I was just going to roll over this, and not say anything but its too ludicrous.

Natural born athleticism doesn’t make a person a great player. It helps, but it comes down to fundamentals, and the soccer academies we have here in the states don’t compare to the junior teams in ManU, Liverpool, or even Ajax.

Cristiano Ronaldo isnt black, not Torres, not Van Nisterooy. Those guys have all led EPL scoring.

On defense, Maldini JUST retired at 40! An old white dude.

Utter nonsense. I dont agree at all. We just need better training/coaching for children 9 years and younger (though if they make a bunch of CR7s, then screw that).

First, the idea that our elite soccer players are inferior athletes. I guess there’s room for debate, but at this point, I really feel our MNT players are the physical equal of those that play for Spain, Holland, etc. In fact, these days, it’s common for foreign coaches to talk about what wonderful, fit athletes we trot out for international fixtures. This is usually a backhanded compliment meant to highlight our players’ relative lack of soccer fundamentals, but I agree in principle. Our guys are just as fast, strong and physically imposing as most other national teams these days. (The last one isn’t even that important. Argentina plays a team of midgets, and aside from recent form, they’re alright.)

Second, that we will fill the void of talent with black players. On this point, I sort of agree with you. I just think you’re too fixated on the race aspect. I’m with you 100% on the idea that as a US soccer fan, I dream of the day when 1 out of 10 of our elite athletes choose soccer. I just think that one athlete is 10x more likely to be a Mexican-American than an African-American (as in black American, not Caribbean-American like Jozy or African- African-American like Gooch, I know its confusing). Also, you include Adu as an example of the type of black athlete that we aspire to find. Have you watched Adu play? You or I could beat him in a footrace.

Anyhow, the problem that we need to fix isn’t attracting guys that can win track meets. We need “fantasistas”, players with otherworldy ability to control a ball with their feet. These guys only happen when babies are born with a soccer ball in their cribs. So there are two ways to go: a) to make soccer so cool that average American parents will dream of turning Junior into Ronaldo, or b) look in places where soccer balls are already being put into cribs. Option B is more realistic of course, which will over time naturally change our MNT into a less-white group. I just don’t agree that focusing specifically on being less white will get us anywhere.

I’ve often joked that it’s clear that there’s something wrong with soccer in this country just by taking one look at our overwhelmingly lily-white MNT, and I’m only half kidding. The truth is, there is a problem, not that our soccer athletes are white, per se, but the fact that all of our elite soccer talent in this country is coming from the suburban middle class. This is, in fact, nearly the opposite of how it works in every other country. Our focus is too narrow, and we won’t be seeing much more progress (which had been incredible in the decade or so following the 1990 WC) until we change the way we develop players, and just as importantly, where we look for players.

However, I’m not sure you’re on the right track with your argument that we need more pure athletes. I agree even less that we should focus our efforts on mining talent from black communities. Yes, it would be nice if, say, Chad Cinco Ocho and the like would every so often choose to pursue soccer over one of our more mainstream sports. I would submit the argument that its a waste of our resources. What American kid in his right mind would choose soccer over a chance to play football for Ohio State, for example? Furthermore, by the time a kid is at the age where he would be making such a decision, it would be way too late to turn that kid into an elite soccer player. Most of those dirty Euros running circles around our Men’s team were signed to a pro club before their voices were even cracking.

Thing is, there are kids who would choose soccer, and choose it early in their lives. Two of those kids are specifically named in your article (Jozy and Gooch). What do they have in common? They’re the children of immigrants, from countries where soccer is king. For better of for worse (just kidding, clearly for the better) we have vast immigrant communities in the U.S. Until recently, there was no evidence of said communities at the highest levels of soccer in this country. And that was weird, and more than a little frustrating, to me. Why hasn’t the USSF and MLS combined to flood Southern California and Queens, NY with youth academies? How come we let freaking Grenada cap Shalrie Joseph, who grew up in Brooklyn? Also, Giuseppe Rossi (grrrrrr).

The good news is I think we are turning a corner. It does seem like the powers that be are starting to make inroads into the many pockets of soccer-loving new Americans around the country (see, Torres, Jose Francisco). I just feel that we need to do more than that. We need to focus the majority of our resources to the effort. I imagine a future USMNT that both ethnically and stylistically melds the best of Central America, the Caribbean, and Europe.

Again, nice work on the site and sorry for the long post.

I’m not saying you have to be black to be good at soccer. I’m saying that as a national team, you need to recruit the best athletes to play your sport. We are starting to do that. But this whole, Spain doesn’t have any blacks argument some of you are making is totally missing the point.

Fernando Torres is arguably Spain’s best athlete. Not just soccer player, but athlete. Same goes for Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo. Are you telling me that the United States is trotting out the nation’s best athletes currently? Not even close. That’s the point.

Again, apples and oranges.

Egypt has the most financed and best organized domestic league in all of Africa. So is it any wonder they’ve won back-to-back African Nations Cups?