Soccer: USA gets the Invite...w00t

James Deuce

WC Moderator

Although another FIFA international weekend is upon us with the Americans once again maddeningly idle, the boss, Sunil Gulati, will announce an invitation to Copa America next summer.

Somewhere down the road Gulati will also find someone to coach the currently non-existent national team (A question: Are they still paying the assistant coaches? If so, for what?) and business will begin again.

Hopefully when that announcement is made, it will usher in an era that breaks the cycle of "business as usual." The word that a trip to Venezuela next summer is in the plans should be applauded.

Here are seven reasons why playing in both the CONCACAF Gold Cup, where we are defending champions, and Copa America next summer not only is good business, but is a must if the United States is to regain lost international prestige.

1. The USA has to learn how to win overseas.

Given the current political climate, playing in Venezuela will be both challenging and educational for both the staff and the players.

Not only will the host country be unlikely to welcome Americans with open arms, the prospect of playing three competitive first round games is to be welcomed. It would be even better if the U.S. has to face Argentina or Brazil at that stage and that one of the other foes is Ecuador or the host nation.

It has been too-often forgotten that Steve Sampson's greatest success came in Uruguay at Copa America 1995. The national teams's performance in that Copa continued the growth of the American game by demonstrating that the 1994 World Cup performance was not a fluke.

2. We must continue to dominate in CONCACAF in order to maintain our FIFA ranking and any World Cup seeding chances, so the Gold Cup should be a priority target.

It is obvious to everyone who pays close attention that the United States and Mexico are heads above the rest in this region, but ours is a reputation that needs constant defending.


U.S. midfielder Tab Ramos in action during the 1993 Copa America in Ecuador. (Shaun Botterill/Staff / Getty Images)

One reason why Bruce Arena's team had such a simple job qualifying for Germany was that it had established its pedigree in CONCACAF. Nobody expects an easy game against the Americans any longer and the U.S. players have lost their fear of traveling into "hostile'' environments close to home.

The Gold Cup next summer will offer the first opportunity for a new group of national team players to continue that regional success.

3. The USA cannot waste any opportunity to play a competitive game.

The truth is that in the current soccer climate, friendlies are utterly useless. Friendlies are almost useless in terms of team evaluation � I'll grant the point that perhaps one or two players can emerge in such circumstances � and they are impossible to promote. Fans know the real thing and friendlies, with limited (or no) tackling, don't pass the test.

The rationale for playing a friendly in the past was that the USA was left on the sidelines while other countries were playing. Today, that situation is disappearing and the fact is the USA must grab the competitive games each and every time they are offered.

4. Copa America is a hemispheric measuring stick.

Doing well in the Copa enhances our chance of playing tough friendlies as a quality opponent against Argentina, Brazil on the road; playing well in it also will make us more attractive to European rivals.

Think the USA should play in the Copa?
Jamie Trecker's Blog



One of the persistent excuses we hear when we ask why the Americans don't play away games in Europe is that the U.S. national team isn't an attraction. That's in part due to foreign ignorance of how much the team has improved, but it's also partly down to traditional powers.

If you can win consistently in Copa America, as Mexico has, your stock goes up.

People forget that just 16 years ago few people regarded Mexico as a legitimate international power. Their acceptance on the world stage has come through the fact that they have demonstrated that they can beat quality opposition outside of the Azteca.

5. Much as American fans and coaches might like to believe it, contrived "training camps" and friendly series "which mimic WC schedules" do little or nothing to prepare teams for international play.

See Germany 2006 if you don't believe me.

U.S. Soccer in the spotlight


As we've said before, having a home-based national team train in mid-winter then play games against shadow sides from Scandinavia may have been good to puff out the team's record but it had little to do with getting anybody ready for a World Cup.

Don't forget, the basis for success in Korea began in the Rose Bowl in 2002 when CONCACAF Gold Cup was played in Pasadena and the Americans won it. That was the the tournament in which Landon Donovan made the transition from youth player to senior international as well as a coming out party for Pablo Mastroeni and DaMarcus Beasley.

Fans, if you can find anything comparable from this year's pre-Germany charade, do please let us know.

6. Our players must learn how to perform overseas.

It struck us as odd that during the World Cup some of the national team players were excited to get to that American Air Force base in K-Town. Perhaps there were more threats to U.S. safety than we ever heard about, but we tend to think or too many of our guys simply don't function well enough away from home.


The USA's only bright spot at the World Cup was their 1-1 draw with eventual world champions Italy in Kaiserslautern. Was it all the 'home' support?


This isn't just an American problem � every country has players who can't find a comfort level, and a few (Mexico?) are notorious for it. But since we have so few players in the pipelines in the first place, we need to maximize what we've got. If this means the team needs a support staff than help acclimatize guys in foreign countries, then let's do it. Smart clubs � such as Manchester United and Arsenal � already do this for their foreign legions. If Americans are being overlooked by these programs � or play for clubs without them � then perhaps USSF needs to step up and help fill some of the gaps. How much could a liason or two cost, anyway?

The paradox is that we do have some guys who did elect make it on their own in Europe. Not enough of them were included in the World Cup side … and more than a few weren't even scouted. What a joke.

7. MLS will be forced to adopt a worldwide calender.

The biggest pro of all is that taking players away from MLS for two months will force the league to bring its schedule into line with the world, or, to be quite honest, drop it into the Scandinavian category where the best players all leave for jobs outside the country and "national'' teams from the likes of Denmark, Finland, Sweden show up for winter friendlies composed of entirely home-based players, devoid of their stars.


Poll: Copa America

Now: MLS suits are going to tell us that certain cities can't survive without summer games. Let me ask fans this: Consider that this is a league that can't shoot straight about their attendances in the first place � it's been firmly established by now that MLS clubs "paper their houses" with giveaway seats and are drawing closer to 10,000 fans on average than the 15 or 16K they claim � and ask yourself if you believe them.

MLS now has enough stadiums under its belt to play either a traditional or split schedule, and the fans who have suffered through 11 years of watching substandard games should relish the chance to actually have a shot at seeing up-and-coming players from Eastern Europe and South America that are largely precluded from playing in MLS today because of its schedule.

Let me also point out that MLS was founded (supposedly) to "develop American players" and the national team. Why? Because the U.S. national team drives interest in MLS, and the fact is the national team cannot grow without playing every FIFA-sanctioned date. If there is no national team success there is virtually no general interest in soccer in the United States.

This is the harsh reality. Bruce Arena did his best to placate both MLS and European teams, running what amounted to two national teams. It didn't work. It failed to produce success in Germany and as far as I can tell the World Cup "stars" that MLS markets don't sell any tickets.

U.S. Soccer has to be selfish right now and take the players whenever it needs them. MLS will adjust.

In the short term, this is going to be painful. But in the long run, both league and national team will benefit.

Source: Fox Sports