"They" have all the right answers, right? Check out this opinion piece at http://www.90soccer.com/90MinutesArticle.html
that is a TERRIFIC article. do we have anyone on this side of the pond who can write a story like this?
Very entertaining - and well balanced - piece. I'd love to knock back a few pints with the fans the author interviewed.
If you go to feedback on the 90 Minutes website, it's pretty cool. they ask all kinds of soccer-specific questions that are pretty interesting that you can submit. Don;t know if you win anything for a good answer though. two EPL tickets would be the shizzle.
I'm sick of you americans trying to convince yourselves that the MLS is on par with the european leagues and unfortunately for you it can never become as good as these leagues one thing is that the clubs in the MLS have no history most of the clubs in europe were formed in the 1800's secondly there is no champions league and top players would not leave europe for the MLS because of the great competition thirdly the handling of its young players look at Freddy Adu hes been called by the american as the saviour of american football which is exactly what you dont want to do if you want this talent to grow and unfortunately i think he is not on par with a lot of talents from europe which alot of you will not of heared of because they are being protected to become excellent players.
Well, we're pretty sick of twats like you who try to convince yourselves that most of us don't have a fairly solid grasp of the realities of the international game and of the strength of overseas leagues. And we're pretty ********ing tired of sub-literate rants about how overrated Adu is (overrated by WHO, dip**********?) and how we lack the tradition, passion, following, blah blah blah. Trust us--we know. Those of us who love the sport here are doing the best we can. Now scuttle off back to Liverpool, fvckface.
Ouch! You are a lively one aren't you? First off, nobody is calling Freddy Adu the "savior of US soccer", only sports writers who do not know anything of the game do and they are IDIOTS! Second, the comparison of MLS to the European leagues is hardly fair and quite frankly also stupid. Sure MLS is a league like any other, it plays the same game, but aside from the fact that the players are paid to play there is little in similarity for many reasons. HOWEVER, from a competitive standpoint of team vs team it is arguable to say the high end of MLS (and thats a trick, there is no high end, all teams are about the same level... parity sucks) the high end of MLS can compete with the lower end of the Premiership, Bundesliga, or La Liga. Yes Arsenal, Manchester, Bayern, Barcelona would probably destroy any team from MLS but they already do that in their own leagues as well to the smaller teams. Third, as for history, well you have us beat there fair and square and I would never doubt the passion of any English fan for his national team and club, or even any fan from another country in the EU. To be fair to this as well though we have had a bit more against our beloved sport here in the USA than any other country for it has many other sports to compete with. We had a failed league in the NASL due to overspending and now we have a league that is doing it right in MLS. We will soon have our teams in their own stadiums, we will have more sponsers jumping in for a cut of the pie now that we have a massive deal with Addidas, and slowly we will have passionate fans that will rival those of many of our European counterparts. So if your sick of hearing MLS fans comparing their own teams to the greatest teams of this Earth, get over it. MLS is going to grow, it will become a force and it will become one of the better leagues of this Earth and it will eventually have players as popular as any you will see in any other part of the world. When will this happen? It already is, we have new stadiums being built, we have a $150 million dollar contract coming with Addidas, we have billionaire owners who believe the US will be a big thing, we have a great national team, and we have Freddy Adu the savior of soccer in the US. Oh no, did I just say that?
you have a total of 4 posts so far on bigsoccer and each one of them either involves bashing of the state of the american game in general or specific american players. do i see a trend here? why don't you go flame the canadians... or just ******** off you paul mccartney soundin' mother********er.
i cant believe the country where the MLS is are the only people in the world that cant see that the MLS has no potential and never will. It's as if your trying really hard to convience yourselves that they can try and catch up with the european elite because only now are you realising how beautifull the game of football can be. Typical american response by the way exactly what i was going for.
So what were you expecting if you rile up a bunch of Americans on a Ameican based message board? In the words of Mike Seagroves..... "Go die in a fire."
Fun Tip #1: Punctuation and it's proper use makes it much easier for others to understand what you are trying to say. Fun Tip #2: Your savvy grasp of the viewpoints of an entirely different culture clearly identifies you as either a sullen pre-teen, or someone of equal or lesser socio-psychological development. Now that I have that out of the way... Loved the article. Especially the quote about how some Britons are frightened about FIFA being Americanized with bigger goals and playing quarters. Admittedly, I would have these same fears, but I think the MLS and its evolution has helped ease them...how the penalty shootout was phased out and the time-keeping system was changed to be consistent with the rest of the world. I think MLS is doing it the right way, too, and I'm a happy and proud fan of US Soccer.
