American game growing but not delivering
Reuters - Sunday 26 June 2011, 20:34
LOS ANGELES - Soccer's fascinating growth
in the United States has not been matched on the field with the
Gold Cup final showing the national side remains some way below
potential.
Bob Bradley's team were beaten 4-2 by Mexico in the final at
the Pasadena Rose Bowl on Saturday as their southern neighbours
fought back from two goals down in spectacular style.
The past three weeks have shown much that is positive about
the rise of soccer in the States, in particular the sell-out
crowds and impressive television ratings, mainly on the Spanish
language Univision.
The Gold Cup has become as much a festival of Latin football
in the United States as it is the continental championship and
it has been an entertaining event.
The driving force behind most of the numbers has been the
Mexican-American community and they ended the tournament with
the biggest smiles after victory in the final.
While the marketing men in the States are happy to embrace
the Mexican national team as a business opportunity, for fans of
the U.S. national team the tournament has revealed some
uncomfortable truths.
The defeat by Panama in the group stage was an embarrassing
result for a team who just two years ago were beating Spain and
scaring Brazil in the Confederations Cup.
A 1-0 win against Guadeloupe was the bare minimum and while
a quarter-final win over Jamaica and a revenge victory over
Panama in the last four were better displays, the Mexico defeat
was a blunt reminder that they are second best in North America.
It is another sign of the game's growth that Bradley now
faces the same kind of criticism from fans and pundits that
coaches in the game's traditional strongholds endure.
"Bradley showed in the final that he has a good feel for
this team and the courage to make bold moves, but this is still
a team that spent the majority of the Gold Cup looking stale and
lifeless far too often," blogger Nathanial Uy wrote on
bleacherreport.com.
"There is no greater condemnation of a coach than that."
EASY TARGET
The 53-year-old Bradley, however, did show a fresh
willingness to experiment, both with personnel and tactics.
He pulled off several surprises such as leaving record
goalscorer Landon Donovan on the bench for the quarter and
semi-final and starting Freddy Adu in the final.
Bradley threw aside caution in the final with an
ultra-attacking formation which looked to have delivered a
stunning victory before being swept aside by Mexico's young
talent.
Talent, or the lack of it, is fundamentally the problem
facing the United States.
For all the investment in youth and college soccer, the
country has yet to produce a player with the technical gifts of
Mexico's Giovani dos Santos, the directness and pace of Pablo
Barrera or the deadly finishing ability of Javier Hernandez.
Bradley has had solid defenders at his disposal but when
right-back Steve Cherundolo went out injured early in the first
half on Saturday, the team had to turn to Jonathan Bornstein who
has barely featured in recent weeks for club or country and
struggled from the outset.
By contrast, Mexico lost the vastly experienced pair of Rafa
Marquez and Carlos Salcido to injury in the first half but their
makeshift defence actually got tighter.
The United States showed last year that they have enough
decent players to make the last 16 of a World Cup but the
question is whether they have the quality to progress further.
For the past five years the team has depended on Clint
Dempsey and Donovan to deliver in terms of creating and scoring
goals and while neither is anywhere near finished, it is surely
a concern that there are no similar talents coming through.
Bradley is an easy target for frustrated fans but it is in
the youth and college game that attention needs to be paid if
the United Sates are to really emerge as a soccer power.
Dos Santos was in Barcelona's youth system at 12, Hernandez
was in Guadalajara's system at nine but the U.S. system has
shown it has few ways to fast-track talent.