BY When people think of some of the best international soccer teams in the world they think of Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, and England. But no one ever mentions the U.S. That is, until recently. These past few weeks the United States soccer team defiantly has gained respect on a global level after the performance it had in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. FIFA is the international governing body for international football. Before this point, the U.S. Men’s soccer team wasn’t really thought to be top class and was seen as less of a threat to teams like Brazil, Spain and others. In fact, in January of this year, the United States was ranked twenty-second in the world in the FIFA World Ranking. It wasn’t until they bested number one ranked Spain and almost beat number two ranked Brazil in the final that people started to look up and notice this team from the States. Now the U.S. has moved up to twelfth place--just two shy from hitting the top ten--and is beginning to be respected as the threat they've always potentially been.
That's right, that's the same U.S. that thinks "football," what the rest of the world knows as a game played with one's feet, is a game played with one's hands. Capitalizing on this cultural difference, a few years back, Adidas launched an viral ad campaign called "Futbol Meets Football." The series of web videos featured world soccer sensation David Beckham and New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush teaching each other the moves of their respective sports. Perhaps that campaign provided just the kind of cultural diplomacy needed to get the U.S. on the radar of futbol fans. But don't let the ads fool you. Contrary to popular belief, plenty of people in the U.S. play football with their feet. In fact, the U.S. has one of the best soccer teams in the world. But in a world dominated by futbol it also is one of the most underrated teams in the world. Regardless of reputation, the fact remains that the U.S. is grooming some superstar soccer players, developing a growing fan base and harboring a quiet confidence that has led to some of the biggest upsets against more prominent teams in decades.
One of the reasons the U.S has improved so much is its emphasis on nurturing and creating good young players. The past decade the U.S. has focused on creating more leagues that help to focus on talented young soccer players and getting them to see professional soccer as a career option. Leagues like AYSO, California League as well as school teams make young people believe there is a future to U.S. soccer.
Here, youth soccer coach Gareth Howell, originally from Wales in the U.K., talks about some of the reasons for the U.S. Men's Soccer Team's steady improvement.
As Gareth was explaining, teams from the U.S. soccer league have camps where they scout children as young as eight years old. I would know because I was once in the Chivas USA camp in Los Angeles and had a taste of how hard they work the players. I can personally say that many of the players I played with were some of the best I had ever seen. And they were all under sixteen.
Gareth agrees that hard work is part of the formula of making a good soccer team.
The U.S. has a bright future ahead of it if it continues to nurture young players and produce players like Altidore, Adu, and Dempsey. I am one fan excited for the future of U.S. soccer.
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