Key to American Soccer's Success Lies in European Leagues

Fresh off the U.S. Soccer team’s loss to Brazil in the championship game of the Confederations Cup, American sports fans still seem undecided on whether or not soccer is a sport that could thrive in America.

I am a casual soccer fan.

I turn into a die-hard soccer nut every four years when the World Cup comes around, but until then, I simply enjoy the sport of soccer without following it.

It seems like there are a lot of Americans like me who want to follow soccer.

When two teams from Europe play a friendly match on American soil, the game sells out almost instantly, yet Major League Soccer struggles to fill the lower bowl of most stadiums.

The reason for this is undeniable: the level of competition in Europe (and other elite leagues around the world) is tremendously higher than that in America.

Consider that Landon Donovan is MLS’s highest paid “American” athlete (5th overall including non-Americans), netting $900,000 while Forbes’ 20 top earning international players in 2008 lists Germany’s (and Bayern Munich’s) Oliver Kahn as number 20 with a paltry $10.3 million.

The vast difference in salaries is equaled only by the difference in talent between these two leagues. It is the same reason why Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees continue to put a winning product on the field while the Pittsburgh Pirates struggle: higher payrolls allow for bigger risks to be taken in hopes of bigger rewards.

Major League Soccer has already made a few attempts to bring talent from overseas into their league. England’s David Beckham was lured away from Real Madrid for $250 million in early 2007.

Two years later, Beckham answered the call of European soccer once more, and was granted to be used “on loan” to AC Milan.

Regardless of how the rest of Beckham’s career plays out, it is clear that his yearn for top competition cannot be satisfied in America.

This is not the first time the United States has tried this maneuver. However, In 1975 the North American Soccer League acquired arguably international soccer’s biggest icons of all time, Pele.

The problem with this attempt at popularizing American soccer was that Pele was clearly on the downside of his career. Alas, over 30 years later, America still has no answer for international soccer.

If purchasing players from Europe to play in America wasn’t enough for American soccer, what is? The only thing left to try might be the hardest to complete, but has the best chance at producing the desired result.

In the true spirit of, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”, the United States needs to stop competing with the elite soccer leagues of Europe and instead, try to integrate into their system.

American soccer needs to stop trying to beef up its own league, and instead try to find a way to piece together a team that can join an international league. Although it should not be marketed as a “United States National Squad”, that is essentially what it would be.

Whoever would take ownership of this team would have to pitch the idea to one of the elite leagues in Europe and convince them to let an American team join an international league. This is not entirely impossible, since the United States has a unique global following unlike any other country.

Although the logistics of this scenario would be difficult, the fact remains that these athletes travel all over the world to play for multiple teams over the course of a year.

Every time two teams from Europe play an exhibition game in America, the point is strengthened that America could host its own “English Premier League” home games.

It is fairly believable to think a team of “American All-Stars” would be able to compete in such a league. If success follows, the American team could expand domestically and turn into a subdivision of its European league.

The MLS could develop into the “Western Division” of the UEFA Champions League, and in the best-case scenario, be a self-sustaining powerhouse league on its own, either alongside or eventually separate from its original European League.

At the very least, casual soccer fans in American can follow their team in overseas matches and attend home game against the best players in the world playing at the highest level.

Obviously, this idea is unfounded, formed by brainstorming in a conversation with friends.

As I admit to not being the most savvy soccer fan in the world, I understand that altering a successful league to accommodate a lesser level of competition may sound less than ideal to the leagues in Europe, but if America can create a contender, the pressure might be great enough to allow entry.

Regardless of what does happen, it seems that all other options have been exhausted, and the MLS cannot just create talent while technically diluting it among its 15 teams.

If the United States ever wants to join the international party that soccer offers, it’s time for America to think out of the box and step out of the country.

Mario Mergola is the co-creator and writer of The Digital Blitz.