Does US Soccer Success Bother Some Europeans?

In the aftermath of the 2010 World Cup Draw held in Cape Town, South Africa this past Friday, ESPN soccer analyst (and proud Irishman) Tommy Smyth was asked about the opening match between the United States and England. His analysis went on a tangent of talking about the English Premier League.

His discussion was primarily about the presence (or lack of presence) and quality of American players there, and it is safe to conclude that he is not impressed by the US national team.

Tommy Smyth is not the only European soccer commentator to engage in "the glass is half-empty" analysis, and nothing in the history of American soccer suggests that this is the best way to predict success on the field.

If anything, it sounds like the Europeans do not necessarily like seeing American soccer success, given the comparatively less-significant importance of the game in the fabric of American life.

So here are some highlights of American soccer:

1. The United States will be competing in its sixth consecutive World Cup, and ninth overall.

2. The performance of the United States in the World Cup includes making the semifinals in 1930, beating England in 1950, advancing to the second round as host nation in 1994, and making the quarterfinals in 2002 thanks to an upset of Portugal and fierce North American rival, Mexico.

3. During the 1994 World Cup, the United States was in a tight match in the second round with eventual champion Brazil. The US lost any chance at an upset when Brazilian Leonardo landed a vicious elbow on American star playmaker Tab Ramos. He left the game with a skull fracture, effectively killing any chance the United States may have had to pull off an historical upset on Independence Day.

4. The United States performed admirably in this year's FIFA Confederations Cup and almost won it with a near upset of Brazil in the final.

5. The United States has been a consistent fixture in the Top 25 of the FIFA World Rankings in recent years.

6. The United States has practically drawn even with traditional North American power Mexico.

7. Soccer is not the game of the masses in the United States the way it is in Europe, Latin America, and Africa; nor is it anywhere near the most popular sport in the United States.

Sporting interests in the United States are spread out among many sports including American football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, tennis, golf, motor sports, etc. The majority of top, young American athletes still do not play soccer as their primary sport, as is the case in most soccer-mad nations.

8. Soccer was the sport of the future in the United States during the 1970's; during the heyday of the North American Soccer League, and again during the 1990's with the rebirth of the game—and despite our best efforts, it may end up always being the sport of the future.

Given all these facts, I would say the United States has exceeded expectations on the international soccer stage.

How does Tommy Smyth explain the 2002 World Cup and 2009 Confederations Cup runs using the presence of American players in top-flight European club soccer as a major indicator of American soccer progress? He is not able to because his analysis is too narrow.

The United States may not have the most talented soccer players in the world, but I would say there have been several respectable players in recent years. Combine that with the financial resources of one of the world's largest economies, excellent facilities, strong organization, honesty, good work ethic, and the general American characteristic of wanting to win at everything and what you get is a respectable national soccer team .

There are several African nations that have more raw talent and passion for the game than America has, yet their national teams often underachieve because of political corruption, lack of resources, poor organization, and poor facilities.

Furthermore, trying to minimize the significance of the spectacular US run by devaluing the importance or quality of the Confederations Cup is dubious. How many other competitions are there on the FIFA calendar that involve countries from all continental zones and do not have age restrictions for players? Only one...the World Cup.

The Euro is a great tournament, and is sort of a mini-World Cup, but just throw in Argentina or Brazil as a guest into the competition and the dynamics of that tournament would change.

The progress of American soccer has been quite remarkable in the short 20 years since Paul Caligiuri's goal against Trinidad and Tobago that sent the United States to the 1990 World Cup after a 40-year absence.

The US national soccer team is a classic case of the "whole being greater than the sum of the individual parts."