 |website=MLSsoccer.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904090602/http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2014/04/17/atlanta-expansion-signifies-changing-landscape-ahead-major-league-soccer |archive-date=September 4, 2014 |access-date=September 20, 2014}}</ref> Real Salt Lake reached the finals of the [[CONCACAF Champions League 2010–11|2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Real Salt Lake: Monterrey wins CONCACAF Champions League, 3–2 on aggregate |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700130691/Real-Salt-Lake-Monterrey-wins-CONCACAF-Champions-League-3-2-on-aggregate.html?pg=all |date=April 27, 2011 |website=Deseret News |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630203252/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700130691/Real-Salt-Lake-Monterrey-wins-CONCACAF-Champions-League-3-2-on-aggregate.html?pg=all |archive-date=June 30, 2015 |access-date=September 20, 2014}}</ref>
During the 2011 season, the Galaxy signed another international star in [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]] all-time leading goalscorer [[Robbie Keane]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 16, 2011 |title=Spurs striker Robbie Keane joins MLS side LA Galaxy |work=BBC Sport |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/14525931.stm |url-status=live |access-date=August 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822220337/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/14525931.stm |archive-date=August 22, 2011}}</ref> MLS drew an average attendance of 17,872 in 2011, higher than the average attendances of the NBA and NHL.<ref name="latimes1">{{Cite news |last=Baxter |first=Kevin |date=November 18, 2011 |title=MLS steadily builds toward goal of profitability |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/la-xpm-2011-nov-18-la-sp-mls-finances-20111119-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214215450/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/18/sports/la-sp-mls-finances-20111119 |archive-date=December 14, 2014}}</ref> In 2012, the [[CF Montréal|Montreal Impact]] became the league's 19th franchise and the third in Canada, and made their home debut in front of a crowd of 58,912,<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 17, 2012 |title=Fire tie Impact in MLS opener |publisher=ESPN |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/chicagofire/post/_/id/2396/fire-tie-impact-in-mls-opener |url-status=live |access-date=April 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201123730/http://espn.go.com/blog/chicagofire/post/_/id/2396/fire-tie-impact-in-mls-opener |archive-date=February 1, 2013}}</ref> while the [[New York Red Bulls]] added [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australian]] all-time leading goalscorer [[Tim Cahill]].