There's been much chatter on here about Project2010, and if we're on target - was it realistic, attainable, etc ? By that point, there will be a host of our players over in Europe, who have had good competition from their local leagues and Cup/Championship series games. The other side of the equation is if our national team as a whole will have faced enough serious competition to make it a serious contender. This, to me, is the biggest hurdle we face towards becoming a world power. Without a regional championship to fill the 2 years after the World Cup, we will surely play our share of friendlies, but they will be just that. We might face talents like Holland, Mexico, Brasil & Argentina, but they won't be a top-notch roster, and won't be the best challenge for us.
1. We still won't have won a World Cup. 2. Metrogo will still be the very important contrarian of BigSoccer. 3. There will be an "Adu for Right Back" thread. 4. Clint Dempsey will have replaced Chris Armas on the "Why is he here" thread, brought to you by Nutmeg and Karl Keller. 5. Generalissmo Francisco Franco will still be dead. Sachin
Sometime in the next 4 yrs, the Nats have to start defeating Germany, England, Holland, Spain, Italy, France and Portugal with a level of regularity significantly greater than now. I'd argue that the number of wins, losses and ties against these teams should be equal 4 yrs from now. If so, that would mean that the number of quality players in the pool is continuing to rise. The question is whether that will happen. 2010 is 5+ years from now. That is potentially more than 10 new stellar players if the US programs can continue identifying developing merely 2 such players per year. Can the US produce 2 players/yr for the next 5 yrs with those 2 players better than those in the current top 15? That's what it comes down to. A corollary of this is the shorter term question of whether the 2006 team will be significantly better than the 2002 team. I hope so, but I don't see it yet. Then, besides the quality factor, actual success in the tournament World Cup depends enormously on home turf issues and luck. See France, 2002, for all you want to know about the relationship between quality players and disasterous tournament play.