“If I have a conversation with a youth soccer coach from pick wherever in America, half the time that coach thinks they know more about soccer than I do.”
USMNT legend Landon Donovan calls out youth soccer coaches in the U.S. 😳
“In England, a small country, there is an overall common goal and a common desire for the national team to succeed because it helps everyone,” he said.
“I know the media is rough and stuff like that, but everyone in general wants it to succeed. Right?
“In America, we have such a massive country, and we have a lot of people who know nothing about soccer, who get an opinion on soccer and have influence in soccer.
“And so it's really hard to find commonality, because if I have a conversation with a youth soccer coach from pick wherever in America, half the time that coach thinks they know more about soccer than I do.
“And I mean, they really believe it.
“It's just because they have like power in their little fiefdoms that they run and whatever. The parents are beholden to them, the kids are beholden to them.
“So they just think they're powerful in these because they have a seat on the U.S. Soccer board, or they're one of the member associations who gets to vote on things.
“And so they feel like they're as influential as the Commissioner of MLS. It’s crazy.”
Donovan has seen it all. Having played for MLS sides like LA Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes, he also spent time coaching San Diego Loyal in USL and San Diego Wave in NWSL.
He played in Europe as well, with Everton, Bayern Munich, and Bayer Leverkusen.
[via @goal’s The Rondo]
I know we joke about stuff being incomprehensible to the European mind but 105,000 people giving a standing ovation to a 90-year-old man in a tuxedo after he puts on a mascot head is probably really hard for them to understand.
Relegation is the classroom; promotion is the diploma you’ve worked hard to earn.
MLS is the diploma mill that ships your cap and gown, with no exams required as long as you pay the fee.
#ProRelForUSA
College soccer may be uniquely American, but only 21% of the 33 players who logged minutes during regulation in the men's College Cup final have American hometowns listed on their team's roster.
Not a great endorsement for how soccer (especially youth soccer) works in the U.S.