Future of US Soccer

[Cruel_Ruin]

With the US advancing into the second round of the World Cup (after being in the finals for the Confederations Cup) there appears to be a surge of interest in soccer in general among US fans. With the MLS gaining steam over the last decade how do you see the state of the sport progressing in the US?

[and1GS]

Pooey. Our collegiate system is trash and ruins young talent. They take unfinished products and force them into a win now environment. Reyna's now in charge of player development so I have hope but we have to change our entire culture regarding soccer, not just one or two things.

[Raps in 4]

No one cares about soccer in the US, only the immigrants, who still cheer for their home countries. The MLS is a trash league severely lacking in talent and competition (like the 4th division in a European league), and collegiate programs only focus on football and basketball. I don't see soccer ever taking off in the US/Canada.

[pass first]

No one cares about soccer in the US, only the immigrants, who still cheer for their home countries.

This is stereotype. Almost 20 million Americans watched USA-Ghana. I doubt they were all Ghanaian immigrants.

MLS and US Soccer as a team are two different things. The national team can be good despite a mediocre league. Teams are scouting very aggressively, they get talent from everywhere. So basicly you just need great talent and they will get picked up by the Man U's and the Liverpools and everything below.

[and1GS]

The US loves soccer, the only people who dislike it are american football meatheads and baseball junkies.

I hate how our style of soccer encourages super physical players to pursue careers and discourages smaller guys from trying. The best player on my HS team, ranked #1 in the nation at the time, was 5'2" and won league MVP. He then went to a second tier soccer college and never played because of his size. It wasn't the American style so he was out. IDK there are just so many flawed internal institutions in the US that it will take a while to fix it. For now I say we keep just sending our best players overseas.

Oh, and the MLS needs to F'n let go of Donovan already.

[britblazerdude]

College soccer will forever ruin American soccer. You need to go to academies in Europe if you actually want to succeed. The team won't be good until people realize that.

[Smoove]

No one cares about soccer in the US, only the immigrants, who still cheer for their home countries.

This is stereotype. Almost 20 million Americans watched USA-Ghana. I doubt they were all Ghanaian immigrants.

MLS and US Soccer as a team are two different things. The national team can be good despite a mediocre league. Teams are scouting very aggressively, they get talent from everywhere. So basicly you just need great talent and they will get picked up by the Man U's and the Liverpools and everything below.

When he said immigrants, he didn't talk about specific group of immigrants he just means world immigrants that are here in America, so I beat you those 20 million that watched the Ghana vs. Usa I would say more then half or little bit less were all immigrants watching, I know I watched it and so there other 5K Bosnians here in Boise

[5DOM]

It's not just the colleges. No ones likes a 5'2" soccer player.
You remember that 5'2"~5'3" Argentinian guy from 07 U20 World Cup?
He looked like the best player in the tournament (better than the likes of Aguero and Pato), but last time I heard, he was still playing in Argentina. I'm actually kinda surprised that the #1 player in the nation wasn't highly recruited, but I guess that's the reality.

But I do agree that going to Europe or simply skipping college is the best option for an American soccer player.

[pass first]

When he said immigrants, he didn't talk about specific group of immigrants he just means world immigrants that are here in America, so I beat you those 20 million that watched the Ghana vs. Usa I would say more then half or little bit less were all immigrants watching, I know I watched it and so there other 5K Bosnians here in Boise

Sure but these twenty mill were obviously cheering for USA, their actual homecountry, not the one of their grandpa.

[cgf]

The US just doesn't have a) the developmental academies in place for young talents to flourish and b) the country's best athletes going into the game. If the US had the development in place they'd be a quality side and if all of the best athletes who now play Football and Basketball instead spent their youth kicking around the ball the US men's team could be a high caliber soccer nation. Problem is that it's a catch-22 where US soccer will not break out without those two things and the US won't get those two things until they're an elite soccer nation because Americans get upset when they're not the clear-cut best at something, see Hockey and how the NHL is stuck behind the MLB and NBA.

[fudgie]

ESPN now regularly shows the Premier League, La Liga, Champions League and MLS matches. The World Cup ratings increased over the last two and the national team had a solid showing.

I think the slow and steady increase in popularity will continue. The national team or the MLS won't come close to European quality until they start recruiting players at a younger age into quality academies. Also need to get top talent to go straight to the MLS. The competition at the college level is too weak to develop world class players.

[magik9113]

The US loves soccer, the only people who dislike it are american football meatheads and baseball junkies.

absolutely true lol
There were plenty of americans who are not immigrants who watched...I've spoken with very many of them. Look at the youtube celebrations of the Donovan goal and you'll see a bunch of real Americans watching the game. I got so many texts and phone calls after the Slovenia and Algeria games from my friends who know how crazy I am for the sport. My friends, most of whom have never watched soccer until this year, were celebrating like they won the lotto when he scored that goal. They explained to me the feelings and the joy they felt, and told me they finally understood what it is about soccer that causes so many people to watch and love it.
The ratings for the USA games were record setting. If you are not in the U.S. you won't understand that for the first time ever, almost everyone was watching soccer here. Despite being one of those people who are heavily looked down upon, as my passion is for the Azzurri rather than the U.S. due to my italian immigrant parents, it was breathtaking to see the support the team/the sport got during this tournament.

As for the future of US soccer, as has been mentioned...the system is whats holding the team back. High school coaches often suck, and even if they don't, players usually will have their development as a player stunted anyways....the season is only in the fall for hardly over two months. Then they play for whatever club they play for against players their own age who may or may not be that good. College is hardly better. Having been one of those 5'6, skinnier high school players, I did my thing and could have gone to a division 2 or 3 school, but my coaches and people who knew me said I belonged at a D1 school because I knew the game very well and played even better. (I didn't end up playing anywhere so I could focus on my schooling.) But it is very true what and1GS said, that colleges won't even bother with most of these kind of players. Obviously these are acceptions, but Messi is 5'7, and Sneijder, who In my opinion is the 2nd best player in the world behind Messi, is the same height. I can only hope the development of young players through these academy systems can keep improving.

[and1GS]

I think another problem is that the MLS is so starved for publicity that they refuse to change some of the stuff they're doing. For example, they need to let Donovan go (they're basically holding him captive at this point) and they need to change the time of their season so transfer windows line up. Worst case scenario there is that a bunch of vets or younger guys from Europe get loaned out to American clubs. That improves the level of play out here and the rep of the league.

Unfortunately they're too afraid about losing all their revenue if they switch from competing with baseball to competing with NBA, NFL, and the start of baseball season. Rightfully so, there would be no place for MLS to make money.

[Batu7]

It's not just the colleges. No ones likes a 5'2" soccer player.
You remember that 5'2"~5'3" Argentinian guy from 07 U20 World Cup?
He looked like the best player in the tournament (better than the likes of Aguero and Pato), but last time I heard, he was still playing in Argentina.

You mean Pablo Piatti? He's in La Liga, playing for Almeria.

Or Maximiliano Moralez? He spent a short time in Russia, but didn't succeed.

[Dekadez]

It's not because people care about the national team, which could be out of patriotic feelings, that they care about football in general, or the MLS in particular.