re: US Soccer's lack of stars

I have seen several arguments all of which I think have played a big role in limiting the development of talent - inability to identify talent early on, competition with other sports for top athletes, lack of top level coaching, poor training techniques.

While all of these have been issues lets look back to where we were and how fast we got here. Since hosting the World Cup we have seen the development of a domestic league that is really starting to develop some great talent, our youth system has improved and a select few young players are starting to trickle into top tier youth systems. Even small things like much more informed and intelligent debate on forums such as this have shown the growth in us soccer. 20 years ago our national team was 6 players deep with marginal players filling out the roster. Now we are 30 deep with great talent. Saying we don't have any world class players may be a bit off. I think Bradley, deuce, Donovan and Howard would definitely be in any teams pool. I don't know of any country who wouldn't want jozy now with 10 solid years ahead of him. And the rest of the pool is better than we've ever seen. Moves like bringing deuce to Mls and 8 million a year makes soccer a more attractive option for top athletes. If we grow Half as fast over next 20 year as we have
The last 20 there may be no equals given our depth and resources.

One thing I've wondered is how social media and general availability of pro soccer on tv have impacted the growth in the us. When I was a kid we were lucky to see one ft Lauderdale vs cosmos game per year on wild world of sports. Now we have games available 24/7 as well as YouTube etc. I would have loved to have that access to games and I think it would have allowed me to have a better understanding of the game. Kids in the traditional powerhouses have always had access to top games both live and on tv. I think it helps to see the way pros play everyday then try to emulate it.

Just a few random thoughts