Blow off Limey! Its only a matter of time before we plant the Stars and Stripes in the center of Old Trafford and have all you limey bastards singing the Star Spangled Banner!
As for the relevant issue here, the article itself, this quote shocked the hell out of me: ” In fact, three quarters of those interviewed believed the U.S.A.’s chances of winning the World Cup in the next three attempts to be moderate or better." I daresay they are even more optimistic than we dare be (in truth as opposed to in press conferences).
The nervousness and fear aren't actualy coming from other leagues in the world but from other (main) sports here in US over the increasing popularity of soccer.
They have history, 9 years ... by the way, when someday ( i'm sure the day will come ) we combine the MLS with the other amateur leagues which most of it's clubs have long history as a team, some of them even better history than some clubs in the EPL, and we change to relegation system as those in europe, than i think we'll be in great track to compete with Euro leagues.
This post and almost all like it are part of the "fear" and "nervousness" described in this article. Most Europeans I've talked to on my travels agree that the US could become a force in soccer if they put their mind to it. Europeans, especially the British, think of football as "their" sport, and don't want us to interfere. We all know MLS isn't one of the top leagues in the world. It's ours, though, and we'll defend it. 1) What does the "history" of European teams have to do with current results. MLS won't make it because the teams weren't founded in 1880? Nonsense 2) Freddy Adu is doing just fine, and the league has in it's 9 year history developed many good young players. DaMarcus Beasley was one of the first US players to be completely groomed by MLS. I guess he just transferred to PSV because our development programs blow. 3) Right now we're not aiming for any of the top European talent to come here. Frankly we don't give a damn. We're happy developing US soccer, and we're attracting the top talent in the CONCACAF region. That's fine for us, and we like it that way. You can keep David Beckham, we'll take Eddie Johnson.
All you have to do is look at history. 200 years ago the US was a country mocked and ridiculed by England, the same way MLS is being now by little teenagers. It will never survive, no history, no infrastructure, no appreciation, no military, no talent, direction, this, that , the other... ...and look what happened. The same thing is happening, in the same ways, with soccer now. The fear mongers and haters lash out because they are afraid. They need something to hold on to now because of their own insecurities. The best part is that this malcontent, jealous, fearfull, narrow minded little child with yellowing crooked teeth and pale skin named Ludi ass, who will be cleaning toilets for the Irish soon, will be alive to see it. It's wonderfull! Absolutely wonderfull! History repeats, and we are living it. Enjoy US supporters. Be afraid little child. Very afraid. BTW - Did you get the response you wanted? I'm trying. Maybe this will help. As Everton looks down at the Pool from the standings maybe you can throw some more riches at the queen for no other reason than that she can wipe her behind with scented cloth on your pound. Maybe you can give her a hand. If you want more crude responses that you were so cleverly fishing for let me know? You are obviously very bright and sophisticated. The Irish will love having you work for them. Even though chimps have more manners, your labor comes cheaper, and with less brains. This is fun! Please try and wind me up. A little child like you wil agitate me to no end I won't be able to sleep. I wait nervously and afraid. The best part is that you will probably never be able to break out of the small world you live in. Wonderfull times I say. Wonderfull.
the usa talent pool is on the ascent... the days when we just produced keepers is over...keller and friedel have established a certain level of american keeping... before the field players were just reyna and ramos and 'll throw harkes in there too.... the emergence of donovan and beasley represents the tip of the iceberg... there are even more coming with szetela and gaven offering even more ability, and while some might mock adu... ..watch the kids growth the past year, and while he's NOTready for palying agisnt men internationally, his play at the u-17 and u-20 suggests his talents are remarkable... and with peter nowak mentoring him....freddy will learn what is needed to be a professional...and the euros will lust after him...
I agree that the USA could become a good international side because of the sheer size of the country but thats nothing to do with what i am saying. I'm talking about the league look at the brazilian league it has good teams but it is not considered a great league because of the champions league and when the young brazilians find out what they are missing out on the move to europe. This will happen for as long as there is football. Never mind about how good your players will be in the future (your words not mine) or how good your stadiums will be it can never be as good.