This Is American Soccer, US Soccer, MNT, WNT, and MLS - Tackling the subject of Soccer in the US, and worldwide.

PLOT YOUR COURSE EDITION

My mind was about to explode. The rumor, speculation, and quotes from a “source close to the team” were getting out of hand. And then the straw that broke the camels back: Benny Feilhaber recalled to Derby from Israel, but maybe going to MLS on loan? Detonation.

A lot of things I’ve been thinking about recently came to a head this week - it’s the start of the 2008 soccer calendar - and now seems as good as time as any to put them out there.

Before we start, two must-reads:

Soccerphobia in the U.S. by Steven Wells. Some hilariously ignorant quotes here from the Jim Romes of the world. This is unfortunately still American soccer.

Also American soccer: Choice; high school vs. club soccer in California. In the early nineties, I chose school over club. Hard to think that will continue to happen. If clubs win this battle, you have to think college soccer is next on the road to irrelavence.

—-

There has been more transfer rumoring around MLS and American players than ever before. This includes the MLS looking outward thanks to recent rule changes. All good signs for league growth.

Another good sign: Best Buy is the jersey sponsor for the Chicago Fire. A slightly higher profile than Herbalife or Xango, no? But the question is, why Chicago? Why Blanco of course. Best Buy is targeting the Hispanic market in the U.S. noted here by the launching in November of its “new Spanish-language transactional site”. This is no coincidence and if MLS and USSF were really working hard, things like this would have happened years ago.

More on this topic when TIAS sits down with Futbol Mundial & Futbol Munidal USA editor in chief Robert Abramowitz next week. It may have to come in parts because Robert has an awesome background and lots to share. Check back for that.

—-

Has MLS ever brought in a foreign-league player on loan? The idea of Feilhaber coming to play in MLS even just for one summer sounds like a no-brainer. He gets the playing time he needs (do you really think he is developing on the Derby practice field?) and Derby gets him some meaningful minutes. Think of it like winter ball in Mexico for baseball players. For once the MLS summer schedule could work in its favor. MLS and everywhere-else’s seasons balance the calendar. Only one question remains: Do foreign teams respect MLS enough to send a developmental player away from their system?

Which brings us to Bryan Arguez and Jeremiah White. This week it was reported that 2006 first-round draft pick Arguez is all but gone (sold) from DC United to Hertha Berlin. By selling him, one has to think DC doesn’t believe he will amount to much, right? Why else would they give him up? If the only other answer is that he wanted to go to Europe, than DC is being too nice. MLS teams need to have some self respect and hold onto developing players or loan them out initially instead of selling them.

White, on the other hand, chose Europe over MLS from the beginning and has had an itinerant path to his first national team roster selection and Danish club Aarhus. Steve Goff reported that by going to Aarhus he is making “an estimated 2 1/2 times more than he would have in MLS.” But what if went from Wake Forest to MLS and succeeded on the field? Would that salary gap still be there? Or is this an Andy Dorman situation wherein the money is just too good abroad?

White didn’t go to the draft combine after being named ACC player of the year and slid to a third round pick (New England Revolution) as teams came to understand his foreign aspirations. But that was in 2004, and White could be headed into his fifth MLS season. There is the possibility that had White gone to MLS he would be, if not making more money in MLS, worth more on the international market, not to mention avoiding the yearly change in teams, coaches, and style-of-play that he went through which can work against player development.

It’s a complex system of choice in the soccer world and what works for one player may not for another. Maybe if White went to MLS he would still be making the minimum. He certainly would not have had the chance to “learn 10 languages, see some remarkable places, and meet some incredible people.” It’s unfair to think all young American players should play in MLS, but its completely fair to think MLS should be doing more to keep them around.

—-

Which brings us to the draft. I view the MLS draft as I do the Major League Baseball draft. You have to look way down the road. With the state of youth development in this country, very few players appear ready to perform on draft day (in his draft rankings, Ives Galarcep only has a few players he thinks can have immediate impact and Steve Davis calls this the most unpredictable draft ever while helping my argument with his ‘Top 10 all-time draft steals’).

