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

2006 was a big year for US soccer, but most have argued it’s more akin to infamy than fame. Respect has been a tough sell abroad, while MLS has still been a hard sell here, ten years after its inception. MLS is expanding without a known talent pool to fill the teams, while youth development is only beginning to provide results. In a sentence, 2006 has been a lot of talk and not a lot of action. That goes for the Stay Puft team we sent into Germany and the laurel-sitting brass of the USSF. When most would agree the environment is ripe for the picking, it seems the marketing and actionable qualities of our game are overlooked for pomp and circumstance. When looking back on the past year, the best thing I have learned, right here, right now, is that the gratitude is gone.

Now maybe we can get serious.

Thanks to the wonderfully cyclic world of sports, every off-season brings new life and hope. For the US MNT, 2007 brings in a new camp with a new coach and a crop of new players, preparing for new tournaments and nothing to worry about, really, for at least a few months. MLS should continue to grow, finally setting down some roots, at least on paper, in the form of youth development. And our small crop of maybe-stars will have their chance to shine: Mr. Adu finally has a chance to prove his point without excuse in Salt Lake, while Mr. Dempsey seems all-but-gone to England. On top of that, we have more players abroad than ever before, which more than anything else, acts the pulpit for our cry of improvement, if not victory.

But it’s a changing world, and victory will not be an easy thing to hold on to, should we ever get there. Competition over players, for example, is only getting tougher, and where once we expected the influx of immigrants into our player pool, it no longer will be. It doesn’t take a global economist to tell you this trend will continue. African nations, historically the leader in player exports to America, are getting more competitive every day and becoming viable options for players looking for not just a World Cup appearance, but playing time and success past the opening round. This makes it all the more important to right the US soccer ship, and place it in a direction that will entice players who now more than ever hold multiple passports. The U.S. Soccer’s International Relations Program has no doubt more than just charity in mind.

This begs a serious question that I believe may be the biggest and most daunting for American soccer as it pertains to the whole system, from youth up to the MLS and the National program. Accept for a moment that we need foreign-born players, coaches, and administrators to take American Soccer to the next level, just a small business start-up eventually needs outside help to take their invention or version of some product or service to the next level. I believe this is fact, and we have already seen this addition of talent work in our favor. Historically, America is the land of opportunity, our welcoming shores lauding the imprint of millions of feet. But is that still the case? All things being equal, would soccer players want to come to the US as opposed to, I don’t know, Ukraine?

Free Trade

I should state, MLS aside, that I believe sending our best products out to the demanding world of foreign leagues will only help American soccer, both as an exportable product and a lighthouse to attract international players. Yes, it’s a two way street – imports and exports – and in the end, it’s goal, my goal, is to boil our soccer pot to the point where you can’t tell it from the Russian leagues, for instance, who are importing Brazilian talent like Americans import oil. Why aren’t they coming to the MLS?

Call it American-centric, but I have a hard time believing given similar salaries and competition, that a player would rather go to Ukraine or even Moscow instead of the United States. But at present, going to Moscow gives a much better chance at publicity (MLS clubs aren’t even ranked in international polls) that might land you in the futball fantasy world of England, Spain, Italy, or Germany. You may see Champion’s League minutes – Beaseley saw interest in his contract spike with a strong showing in 2005 – World Club Championship appearances, and so on. MLS players get none of that, no matter if their name is Beckham, Dempsey, or some lesser talent. A two-week, unpaid training session seems to be the best MLS-ers can do at present. A North American club championship is a step in the right direction – as is the US MNT entry into the Copa America – but it is a far cry from the opportunities and international stages available to players kicking their dreams elsewhere. This reality gives substance to men like Dempsey who shrug off the idea that they are in it simply for the paycheck, which too is much larger – And will continue to be so, Beckham rule or not - in other leagues. It’s an easy out for cynics to say they’re just running toward the money, but nearly every variable figuring into a career decision is favoring a departure from MLS.

So as we work to build our soccer institutions, what can MLS offer? The lone thing MLS has going for it right now is the nation it resides in, horrible international politics or not. Landon Donovan chose to play in the US because it is his home. His priorities are askew from most world-class athletes, who want the best for their game, which isn’t always the best for their personal lives. Again, guys will go to Russia and the Ukraine if they think their games will benefit, and they are staying away from the US because they think it won’t. MLS is the college soccer of the world. You go if you have no other choice, but you’re not thrilled about it. It isn’t a goal. It’s a stepping stone at best, and a loosely embedded one at that. Step into college soccer, and most agree your game won’t grow as it might elsewhere. Those who have come in the past and will come in the future do so because improving their game is something long forgotten. They most often come to the US for a celebrity rebirth, knowing a declining game here still means a spot in the starting 11, instead of a reserve position. But the few who have moved or are rumored to do so, express interest in America more than MLS. MLS is their vehicle for establishing residence for family and gaining the freedom they often lost long ago in soccer-crazed countries.

