U.S. Soccer vs the World

Things are quite different in the United States where soccer has grown without emphasis on international play. The task of preparing a competitive national team has been complicated and thwarted by the limited financial resources of the U.S. Soccer Federation and the lack of cooperation from professional and amateur teams. The country's vast proportions created an obstacle to scouting players and holding tryouts; teams could not assemble and have sufficient training periods, many selectees could not make it to the games because of job responsibilities.

Yet the USSF has coped with these difficulties, adjusting to handicaps. It always kept its commitments to FIFA by fielding a national team for the most prestigious international competitions, such as the Olympics and the World Cup.

An analysis of 100 years of soccer in the United States reveals a pattern to which there are few exceptions: a group of players (not always the best, perhaps, but the best available) hurriedly collected and sent onto the field against foreign teams without preparation or technical assistance. Many American National Teams were born and dissolved so quickly that countless players could not even remember the names of their teammates.

Not surprisingly, therefore, the history of the United States team is riddled with defeats, a long chain of humiliations interrupted here and there by a win. This disappointing record did not enhance the reputation of the American national team: it has been ignored by the media; it has not received widespread public support; it has actually been ridiculed by its own fans. Some players have refused to join it if they did not want to visit the countries included on foreign tours: U.S. games abroad were sometimes considered tourist excursions.

The leagues have kept their distance. Club owners have been reluctant to lend their best players to the national team, regarding international competition simply as an annoying intrusion, rather than a necessary part of a process that would give soccer a solid foundation. A strong national team will eventually benefit the leagues themselves.

In recent years, the attitude toward the national team has somewhat improved, even if not all problems have been eliminated. The appointment of full-time coaches, emphasis on youth soccer, an intensified relationship with foreign countries, the creation of Team America and the unity behind efforts to host the World Cup show clearly that the U.S. federation and other interested parties want to depart from the old pattern.