Its a debate that has been raging on for years: should the best American soccer players, particularly the younger ones be playing in the top European leagues or should they stay home and play in the US?
There are arguments on both sides. Former US Men's National Team coach, Jürgen Klinsmen, encouraged players to play in the US in order to improve the standard of American soccer. Many people including teen star Christian Pulisic have advocated for Americans playing abroad citing the higher level of competition and better coaching.
I believe that young American players should be playing in Europe if they can. Europe is where the best coaching and best developmental programs are. It is no accident that Messi, Ronaldo, Iniesta, and most of the top soccer players in the world came up through European academies. The best way to improve the quality of the American national team is to improve the development of its young players. I have no problem with older, more experienced Americans returning to the MLS, but our young, bright talents should be headed to Europe.
What do you think? Should American soccer players be trying to break into European clubs or is it better to improve the standard of soccer here at home for future generations?
Should they join the likes of Neymar and Lionel Messi who traveled from their home countries of Brazil and Argentina respectively to star in Europe?
There are arguments on both sides. Former US Men's National Team coach, Jürgen Klinsmen, encouraged players to play in the US in order to improve the standard of American soccer. Many people including teen star Christian Pulisic have advocated for Americans playing abroad citing the higher level of competition and better coaching.
I believe that young American players should be playing in Europe if they can. Europe is where the best coaching and best developmental programs are. It is no accident that Messi, Ronaldo, Iniesta, and most of the top soccer players in the world came up through European academies. The best way to improve the quality of the American national team is to improve the development of its young players. I have no problem with older, more experienced Americans returning to the MLS, but our young, bright talents should be headed to Europe.
What do you think? Should American soccer players be trying to break into European clubs or is it better to improve the standard of soccer here at home for future generations?
I understand where people are coming from when they say they want the best American soccer players to stay in the United States. If this were to happen, the U.S. could work to improve the standards of American soccer. However, the U.S. has many very competitive sports that are much more popular with viewers in the U.S. - such as Football, Baseball and even Basketball. If the U.S. were to develop their soccer programs it would take a lot of time and effort, and may never catch much traction with the majority of the population.
ReplyDeleteI think it is only fair to the players to allow them the opportunity to break into European clubs where they can develop their skills and reach their true potential. There's simply not enough competition or resources in the U.S. for the best of the best players to really flourish. If they want real competition and the chance to make a name for themselves, the best place for them to be is Europe where soccer, or "futbol" is the only sport most people even care about.
- Siobhan O'Loughlin
I agree, especially considering that many American viewers actually pay more attention to European teams rather than their home countries. That way American players abroad can still develop their reputation and gain a following back home while also competing at the highest level. Hopefully over time these players could represent our national team, and if that picked up maybe soccer could grow even more at home. Although it's a long process I think it may lead to Soccer becoming more mainstream even if in the short term it may be a bit of a sacrifice.
Delete-Brian
I think there needs to be some sort of combination of the two. I fully believe that young Americans should head to Europe as soon as they can. There simply is not the developmental programs in the US to make the most of the potential in some of these players. Despite the fact that soccer is not one of the preeminent sports in the US, the sheer size of our population means that we are still producing players with enormous potential. A big part of the reason we have never really been able to compete on an international level is that we lack the coaching and development capabilities to turn these players into stars. On the other hand at some point there needs to be an improvement in the level of play in the MLS if the US has the ultimate goal of winning a world cup. If you look at the teams that have recently won major soccer tournaments, unless they have Christiano Ronaldo on the team, most of them play together in the domestic league i.e. Germany and Spain.
DeleteAs of now, i agree that for the athletes sake, they should go to Europe to play. When putting myself in their shoes, it is a no brainer. Europe football offers the most potential to play at an learn for the best, elite level and make an earning. However another blog recently posted about more academies opening in the United States. I am curious to see in the future if these academies can start a funnel to make MLS as elite as European football leagues. I think this is a challenge, but I could see it happening in the far future. We need to invest in coaches and players, which we are starting to do with academies. -alison
DeleteI also believe that American soccer players should be able to join European leagues. It is clear that the best opportunities for these players are in Europe and they should not be restricted from reaching their full potential because it is simply not fair to the individual.
