Football (the round ball version) seems to have a couple of major hurdles left to overcome to really become a mainstream sport in the US.
First, attract the top level athletes early and have them stick with the game.
From limited my experience the US youth development system seems to be aimed at preparing players for college. By the time a player has a couple of years of college it’s too late, very few clubs will invest the effort to develop 20 year old players.
There are a few good players that come out the college system, but generally they look unprepared for the professional leagues. I think the key is to create a real academy system tied to the club sides, identify the really talented players at 14 to 16 years old and give them the intense quality training that only a professional setup can.
The US has a few potentially world class players, Howard, Adu, Altidore and Johnson come to mind. I believe Altidore, who is only 19, may have the potential to be the best player yet to come through the US youth system.
Howard was spectacular against Spain the Confederation Cup semi, probably the best performance in a team that overall had a great game. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the four players I names all play in Europe, and maybe more importantly most moved there early in their professional career.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, promote the game and create more of a demand for the game from the public. While there are some MLS success stories (Sounders rather spectacularly leading the way, Toronto FC, LA and one or two others), there are some other teams playing some good football but drawing less than 7 or 8,000.
A win in the Confederation cup could have helped in really establishing the beautiful game in the minds of US sports fans. A win over one of the strongest football nations (and probably the biggest “name” in the game) would have increased the momentum from the stunning win over Spain.
Don Garber (MLS commissioner) Said “We’ve always believed we deserved more respect than we receive, in sports you’ve got to earn respect, you can’t just ask for it, and the US (and by extension the MLS) earned some respect this past week.
Europe has always looked down a little on US football, despite being 14th in the current FIFA ranking and consistent qualification for the World Cup (something my England can’t always claim) drawing the US is always thought of as a relatively easy game by European fans. I think the win over Spain and taking the game to Brazil will cause more people to take the US national team, and by association the MLS a little more seriously in the future.
Garber followed up by adding “Today we proved that we can compete at the highest level, for 45 minutes, we had one of the best teams in the world shocked and on their heels.”
That’s true, but the question to Mr Garber needs to be what are you going to do with that success and growing respect to make a difference to the game in the US?