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re: 3 things preventing soccer from gaining mainstream U.S. popularity
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:13 am to RedRifle
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:13 am to RedRifle
quote:
Exactly. At 20 you should be playing for a EPL Reserve squad, not Maryland vs UVa.
At age 20, Jonathan Spector played for Manchester United. Geoff Cameron played for West Virginia at age 20, Stuart Holden played for Clemson.
All three are 28, one is a main cog in the national team, one certainly would be if not for injury, one is outside looking in (though perhaps deserves better.)
My point? There are good players everywhere on this damned planet. People need to stop looking at "Europe" (especially Europe as the 12 most recognizable clubs) as the end-all, be-all, fix-all for soccer - American soccer in particular.
3
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:22 am to Sheep
quote:
My point? There are good players everywhere on this damned planet. People need to stop looking at "Europe" (especially Europe as the 12 most recognizable clubs) as the end-all, be-all, fix-all for soccer - American soccer in particular.
Exactly. Why can't the US develop their own format that works best for the talent in this country that will produce the best results.
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:31 am to Sheep
quote:
At age 20, Jonathan Spector played for Manchester United. Geoff Cameron played for West Virginia at age 20, Stuart Holden played for Clemson.
All three are 28, one is a main cog in the national team, one certainly would be if not for injury, one is outside looking in (though perhaps deserves better.)
My point? There are good players everywhere on this damned planet. People need to stop looking at "Europe" (especially Europe as the 12 most recognizable clubs) as the end-all, be-all, fix-all for soccer - American soccer in particular.
I think this is a good point. There are 200 schools playing D-1 soccer so there are plenty of outlets for good players. But designing youth development so that it mimics the NFL and NBA is a bad idea in my view. If we can find a combination of college soccer and MLS academies, then that might be the best option.
Posted on 7/1/14 at 12:42 pm to Sheep
quote:
At age 20, Jonathan Spector played for Manchester United. Geoff Cameron played for West Virginia at age 20, Stuart Holden played for Clemson.
Cameron was a diamond in the rough
Spector had 3 caps total for United and was loaded out most the time but was still seen as the future until his career took a dive
Stu played two years of college and said frick this he realized he needed to become a pro
quote:
My point? There are good players everywhere on this damned planet. People need to stop looking at "Europe" (especially Europe as the 12 most recognizable clubs) as the end-all, be-all, fix-all for soccer - American soccer in particular.
Of course there are good players everywhere but the college ranks at this stage is not where US Soccer needs to focus. Majority of the time a 20 year old professional who has had professional training for years in a youth set up will be light years ahead of his counterpart playing college ball. Of course there are outliers but most the time its not the case.
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