[phightin]

Originally Posted by Hazza

In order: God no, maybe not, and you aren't already?

But seriously, its unlikely. Soccer arrived too late and really doesn't have the grass routes support to make it.

Have you ever been to a sounders game or a few of the other top clubs in the league. The sounders averaged 30,000 throughout the year and while the average league attendance was down due to the economy the top half of the league draws much more than many of the teams in the nhl. Have a look MLS Daily: 2009 MLS Attendance Figures

Great players are playing soccer as kids, and being scouted as kids, and being signed by Real Madrid as kids. Until LA Galaxy has the youth setup to rival Madrid, and starts signing kids at that age (Providing the MLS doesn't go bust before then.) you don't have a prayer.

You must not be involved in the youth soccer scene in the US because that's exactly what the galaxy has now as every MLS team does an Academy program. Basically since ODP has never really worked, US soccer adopted a Developmental Academy Program 2 years ago where around 75 or so clubd soccer program have been designated developmental academies, with every MLS team having one. Granted it's only for the U13/14-U17/18 levels and needs to go slightly younger still, but these teams train 5 days a week, play each other throughout the year, and are scouted by the national program on a consistent basis. While the NCAA prevents it from ever truly being like Europe over the next few years you're going to see more and more kids choosing to go straight to the MLS instead of college because of this.

I mean, lets face it, the US Mens national team isn't really that good. You just get a free pass to the world cup, and a free pass to the Confederations cup (Like Australia used to) and thats it. Saying that the US is going to be a power in a sport that the other countries have been playing for a lifetime is silly. And just because you get to the final in the Confederations cup doesn't mean that you are going places. See: Japan, Australia.

I never said the US is going to be a power or that the CONCACAF is difficult to get out of, or their Confederations performance was something to write home about. But we're producing better overall players capable of handling themselves at the highest level abroad Dempsey, Gooch, etc. The problem is we can't get a high level pure striker still due to our coaching at the youth level. But I do think there's a certain respect the MNT has gained over the course of the past decade and if you turn on sports center its extensively covered. It's our only real national team that is followed year round at this point. The US will never be France, England, Spain etc. But there's no reason for me to believe that within a decades or so time we couldn't pull off what Greece did in Euro 04 and run through the best in the world when it means the most.