re: United States of F#ck Yeah v. Glorified Ditch | Gold Cup | Semifinals | 6:30pm CT (FS1)

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MLS is doing the job by creating the talent pool and much like other leagues in the western hemisphere, they sell their best talents. If Argentina played in tournaments with just players that play in Argentina, they’d get their arse whipped. But you’re not saying “the Argentine league needs to get better at developing talent” when all of their best players leave for Europe.

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This isn’t comparable. Every kid plays soccer in those countries which means there are limitless places for them to play and good coaches to teach them.

In the US, or any high cost of living country, you need a successful domestic league with multiple healthy tiers to have the resources to scout and develop players. Because the US hasn’t had this, we’ve fallen back on the “pay for play” model which has limited the player pool for decades.

Talented young players will get pushed into soccer in Argentina, Brazil, or Uruguay. Talented young players in the US will not if we do not have a strong domestic league because an American child has far more alternatives to soccer available to them than a South American child.