ReplyDeleteI do think that overtime, it would be wonderful to have these American players stay in the United States and possibly increase the popularity of soccer. This would contribute to a better economy and provide more opportunities for people as well as just simply being fun. But, in order to increase the incentive for these skilled American players, training programs and the intensity of the sport needs to be increased first.
Additionally because most American soccer fans have a European team that they root for oftentimes more than their MLS team, Americans playing abroad will still be seen by Americans at home. Furthermore, seeing these players compete for premier teams will also help grow American soccer.
Delete-Brian
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCOREY RIGGENBACH:Obviously American-born players staying in the U.S. to play could help grow the MLS brand and bring football to become a major sport thats taken seriously in America. However, I feel that first, we need a big-name American player to dominate, or at least contend at a very elite level, in the European market. If along with the Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar, there was comparable American player, that would do more for the U.S. football market than anything else. If American sports fans were able to identify with a top international player, then they will become more interested in becoming a football fan. They will turn to follow the MLS since its so close to home and easier to watch games considering the time change. The only way for that to happen is to encourage the good Americans to play in Europe to get that good coaching and, more importantly, the international exposure.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, an American soccer icon competing on the highest level in Europe would be massive for the sport. Oftentimes individual idols have a larger impact than teams do. If a player, such as Pulisic, were to become a superstar the impact would be incredible. Superstars such as Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods shaped generations of America's youth and inspired them to play their sport. If a similar soccer player were to arise and compete the amount of youth who would be motivated to pursue soccer would be astronomic.
Delete-Brian
I agree with Siobhan in that I can see where people may be coming from by wanting talented players to stay within the US. However, I do think that there is much more to be said for the reasoning as to why talented US players might want to play abroad rather than stay at home. The European football market is much more established than the soccer market in the US. There are simply just better programs in Europe and I personally think it would be unfair to ask these football players to stay in the US just to build the program.
DeleteThere are so many other sports in the US that are much more popular than soccer and as of now I do not see that changing anytime soon. So in conclusion, I definitely think that it is fair for US soccer players to want to play overseas in Europe and reach their highest potential.
Corey, I completely agree. I think that in order for soccer to really compete with basketball, football, and baseball in the US, we need to produce a player of comparable skill to come of the best in the world. Looking at Christian Pulisic, it is clear that Americans would embrace such a player as he is arguably the best American player already, and many people, not just huge soccer fans, know who he is. I think the only way to produce that type of player though is to send them to Europe.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe idea behind playing soccer overseas as a US national is to grow and develop as a player. The competition in Europe has proven to be much better than the competition of the MLS and the surrounding leagues. But its important for players to see playing time rather than go overseas I feel. Pulisic is turning into one of the best US national players ever and joining Dortmund was a great move for him and his career. But for someone like Jordan Morris of the Sounders or goalie Zack Steffan of the Columbus Crew, I think it is more important that they see the field and get in game experience rather than go abroad and play very little with the first team. Of course they will develop during training sessions and playing at that level will improve their game but for younger guys that may not see the adequate playing time in Europe, I think staying at home could be a better option. This also allows them to develop more chemistry with the national team as most of the players representing the US play in their native country and the style of soccer is similar to what they will be experiencing playing together at the international level.
ReplyDeleteThere'a reason why the United States didn't qualify for the World Cup. The main reason I believe is that there is just plain and simple not enough talent on the field. I'm a big believer in that you only get better when you play against someone who is better than you. Many of the USA's roster are the best players on their respective MLS team helping the team, but not necessarily improving individually. American talent such as DeAndre Yedlin and especially Christian Pulisic have gone overseas and yes struggled at the beginning but got better as they played up to par with the competition. I agree with what Corey said about having an American superstar amongst the likes of Messi and Ronoldo, in that it will raise awareness and popularity in the states. The best ways to improve the popularity in the USA is to win, we will start to win once our talent can match what is being produced in Europe and South America. Soccer is a team game, but if you are to break down any team game, it comes down to one vs one. Your team may have better chemistry or tactics, but it only takes one player to make a brilliant play or a mistake. For the USA to get better at soccer every individual should be playing at the highest level possible. In conclusion, send our best young talent to Europe.
ReplyDelete