How many years till our 2nd and 3rd division are strong?

Actually the second division NASL could grow pretty fast.
I beleive it was the Indy Eleven who is focusing its scouting area in Concacaf Caribean and central American countries.
Many of the players living in these countries would be more than happy to live in the US or Canada and there are just not enough internatinal spots in the MLS.
The NASL will get them a lot of exposure for MLS scouts being the league is right here on the continent.

As for the D3 level. having MLS affiliatee USL Pro teams as a AAA minor league team with a baseball kind of set up should grow that level very quickly with players knowing they may be a step away from the call up to the big club and a place where younger players can get playing time and be a called up if needed or when they are ready for a regular playing spot with the big league club.

Take it a step further PDL affiliates with MLS clubs and academy players are beginning to play a key role as these academy players can go off to the NCAA and return to their PDL affiliate for the summer.

 

In the early 1980's we had a player come here from Germany who wanted a try out with the Cosmos. Some NY soccer people got in touch with me to see him play in a friendly with my adult team first. Nice guy big 6'3" was an offensive mid I like big players down the spine of the team. He played in the German second divison.

I even let him stay at my house.

Well he played and was good, but not that good so he did not get that tryout. I offered him a place on my team for the balance of our Team then he could get a try out tge next season. He opted to go back to Germany.

Third divisions of other countries are just not that good even now.

The best second division in Europe might be in Italy.

 

You are right that 2nd division in Mexico rocks. That is why their national team is was so awesome this year with so many great players to pull from. Heck they even got to play an extra special game against New Zealand because they are so awesome.

 

My guess would be he had played in (as in just a few games in) the 2nd division, rather than being a player of 2nd division standard.

Why would an established German 2nd tier pro be interested in playing for a lower-tier US team in the early 1980s?

 

Very few players from the second and third divions of any country make it their countries first division. Unless it is through relegation.

Best 2nd division player that I can think off the top was toto Schillci who made it up.

 

Why do I have to google anything. I have you to tell me. I had a player who played on a team in the bottom half of the Italian second division a year before the MLS started he was making a 100K for that season.

So how much do players get now at the bottom of the Mexican second division?

 

I don't follow Mexican soccer. First division is an even division where anyone can win the title? That is very unusual usually it's the teams that can afford to buy the best players. So it usually the same group of clubs that win titles year in and year out in every country.

So tell me in the last ten years whats how many different mexican first div clubs teams have one the titles.

I don't use search engines if I can help it. Paranoid about the government knowing too much about me. I redid our living room so I did a window treatment search. Then all of a sudden even on this site I saw advertisements on window shades and blinds too much of a coincidence to suit me. That is also why I am not on Facebook and crap like that.

 

Germany didn't even have a truly professional second division at the time. Until 1974/75 the second division consisted of 5 leagues which were mostly amateur. Then the officially professional 2. Bundesliga was introduced, playing in 2 groups of 20 teams each originally. However, quite a few teams remained semi-pro at best by today's standards, and attendances varied hugely between teams (from 20k for some top teams to below 1000 for small clubs, many of which have completely disapeared by now). The nationwide second division was only introduced in 1981, and it didn't become fully professional by modern standards until after that.

Either way, if you (nicklaino I mean) still got the name of the player, it's easy to look him up.

 

define 'strong'

 

When the sport shakes the stigma of being primarily for immigrants and well heeled 'burbanites.

 

When I played in the cosmopolitan soccer league it was all immigrants. I started to coach kids in the cosmopolitan junior soccer league in 1970 the kids were immigrants or the sons of immigrants.

 

In a generation now growing up with parents in fear of Gridiron football and Concussions There may be an injection of athletes that may have gone by way of Gridirion Football onto the soccer pitch.
I doubt that there will be a lack of Gridiron football talent but now there is a huge abundance.
In Canada Hockey will always be #1 and right now football has become a strong #2 with larger athletes ( Canadian Olineman) eyes on NFL$$$$ as well as CFL fame.
Again a % that in the past would not have considered soccer will be considering soccer now.

 

I'm not so sure about this, because soccer has also built a reputation for being a concussion risk (even if not as much of a risk as gridiron football). Basketball and baseball are the more likely beneficiaries of the fear of concussions. Soccer's growing in popularity as a spectator sport, but for entirely different reasons.

 

Not the same sport, I know, but I went to a rugby match the other week and the match programme had an interesting piece on the subject. Like soccer, rugby has also picked up reputation of late for being a sport where there's a risk of concussion injuries. It was casting doubt on the conclusions though, as when you go looking for evidence of ex-players suffering from these "punch-drunk" symptoms in later life, they just aren't there.

The same does appear to be true for soccer. Some ex-players do die young, but it's invariably through drink, and there doesn't appear to be a noticeable incidence of players suffering ill-effects in later life.

 

It could come down to the least risky of sports when it comes to concussions. Baseball would be an obvious for non concusion non contact sports but you can be the best atlete in the world but with baseballs unique skill of hitting a round ball with a round bat and hitting it squarely could be the hardest skill of all sport.
Not sure how basketball will fit into all of this but basketball already has its great share of great athletes on the sports landscape for North American athletes to adapt there athletic ability to the basketball skill set

 

Too much of a p'ssing contest as to which league is really first division, to have a definite second and third division. Even if you consider second and third division pretty poor in other countries, here it is much worse, much less organized (assuming you think USL Pro and NASL are tied for first division).

Are there even team standards for NALS and USL Pro, beyond stadium size and capital available? I know for USL Pro, they have amateur contracts for players who want to keep NCAA eligibility, which basically negates any real potential to be a first division league.

We can't have it both ways, pro soccer and college soccer. College soccer is a pastime, pro soccer is a career. You can go to college at any age, you can't play high-level soccer at any age.

 

Is there a strong 2nd division in the world that is not part of a pro/rel pyramid?

There's your answer.

 

Is that a pro/rel league in the world that brought in the system before it had a strong 2nd tier?

 

How many NASL teams are ready to jump up to MLS standards by January 2015? Keep in mind team will not be determined until Mid-Nov? So they have 45 dayd to get cash calls ready. And 3 months to get stadium upgrades done.