Did you read the numbers I posted? The number of kids in the Netherlands, supposedly exposed to your "broader and deeper base of understanding of the game", is minimal. It is even news overhere if a kid from a wellknown former pro player makes it into a one of the youth teams of our pro clubs, or even the first team, so rare is it. But keep on beating that lame drum that our pro/national teams get flooded by kids nurished by former etc. if it makes you feel better.
Yeah, I read your numbers. But the whole "broader and deeper" part extends from the fact that there are new professional players every year. It's not about how many there are playing at this very moment. It's cumulative. As I've said.
Let me take a stab at that. 1. Soccer is known as the beautiful game, right? There is a (fairly large) faction of fans that think soccer should be judged for aesthetics like figure skating rather than determining the winner by who scores more goals. They’re the same people who hated Gyasi Zardes, who scored ugly goals. That faction of fans underrates players who have the physical ability and smarts and determination to be in the right place at the right time. 2. There is another set of fans (with a lot of overlap, but not total overlap) who underrate athleticism. 3. And then as you said, it’s an anti MLS pose.
1. You’re being unnecessarily aggressive here. 2. You’re doing the same thing you do in other forums, namely, taking your small, idiosyncratic nation and thinking the rest of the world is just like tiny, tiny, Holland.
Isn’t this the same group of geniuses who posted “Weston McKennie is a terrible soccer player” when McKennie was like 20 so they could pretend their own client or product was vastly superior? Some guy who never made it past third-tier European leagues? I have been reading soccer stuff for a very long time. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything useful from 3four3. Like, ever.
It was something to the effect of "Weston McKennie is ********ing awful. The USMNT will never do anything with Weston McKennie."
That rings a bell. It was one of those unnecessary mean teen attacks that was disqualifyingly unprofessional, even if it had been accurate. But it was hilariously wrong, so it called into question both their character and their competence.
The severe bullying situation at their club, which they swept under the rug because it involved their golden children, already had displayed their complete lack of character. Frankly I think the opinions on McKennie had more to do with racism than their eye for talent.
The 3four3 narrative is so incredibly stupid. Only a tiny fraction of professionals every play in meaningful games for the national team. So, to say the National Team is some kind of Golden Ticket is just dumb. Club soccer is a meritocracy, but national teams aren't for the simple reason national teams primarily exist to try to win a very very short tournament every 2 to 4 years. The coach is going to pick the players they feel will best help them win 3-5 or 6 games crammed into a very short time frame. It's also a team sport where players have to work together. Thus, individual talent is not going to be the top the criteria for selection. Players are not evaluated in a vacuum.
Of course it's dumb. But 343 has made a career of insulting players like Patrick and claiming they suck. When someone like him succeeds, they need to claim he only made it because of the national team call up, and that if their guys got that call up, they'd do even better! Dude, there are hundreds of guys better than Agyemang completely undiscovered! And they play soccer the right way! It wasn't that long ago that there were a lot of 343 fans in the US fanbase.
There still are some but I think people are starting to finally see that the Kleibans just... aren't right ever and have been net negatives for their clients.
look you guys can deflect and try to avoid any and all criticism of MLS (and soccer development in the USA) but the US has almost the MOST youth male soccer players in the world, most of them do not have a pro parent or coach. on a percentage basis, the USA is doing a terrible job in terms of turning this "raw material" into polished pros who can help the USMNT.....and, furthermore, since MLS insists on establishing itself as the de facto monopoly of soccer, in the USA and has already killed off a lot of non-MLS clubs, leagues, bradenton, etc since it came into being....MLS deserves the smoke here. look at the USMNT and you will find - AS ALWAYS - its best players are dual nats born and raised in foreign countries or players with parents who were pros/coaches. of course a player like a micheal bradley or a jonathan klinsmann or a gio reyna or seb berhalter has a huge advantage in development and chances for becoming a pro player - due to genetics, due to "soccer rich environment", due to the opportunity of being raised and guided by the best, and due to network effects of soccer being a "who you know" sport in the usa. what im saying is these examples are significantly overrepresented in the current player pool of the current usmnt - to such an overwhelming extent - that it is an indictment of soccer development in the USA, and by extension, of MLS' job of developing players! even guys like weah, mckennie and pulisic ALL played in europe extensively as kids/teens!!!! experience, without which, I HIGHLY doubt they would be who they are today! ultimate conclusion: MLS is wasting youth talent at the same extremely high rates that the USA basically always has for decades, since all of us have been alive! because if you dig in to who is actually making a splash with the USMNT - almost all of them have some kind of rare advantage that the average normal american kid has no chance of having. im talking in terms of being a USMNT star. not merely being a bench player in MLS. depsite all of this supposed investment by MLS into its academies......i remain unimpressed at the end results. yes, of course, it is better than not having MLS there....obviously. but in terms grading MLS on how it is doing - truly - in terms of player development of AMERICAN TALENT - i would give it a low grade. and that hasnt changed in decades. or ever, really. for that to change, I would need to start seeing champions league level ballers turned out on the regular that arent the sons of USMNT legends or dual nats born and raised in foreign countries.
Me: I'm glad that we are now consistently out producing Mexico. Adam Tash: I'm very upset that have yet to out produce Brazil
personal attacks are how I know my argument is golden....its the last resort of people who cant find any fault in my logic
what???? where do you even come up with this baloney? the chart i shared shows potential.....of which the usa has almost the best in the world....
When we say Champions League Level Ballers is that the UEFA CL, the AFC CL, the CCC (LOL, as if that matters???), the Copa Libertadores??? Are we talking Champions League level ballers on say Real Madrid or on Ludogorets? How do these ballers fit into the prefered playing style of the National Team coach?
talent that clearly rivals pot 1 teams....players that would make pot 1 rosters or be their equivalents.....the donovans, dempseys. pulisics, mckennies etc
That's not logic. That's just being delusional. We aren't Brazil or Argentina or England. We are US of A. Historically a mid tier National Team that isn't even the top national team in the area nor do we dominate our own area.
That Brazil increased their number of youth male players by a TON and South Africa dropped way the hell off?