If you had to choose, would you rather have a strong national team or a strong domestic league? Let's say Americans finally gain universal acceptance overseas, and we begin to see a flood of our top players garnering contracts from the world's better clubs. Undoubtably, their success and experience abroad would make our national team that much better, not to mention furthering respect for American soccer in general. My question is this: IF/when we ever see this, will MLS eventually dry up and die? MLS has a tough enough road ahead, even with our better domestic players staying put. What happens to fan interest around the US if our top players continuously vault across the pond? Is it at all possible for our top nat's to jet and MLS still continue to grow and a gain a foothold in this country? Indulge me........
Ok, I don't have any figures to give you but we allready have americans playing overseas, and I predict the number will double possibly triple in the next 6 years. Will this make MLS of a less quality ? compared to what we have today in MLS the answer will be No, will our National team be better as a result the answer is Yes. As you can see our country is producing good players, at a much faster rate then it used to, so i don't belive that the quality of play in MLS will drop with more americans going overseas. We allready have americans that never played in MLS but are Nat team stars. The only way one would see an impact is if the best american players from MLS left suddenly at a high rate and can't be replaced fast enough. I think MLS could remain a stepping stone for our young players and returning veterans, it's realy nothing wrong with that.
The way I see it... American Players ussually do well oversees. The amount of players going oversees will countiue to increase until they begin to fail. Younger American players who can't play in a primier league would rather player in MLS than some other lower-rate leagues. Younger foreigners may want to come to MLS rather than play in lowerlevel leagues oversees. Great players have expressed intrest in coming here after they are too old to compeat in the top Europe leagues. We shall see.
I'd rather have a strong domestic league, though that doesn't mean that I want it so much more than a strong national team. At the same time, the US national team rates third or fourth on a list of very important priorities for American soccer. My reason for this is that this country needs soccer to diversify the American sports scene. Much like baseball was a notable diversion in the early half of the last century and still remains so to some degree, soccer can become so in the decades to come, provided MLS lasts that long. I always said US soccer is more than the national team. US soccer can even survive without the national team. The USA may win the World Cup someday, but after that what happens? Without a persistent, permanent fan base in America, Americans can very well say "OK, we've done that, do we really need to do anything else now with soccer?" It can be avoided if MLS or some other devoted entity can create a lasting foundation of support in this country. Great talent comes and goes, but they do not achieve greatness without the fans, and until soccer gains wide acceptance in America, the few who are soccer fans will have to settle for the couple dozen or so players in the talent pool who do play overseas and are among the most prominent. And one of the very few ways for soccer to gain wide acceptance is to have a strong domestic league. That's why MLS cannot accept being relegated and considered as a farm league, as soccerfan suggests would be good. I know, the Irish have a crap domestic league and they do very well on the international stage, but that's Europe and we're not Europe (sorry if that clarification of a harsh, bitter reality bothers people). Those of us on this side of the Atlantic need a piece of soccer that we can call our own, and that we can be proud of. MLS plays a role more important than fielding and nurturing talent for the national team, and that is provide quality sport that is just as important, and most of the time more important than a trophy won only once every four years.
Sybing says: Americans can very well say "OK, we've done that, do we really need to do anything else now with soccer?" It can be avoided if MLS or some other devoted entity can create a lasting foundation of support in this country. I think that lasting foundation of support you speak of is already here in the form of the impressive youth soccer organizations around the country. Just look at CYSA-South (sorry, I just can't acknowledge the Northern California equivalent, it's just so much poorer) and the TSSA in Texas that each boast the very best youth soccer in the country. Look at the Dallas Cup, the international tournament that has played host to world class players like the current crop of Manchester United stars and memebers of countless national teams. None of these is starving for money or attendance. I agree with soccerfan that the loss of our top players will have no sigificant impact on the league, at least not in the way that some seem to envision. Look at the league today. Nobody can possibly argue that the MLS of today is any worse than at its inception. Then, you saw European players being put out to pasture in the new American league, much like the old NSL. These big names drew crowds, but did nothing for the level of quality in the league. Now, players are being drawn into the league from all over the world and from our universities and youth leagues, and the league is constantly improving, but if we are really honest, the inclusion of our top players is doing nothing for them and doing nothing for the national team. They play low quality opposition and stagnate. Without the experience of playing in Europe, we will inevitably fall back into obscurity. It behooves the the sport in America to have our best talents playing in Europe. Then, when they are old and past their prime, they can play in the MLS. I only hope that by then, they are kept on the bench by the talent being developed today. You want to see soccer become the big sport of the next decade(s)? Win the World Cup. Americans love success. Make a showing at the greatest stage on Earth, and Americans will flock to soccer like never before. And unless we remain a force in the international scene, both club and country, they'll leave just as fast.
