1/4/2007 10:23:26 PM
US SOCCER AND ITS CAROUSEL
By Delroy Wallace
There is one sport the USA has been a part of, sort of, for many many years. It is called the “beautiful game” , or simply soccer . It is arguably the most played sport worldwide, and the USA has not been left behind. In the USA it has caught on so much that millions have played for generations and are still playing in our youth and adult programs ( note the author says programs).
Of course the pinnacle of soccer achievement comes when a National Team qualifies and arrives at the World Cup . A country may not win the Cup , but once it qualifies , surely has proven that it is good enough to be taken seriously in the soccer world.
Is it not true then that the USA has arrived? The country has been represented in the last four Cups spanning the 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006 tournaments admittedly with varying degrees of success. It may then be surprising that the consensus is that the “program” is a failure. In the USA it is not good enough to make it to the Cup tournament, one should at least make it to the last four contenders and win the ultimate prize in some timetable, or sort of in some early timeframe. Since we haven't yet won the ultimate prize in the last four tournaments , we are now on to a “FRESH START” according to the USSoccer web site , as Bob Bradley takes over as Head Coach of the National Team.
In the USA we like to be “organized” and operate in a system of “governance” , and in that regard our soccer programs are no different . If you venture to any local park where soccer is played, you will find that the “structure” is a microcosm of the larger picture. First we will have our “Directors” who are rather educated people from all disciplines , be it Law, Business, Medicine or what have you with the majority of the rest being people who actually know a lot about the sport, played a lot and in many cases at very high standards but who are now going to be governed and instructed how things will be done. The Presidents, Vice Presidents, and for that matter the decision makers are going to be around for a long time, because when these boards are to be “re-elected” annually , then the carousel syndrome sets in. Here is how it works: The officers simply exchange positions. For example if I were a Treasurer in the current term, when my term is up, I become the Secretary or Vice President or some other officer, and so we maintain the same effective boards for years ad nauseum, and of course the concomitant sterility and absurdity continues. This carousel syndrome is so much a part of the soccer culture that even in our professional leagues we simple recycle our personnel to different clubs/teams and remarkably expect improvements. Never mind that most have been abject failures in their previous soccer endeavors.
This brings me to our present state of affairs at the National level and the comments that usually follow when the absurdity and sterility kick in. …………..
“When fans of American soccer look back on 2006 there won't be too many fond memories…”
“This brings us to 2007, a year filled with promise, opportunities and expectations for American soccer” These quotes in juxtaposition on MLS Soccernet website. Go figure!
Now one is not sure if the departure of Bruce Arena, the most successful soccer coach for the National Team, and the hiring of Bob Bradley, another local boy will in itself be reason for the 2007 promise. The truth is the “Directors” are not capable of evaluating and recognizing inherent weaknesses in our “programs”as they have little knowledge of the game and thus are incapable of supplying a workable fix.
Consider that Jurgen Klinsmann , a very successful soccer professional at the playing level, and coaching level became available to the USSoccer Federation but could not offer himself to the “Governing” body because as it is reported , Klinsmann, in a statement sent to ESPN, said: “Sunil(Gulati) and I have concluded our discussions about the U.S. men's national team program, and I have withdrawn my name from consideration as coach.” This comment from Klinsmann is surely very telling. Of course one can only speculate on those discussions, but as is the soccer culture in the USA, we may never hear what the issues were and why a coach the caliber of Klinsmann could not be the next USA National Coach. Which beggars the question “Who is Gulati ?”
Well, Gulati is the current President of USSoccer. You only have to look on the website of USSoccer and you can see or figure out who Mr. Gulati is. Of course experience in our soccer microcosm tells us that it is easier to find a needle in a haystack, than expect someone as described in the Gulati mold, to be hiring a true soccer person to run a “program” bankrupt of ideas and wherewithall to reach the ultimate prize. In short it just does not happen in soccer in the USA.
For my part I would like to wish that someday I might see a soccer person who heads the National Program who has been given the reigns to implement a program that will allow soccer to be played at a level similar to the more successful dominant soccer countries. A program that relies on experienced capable and willing people, from wherever they may come from, and whatever capacity needed to do the coaching , unearthing , and nurturing of talent and less on “Directors” . When I hear the term “Directors” I think more of administration and less of anything else. When this is truly understood and put into practice then the ultimate prize will be reachable.
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