winchester73 For all the growth in American soccer over the last 25 years, the USMNT remains stagnant.
My quick perspective on this… US soccer has generations of development to go before it catches up with the soccer culture that has thrived for many years in other countries. The men’s soccer is improving but it still suffers from this lag in organization and player development from the earliest age on up… and it shows… when push comes to shove like it does in international competition that is the World Cup, the US side will show its true level of play.
A lessor player and side will try to compensate… soccer is a game of conditions… when conditions change, players and teams must adjust… this is a fundamental of training (and life). When it’s not working, you must change what you are doing to respond to conditions… or continue to flail and wither in the face of a stronger side. The poorest adjustment is player-on-player violence… if you can’t beat ’em, then beat ’em up. You’ll see this in a lot of games. Next is physical speed of play… never mind the mental game… assemble the fastest side you can and try to out-run and out-man the other side… this is where US men’s soccer is from high school on up… they run hard and fast, even when they should just stand still and wait. But physical speed is not good enough against a premier side… there is much more to playing the game well. US men play overseas to develop with the best because they can’t get that training in the US… their window to develop and play at their level or next level is brief, so they must go and play where it is, where they can. In youth soccer, a rising player must travel to train and play and excel with peers.
US women are doing better internationally because Title 9 and affluence have afforded them a developmental edge over women in other countries who haven’t had the same opportunities to develop at a young age. And, because women are not inclined to resort to violence or rely on physical speed… they are forced to adjust to conditions in a more intelligent manner… they compensate by developing skills and their mental game, like they should. The same can be said for the smallest, weakest player on any youth team that loves the game and sticks with it despite the parent coaches… the runt youth player will learn to play more skilled and creative soccer before the strongest, fastest pre-adolescent jock on the team. My adage is… don’t underestimate any player, any side.
As for US fans… that’s a whole nuther story. They will progress as US soccer progresses, if they can navigate through all of the US influences… and ignore most of what commentator Stu Holden spews ad nauseam during a game.
OE