As it stands right now, there is a HUGE gap in the relationship between youth soccer and professional soccer in this country, both talent-wise and support-wise. I can't concur with soccerfan unless you can say to my face that a ManU with David Beckham, or a Bayern Munich with Oliver Kahn, or a Real Madrid with Zinedine Zidane does not suffer by the slightest in their absence. Those three clubs have talent oozing out of their ears, but those of us here on this side don't have that distinct privilege. There is more to American soccer than the very best that it fields for the national team, and that it is very much more about those countless others who follow in the shadows of the very best. And you can't follow their shadows if they're half a world away. NASL was a far-flung effort to make money off of soccer in the last remaining market in which soccer has yet to succeed. MLS is a more grassroots project to locate and nurture American talent. There is no tangible comparison between the two. And whatever the mistakes of MLS' predecessor, the task remains nonetheless, to create interest in soccer in this country whatever the cost. And that requires a domestic league, and a domestic league requires marquee talent.
And I might add that a sport does not exist without its fans. There are exceptions, like Wales (gets far more excited about rugby than soccer, yet does alright with a thin talent pool relative to that of the likes of England). The US did so well last year, ultimately because of the support of diehard soccer fans. But at the level of attention soccer currently receives in America, that's all you get. We will never win a World Cup until fans in huge numbers come to soccer on a regular basis. We can do no better than our previous achievements until a mainstream support is created. And you can't do that with the national team alone. It takes an organization the likes of MLS.
I had an interesting thought (to me at least) about this point. Right now, I can't think of any National teamer younger than 30, other than John O'brien, that you could call a Nat team star that doesn't have a connection to MLS. In other words, not including guys that had already gone to Europe before MLS started. The current or recent Nat team stars who developed without utilizing MLS at least as a stepping stone: Claudio Reyna - went to Europe before MLS Kasey Keller - went to Europe before MLS John O'brien Ernie Stewart - grew up in Europe Non-stars: Berhalter Regis Stars with MLS connections: Donovan, Friedal, Beasley, McBride, Jones, Pope Non-stars: Sanneh, Lewis, Heydude, Mathis, Llamosa, Joe-Max, Mastroeni, Armas, Agoos, Wolff So MLS has been a huge help in developing the Nat team since it began.
I don't think that anyone is disputing your statement. I am trying my best here to explain it again. My point was that MLS doesn't miss some of our Nat team star players like JOB, Claudio ,Keller since they never had them in the first place. It is VERY VERY important for the future of soccer in this country that our National Team do well in the World stage. We cannot leave in abscurity as Mexico does(for most part) and prevent or discourage our players to develop themselves into better players by going to better leagues. One must always grow, and face new challanges. When a player like Donovan has nothing more to prove to us and to himself he will want to play in a better league and face new challanges. Keeping him in MLS will not help his career and his development to become the best that he could possibly be. We cannot be selfish and say " I rather have him stay in MLS", that is just selfish and a detriment to our National Team success. I would like to see Adu start in MLS, but after 2 or 3 years I want him to go to one of the best leagues in the world and be the best he can be, he will only help us in the long term. Maybe someday MLS players will earn good incomes,maybe someday the best players of the world will come to MLS in their prime, but untill then we must send our best talent to the best leagues in the world.
Our Nats are not curing cancer or anything. They play solely for the entertainment of the fans. This is secondary if not tertiary to having a strong national team. They exist because we let them, and if we don't have an opportunity to see them play because they're a continent away then what's the point of supporting the game?