The United States is the top soccer country in the world

[jwblue]

The United States would dominate the world in soccer if our top athletes played the sport. Imagine Randy Moss, LaDanian Tomilinson, or LeBron James as a striker. There are few backers in the world that could keep up with our top athletes. Is Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba, or Kaka a better athlete than those three or any other of out top athletes? I doubt it.

IS

 

[goodcall]

I have to agree...the sport isn't introduced to many kids, so we've got a much smaller pool to take our elite from. In every other country, every kid plays the sport growing up and the best players usually stick with it. I'm not sure if the best football or basketball players would necessarily make the best soccer players, but those sports certainly have many more athletes to take the best from.

 

[Hope1]

I nearly fell off my chair when I read the title of this thread

uppy:

 

[jwblue]

I nearly fell off my chair when I read the title of this thread

uppy:

The title might be a little off, but it is hard to dispute the points made.

IS

 

[rolltide]

the sport isn't introduced to many kids, so we've got a much smaller pool to take our elite from.

Soccer is the fastest growing team sport in the US. The US has more official soccer players than any other nation in the world...more than 18 million.

Our problem is that, of those 18M, probably 17.5M only play organized soccer where creativity is not encouraged. Coaches want them dribbling balls around cones where, in Brazil, they are playing for fun against each other on dirt fields. Even in the senior ranks there is very little creativity...maybe Clint Dempsey is about it...and sure enough, Clint learned on dirt fields in Texas not on some organized team. Last I heard, Claudio Reyna refused to enroll his kids in organized US soccer until the age of 16 or 18 for exactly these reasons.

So the pool of talent is there, but it's not being coached properly. Maybe some day...

 

[Paid2play]

In most countries soccer is THE sport, so everybody plays. Here its not in the top five. When I was in school I the additude in the athletic program was " Those of you who play football, basketball, baseball or run track come with me, the rest of you fucks....heres a soccer ball."

 

[DonMelchor]

The US has the potential to be great, not there yet tho..... With all infrastructure, facilities and money you guys have, there's no roof........

No question that an athlete can play and stand up in more than one sport, but there are qualities that a soccer player needs to have in order to raise from the crowd, been fast is not always enough.......

 

[fhmesq44]

Soccer is the fastest growing team sport in the US. The US has more official soccer players than any other nation in the world...more than 18 million.

Our problem is that, of those 18M, probably 17.5M only play organized soccer where creativity is not encouraged. Coaches want them dribbling balls around cones where, in Brazil, they are playing for fun against each other on dirt fields. Even in the senior ranks there is very little creativity...maybe Clint Dempsey is about it...and sure enough, Clint learned on dirt fields in Texas not on some organized team. Last I heard, Claudio Reyna refused to enroll his kids in organized US soccer until the age of 16 or 18 for exactly these reasons.

So the pool of talent is there, but it's not being coached properly. Maybe some day...

I must have read the same article you read. Think it was around world cup time and you are correct about both Reyna and Dempsey. It is entirely true too.

Soccer has grown over the past 20 years and, while it may not have bene huge in high schools 15 years ago, is well within the top 4 sports now (with football, baseball and basketball). However, it is a suburban sport in the US and until it grows in non-suburban areas, the US will be limited with its players and the athleticism of the players that play soccer.

Generally speaking, the athletic players in all major sports (whether in or out of the US) come from urban or poor areas. Baseball (latin american players), football, basketball, soccer (look outside the US). Until the soccer grows in US cities, the US will continue to field a relatively unathletic team of suburban kids with no creativity.

 

[fhmesq44]

The United States would dominate the world in soccer if our top athletes played the sport. Imagine Randy Moss, LaDanian Tomilinson, or LeBron James as a striker. There are few backers in the world that could keep up with our top athletes. Is Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba, or Kaka a better athlete than those three or any other of out top athletes? I doubt it.

IS

I'm not sure those guys are all the best examples, but I understand your point. I always think of Allen Iverson as a striker (super quick, jumps great, agile, fast), someone like Eddie George, Jerry Porter, Ed McCaffrey (just a monster guy with speed) as a centre back, Steve Smith somewhere, Michael Vick. The list of WRs and DBs could be endless.

 

[rhinooooo]

The US will develop into a better footballing nation than England, for sure. At least you have competitive sports encouraged through the school system, and the draft. That's pretty much non-existent in England.

There are similarities in the systems though. Like the US, English players are being taught the wrong things. The only attributes that stick out are size and strength. Genuine ability, technique, vision aren't encouraged. It's all about 'Heart' and 'determination'. That's a load of bullshit. Whilst the TV companies, media, etc constantly boast about England having the best league in the world, their national team and development of homegrown players is complete shite.

 

[fhmesq44]

England's current team is a mess. They just keep throwing out the same lineup time and time again when they have proven innumerable times that they don't play well together. Beckham slowing the game down during WC and WC qualifying was painful to watch. Everything ran through him, literally every ball from a defender was moved forward by him. Lamps and Gerrard can't play together yet no manager has the stones to bench Lamps. Cole can't play on the left, yet again, no one has the stones to bench him and play Downing, an actual left footed player. Owen is done and has been garbage for years now. No young guys get chances, whether it is Bent, Johnson, Lennon, Dafoe. Their management is a disaster.