Now these are question in every sport’s draft – the job of the scouts and coaches to decide – and there are always surprises, but these kids aren’t college football running backs (though I think it’s interesting that bulky defenders seem to step into to the pro game quicker than most). I think it’s dangerous to make a big deal about the soccer draft, hyping players and the draft as an event. Generation Adidas and MLS salary cap rules further complicate choices, making the chosen few (players) worth more. Once youth systems are set up and running, the draft will mean even less; MLS should follow baseball and keep it’s draft, oh yeah sorry SuperDraft, low key.

—-

Ives writing for the Herald News says Giuseppe Rossi has until Feb 1 to change his mind and play for the USA national team instead of Italy. Ives says it aint happening. I’d like to say ‘great, now we can let it go,’ but I know that is wishful thinking. As Rossi improves and if he excels with Italy, this topic will be regurgitated for the rest of our lives.

—-

And finally some “quick hits” from the immense USSF press release on Saturday’s 2008 US MNT opener against Sweden:

* Of the 25 players in camp, the U.S. will dress 18 players, including two goalkeepers, with a maximum of six substitutions
* Danny Califf suffered a mild hamstring strain in training last Saturday but continues to improve and his status for the match will be determined on gameday. No other injuries have been reported
* Matt Pickens and Eddie Johnson were given permission to depart camp early. Steve Cronin replaced Pickens, leaving the final training roster at 25 players
* Landon Donovan is the leading capwinner on the roster, the 25-year-old having 96 international appearances and 34 goals to his credit (more on Donovan’s records later). At the other end of the spectrum, five players on the roster are looking to get their first cap with the full team: Steve Cronin, Clarence Goodson, Will Hesmer, Eddie Robinson, and Jeremiah White. All told, there are 20 players on the U.S. roster with 10 caps or less
* The U.S. and Sweden have met only five times previously, with the Swedes holding a slight edge with a 3-2-0 record. The teams crossed paths five months ago in Göteborg, Kim Kallstrom bagging the game’s only goal. Their most recent meeting on U.S. soil came nearly 10 years ago, with the U.S. grabbing a 1-0 victory on Jan. 24, 1998, in Orlando, Fla., on the strength of a Roy Wegerle finish
* Donovan is the only U.S. holdover from the match last August
* This is the USA’s fifth trip to The Home Depot Center, and the venue has been a kind host indicated by the unbeaten 4-0-1 record in Carson. After the debut against Denmark in January of 2004, a Taylor Twellman hat trick led the charge in the USA’s 5-0 win against Norway on Jan. 29, 2006, marking the largest margin of victory for the U.S. against a European team and tying the largest margin of victory ever against a non-CONCACAF team (5-0 vs. China on April 4, 1992). The U.S. nabbed a trio of victories at the HDC last year, opening the year with a 3-1 win against Denmark before recording consecutive wins against Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago in the first two group matches of the 2007 Gold Cup
* Two players on the roster got new addresses during the off season. Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Zach Wells packed his two MLS Cup rings and headed to four-time MLS champion D.C. United, while former FC Dallas defender Clarence Goodson was selected by the San Jose Earthquakes in the expansion draft before choosing to head overseas and sign with IK Start in Norway. Goodson will report to his new squad on Jan. 28
* All but four of the 25 players in camp are plying their trade in MLS. Along with Goodson, Aalborg BK captain Danny Califf leads the four players based in Scandinavia with the most MNT caps, the six-year international having appeared in the USA’s victories against Switzerland and South Africa earlier this year. Ramiro Corrales returns to the U.S. fold for the first time since 2004, while AGF Aarhus striker Jeremiah White gets his first-ever call-up to a senior national team camp
* MLS has 12 of 14 clubs represented on the roster. Two-time MLS Cup defending champions Houston Dynamo are one of three clubs to send a trio of players, along with MLS Cup runners up New England Revolution and Toronto FC
* The roster boasts several year-end award winners, including MLS Goalkeeper of the Year (Brad Guzan), Defender of the Year (Michael Parkhurst) and Rookie of the Year (Maurice Edu). In addition, New England Revolution forward Taylor Twellman finished third on the league goalscoring chart with 16 goals, the fourth time in his six-year career he has tallied 15 goals or more