2014 FIFA World Cup

[crashcarson15]

Lots of thoughts here...

1. Proud as hell of this team. Picked up a win and two draws in four matches against 12 of the best teams in the world. Can't complain about that.

2. Klinsmann got the tactics spot on yesterday in playing Cameron/Gonzalez over Beckerman. The defenders did a great job of slowing the Belgian counterattacks by winning those aerial duels—kept us in it for a lot longer than we maybe should have.

3. You're not seeing a better performance out of a goalkeeper than you did out of Tim Howard yesterday. What a way to go out if it is his last World Cup.

4. One of the best things about this team is that kids growing up in the United States are now going to start dreaming about playing in a World Cup alongside winning the Super Bowl or World Series. That's what's going to push this country forward.

5. If you're new and like what you've seen, go support your local club if you've got one. Be it MLS, NASL, USL, or NPSL, get out there and take in a few matches. It's fun. Supporting the Eleven has easily been the most enjoyable professional sports experience I've had... and we haven't won a league match yet.

6. I wholeheartedly believe the United States will win a World Cup in my lifetime and you're not convincing me otherwise.

7. I think soccer is a thing now—if the entire country rallied around guys who were (for the most part) nobodies, they should be able to get into watching the 12:30 EPL kickoff each Saturday on NBC and maybe seeing what's up in the MLS if they get the chance.

8. On that last point—the growth of soccer in America has as much to do with people following the Premier League and the Champions League (the two most accessible leagues) as it does people following MLS and supporting a local club. If someone wants to support a team because they're local? Awesome, it grows the sport. But if someone wants to watch the EPL because it's the highest level of competition in the world and that's what hooks them, that's good too—it still grows the sport. They're both great ways to follow and get involved with the sport. Watching the EPL and Villa helped me bridge the gap between "novice" and "diehard fan"—and now I support a local club too.

Let's do this soccer thing, America. For once and for all.

[Still MIGHTY]

I say this as someone who was never an anti-soccer person but certainly wasn't a fan of the sport. I was a once every four years guy, but that's changed since about 2009.

I don't think this is a case of "well the world cup is over so now America can stop caring about soccer". That used to be true, but it's losing more validity with every passing "Successful" world cup.

Going back to the Confederations Cup in 2009 is when I first noticed a lot of people following the national team outside of the World Cup (that was the tournament when they beat Spain and held a 2-0 lead on Brazil in the final, but ultimately lost). Since their relative success in 2010 there's been a lot more attention devoted to the US national team in tournaments and friendlys (friendlies?) than I can ever remember. It's people my age (mid 20's) who are leading this charge. Notice how most of the anti-soccer editorials out there were by people over 40?

MLS is not the best soccer league in the world and this fact has kept me from getting into it, but I love watching the US men's national team and I think in the next four years there will be even more attention paid to the goings on with the national team and the MLS, which has become profitable and capable of attracting good talent, will benefit from that. It's here to stay and it's only getting bigger.

Literally, (and yes literally) all of this is the same for me.

The USMNT is my favorite soccer team, and really, the only team I find that I can truly throw myself behind. Part of that might have started with blind patriotism, but it's grown a lot since then. The other part is I do find it hard, personally, to follow or support the other leagues.

I'd classify myself as a casual fan of the other leagues. For Europe, it's partly because of start times (I like to sleep on weekends, plus the early clashes with college/NFL football) and I feel disconnected from the discourse. For the MLS, it is the quality of play thing. It's just not what you see at the international level. (Every four years, I try with MLS. I really do, but it never really grabs me.) And the friends that I do have that are soccer fans, their parents are from England or have ties to Europe, so they can't be bothered with the goings-on of the MLS.

I have my teams in the those leagues (for silly reasons, i.e., Manchester United and Eurotrip. For local reasons, i.e., LA Galaxy and OC Blues. For family heritage reasons, i.e., Celtic FC), and I'll watch some games where I can catch them. If it is a big game (United/City, Champions League, Galaxy playoffs), I'll go out of my way to watch it. I'll watch the different Finals. But all I can get is casual with the pro leagues. For whatever reason, following soccer at the club level full time has always seemed as if it was a chore. You have to work to keep track of all of it.

