What if America's best atheletes played soccer?

[albooboo5]

TheGift23 wrote:

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Why Kansas City?

Shocked the attention !+@@%@ (Galaxy/NY) didn't try to get him to show up there.

you have the audacity to laugh about kansas city when guessing from your avy you live in the butthole of the universe that is dc
  

 

[TheGift23]

KC › DC?

 

[jehul]

Originally Posted by nYcHipHopHippo

its funny because we can arguably have the best club soccer league in the world with the money and thirst for sports our country has. the champions league would be forced to include north american teams and it would be crazy seeing teams like LA Galaxy and NY Red Bulls going deep in the champions league with at least some homegrown talent on each team

i think theres no doubting that if soccer were the sport our best athletes played we would definitely produce world class defenders with athleticism, height, and speed, and at least 1 world class CDM that can dominate the air in midfield. i also believe we'd be able to produce a rich mans peter crouch with height and physical tools to be a hit man in the box and footwork. as far as skill positions that require vision+imagination in the attacking midfield and supporting striker, its anyones guess. my guess is we'd have a team on the level of brazil, spain, etc.

You can call it typical American arrogance if you want but i call it common sense. with our population size, how highly we prioritize athletics, the economic advantages we have (even kids of poor families can afford to play sports and have coaches if they're good.) And we produce the greatest athletes PERIOD.

This.

Originally Posted by Trelvis Tha Thrilla

It seems like alot of you are arguing 2 different things.

1. There is one side that thinks the U.S. could produce great soccer players if that was the U.S. #1 sport and people like LeBron, Kobe, Vick, etc...started playing the game at an early age.

2. There is another group that is saying you could stick LeBron on a soccer field right now and he would fine.

I agree with point 1, not point 2 though.

Agreed, and I don't see how people find this so hard to believe.

 

[aojmf]

i always think the same

 

[imasoleman18]

so what would happen if ocho cinco did sign to play some soccer and the nfl descided to have its season

 

[carlos tevez]

The thing some people dont realize is that you dont have to be an amazing athlete to be good at soccer. Some of the attributes required to be an excellent North American athlete (size, speed, strength, etc) are not exactly necessary to be an excellent soccer player. If you have a good touch (i.e. can control the ball), if you can pass accurately, and if you can dribble the ball well then you have an advantage over 95% of other soccer players. You can put the likes of Kobe, LeBron, Durant, Ray Lewis, Justin Gatlin, Blake Griffin, Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, etc etc on a pitch together and yet they'll still be useless if they cant control the ball or get themselves in good positions without the ball. You do not have to be a great athlete to dominate on the soccer pitch and there are many past and present examples of this. Recently we've had football legends such as Zidane and Maldini who are considered among the best players of all time who werent exactly amazing athletes but were still great players due to skills such as ball control and intelligence. Ofcourse, if you can combine ball control and intelligence with athleticism then your left with amazing talents such as C. Ronaldo, Messi, Ronaldo, etc etc.

If the U.S. wants to be very good at soccer they need to switch up the way they nurture players...recruiting the best American athletes to play soccer wont guarantee improved results on the pitch because there is way more to this sport than just athleticism. Just compare the quality of play between the MLS and European and South American leagues. One can not say that European/South American players are more athletic than their American counterparts, however one can say without a shadow of a doubt that European/South American players are better with and without the ball than American players and that is where American soccer falls short of being amongst the best in the world.

 

[that dude173]

Originally Posted by IMASOLEMAN18

so what would happen if ocho cinco did sign to play some soccer and the nfl descided to have its season

This is what im wondering...

 

[AZwildcats]

I don't understand why its hard a concept to believe that if America's  best athletes played soccer, we would be a dominant country. No one is saying that athleticism = soccer success. Obviously ball skills are a huge part. You can't just take LeBron James and put him on a soccer field and he would succeed. However what if James played soccer from a young age. Developed his skills as a striker and played professionally. Your telling me with his natural athleticism he wouldn't be hard to stop in the air on corners? Or that Chris Paul's field vision wouldn't help him be a good midfielder?

I also believe the reciprocal is true. When I see Iniesta and Sneijder (sp?) play soccer, I can see how hypothetically they could make good point guards. Or how Ibrahimovic/Drogba could make a good forward. Or even a guy like Lampard (or any other guy who passes well) could have been a good QB

 

[imasoleman18]

xavi's passing ability on a basketball court