Let’s look at Ronaldo. He has long had a love affair with the US and New York in specific. He sees what America can offer him and his family. Maybe one day a Ronaldo spawn will play for our national team. But that’s hell and gone from where we are. If somehow this talent gap could be filled, surely the shores of the US will once again welcome immigrants with open arms and a solid left foot, homeland security or not.

How to begin filling this gap is a whole different problem than dissecting it. I think the best way to start to manage this seemingly insurmountable issue is to begin integrating MLS into the fabric of international soccer as others - this is not an original idea - have proposed. Bringing foreign dollars, owners (such as Red Bull), foreign coaches, general managers, and more freely swapping players, whether on loan or full transfers, will aid in this challenge. Why not let the Man U’s of the world lone their players to MLS in their teens? Presently, they believe their youth is better served within their own programs, but if we could instill a confidence that MLS can offer a safe haven for growth, I don’t see why this couldn’t happen. In short, we need to find ways to make our way from the kids’ table to the big table, the bargaining table, where MLS is viewed as equal, or at least a contributing cog, to its competitors.

This does not mean MLS needs to follow the NASL into the senior citizen industry. Buying aging players didn’t work in the past, so what makes MLS think it will now? What it means, is that within this bargaining, MLS will have to accept its place for the foreseeable future as a lesser league with much more to gain from their foreign competitors than to offer. Though, we will always have some talented players, we need to look at it as one giant market, in which we can buy and sell. If one league (or industry player) wants to buy up all the stars, so be it. Think of it this way: The EPL is the Yankees, while MLS is somewhere closer to the Royals. In that regard, we should be more welcoming of transfer offers, especially in as much we are still in the adolescence of our growth curve. MLS is acting now as a protective parent, overbearing at times to the point where players simply want out. And as we’ve seen in other sports, when it comes to this point, rarely does the team get real value in return. Several players, not just the headline grabbing name of Dempsey, seem to be at that point, and MLS would be wise to sell them now then eventually get less or nothing at all in return.

Do we let them go or force them to stay? It’s horrible that what seems to be best for each party is working against the other. If we accept the emigration, how do we get a return in our investment? Cash, no matter how much, hardly seems to be the answer, unless MLS can prove they know how to spend it properly. With little history to base transfer fees on, accepting a lower-than-you-might-want-in-a-perfect-world offer now will only help your chances down the road. The more Americans who go abroad and turn in successful campaigns, the more clubs will look to the US for new blood. Basic capitalism teaches the more demand there is, the more bargaining power the producer will have. As Gil Scott-Heron said, when the producer names its tune, the consumer has to dance. Unfortunately, our products aren’t yet up to what the competition produces or at least are not thought of as such, and thus we must accept a lower price for the time being.

Getting Up to Speed

Building a soccer nation is not something that happens overnight, and not something that can be imported, thus let it be known I’m not calling out the dead. Like global warming, there is time to stop our retreat, but the time to act is now. Maybe one day MLS will be in the sight-line of the world’s best players, but for the time being, MLS must be producing a more saleable product. This goes for the game on the field and the players who are playing in it. With that reasoning, I believe the single greatest positive for American soccer this year is the creation (on paper) of a youth development system. USSF’s residency program houses 40 players in Bradenton, Florida, and everybody agrees from outsiders to the insider of insiders, U-17 Coach John Hackworth, that more could be done, but right now, we’re doing the best we can. MLS just recently began talking about the formation of a development program, but each team seems lost when it comes to setting one up, something MLS doesn’t seem poised to do institutionally. This leaves a long learning curve, begging for people to ‘do the best they can’. And that is unacceptable. When USSF is sitting on a mountain of cash and doing very little with it, it’s even harder to accept doing the best one can. If people would show some support, ‘doing the best we can’ could translate simply to ‘doing the best.’

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New Year’s Resolution: I will give more leeway to MLS progress
One thing I want this year: A striker. Can we please get a striker who can play facing the goal with the ball at his feet? I’m tired of the hardworking ‘good target’.

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