But with the USMNT, I do keep track of what the players are doing with their clubs. (Which is why, actually, even though I list Man U as my EPL team, I had big soft spots for Everton with Howard and Donovan's stint, Fulham/Tottenham with Dempsey, etc.) I watch every friendly. I watch the tournaments, the qualifying, and of course, the World Cup. I follow the USMNT as if it were another one of my favorite pro teams. They are my favorite soccer team. As mine/McCarthy's generations move up and the kids of today grow up, soccer will become a bigger fixture and more attention paid to it. It's actually coming this time, and I believe that. It's not the NASL '70s. Tt's not being forced upon us like the '94 World Cup/creation of MLS or even some of the USWNT successes (I appreciate, respect, and enjoy them, but sometimes the womens' really is being pushed).

Anyway, Go Go, USA. I believe that we will win... some day. I really do.

[Nyk33]

But with the USMNT, I do keep track of what the players are doing with their clubs. (Which is why, actually, even though I list Man U as my EPL team, I had big soft spots for Everton with Howard and Donovan's stint, Fulham/Tottenham with Dempsey, etc.) I watch every friendly. I watch the tournaments, the qualifying, and of course, the World Cup. I follow the USMNT as if it were another one of my favorite pro teams. They are my favorite soccer team. As mine/McCarthy's generations move up and the kids of today grow up, soccer will become a bigger fixture and more attention paid to it. It's actually coming this time, and I believe that. It's not the NASL '70s. Tt's not being forced upon us like the '94 World Cup/creation of MLS or even some of the USWNT successes (I appreciate, respect, and enjoy them, but sometimes the womens' really is being pushed).

Anyway, Go Go, USA. I believe that we will win... some day. I really do.

MLS will not be able to challenge the European leagues for a very long time (if ever) but it needs to stay as a breeding ground for more players like Yedlin that will ultimately be sent to European teams in order to improve even more.

[Mac the Knife]

MLS will not be able to challenge the European leagues for a very long time (if ever) but it needs to stay as a breeding ground for more players like Yedlin that will ultimately be sent to European teams in order to improve even more.

As much as I like everyone else enjoyed watching the US national team in the World Cup, let's be realistic here. Soccer may reach the status of "5th major league sport" in America, but that's as far as it will get in the next century, save something clamitous and self-destructive (e.g., a five-year long NHL strike).

As for Major League Soccer, there are a series of things that inhibit it in terms of its success level, and which probably have done so permanently.

First, Americans (as a people) embrace the best and most talented sportsmen in the world.

Second, the Premier League is making inroads in American culture because within soccer, they're the best and most talented in the world. Or at least, they're perceived as such.

Third, MLS, while North America's "national" league, is not and never will be on a par with EPL... or Bundesliga, or really even the French or Brasilian national leagues. As such, Americans won't embrace it to the level that some think people should - because it's not perceived as the 'major league.' MLS forever will be seen as the "AA ball" equivalent to the Premier League.

None of this is intended to mock Major League Soccer or American soccer as a whole. Quite the contrary - the strides made in the past two decades in American soccer are nothing short of stunning to me. But if anyone thinks that the next two decades are going to result in American soccer being elevated to the status of a 'world power' in the sport? They're sadly mistaken.

[Soarindude]

But cities like Seattle and Portland are representing their MLS team to the level of EPL fans supporting their team. Other cities in the MLS must build fanbases like that. Because while the MLS will always be "the 5th sport in the US", there's such a big sports market that cities can build a "niche" following (similar to that of Seattle) and still be considered a great soccer city.

The United States has a massive population, so creating a soccer fan base in large cities is much easier than sports teams in England building fanbases. The cities (and even towns) are much smaller in population then the USz

[Sport]

MLS will not be able to challenge the European leagues for a very long time (if ever) but it needs to stay as a breeding ground for more players like Yedlin that will ultimately be sent to European teams in order to improve even more.

