O/T: Trinidad and Tobago 2, USMNT 1

[New Pal Boiler]

Wow, this thread is starting to feel like if you don't think soccer is the best sport around then you are just dumb and uneducated. Great way to sound elite and pull in the people that might be on the fence about the sport. No wonder it's not all that popular in the states.

Sorry - really didn’t mean to sound condescending. I meant what I said, but on the flip side, I didn’t play baseball, never liked it, think it’s boring, and I have had people tell me I just don’t understand it. And I probably don’t.

 

[ItalianBoiler]

Athletes are not the problem. The problem is the lack of technical and tactical ability. Watch Germany play. Not exactly a track team.

True but the problem is: how do you produce players with skills? What is that is lacking in the US soccer system to produce world class players? Questions with no easy answer...

On another note I don't think that the solution is try to make MLS a top league in the world. I mean, try to improve it as much as possible is good but I don't see it reaching a very high level anytime soon. And there's nothing wrong with it. A lot of country with not so good leagues produce very talented young guys that will eventually move to a top league when they are ready and keep developing as a player. Look at Belgium, Chile, Colombia and Croatia. They developed a lot of young guns that moved to a Premier League, Liga or Bundesliga club when they were ready (and Serie A as well, even though it is not as good as it use to be anymore), and they did it without having a great league in their country. That's the model to follow, imho.

 

[BoilerMaker P]

True but the problem is: how do you produce players with skills? What is that is lacking in the US soccer system to produce world class players? Questions with no easy answer...

On another note I don't think that the solution is try to make MLS a top league in the world. I mean, try to improve it as much as possible is good but I don't see it reaching a very high level anytime soon. And there's nothing wrong with it. A lot of country with not so good leagues produce very talented young guys that will eventually move to a top league when they are ready and keep developing as a player. Look at Belgium, Chile, Colombia and Croatia. They developed a lot of young guns that moved to a Premier League, Liga or Bundesliga club when they were ready (and Serie A as well, even though it is not as good as it use to be anymore), and they did it without having a great league in their country. That's the model to follow, imho.

I definitely agree with this. As soon as our young guys can play somewhere else internationally, they should. There is no MLS team that will provide the benefits of being around top quality players and managers from around the world in an overseas league. Just being exposed to their training methods, learning about their approach to the game, etc. is beneficial. Look at the top US players from the past few years: Landon Donovan, Brad Freidel, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Brian McBride, Tim Howard, etc...all had some experience in some level of the English FA. Pulisic is currently playing in the German Bundesliga.