The Elevation of Soccer In The US: The Case for a Foreign Coach

While national sides like Italy and England have more recently and understandably put the blame for their World Cup woes on a growing injection of foreign talent into their domestic leagues, the United States stands as a model for how such talent can shape and reform a squad standing on the other side of the footballing spectrum.

Perhaps it would be foolish to compare Serie A or the English Premier League with the United States' incontestably lesser developed MLS.

But it would be similarly inane to argue that the recent rise of foreigners and first-generation Americans onto the national team hasn't made a tremendous impact in the style and quality of football played by the boys in red, white and blue over the past few years.

Of the 23 players who made up Bob Bradley's roster during this World Cup in South Africa, at least 13 players were either born abroad or are first-generation Americans.

Goalkeeper Brad Guzan is of Polish heritage, while Benny Felihaber and Stuart Holden are Brazilian and Scottish, respectively; Oguchi Onyewu and Maurice Edu are both of Nigerian parentage.

Edson Buddle's father was a Jamaican professional footballer, Ricardo Clark and Robbie Findley are Trinidadian-Americans, Jonathon Bornstein, Carlos Bocanegra, Jose Francisco Torres and Herculez Gomez are of Mexican ancestry, and striker Jozy Altidore's parents are both Haitian.

Although their foreign origin does and should not necessarily insinuate that these players would stand above other, more "typical" Americans, it is true that those who come from nations with a greater affinity to football will be raised surrounded by far more of the game's culture than those who picked it up alongside other sports as a child.

A look at Thomas Rongen's u-20 side further fortifies this point as the Dutch coach continues to include players with backgrounds from all over the world (Mikkel Diskerud, Sebastian Lletget, Kevyn Batista, Gale Agbossoumonde and Omar Salgado, among others). While, Rongen will always be considered to blame for the polemical departure of Borussia Dortmund star Neven Subotic and his decision to switch allegiances and play for Serbia, his example with the youth side serves as a shining example of the development capable of a squad of diverse, and mostly foreign-based players.

Many lovers of "soccer," as Americans should not be ashamed to call the sport, hoped that this World Cup would be the one to convert the millions in this nation who prefer the NBA and the inappropriately dubbed other "football" to our sport of choice. Despite the fact that it does appear interest in soccer has gone up of late, the rise has fallen significantly short of what could have been expected before the tournament.

Still, I argue that instead of seeking conversion, we should continue to invest in those who already come from footballing backgrounds and will most likely add a hint of quality and grace to the more rough-and-tumble, long-ball style implemented and practiced by home-grown coaches and players for generations.

Thus, we arrive at a point where we must look at the current situation of soccer in the United States and admit that if we ever want the Yanks to progress into the semifinals and even the finals of the sport's greatest competition, we must appoint a coach to our senior side who can properly deal with the great variety in our player pool.

We must do, as foreign and first-generation players have done and are doing, what it takes to make our game progress to the point where we stop being content with advancing out of the group stages of the World Cup and falling short in the knockout rounds.

We must get to where we can play with flair and precision and stop relying on heart alone.

Four years ago, every follower of the U.S. national team remembers hearing the name of former German coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who had already been living in the United States for quite some time, dropped as the possible replacement for the departed Bruce Arena. After weeks of discussion, negotiations with the U.S. Soccer Federation fell through. Bob Bradley was appointed and took up the reins until the culmination of the 2010 World Cup.

Now, after all the world overheard the former Inter Milan hitman's his fiery tirade on ESPN following the embarrassing loss to Ghana two weeks ago, and his subtle usage of the vital "we" when referring to what the United States must do to assure greater impetus in the coming years, his name is once again being tossed around as the successor to Bob Bradley.

I will be the first to salute our current coach and show gratitude for the consistently decent job he has done coaching the national side over the past four years. However, I am also the first to admit that if we truly desire to reach the elite of international football, as we have in almost every other sport, then we must hire a coach who can bring something fresh and non-native to our squad, as immigrants have been doing for this nation since the beginning.

After all, if we are truly the richest and most powerful country on the globe, then why can't we at least have one of its most powerful football teams?

The time has finally come to really put our money where our mouths are.