As much as I like everyone else enjoyed watching the US national team in the World Cup, let's be realistic here. Soccer may reach the status of "5th major league sport" in America, but that's as far as it will get in the next century, save something clamitous and self-destructive (e.g., a five-year long NHL strike).

As for Major League Soccer, there are a series of things that inhibit it in terms of its success level, and which probably have done so permanently.

First, Americans (as a people) embrace the best and most talented sportsmen in the world.

Second, the Premier League is making inroads in American culture because within soccer, they're the best and most talented in the world. Or at least, they're perceived as such.

Third, MLS, while North America's "national" league, is not and never will be on a par with EPL... or Bundesliga, or really even the French or Brasilian national leagues. As such, Americans won't embrace it to the level that some think people should - because it's not perceived as the 'major league.' MLS forever will be seen as the "AA ball" equivalent to the Premier League.

None of this is intended to mock Major League Soccer or American soccer as a whole. Quite the contrary - the strides made in the past two decades in American soccer are nothing short of stunning to me. But if anyone thinks that the next two decades are going to result in American soccer being elevated to the status of a 'world power' in the sport? They're sadly mistaken.

Sounds like many of the same reasons why an upstart rival to the NBA would never work. Huh.

[GFB]

MLS will not be able to challenge the European leagues for a very long time (if ever) but it needs to stay as a breeding ground for more players like Yedlin that will ultimately be sent to European teams in order to improve even more.

As much as I like everyone else enjoyed watching the US national team in the World Cup, let's be realistic here. Soccer may reach the status of "5th major league sport" in America, but that's as far as it will get in the next century, save something clamitous and self-destructive (e.g., a five-year long NHL strike).

As for Major League Soccer, there are a series of things that inhibit it in terms of its success level, and which probably have done so permanently.

First, Americans (as a people) embrace the best and most talented sportsmen in the world.

Second, the Premier League is making inroads in American culture because within soccer, they're the best and most talented in the world. Or at least, they're perceived as such.

Third, MLS, while North America's "national" league, is not and never will be on a par with EPL... or Bundesliga, or really even the French or Brasilian national leagues. As such, Americans won't embrace it to the level that some think people should - because it's not perceived as the 'major league.' MLS forever will be seen as the "AA ball" equivalent to the Premier League.

None of this is intended to mock Major League Soccer or American soccer as a whole. Quite the contrary - the strides made in the past two decades in American soccer are nothing short of stunning to me. But if anyone thinks that the next two decades are going to result in American soccer being elevated to the status of a 'world power' in the sport? They're sadly mistaken.

This is ridiculous, Mac.

1) A half century ago, if you told Americans that football was going to dwarf baseball in popularity, you would have been brushed aside as crazy. Now you're going to predict that after an entire century, soccer isn't going to grow unless another league basically dies? Yeah... sorry. No one knows what's going to be popular in 25 years, let alone 100. Oh look, a chart:

You want to tell me that in 25 years, soccer won't be able to muster the 5% of Americans that claim that it is their favorite sport to pass by the NHL?

Consider the advantages that soccer currently has going for them:

• Currently one of the most played sports by American youths (and the numbers are growing).
• Accessible for both genders to play at a high level.
• The FIFA video game currently outsells its Madden counterpart at a 2-1 clip.
• The projected decline of the white majority in the United States in the next 40 years, along with the Latino minority projected to triple in size.
• The potential decline of youth football because of head injuries.
• Pro soccer currently rates as the second favorite sport of American 12-24 year olds:

2) Your hypothesis that the MLS will never pass the Premier League in quality is probably true... However, does it really matter? Many, many of the most popular teams around the world don't play in the Premier League: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Paris St. Germain, etc... I don't think it's crazy to believe that in 25-30 years, one or two MLS teams out of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Seattle, and maybe even Miami would have a chance to join the ranks of those global powerhouses. You don't need the entire MLS to jump the Premier League in overall quality, you just need 2-3 teams that belong on the same pitch as the big boys.

