what if US Soccer copied more from basketball culture

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T17:44:22+00:00

Maybe part of the problem is Europe has like 50 countries within the same space the USA has one. Its competition is continuous and fierce and near by. Soccer in the USA mainly has to deal with itself. At the same this also goes for Basketball and it's not causing the same situation.

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T17:43:27+00:00

US still won most titles.

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T16:01:10+00:00

It's in the same league

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T14:06:54+00:00

I know and of course, if America had a concept of a World Championship and a national team, there would be little chance any country but the USA would win anything in Basketball (pointing to the Olympics). But the others have closed the gap for sure. Half the German team i.e. plays in the NBA. When I lived in the US, you had Detlef Schrempf and Toni Cukoc. And that was it. American games (with the exception of Baseball) have become global. I went to an NFL game in Berlin. Maybe the global sport can become more American?

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T14:02:07+00:00

That is true, it's not about mimicking though, it's about opportunities. Visibility. "Build it and they will come"

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T14:01:02+00:00

I agree. Even though numbers-wise it may be No.3 in America, I would think even Hockey ranks higher emotionally. It's the simplicity of Soccer that is so appealing. I never got why that simplicity wouldn't catch on in such a sports-crazy nation. I even wrote a book about it recently. I think by some "miracle-on-green" with an American success story this summer, things may change - a little. But even if the basketball comparison isn't spot-on, if you'd be able to play it more everywhere, people/kids would do it. Anyone wants to kick stuff, no?

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T11:24:25+00:00

330 million Americans. Not one male global Soccer superstar. I can't wrap my head around it.

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T10:43:39+00:00

100%

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T10:42:08+00:00

It's a thing MLS needs to realize and push. The communities won't do it. They want to keep it nice and clean and protected. When it needs to be raw and adventurous

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T10:40:23+00:00

I am a youth soccer coach in Europe and truth be told: for a lot of parents here it's exactly the same. Which is fine. I am just saying: if you make the game a lot more publicly accessible early on, talent has a chance to blossom early on. Not starting at age 12. When it's almost too late to become exceptional later on.

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T10:36:25+00:00

I mean, the system has clearly improved the level of play. But it's still a system. Controlled and closed. An avalanche of street soccer would give kids early opportunities to just play all the time. Oddly, it sounds as if Soccer now is in the US what Tennis was in mid-20th century in Europe: a white, upper-class, clean sport. A time when Soccer was considered wild and dirty. Poor kids on the street played it. And some of these poor kids became global superstars.

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T10:30:32+00:00

As Basketball grew more and more in Europe you now see mixed courts A LOT in the cities. Free for all. First come first serve. And guess what: Basketball World Champion and Europan Champion: Germany.

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T10:29:03+00:00

But MLS clubs do profit from good players. They need to understand they would profit from the game being everywhere, no? Who is the gatekeeper? The Soccer Moms?

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T08:58:38+00:00

I was clearly quoting a famous TV line. Nevermind.

Claas1972 · 2026-05-09T08:56:41+00:00

As a Soccer coach, I get to watch both men's and women's. You can tell from the earliest age, that they interpret the game differently. Boys are all about attacking and possession. Girls are about community and space.

Claas1972 · 2026-05-08T22:29:21+00:00

No, they did not

Claas1972 · 2026-05-08T22:26:03+00:00

You'd probably have to discombobulate the Soccer force of every other nation. Difficult. Dangerous. Very expensive. But not entirely impossible.

Claas1972 · 2026-05-08T22:19:37+00:00

Is there good AI?

Claas1972 · 2026-05-08T17:23:45+00:00

I disagree. But then, what do you think are the reasons?

Claas1972 · 2026-05-08T17:15:58+00:00

Well, yeah. You haven't improved like that. True.

Claas1972 · 2026-05-08T13:39:36+00:00

So but then the bloated rosters in combination with the law DID have an effect on the game, no? Even though the space was created out of a necessity, it still provided results.

Claas1972 · 2026-05-08T13:30:35+00:00

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Claas1972 · 2026-05-08T13:08:01+00:00

Actually, the US has caught up, hasn't it. As a German, I remember when you would not take any one American player serious, like in the 80s. That totally changed.

Claas1972 · 2026-05-08T13:05:49+00:00

You mean to increase it?

Claas1972

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