Does USA Soccer Model Work?

The USA got knocked out of the 2010 World Cup knockout round and the pundits are out like vultures.

ESPN/ABC announcer Jürgen Klinsmann (pictured) had some interesting points on the uniqueness/inferiority of American Sport in producing World Champions.

He blames the American soccer system for much of the USA's failure.

The American focus is to get kids to play sports, get on travel teams and earn a college scholarship. In essence, parents foot the bill to develop kids for college athletics.

The rest of the world? By early ages, kids get identified and sign on with a professional team. They play with the younger kids and matriculate their way up to the top level of that team's program.

Back in 199 MLS started Project 40, which encourages early entry (without college graduation) of American players into MLS and with the hope of producing World Class talent. The program is now called Generation adidas and has had impressive results.

The program has included Tim Howard, Josh Wolff, DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu, Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Ben Olsen, Bobby Convey, Sacha Kljestan, Michael Parkhurst, Danny Califf, Freddy Adu, Brad Guzan and Michael Bradley.

On the bright side, that's eight players on the 2010 World Cup Roster! The others have had a decent amount of pro and international success.

On the other hand, a number of the above mentioned did not go to college. That includes Bradley, the son of Princeton-educated Bob Bradley.

No doubt Michael Bradley will earn enough without a college degree in his pro soccer career. He had a great World Cup and likely improved his standing more than any other American.

College education has always been an important of American society. The United States seems to compete well in just about every sport we play internationally, and that includes soccer.

If you look at the roster of the USA team, most are part of the "rest of the World" sports model. There are only a handful of college-educated players on the American team.

The USA competed in its sixth straight World Cup this year. The 1994 team went as far (second round) and the 2002 club advanced to the quarterfinals of those tournaments. Those teams were made up of players who competed extensively at the collegiate level.

Klinsman brought up another interesting and controversial point. He said that the lower and middle class kids are playing other sports, particularly basketball. The German noted that individuals in this demographic are hungrier and have the required grit needed in soccer.

That's a fair point. Poor kids don't have a lot of money to play on travel teams. However, I've never heard of a youth organization in any sport that would turn away a talented kid who wants to play.

Also, America is a melting pot. Their are a number of immigrants who have soccer in their heritage and they continue to play here (see Edu, Adu, Altidore).

Klinsman also brought up the formidable Hispanic presence in the USA. There are only four players with Spanish surnames on the team. However, expect that number to continue to grow as the population of the USA becomes more Latino. Additionally, US Soccer needs to continue to reach out to Mexican and other leagues that are not as connected to the federation as AYSO, for example.

One would thing the traditional American model the a hybrid of Generation adidas and other talented players can be successful.

The sky is not falling in American soccer. It's intriguing to consider the source of the theories: Jürgen Klinsmann.

He was the top candidate to succeed Bruce Arena after the 2006 World Cup. He didn't want the job at the time.

So, four years later, does he still think we have it backwards in the USA or does he believe he can lead America to the 2014 World Title?

Final Score: Deceit 7, FIFA Credibility Nil

Final Score: Deceit 7, FIFA Credibility Nil

That's not the score of the North Korea game (I am praying for their safe futures), rather the verdict on Sepp Blatter's regime.

The long-awaited report on World Cup officiating is in. There's no problem. All is well in South Africa.

Well that's what FIFA says. So what if the rest of the 3 billion watching see otherwise on the tele.

I'm using a few clips from an AP story and I'll comment on them.

"The duty of the referees is not to explain their decision ... [but to] try to do their best on the field of play," Garcia-Aranda said. "[Otherwise] they are not focused on the game, they are focused on the media."

Say what? Officiating needs to be transparent. If a coach has a question, answer to the best of your ability. American sports have accountability due to past incidents like the Black Sox scandal. To not have this accountability only calls into question the legitimacy of the game.

Are these officials tied to organized gambling? Do they have bets on the games?

These are fair questions if the public that supports this enterprise is stonewalled.

Video replay isn't an option so long as Sepp Blatter is FIFA president, and he's all but certain to be re-elected to a fourth four-year term next year. And the idea of adding an extra set of eyes behind each goal has been kicked into the long grass and not likely to resurface anytime soon.

Then I will start the "Fire Sepp Blatter campaign" right now. He has the votes for a fourth reelection? How?

Oh, I forgot that this is international sport. Just like the Olympics, you get a cast of elite characters not always doing best for athletes or sport itself. Money and power can corrupt.

The lack accountability regarding officiating is the big concern. However, I will give the referees the benefit of the doubt on the "diving issue."