3) Many of those things that you suggest "inhibit" the MLS' success (which I'm guessing are issues like the salary cap, playing in the summer as opposed to winter, etc...) are short-term training wheels for the league. Right now, it's easier to compete in the summer against only the MLB as oppose trying to take on the NFL, NHL, and NBA all at once (though the MLS are already having talks about switching it...). And I have to imagine that the salary cap will be extensively raised (or put aside completely) sometime in the next decade, after the league really sinks their roots down deep financially. I still think the MLS Cup/playoff format plays the best with American soccer fans as oppose to a straight table format... Besides, can you imagine a Manchester derby in the EPL Championship Game, winner takes all? The atmosphere would be like the closing Premier League games of the 2012/2013 season, only with both United and City crammed into the same stadium. That's what the MLS needs to aim for.

4) Lastly, there are plenty of unknown variables playing out. What if the US develops their own Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi 10-15 years from now? You can see the effect Michael Jordan had on the NBA during his heyday in the chart above. A single player of that caliber could accelerate that timetable two or three times quicker. What if the US makes it to the World Cup semifinal or final in the next 3 World Cups? What if the NCAA/college infrastructure drastically changes or caves in all together? What if 25 years from now, there was more money to be made playing soccer than playing football or basketball? You just never know....

Personally, I have no clue and feel no need to guess what will happen... but I am obviously excited about America's soccer prospects in the future and I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

[HedleyLamarr]

What the hell ever became of Freddie Adu, anyway? He was supposed to be this soccer wizard. Did he even come close to playing in a World Cup game?

[Billy B]

What the hell ever became of Freddie Adu, anyway? He was supposed to be this soccer wizard. Did he even come close to playing in a World Cup game?

He has 17 caps with the senior team and has played in a Gold Cup and the Olympics. He's still only 23 and he's a free agent right now on trial with a club in Norway that is managed by former USMNT manager Bob Bradley.

[dfwabel]

What the hell ever became of Freddie Adu, anyway? He was supposed to be this soccer wizard. Did he even come close to playing in a World Cup game?

He has 17 caps with the senior team and has played in a Gold Cup and the Olympics. He's still only 23 and he's a free agent right now on trial with a club in Norway that is managed by former USMNT manager Bob Bradley.

It is another thread for anther time, but IS HE?

[See Red]

What the hell ever became of Freddie Adu, anyway? He was supposed to be this soccer wizard. Did he even come close to playing in a World Cup game?

He has 17 caps with the senior team and has played in a Gold Cup and the Olympics. He's still only 23 and he's a free agent right now on trial with a club in Norway that is managed by former USMNT manager Bob Bradley.

It is another thread for anther time, but IS HE?

Well, the hype started when he was, what, 14? Makes sense I guess. Still kind of surprising, though.

[IanC]

Freddy Adu is 25. Was hailed as the next Pele at the age of 14. Since leaving to go to Europe he has failed to reach his potential that was heaped on him.

[Billy B]

What the hell ever became of Freddie Adu, anyway? He was supposed to be this soccer wizard. Did he even come close to playing in a World Cup game?

He has 17 caps with the senior team and has played in a Gold Cup and the Olympics. He's still only 23 and he's a free agent right now on trial with a club in Norway that is managed by former USMNT manager Bob Bradley.

It is another thread for anther time, but IS HE?

Sorry, typo. IanC got it, he's 25.

[IanC]

Germany players hit by flu

Germany coach Joachim Loew has revealed seven of his players are suffering with flu symptoms.


Loew's side face France in the first of the World Cup quarter-finals but without naming the unfortunate players, he revealed most had "throat aches".


"As a result, it's too early to make any final decisions about the line-up," Loew added.


Defender Mat Hummels missed Germany's round of 16 match against Algeria on Monday due to a fever and has suffered a "negative setback" since, according to his manager.

[AnythingChicago]

Germany players hit by flu

Germany coach Joachim Loew has revealed seven of his players are suffering with flu symptoms.

