No skin? He'll be out of a job. If he wants to continue working, finishing strong here helps with that. Its MLS - not many guys go from MLS to something bigger, especially if they haven't won much here. Besides, he's a pro. He wants to win.

"what's to stop you from jumping ship now (or next week) b/c of another opening in Europe?" It's called a contract. And what openings would there be in Europe, a few games into the start of their seasons? Besides - winning the Cup here will only help his chances at getting work somewhere else. As for how difficult it is to learn the in and outs of MLS, from a player aquisition standpoint, Soler did very well - long after Richie Williams was gone. There's no magic to it. And they do still have Petke.

he's not on pace for anything better than third place behind Henry and Copper

Berndandez is fine, but he'll finish behind Conde

MLS isn't and likely never will be in a class with the top 4 euro leagues. Its nothing to be ashamed of - neither are any of the other leagues in the world. Be an optimist and think of all the guys who have come here from other leagues and not done much. And sometimes its as much about style as it is quality - some players are simply better fits stylisticially for one league over another.