These World Class athletes have spent as much time with their soccer skills as their thespian abilities. That said, the human eye can't always spot a dive in real time.

That said, limited video review is needed at the World Cup. How limited? I don't know but something has to be done.

I've gained a great respect for top-level soccer. American coaches and administrators shrug their shoulders as if to say "That's international soccer, we must live with it."

It's a shame that FIFA--the group most invested in keeping the game's integrity--is driving the sport backwards.

Accountability & Transparency at World Cup: Part II

Monday there's supposed to be word from FIFA on World Cup officiating.

Don't hold your breath if you're looking for an explanations for the recent gaffe(s) in the USA-Slovenia match, for example.

Rumor has it the Mali referee received a bad review. How bad was it? He was the fourth official on the Italy-New Zealand game on Sunday!

I can only imagine what type of smokescreens or shenanigans will emerge from Monday's briefing. There will be no specific address of particular plays.

Now, my avocation is officiating so I can speak with some relevance in this case. Officials should NOT cause the outcome of matches. That has not been the case of a few games in this year's World Cup.

Also, as an official, you are subject to review. We talk about plays, what we saw, if we got it right, etc. If an error was made, the proper people are informed.

The USA has long been scoffed at by international soccer. Yet the Americans are better at soccer now, bring more fans than any other nation to the World Cup and people now watch and follow the games.

In short we've grown as a soccer nation. FIFA, on the other hand, has not grown.

How can they make amends? Take the initiative of American sports where integrity and accountability to the public are part of the checks and balances.

That photo above shows New Zealand celebrating after its improbable draw with Italy. The blew that one, too, as Italy dived to earn its match-tying PK.

That brings up another issue. The naked eye can't see these dives, but video can. Video is needed in these other instances. That's just another thing Sepp Blatter and FIFA need to address ASAP.

Credibility can kill the goose that laid the golden egg. FIFA is in jeopardy of doing just that.

Accountability & Transparency Needed at World Cup

We recently had a very special event in sports when an MLB umpire miss a call at first base that cost a pitcher a perfect game.

A very good umpire (Joyce) made an error. He owned up afterward. He was forgiven. Good sportsmanship was evident. Very nice.

Then we get to the World Cup.

The USA was obviously robbed of an incredible 3-2 win vs. Slovenia. Replays showed one Slovenian tackled (American-styled tackle) Michael Bradley. Two others were at least held. Maurice Edu broke through for the would-be winning goal. The USA was called for the foul and there was no goal.

A phantom call with no explanation as to what happened.

Who can solve that mystery?

But there was another boner. Robbie Findley was yellow-carded for a hand ball that hit his face.

If the yellow stands, he sits the next game. Apparently, FIFA rarely overturns such calls.

They should in this instance. And the Mali referee should not work another game in this World Cup.

If he offers no explanation for the phantom call, I say never again.

Nellie Brings World Class Pub

It's not often that a small college sports information department gets to trumpet (should I say vuvuzela?) on a global scale.

Ryan Nelsen, captain of the 2010 New Zealand "All Whites" World Cup team, attended Greensboro College for two academic years: 1997-98 and 1998-99. He was an exemplary student-athlete and led The Pride to a national runner-up finish in his sophomore season.

He moved to a larger stage--Stanford University--for his last two collegiate seasons. He later matriculated to the DC United (won an MLS CUP) and now captains the Blackburn Rovers of the EPL.

Those laurels are indeed rare for a former NCAA Division III athlete. Most of you probably know that D3 schools can't offer athletic scholarships.

I arrived in Greensboro from Southern California just days after Nelsen left for Palo Alto in August of 1999. I was fortunate enough to provide publicity for a GC soccer team ranked second in the nation.

He was the first of a number of Kiwis who came to attend and play soccer at Greensboro College. The Pride made five straight and advanced to 8 of 9 NCAA tournaments after I got here. (Enjoy that kind of success when it comes!)

I got a chance to meet Nelsen back in 2002. He was a kind and humble dude. He made an impact here and The College is following both the USA and New Zealand this year.

Team Captain Nelsen and New Zealand garnered their first World Cup point in its draw with Slovenia.

Greensboro College inducted Ryan Nelsen into our athletics Hall of Fame in April. Check out the induction video we did for him: HERE

PRK and Brazil: Opposites Attract

Not since Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett has there been a worse grouping than Brazil vs. North Korea in the World Cup.

Brazil is the top team in the tournament and North Korea the worst.

Brazil is all about Samba and brings to mind the free love of Haight Ashbury of the 1960s.