Loew's side face France in the first of the World Cup quarter-finals but without naming the unfortunate players, he revealed most had "throat aches".

"As a result, it's too early to make any final decisions about the line-up," Loew added.

Defender Mat Hummels missed Germany's round of 16 match against Algeria on Monday due to a fever and has suffered a "negative setback" since, according to his manager.

All I have to say is allez les bleus et vive la France.

[Mac the Knife]

Sounds like many of the same reasons why an upstart rival to the NBA would never work. Huh.

Actually, no, because an upstart rival to the NBA could, and probably fairly easily with adequate financial backing, take away sufficient future top-level player talent to make a go of it. MLS has no chance, not even a dream, of doing that to EPL, Bundesliga, etc. Nor should they.

MLS will not be able to challenge the European leagues for a very long time (if ever) but it needs to stay as a breeding ground for more players like Yedlin that will ultimately be sent to European teams in order to improve even more.

As much as I like everyone else enjoyed watching the US national team in the World Cup, let's be realistic here. Soccer may reach the status of "5th major league sport" in America, but that's as far as it will get in the next century, save something clamitous and self-destructive (e.g., a five-year long NHL strike).

As for Major League Soccer, there are a series of things that inhibit it in terms of its success level, and which probably have done so permanently.

First, Americans (as a people) embrace the best and most talented sportsmen in the world.

Second, the Premier League is making inroads in American culture because within soccer, they're the best and most talented in the world. Or at least, they're perceived as such.

Third, MLS, while North America's "national" league, is not and never will be on a par with EPL... or Bundesliga, or really even the French or Brasilian national leagues. As such, Americans won't embrace it to the level that some think people should - because it's not perceived as the 'major league.' MLS forever will be seen as the "AA ball" equivalent to the Premier League.

None of this is intended to mock Major League Soccer or American soccer as a whole. Quite the contrary - the strides made in the past two decades in American soccer are nothing short of stunning to me. But if anyone thinks that the next two decades are going to result in American soccer being elevated to the status of a 'world power' in the sport? They're sadly mistaken.

This is ridiculous, Mac.

1) A half century ago, if you told Americans that football was going to dwarf baseball in popularity, you would have been brushed aside as crazy. Now you're going to predict that after an entire century, soccer isn't going to grow unless another league basically dies? Yeah... sorry. No one knows what's going to be popular in 25 years, let alone 100. Oh look, a chart:

You want to tell me that in 25 years, soccer won't be able to muster the 5% of Americans that claim that it is their favorite sport to pass by the NHL?

Consider the advantages that soccer currently has going for them:

• Currently one of the most played sports by American youths (and the numbers are growing).
• Accessible for both genders to play at a high level.
• The FIFA video game currently outsells its Madden counterpart at a 2-1 clip.
• The projected decline of the white majority in the United States in the next 40 years, along with the Latino minority projected to triple in size.
• The potential decline of youth football because of head injuries.
• Pro soccer currently rates as the second favorite sport of American 12-24 year olds:

2) Your hypothesis that the MLS will never pass the Premier League in quality is probably true... However, does it really matter? Many, many of the most popular teams around the world don't play in the Premier League: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Paris St. Germain, etc... I don't think it's crazy to believe that in 25-30 years, one or two MLS teams out of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Seattle, and maybe even Miami would have a chance to join the ranks of those global powerhouses. You don't need the entire MLS to jump the Premier League in overall quality, you just need 2-3 teams that belong on the same pitch as the big boys.

3) Many of those things that you suggest "inhibit" the MLS' success (which I'm guessing are issues like the salary cap, playing in the summer as opposed to winter, etc...) are short-term training wheels for the league. Right now, it's easier to compete in the summer against only the MLB as oppose trying to take on the NFL, NHL, and NBA all at once (though the MLS are already having talks about switching it...). And I have to imagine that the salary cap will be extensively raised (or put aside completely) sometime in the next decade, after the league really sinks their roots down deep financially. I still think the MLS Cup/playoff format plays the best with American soccer fans as oppose to a straight table format... Besides, can you imagine a Manchester derby in the EPL Championship Game, winner takes all? The atmosphere would be like the closing Premier League games of the 2012/2013 season, only with both United and City crammed into the same stadium. That's what the MLS needs to aim for.

