Yedlin is a great athlete. So are Jozy and Lukaku (sp?) from Belgium. Being athletic matters. Of course so do skills. They are both important. Do you think Arjen Robben would be nearly as good if he wasn't blessed with great speed? nope.
Well, the argument is if they chose soccer they would both have the skills, if they were dedicated enough, and the athleticism.
Right on. Happens every cycle. Some US fans get defensive and start making excuses how we could be the best if we wanted to. This annoys me. Are you making excuses? The fact is: with China and India, we make up the three largest countries in the world, and none of us have soccer as their #1 sport. Are you going to make excuses for them too? because of basketball, ping pong and cricket? Also, let's throw Baseball out of this, because Babe Ruth is in no way shape or form a great athlete. Baseball isn't based on athleticism any more than Cricket is. So, let's not be stupid and include Baseball. Then you have Football and Basketball...few if any of them would excel at soccer, because soccer pretty much has a huge advantage to 6' and under players. Are you saying Nowitzki, Ginobody, Pau, Nash and Rubio Are you really saying Ginobody could have played for Argentina? Since we are the 3rd largest population in the world, we have no excuse. We have an huge pool of athletes. The real reason is the NCAA's prevents club teams from forming in any sport. That's the problem.
lol India? Seriously bro? They are the most pitiful sports country on earth. 1 billion people and they couldn't even get a single gold medal in the olympics. You post is all wrong. There is a lack of focus on soccer which leads to the US' best athletes playing the big three sports. Yes, even baseball -- think Ricky Henderson or Jacoby Ellsbury could be good at soccer if they put in the time? Hell yeah. Babe Ruth, lol. He played in the 20s!
I remember once Fran Blinebury wrote an article in the Chronicle saying Ginobody is Argentina's National Hero...Messi was 19 at the time. I told my friend (from Boston) who was at that time and still today a Barcelona season ticketholder that, and he laughed at the US media, saying... Let's not even talk about Messi and at least 20 other soccer heroes in Argentina,,,Maradona is a fat, 45 yr old who gets abused in the press for cocaine and womanizing (gelp,,,Kobe-esque butt rape), and he is still clearly their National Hero in sports,,,with no question....like Babe Ruth for baseball until he died. The 6'5 people in Argentina have no place in their football.
First, what does Soccer, US Baseball and Football have anything to do with the Olympics. You're the one who is not following. India rules cricket, which means they could easily rule Baseball too. And you didn't even mention China from my post. You're point is they are not organized to win. Well, we aren't either. The point is the three largest countries in the World do not have Soccer as their number one sport...so, we aren't special. We have no excuse. The problem is the NCAA's prevents club teams. That's our problem
Oh, this is so sad. I set you up with a softball and you chose "Ricky Henderson"....the answer is Bo Jackson. See how much smarter I am on sports than your are.... score one for heypee on the Bo Jackson example vs the best bigtexxx could come up with.
What if Bo Jackson played Soccer? Bo Knows! We need a new youtube of that. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/AXVAiFBEpwA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
i know soccer is all about skills, but i can't help but wonder if an elite athletes like d rose, westbrook, barry sanders, bo jackson grew up playing nothing but soccer all day every day. wouldn't that make a little bit of difference? IMO, speed kills. if you combine the speed + skill you get something special. i just think we aren't putting the best products out there yet. every matches looked like we just didn't have a physical talent. but we have young guys who will only get better. we just need more. we need our messi. our ronaldo. neymar. we need a soccer genius.
the problem isn't just athletes. it's culture. we just don't have the same level of passion and (youth) coaching level as other countries.
messi is a midget. neymar is 5-9 140 pounds soaking wet. ronaldo is a good athlete but wouldn't even stand out in an nfl wr combine. matches are coming down to technical level more than just athleticism. our first touch is terrible and has been terrible for years. there is no creativity with our dribbling.
that's true. but it's definitely trending up. more kids are playing soccer than ever before due to decline in pop warner football. concussion concerns is making football walking on a thin ice. it's definitely growing. i felt the soccer fever. force was there. just not enough. portugal game had 9 rating. that's great. but it needs to be 17-18 rating. when that happens i'll know soccer has truly arrived in here.
Imagine if Vick, Iverson, Mayweather, Chris Paul, etc. all grew up playing soccer... the US needs to find a way to get at least some of our best athletes playing the sport. The money is there if they go to European leagues, but that of course is part of the problem. Here's a random list some guy made -- the guys I mentioned are more appropriate size for soccer, but this team would be frightening... Starting Forward: LeBron James, F, Miami Heat Starting Forward: Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions Back-up: A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals Back-up: Justin Gatlin, Track & Field Offensive Midfielder: Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings Offensive Midfielder: Mike Trout, OF, LA Angels Offensive Midfielder: Russell Westbrook, G, Oklahoma City Thunder Back-up: Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates Back-up: Jimmy Graham, TE, New Orleans Saints Back-up: Bryce Harper, OF, Washington Nationals Defensive Midfielder: John Wall, G, Washington Wizards Defensive Midfielder: Richard Sherman, CB, Seattle Seahawks Back-up: Patrick Peterson, DB, Arizona Cardinals Back-up: Jon Jones, MMA Back-up: Eric Berry, S, Kansas City Chiefs Defender: Luke Kuechly, LB, Carolina Panthers Defender: Jadeveon Clowney, DE, Houston Texans Defender: Kawhi Leonard, F, San Antonio Spurs Back-up: Patrick Willis, LB, San Francisco 49ers Back-up: Lavonte David, LB, Tampa Bay Bucs Back-up: J.J. Watt, DE, Houston Texans Goalkeeper: Jonathan Quick, G, LA Kings Back-up: Dwight Howard, C, Houston Rockets - See more at: http://athlonsports.com/overtime/wh...t-athletes-played-soccer#sthash.AGuM9Lfn.dpuf
Height and weight and speed is not a huge win at soccer. I'm really disappointed in KingCheetah's list above. Why did you not mention ONE...you did not even mention ONE current US player. We need a underage recruiting club system. If we could build one,...which the NCAA won't allow, we could compete better with none of the players you mention. the majority of best scorers in soccer are less than 6'. Maybe that's why. Football players have to be short...compared to our BBall and Football players. What do these great athletes bring to our sports. Leaping ability, power and speed. And Barry Sanders and Walter Payton...an incredible ability to dance with a ball in their hands. But, that doesn't mean they can even be great Hacky-Sack players like me i my day...lols. Much less, move with a ball stuck to their foot like Messi. Ginobody had no chance at soccer in Argentina. for instance. Our best athletes in BBall and Football won't be our stars in Soccer, any more than Ginobody was a star for Argentina. We need a club system for our 6' and under stars. We have nothing for them in our sports, except baseball. USA's Soccer problem is the NCAA system
it was an exciting world cup with a bitter ending.. looking forward to this team in the gold cup next year, copa america in 2016, 2017 confeds cup (hope we qualify), and 2018 back at this world cup again in russia!
