We do have a Kobe Bryant-like player - Our star player is in the papers for a possible "indescresion " scandal [edited for the young ones]
Well, Klinsmann has a grand plan to improve U.S. soccer, which amounts to going on TV and saying we need a better first touch, so at least we're in good hands.
I know its been bandied around ad-nauseum but for me, a true world superstar is what the sport needs to really take off on a week-in/week-out basis here in the States. If we had a superstar player at an Arsenal/Real Madrid I think there would be plenty of buzz around the water cooler about watching our star player the past weekend. The NBA was in terrible shape prior to the arrival of Magic and Larry and then went to new heights with Jordan; we clearly like Stars. IMO thats ultimately what MLS/soccer needs in the USA - week-in/week-out buzz (not once every 4 years) about someone/something big - that level of attention would increase exposure and trickle down interest to what we have here.
To be honest, it sounds like that could conceivably be Jozy Altidore. Assuming he develops into a finisher with a killer instinct and not the American version of Emile Heksey.
one seems more likely than the other. on second thought, Heskey is quite good in the air so probably neither.
i was living in south korea when park ji sung moved from psv to manchester united. while at psv (along with lee young pyo), all psv matches were televised live in korea; but once park went to man u, every sports network went crazy with stories about park at united and certainly every match (epl, carling cup, fa cup, champions league) was broadcast live and replayed several times a week. i know that soccer holds a different place in korean society than it does in the u.s., but i agree that having a true star at a top club in the world would do wonders for soccer in america. it has been clear throughout all of espn's broadcasts in the world cup so far that they are hugely pimping the premier league in preparation for the coming season. if we had an everyday starter at manchester united or chelsea, i think espn would get behind him, include his highlights on sportscenter, and run plenty of background stories on their networks. that would definitely produce the constant attention and interest in soccer at the highest level that we need.
I'm always mystified why first touch is not considered an athletic trait by so many on BigSoccer.. If you want to complain that we choose soccer players only on the basis of how fast they are in a 5K race, I agree. But I've never met a youth player with good touch who was not an athlete. Coordination and balance are athletic skills. Period.
This is why Freddy Adu was so important to U.S Soccer. The casual fan still asks, "What happened to Freddy Adu". Usually followed by the "Wasn't he supposed to be the next Pele". All that is left is the head-shake while looking down at the floor with a slight grimace, insinuating what a failure his career has become.
Kobe Bryant is hardly the biggest, strongest, fastest player in the NBA, so complaining that "athletes" are not what we need seems to be missing the point.
Feet-eye coordination isn't the same as hand-eye coordination. For that matter, in general, certain athletic skills that are extremely important in one sport are not so important in another sport. Michael Jordan sucked at hitting a round ball with a cylindrical bat (at least, he wasn't anywhere close to the level where people would pay him to do that for a living). I don't think anyone would deny that he had the athletic skills & physique required to excel in basketball. I understand that athletes who excel on one sport will still, in general, be much better than the average Joe at another sport, but that doesn't mean they would have been good enough to make career out of playing that other sport if only they had started playing it as a child.
No it's not. Short of guys on soccer boards and guys that go to bars at 7 in the morning, in other words the diehards, I don't think we'll ever see a large number of people in this country care about European soccer. That was called Beckham (who the whites saw as a star) and Blanco (who the Mexicans saw as a star). FWIW, Bill Simmons discussing soccer always thought Allen Iverson would've been a superstar if he'd played soccer instead of basketball.
It's one knock down. Jozy's not exactly known for having that club in his bag. Jozy has obviously improved leaps and bounds in a target role. I'm not knocking his progress, but he's got a long way to go for even Heskey comparisons to be realistic.
If I remember correctly Iverson was player of the year in Virginia for basketball and football when he was in highschool. I think you can put any sport in this sentence and be correct: Allen Iverson would've been a superstar if he'd played _________ instead of basketball
eh... I'd have to go back and watch the games again, or find a thread where someone has analyzed the stats (if only my lunch hour were longer than an hour), but I'm inclined to say Jozy was really good in the air this World Cup, especially when it counted against Slovenia. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...ws/7830763/Slovenia-2-USA-2-match-report.html
AI best sport was QB...state tltle in virginia... KOBE LIVED IN ITALY for several years as a kid, as JOE BRYANT his dad, played there after the NBA... hence KOBE's early exposure to the game..