4) Lastly, there are plenty of unknown variables playing out. What if the US develops their own Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi 10-15 years from now? You can see the effect Michael Jordan had on the NBA during his heyday in the chart above. A single player of that caliber could accelerate that timetable two or three times quicker. What if the US makes it to the World Cup semifinal or final in the next 3 World Cups? What if the NCAA/college infrastructure drastically changes or caves in all together? What if 25 years from now, there was more money to be made playing soccer than playing football or basketball? You just never know....

Personally, I have no clue and feel no need to guess what will happen... but I am obviously excited about America's soccer prospects in the future and I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

I yanked the charts for sake of space, but again I'm hardly knocking MLS by saying it could achieve status as America's "5th major" sport. That's by no means feint praise. And you're putting words in my mouth in suggesting that I think it'll take another league's demise for pro soccer to grow. I do think it would take something disastrous for it to reach "big three" status (supplanting football, baseball or basketball); the hockey strike reference merely seemed the most likely scenario in which it would equal/surpass it on a permanent basis.

I didn't suggest MLS can't be successful. Quite the contrary, they've done an absolutely awe-inspiring (in the true sense of the term) job in building their league and the game as a whole in America. Aside from the Miami/Tampa contractions (which I thought were premature), the powers behind MLS have done things in exactly the right way: starting with a group of people committed to the game and with really, really deep pockets. People willing to stick things out, no matter the financial losses, in pursuit of a stable league and a greater overall goal. Theirs has been *the* blueprint for starting a North American pro sports league in modern times, and McCarthy, when I speak to the vulnerabilities of the NBA or NHL and how I think either could be replaced by a rival - the MLS model is exactly the kind that could accomplish it. My point was that the nation's zeal for soccer comes at the international play level, and that doesn't necessarily translate into domestic league prominence at the level some seem to think is imminent.

Again, as an American I was very, very pleasantly surprised to see how our team performed at the World Cup. Having followed soccer most of my life and attending the 1994 World Cup here in America, I've seen its progress over the past quarter century-plus. I suspect it's just a matter of time before we piss off the entire world and win that ugly-ass trophy.

But, as happens every four years, we need to set realistic expectations for its future. Every four years, right after America gets eliminated in the World Cup, pundits and soccer fans get all riled up about how far soccer has come in America, and how imminent its rise to the level of the "big three" sports is. Then the rest of us go back to watching predominately baseball, basketball, gridiron football or hockey. MLS ratings on TV and attendance figures spike for about a month, maybe two, then fall back to whatever they were pre-World Cup. MLS as America's "5th major sport?" Be it in 2020 or 2070? Given the history of American sports at the professional level? I'd wear that moniker as a badge of honor.

[Nyk33]

Germany players hit by flu

Germany coach Joachim Loew has revealed seven of his players are suffering with flu symptoms.

Loew's side face France in the first of the World Cup quarter-finals but without naming the unfortunate players, he revealed most had "throat aches".

"As a result, it's too early to make any final decisions about the line-up," Loew added.

Defender Mat Hummels missed Germany's round of 16 match against Algeria on Monday due to a fever and has suffered a "negative setback" since, according to his manager.

Despite a few players being caught under the weather they are doing better than I expected.

[lordsketor]

Deutschland it is...again.

[kevsim1]

Hard to believe that based on those fishy, pretty much meaningless world rankings, the Netherlands are the weakest opponents that Costa Rica will have played come tomorrow afternoon. Uruguay, Italy, England and Greece all ranked higher....

[Nyk33]

Hard to believe that based on those fishy, pretty much meaningless world rankings, the Netherlands are the weakest opponents that Costa Rica will have played come tomorrow afternoon. Uruguay, Italy, England and Greece all ranked higher....

The FIFA Rankings have always been suspect and should never really be taken seriously.