MLS, the USA being an underdog, more: http://sports.yahoo.com/m/sow/news/ap/20020912/ap-us-friedel.html
Good article, I think its fine that teams overlook us, well just beat em on the field. Realisticly though, MLS is not a bad league, they are not the EPL any other top league in Europe, their is tradition there that will take a while for the MLS to obtain becuase it is so young. It has taken some ginant steps though, look at how it helped out in this past World Cup, just give it a little while longer and itll help even more.
Did you think he was gonna lie about the league? I think he was spot on with his comments. He stood up for the league later in the article saying how difficult it was to start a league from scratch and that no one would find that easy. I think that article might make a few Brits think twice about American Footy. Without question, I think our National Team looks a lot more impressive to the foriegn eye than our league does, and rightly so.
I guess since 12 of the 23 players were from Europe it is technically true most were from Europe. Of course, 3 of them only saw pine compared to only 1 player from MLS who never got in.
1 was a goalie, another got injuried, and the third was well, French. I guess it also technically true that the majority of starters in each game plays in Europe.
Naked self-promotion. He is saying "I am better than guys like McBride, Donovan, Mathis, Pope and Beasley because I play in a much better league." May be true, but recognize it for what it is.
True. In the first 2 games we started 6 MLSers and only 5 in the other 3. Of course, I think if we count the subs, it would be tipped into a majority for MLS.
One way to look at this is to look at who our best players were. To me that would be Sanneh, O'Brien, Reyna, and Donovan. 3 of 4 play for big time european leagues (and in the case of JOB a big time club)
The style of the article doesn't look English to me, particularly "The United States was a surprise quarterfinalist".
That can be said, but also take in consideration that at the time of the World Cup, KK was the Spurs starter and not "...at the time [of the World Cup] was the backup at Tottenham." In terms of MLS, I read Friedle's comments towards the league as a whole, not about individual players.
i'd say that the respect that Friedel, Keller, Reyna, O'Brien, Stewart, et.al. earn by playing well in good leagues day in and day out is as, if not more, important as the result in the World Cup for respect for American players. Their continued success will continue to build respect amongst players and coaches.
Spot on. Without Reyna, Friedal and Keller earning MOM honors weekly, the US is still the equivalent of South Korea. Nice run, but it won't happen again. They add an incredible amount respectibility to the US program.
Great argument. The only appropriate respone is UH HUH. Put less colorfully, true or not, concious or not, by building up the role of the European-based players he increases his own stature, which seems to me to be a natural human thing to do.
Actually, I think we are seen as the equivalent of South Korea in most eyes. Unlike many of you, it doesn't bother me because what matters is the game played on the field not reputation.
Already, MLS contributes as much as our European based contingent. When you factor in the number of MLS players that go overseas, then it's obvious that MLS is the key. We can win just fine wihout two of the three on your list.
I suppose this will now become the litmus test for MLShomer or Europoseur: Which of the following is true - A) The MLS is not a bad league. B) The Bund 4 is at the level of an American High School team. C) Neither. D) Both. You have five minutes. Use only a #2 pencil and no talking among yourselves.