US Soccer Woes

I've come up with many reasons as to why the US Soccer team will always dissapoint and will never become a true power in the world of Soccer.

The first reason is simple, soccer is not as popular here as it is in other countries...Now, I know that more kids play soccer than any other sport in this country, but I believe that is because of convenience. It is easy to play and organize. Very little equipment is needed. It isn't very dangerous. And it's cheap.

But, I feel that there is something ingrained in us as Americans that we don't want to play a sport that is English. I mean, we did a pretty good job kicking them out of the country, screw them, we are going to change their sports around and make them our own...Hence Football (american style) and Baseball (our form of cricket).

Added upon this, when an American athlete reaches high school, it is very rare for them to continue playing soccer because if they are talented athletically, they will generally be pursued by the Football/Basketball/Baseball coaches...and it's very difficult to not want to play one of these high profile sports, where you get all the glory. There was a great quote in the Boston Globe a couple of weeks ago. They were talking about Larry Walker, the Canadian born baseball player. Larry Walker was a very big strong outfielder for many years with the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals and Montreal Expos. The article stated that if he was born in America he would have never been a baseball player, because the Football coach would have gotten a hold of him, and never let him play baseball. Nomar Garciaparra was an accomplished soccer player...look where he ended up...A baseball player married to a soccer player.

Secondly, those players that slip through the cracks and play soccer at a highly competetive level in America, don't do so until college. And that means that they aren't being evaluated for talent until they are around 20 years of age. In Europe and South America, these same talents would have been noticed when they were 11 or 12, and signed by a pro team to play for their "Academy". By the time these players are of high school age, they are playing on a national level, by the time they are 17 or so, they have probably made their professional debut already. If they are really good, they may be even playing at the world cup level right now.

The closest thing we've gotten to that is Freddy Adu, and he wasn't even born here, he was born in Ghana, who ironically put the nail in the coffin for the US team last week. The US did try in an effort to raise the profile of the sport, which I believe is called "Project 2010". This project is being used to try to train the best young talent in the country and prepare them for a legitimate run out in South Africa four years from now. I applaud them for the effort, but how effective can it be with these players training with eachother for 4 years. INstead of training with the best teams in the world!

Unfortunately I also see as a problem, the league that has helped bring the national team into prominence...The MLS. People were very excited about how the World Cup squad was made up of so many MLS players. As if this was a showing of how strong the league was. As if the New York Red Bull were suddenly going to be challenging Barcelona for the Champions League trophy. This is not the case. I believe the MLS needs to be there to legitimize US soccer, but in the long run, and Bruce Arena agrees, these young players have to find their way over to Europe to play. They aren't going to improve playing against second rate college kids for Real Salt Lake (which is a friggin' crime of a name by the way). But if these same players made it over to Holland or Belgium or Scotland or one of these "Second Tier" European leagues, and were able to get the training, the teaching and the nurturing that they need at a young age, they'll be able to star on the World Stage.

So I propose that the MLS becomes sort of a feeder league. Just like Argentina and Brazil basically. A stepping stone for talented young players to get some training and experience before being sold to European clubs. This Benefits everyone, the player, the team that is buying him, and MLS, as the influx of millions of dollars that comes with selling of international players.

Finally, as Dan pointed out to me, the US players may become the best in the world, but until they are able to attain that x factor, that knowlege of where your teammate is going to be when you are ready to make a pass, that knowledge that if you see your roommate make a run, you may need to slide in behind him for support, The ability to curve your run and speed up perfectly to avoid the offside trape, these things that seem to come so naturally to these world class squads, you probably won't be able to make it anywhere, otherwise you have to totally rely on skill and technical ability, and I'm not sure that is enough to get you there.

So if anyone in US soccer is looking for someone to help with the program, I'm here for you, I'll help out in any way I can, I'll even relocate from my plush Brighton MA 3 bedroom with 2 roommates if it means helping out the sport thrive in the country of my birth.