his absence was felt on the pitch against Honduras where the team looked pathetic. We are a nation of 310+ million, a wealthy nation and can't gather 21 respectable players to defeat Honduras??? http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/donovan-conspicuous-by-his-absence/
Well, if you listen to someone on this board, one would think that by the sheer number of people we have in the US, we would be a soccer super power. But that's just not the case though, is it? I should take that back, we are a soccer superpower...in women's soccer, the US is certainly one of, if not the, best in the world. Why hasn't it translated to the men's side? I think there might be a few factors, but the main one just might be culture. These countries live & breathe soccer, while we have too many other thing going on. While we have sports "seasons", they're playing soccer year round. That would be my guess. I certainly think we'll miss Donovan for the near future, but he is getting up there in age & would have to be replaced eventually anyway. The US will just have to keep plugging along & hopefully develop the talent we do have & maybe someday lightening will strike & we'll be relevant on the pitch. We have had some bright spots through the years(beating Spain 2-0, was thought of at the time a corner turner, put it didn't work out that way) & hopefully we'll get more of those moments.
The vast majority of men in the US could care less about soccer. It wasn't even a sport offered to any high school program in the county I live in last year. Secondly, in many states HS soccer season mirrors football season, and with footballs popularity the vast majority of top athletes flock towards American football over soccer. And guys like myself can't bare to watch it. When I see a player act like he took a bullet after getting touched I want to puke. Heck, more people show up to see Disney on Ice than they do to see a Columbus Crew game. It's amazing the Crew is able to pay the electric bill every month.
the number playing in a nation is quite irrelevant, it's the quality of the training that counts...the knowledge of the game is low, kids in particular are over coached by bad coaches, many would develop better if they were not coached at all...the average Honduran kid will be technically better, more creative and physically and mentally tougher...so even with a tiny population they can always put a competitive team on the field..
the US lead woman's soccer by default, other countries never played woman's soccer they never took it seriously, but that's changing and huge improvements are seen in other countries... are you claiming other countries don't have other things going on? you would be wrong...season's, soccer isn't played year round, summer is break time, in most countries summer is just too hot or humid to play... Spain match was an aberration...any team can lose one game, upsets are part of sports, winning a one off is not an indication of overall competence...
an opinion in your own mind apparently...2009 USA census Bureau list Basketball as with 24million participants as the most popular team sport, followed by #2 soccer at 13million, softball 11.8million, baseball 11.5million, Volleyball, 10.7million, football 8.87million...soccer easily outdistances football...and as former certified coach I'd like you to explain how "top athletes" know they're top athlete's is there a grading system in place at birth?...sport selection is done by parents and kids, they play what they enjoy no one gravitates to a sport because they're a "top athlete"... guys like yourself don't watch it because you haven't a clue what it's about or what it requires...you judge a entire sport on a couple of highlights on the evening sports, diving is a tactic/cheating/embellishing is a tactic used in every contact sport, even football... MLS is growing every year in attendance as the quality of the teams improve... in 2011 it officially passed the NBA as the third most popular professional sport in the USA by attendance...
. total agreement. I've seen too many "coaches" try to compartmentalize soccer. All player's I've trained (many) can use both feet and as they get older, have the confidence to adapt along as the match progresses. I've had parents who ranted and raved as I played all the 8 year olds including the "bad players" because the team would lose. By the time the kids reached middle and HS those same parents wanted their kids on the teams I trained. They understood the development process I used And my biggest record of all of which I am most proud not one female I trained has gone down with a knee injury in HS or college. I hammered home balance, stance, always being ready and aware. The boys were a different story. They just got into fights when their testosterone was raging But, it really is sad to see kids I was working with gladly take a ball and play juggling games or other things using the ball while others their age were standing in lines and taking shots on net.
Epic statistic fail there pal. Football is a sport played by males, soccer is a sport played by males and females. Now, if you'll read my original post carefully, you'll noticed I mentioned 'men'. Want to try again? That must be it. If I don't care for something, it must be because I don't know anything about it. That's great! I guess we missed the memo in Columbus, where they are giving away tickets in the hopes that someone will buy a hotdog or two at the stadium.
Not to sound like an old guy, but kids prefer to play the video game version of the sport these days.
Believe it or not, sports participation is about where it was 10 years ago. Some showed a small decline, while others showed a gain. Soccer is the same from 2001-2011. http://www.nsga.org/files/public/2001thru2011_10Year_Participation_History_website.pdf
That was pretty damn depressing I have to say. No offense to Honduras or anything...It just seemed like the US was getting better for a while and you'd think with someone Klinsmann managing them they should be able to take care of a team like Honduras easily.
the lesson I learned from International and professional coaches is the best teacher of the game is the the game itself, coaches guide and facilitate the learning process, it sounds simple but it's difficult to do...inadequate coaches usually someone's dad kill the learning process, I've seen many potentially great players handicapped by coaches who retarded the learning process... likewise I never had a girl go down with knee injuries, like you I worked on balance, stance, agility, strength from a very early age...the most common injury I had with girls was concussions I kept the fighting under control but there are inevitable incidents on the field that could be defined as "legal" violence...or just what the referee didn't see... I like your style your kids are lucky...
believe it or not soccer will challenge NFL for the most popular sport in the USA in one generation, two at most...it's already the 2nd most popular sport in the crucial 12-24yr age group....what's even worse for the NFL it's more popular with women, what sport do you think those future mom's are going to direct their kids to?
failure to grasp the significance is yours alone...soccer has a more solid fan base to grow upon...women don't watch NFL, they watch an event, more people watch the Superbowl for the TV commercials than the game...women who watch soccer do so because they love the game... that's absolutely it you comments verify you have no clue...at least that you admit it... ya and no NFL , NBA, MLB, NHL franchise was ever moved because of poor revenue or attendance...lol...
You are all over the place. You compared numbers for a male-female sport against a male sport. If you cut your numbers in at least half, meaning males alone, more American men play football than soccer. Get it? Remember me mentioning 'men'? We are talking about the US MENS TEAM, correct? Good god. And please don't start down the path of football vs. soccer. If you want to compare numbers for a NFL game vs. a soccer game in the US (attendance, revenue, viewership, whatever) you'll look foolish. They're not going anywhere, if that's your argument. It's been the same story since 1994. There are high school football games that have higher attendance every week.
