Posted on 03/02/2009 1:18:07 PM PST by frankiep
U.S. players can't crack Europe's glass ceiling
Monday, March 2, 2009
It was another lost weekend in Europe for the three most talented players the United States has ever produced. With the World Cup just 16 months away and Bob Bradley, like most managers, reluctant to call on players not receiving regular minutes at the club level, this situation could become a problem for the national team really soon.
But I suspect the bigger issue for U.S. fans at present is the simple lack of respect afforded their biggest stars. I've never bought into the theory of a bias against American players overseas, but I must confess these are three of the most bizarre cases I can ever recall.
-snip-
This country has made enormous strides at the international level, but the success hasn't boosted the reputation of U.S. players in Europe all that much. To date, no American outfield player has left any kind of mark with a top club overseas. (Sorry, Fulham doesn't qualify.)
U.S. fans yearn for that validation, whether they like to admit it or not, which is what makes the plight of these three so galling. It's been a long time coming, but the feeling now is that the United States possesses good enough players to have more of a presence in the top European leagues. All they need is a fair shake.
Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be coming anytime soon. So what U.S. fans must hope for is the emergence of an American soccer Jackie Robinson. All it would take is for one player to rise above the prejudice, if you will, and do something special on a really big stage. But that, as we know, is easier said than done.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
It won't happen consistently, but certain people can shine during a game so much that you forget anyone else played, and it'll make them beloved worldwide (except America, of course). I'm thinking Ronaldo or Beckham, or even the relatively unknown second-starter Bastian Schweinsteiger who scored all three goals for Germany in the 2006 third-place game (NO, that one was NOT an own goal, screw the refs).
I was watching Top Gear the other day and the presenter asked Mika Hakkinen why Finns are such good drivers (they lead the world in most international racing stats). His response was that driving is practically a national sport, and kids start it competitively as soon as they can see over the steering wheel. You can't start in a sport later in life and be the best at it. Thus we will never be great in soccer until it becomes a sport that a good percentage of American kids dream of playing professionally. For example, Donovan is good, but where he is at Bayern Munich I can think of at least three players who are way better than he is.
Let me come at this from another angle — from that of another favored European sport — Cycling. Until Greg LeMonde suddenly dethroned his flagging team captain in the late stages of a Tour de France, he was just another American “domestique” doing the scut-work for the French star. He basically had to ask permission to work for himself otherwise the team might not support his efforts, and they would go for naught. It seems like those 3 US players are facing the same situation, only its far easier to bury them on the team roster. It could flip rather suddenly if a US player really flashes, I suppose. Then getting quality US players could become “the Next Big Thing.” Then again, I don’t think like a European.
Soccer’s an O.K. sport. Both my kids played it. But I never played it, I never watched anyone buy my kids play it and I don’t understand the finer points of play.
Also I got thrown off the sidelines once for helping coach the kids. It was the first year that the kids had to deal with the offsides rule. I quickly figured out something that I was later told was an “offside trap” - if some kid is hanging around the goal, then just have one of the defenders move up past him before someone kicks him the ball and he’s offside and the ball goes over. I yelled out to one of the defenders “Move up, move up past that kid!”. He did, they kicked him the ball, the ref (from Germany, it turned out) blew the whistle. This happened 3 times. The opposing coach, a dad like me, asked the ref what was going on. The ref told him, he glared at me, and then invoked a rule that said that only the coach could coach. Our coach apologetically said I had to go sit with the rest of the parents. I returned to the parents and got a hero’s welcome.
As an ex-pat in Europe for 17 years, I started watching “soccer” here around 10 years ago (missed the NFL Sundays). I shock a lot of euros when I can actually carry on a conversation about the premier league or la liga or seria a. Other than the keepers, there just aren’t any “world class” players from the US. If you could get a hundred dozen wide receivers or cornerbacks playing soccer instead of football, there might be a chance. The speed of the game in europe is breathtaking, and most athletes in the US with that kind of speed are long gone to sports other than soccer. Hence the success of the keepers, who don’t have to have the blazing speed.
Just my take...
Granted. However, the US has had pretty respectable showings in international competitions recently. A top 8 finish in the World Cup in 1998, Gold Cup Championships, strong showings in the Copa America, consistently one of the top teams in CONCACAF, victories over strong international powerhouses such as Germany, Mexico, and was the only team that Italy (the eventual champions) did not defeat in the last World Cup.
These are pretty strong indicators that the US is, and has been, producing some highly talented players who are more than capable of competing at very high levels.
The US has a reasonable team with a great work ethic. But sorry, not “highly talented players”. Not yet. When you produce a Zidane, Cantona, Ronaldo, Giggs, Beckham or Rooney - somebody who can take the game by the scruff of the neck and blow the opposition away with a moment of brilliance - then you will be respected at the top table.
The US is very similar to South Korea in the 2002 World Cup - they got to the semis but South Korean players are yet to storm the world.
Donovan is world-class, Bayern Munich doesn’t normally fight to hire losers, but he’s not good enough to be an international star player on the level of some of his teammates like Podolski and Klose. He has a long way to go before he’s a Beckham or Ballack.
But I figure that with the time Donovan spends in European leagues, and his home team hiring Beckham, his skills can only go up.
They work hard, but now if they could only get that darned teamwork thing down. Against Mexico, half the time they passed the ball it went to a Mexican because there wasn't a teammate there ready to get the ball.
All I ever needed to know about soccer I learned in high school gym class. Soccer-team starter stood with the ball between his ankles awaiting my defensive charge. He was going to perform some kind of soccer trickery, apparently. I barrelled in and swiped the ball and both his feet out from under him with my iron shin. The ball went to a teammate, and I dutifully followed the play. Soccer kid limped alongside, saying, “Hey, you can’t do that!” Guess I did, though.
>>Pele, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho<<
Is there something about being a really good soccer player that makes you not want to have a last name?
Trust me, if you saw how long most of these Brazilians full names are, you’d go by one name too! :)
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