But why would the culture of soccer need to change on a national level to produce a competitive team? How does a state like Iowa factor into our success?
This is why the US will never win a world cup
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But why would the culture of soccer need to change on a national level to produce a competitive team? How does a state like Iowa factor into our success?
Talent can come from anywhere when the net is large enough, there are NBA/NFL guys from Iowa, so why wouldn't there be elite level football players from there if the sport were culturally at the top. Iowa is the same size as Uruguay which has produced Luis Suarez, someone better than every US football player that has ever lived.
Iowa has the same population of Uruguay. Iowa's GDP is 3 times Uruguay's. Uruguay is approximately 12k square miles larger. But nobody in their right mind would ever compare the soccer structures in place in Iowa, with the proven model of success in Uruguay (nor is anyone doing that).
Which leads to my point, it's not about motivating 300 million people across 50 states to love the sport of football, which is what the statement "the US doesn't care about soccer" implies. It's about identifying a population that believes in football, focusing your resources (money and training) on them, and creating an environment for success.
Soccer threads like this kind of scare me because it sounds like people are implying that it's the ethnicity of the child/nation that matters, and not the structure placed around a subset population from an early age. Sure you can argue that a larger pool, equals greater diversity, and a greater "chance" of finding talented individuals. But that largely promotes a false reassurance that there is a direct relationship between the number of kids playing soccer in the US and the talent level of the kids produced as a result of this increased population. Correlation does not equal causation.
The number one issue US football faces is not a lack of bodies. We can easily find 3 million soccer fans to replicate Uruguay's population. We can find 3 million Africans in this country alone to replicate Uruguay's population (I purposely state African to show how laughably easy it would be to find 3 million south americans). The total number of soccer fans in this country should not be the question. Luis Suarez did not come out the womb kicking footballs. The academies overseas are above and beyond anything we have in place. The infant to youth to national team pipeline is pretty sub standard in our country. I think a lot of people in the US think being a national soccer prospect overseas is like going to the NBA, as opposed to breeding a kid for the World Cup. That is why Klinsmann is so focused on developing the US National Academy and integrating the youth/national team/mls talent pool.
As long as football, basketball, and baseball exist they can have soccer. But Let's not act like if we didn't put all our athletes into those 3 sports we couldn't be better at soccer. Those academies are basically like those prep football and basketball teams except obviously a lttle younger.
jaydolf spitler
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jaydolf spitler
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This thread again. So soon?
Broad Street Bully
Sick & Tide Sixers/Phillies/Cowboys fan smh
South America can have that 
This is a good post, however no matter how good the US football program gets there will always be the issue of preteen children signing with pro-teams. The football structure that exists in Uruguay would most likely never exist in the US, because people would have a major problem with children becoming professionals. That will not be replicated in the US, even in the UK you got dudes like Walcott and Bale who were young as shyt playing for pro teams.
There's nothing wrong with admitting the best athletes don't play football in the US, that includes the best white athletes as well, those kids that had the desire to make it to the pros. You mention Klinsmann and he's even said as much -
He directly compares Football to Basketball and said it's a "lower class" sport, he's on record other times saying that US Football needs to look for talent in cities and groups that traditionally do not gravitate to the sport. I mean, it's pretty obvious who he's talking about when he says these things, he's been exposed to US sports and sees the athletes and envisions them getting world class training. If Klinsmann is willing to admit it why do you feel it's such a taboo? He's on record several times bringing up basketball players, that is the talent pool he apparently wants
So yeah, I guess you're right when you talk about identifying the talent pool, the issue is that the talent pool he wants is already playing something else.
mastermind
Rest In Power Kobe
This is a good post, however no matter how good the US football program gets there will always be the issue of preteen children signing with pro-teams. The football structure that exists in Uruguay would most likely never exist in the US, because people would have a major problem with children becoming professionals. That will not be replicated in the US, even in the UK you got dudes like Walcott and Bale who were young as shyt playing for pro teams.
There's nothing wrong with admitting the best athletes don't play football in the US, that includes the best white athletes as well, those kids that had the desire to make it to the pros. You mention Klinsmann and he's even said as much -
He directly compares Football to Basketball and said it's a "lower class" sport, he's on record other times saying that US Football needs to look for talent in cities and groups that traditionally do not gravitate to the sport. I mean, it's pretty obvious who he's talking about when he says these things, he's been exposed to US sports and sees the athletes and envisions them getting world class training. If Klinsmann is willing to admit it why do you feel it's such a taboo? He's on record several times bringing up basketball players, that is the talent pool he apparently wants
Walcott actually started playing at 11.
When these kids get snatched up as kids, its not signing for pro teams but getting in their school. They are still in school and learning math and shyt.
but culture does matter. It matters a lot because you have to want to try shyt and imagine things. Thats what makes Chris Paul who he is. You can see the imagination and creativity in his play. A major portion of US players lack that.
I know they still get schooling, but even that would be an issue in the US. People didn't want LeBron to go pro as a junior, even though it was abundantly clear he was going to be an NBA player and school was never in the plans. Those schools like Oak Hill Academy would drop the HS part in a heartbeat if they could just run a Youth Academy without having to put on a front, that Findlay prep HS team in Nevada doesn't even have an actual HS of their own, the kids go to a school nearby
They don't need the illusion that higher education is the key in Europe & South America, here in the US we still need it even though it's pretty obvious who will be a pro when they're around 15.
This is a good post, however no matter how good the US football program gets there will always be the issue of preteen children signing with pro-teams. The football structure that exists in Uruguay would most likely never exist in the US, because people would have a major problem with children becoming professionals. That will not be replicated in the US, even in the UK you got dudes like Walcott and Bale who were young as shyt playing for pro teams.
There's nothing wrong with admitting the best athletes don't play football in the US, that includes the best white athletes as well, those kids that had the desire to make it to the pros. You mention Klinsmann and he's even said as much -
He directly compares Football to Basketball and said it's a "lower class" sport, he's on record other times saying that US Football needs to look for talent in cities and groups that traditionally do not gravitate to the sport. I mean, it's pretty obvious who he's talking about when he says these things, he's been exposed to US sports and sees the athletes and envisions them getting world class training. If Klinsmann is willing to admit it why do you feel it's such a taboo? He's on record several times bringing up basketball players, that is the talent pool he apparently wants
what happens to kids who wash out? Do the end up adjusting well back into society?
mastermind
Rest In Power Kobe
I dont know. Parents were sending their kids to Nick Bollettieri for 30 years to learn how to play tennis properly and Im not convinced a lot of those kids can't read and write.I know they still get schooling, but even that would be an issue in the US. People didn't want LeBron to go pro as a junior, even though it was abundantly clear he was going to be an NBA player and school was never in the plans. Those schools like Oak Hill Academy would drop the HS part in a heartbeat if they could just run a Youth Academy without having to put on a front, that Findlay prep HS team in Nevada doesn't even have an actual HS of their own, the kids go to a school nearby
They don't need the illusion that higher education is the key in Europe & South America, here in the US we still need it even though it's pretty obvious who will be a pro when they're around 15.
The hope would be for pro teams to establish these schools and not for an Oak Hill.
But your second point is the real issue. Everything is catered towards college in this country, especially in soccer. I think a basketball academy would actually work in the US more than a soccer one because the goal is NBA in this country versus Premier League in England in this one.
mastermind
Rest In Power Kobe
They talked about playing a game in each continent 7 years ago but that was shot down.