On the other hand, the PRK is regimented, repressive and reminds me of the Iron Curtain.

Ahhh, those were the days of the Olympics: the USA vs. USSR. American college kids vs. unemotional and robotic Soviet block athletes.

The Soviet block nations didn't travel very well. Communism didn't allow many fans to travel to Montreal or even Munich. They did have enough resources, however, to build a dominant sports power.

In addition to the USSR, Romania, Bulgaria and especially East Germany had success. The Germans also invested a lot in performance-enhancing drugs.

After the wall came down it's just North Korea and Cuba carrying that communist flag. Dictators Kim Jong-Il and Fidel Castro are doing their best to keep the commie dream alive. (China qualifies as repressive dictatorship but they now dig capitalism.)

But what an outdated philosophy in today's World. The information revolution makes it nearly impossible to control the media and minds of the masses.

Cuba has suffered because there's no more Soviet blank check. North Korea still has China's back, if you count sending a few hundred "fans" to root for their Korean neighbors.

You can't make this stuff up. North Koreans can't afford or can get a visa to South Africa to watch their team play. The theater of the bizarre, but that kind of thing would've been normal in international sport in the 1960s or 1970s.

Here's hoping the tyrant dinosaurs and their regimes won't survive much longer.

The Korenas did a great job today. They were aggressive early and their keeper gave up a tough goal to the near post. Let's hope he doesn't end up in a forced labor camp in a few weeks.

A 2-1 loss to Brazil was no disgrace for North Korea.

The people of the PRK, however, deserve more than a decent soccer team and nuclear weapons. Food and freedom would be better.

World Cup 2, NBA Nil

You can count on some things every four years. A Presidential Election, the Olympics and newspaper writers ripping the World Cup.

But I love the World Cup. Especially with the USA playing.

There were no televised games or Internet when I began following international soccer in the 80s. My sources were the L.A. Times and Sports Illustrated. (BTW, they both have GREAT soccer writers today in Grahme Jones and Grant Wahl.)

There wasn't much good to report back then. The underfunded USSF sent undermanned teams to wilt against many, most noteworthy: Mejico.

As the decade came to a close, our nation was assembling an improved group. My hunch is this was partly due to the soccer boom from a decade earlier, and the better play of NCAA Division I soccer teams.

Pau Caliguiri's "shot heard around the World" beat Trinidad, 1-0, and new era of USA soccer began. The USA qualified for the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

While the USA did not advance, I recall going toe-to-toe with the host Italians. I'm sure we were "packing it in" but, please, this was Italy and the Americans. I can remember Eric Wynalda (he led San Diego State to the NCAA title game in 1987) getting a red card. Actually, I forgot but according to Trivial Pursuit, he did.

1990 was a start, however.

That era was better, but not by much, than the previous decade for soccer fans. Other than the World Cup and a qualifying match here or there, no games were available on television.

Well, at least ENGLISH speaking television.

I spent a number of late nights viewing Univision. My three semesters of Espanol came in handy. A few years later, Andres "Goalllllllllllllll" Cantor would become a celebrity.

The 1994 World Cup came to the United States. I was lucky enough to attend.

I wasn't in Michigan wheWynala blasted a goal vs. Switzerland in the Silverdome. I had tickets to the Yanks game vs. Colombia. However, my wife Kim and I owned a computer magazine back the--Coast Compute--and it was our deadline. While I couldn't make to the Rose Bowl, I was able to watch the exciting game on the tele.

Cobi Jones, Alexi Lalas, Tony Meola, Claudio Reyna, Joe-Max Moore and John Harkes were a few of the stars back then.

Romania and the USA met later at the Rose Bowl. I attended that game with a friend, Mitch Fenton. However, that was the Americans only group loss (1-0).

The 2002 Cup brought more fun. The Amebericans upset Potrugual and should've beaten Gremany (Google "handball by Frings for more details).

The next Cup was not a huge success, but the US Soccer men's program was still at high level. That talent level is getting better every year. Shoot, we had Brazil down 2-0 in the Confederation's Cup championship last year!

Landon Donovan and Tim Howard are likely the best players we've produced. We've also got game Clint Dempsey (above) and Jozy Altidore, who might be the most exciting player this nation has produced.

Team chemistry appears to be great on this club, which could go a long way.

Because of the headline of this story, you may wonder where is the talk of the NBA. Well, many others will write about that. I'd rather watch the US in the World Cup than the NBA finals. And that's coming from a Laker fan.

I'm looking forward to the Americans next games in the World Cup. If it means setting the alarm early or watching in Spanish, I'll do it!