Love him or hate him, Eric Wynalda has long been a lightning rod for soccer in this country.

And he makes no apologies for that fact.

“I am tired of apologizing for knowing what I am talking about,” said the quick-witted and never-shy Wynalda during halftime of a Liverpool match. “I have the experience to talk about what needs to be done better (for soccer in this country) and I am not afraid to say it like it is.

“I always say there are people that don’t know (about what needs to be done to make soccer better in this country) and they don’t know. Then there are people that think that they know, but don’t know. And, finally, there are people that say that they know, and they do know. That’s me. I know.”

That’s Eric Wynalda just getting started.

“I guess you could say I am the Charles Barkley of soccer in this country,” he said.

Wynalda’s ability to express himself has never been in doubt. He did it on the soccer field as one of the USA’s most prolific scorers playing. A veteran of three World Cups, his 34 career goals in 106 appearances made him the most prolific scorer in United States men’s soccer history until a guy named Landon Donovan came along. Wynalda did it with passion: Who could forget his red card in the USA’s first game at the 1990 World Cup in Italy?

He did it as the top color commentator for ESPN before being unceremoniously dropped by that network, only to find a new channel (literally) for his views  as one of FOX Soccer’s featured broadcasters.

Wynalda will bring that same passion to his role as a key presenter at the NSCAA Convention in Kansas City Jan. 11-15.

Wynalda will serve double duty at the Convention. He will be a host of a live panel broadcast on FOX Soccer January 11 from 7 to 9 pm labeled "Soccer Night in America Special: Soccer in the U.S. - The Next Steps." Then he will take the microphone on Friday afternoon, January 13, at 4 pm for an NSCAA lecture titled “Why Not US?”

“(NSCAA CEO and Executive Director) Joe Cummings asked me to do a lecture at last year’s Convention,” said Wynalda. “It was an open-microphone discussion and I didn’t hold back. I think the NSCAA members truly appreciated that. People are afraid to ruffle some feathers. I am not. I am tired of compromising. I want the U.S. to be the best in the world. And, you can expect more of that kind of message at my lecture this year.”

Wynalda, who doesn’t hide the fact that he’d like to be a Major League Soccer or U.S. Soccer head coach someday, thinks those two entities need to put their collective heads together and  make some changes.

“Really, why not us?” Wynalda posed. “What are people talking about today? They are talking about Clint Dempsey scoring goals against Chelsea at the highest level. That’s where we need to be in this country.”

Among many other messages he will deliver at the NSCAA Convention, Wynalda hopes to break down three key points for Major League Soccer to consider.

“First, we need to change our schedule and get on the FIFA calendar,” said Wynalda. “I’d rather see our guys finish their season in May and have the opportunity to aspire to bigger and better things.

“Second, I think it should be play to win and pay to win. Not pay to play. We need to incentivize the players to win games to get paid (a higher amount). We need to change our mentality. This idea that winning is not important is crazy. We celebrate people in this country that our winners. Vince Lombardi has his name on the Super Bowl trophy for a reason. All he talked about was winning. These so-called soccer geniuses, as I like to call them, that talk about developing players and not winning have it wrong.

“And, third, as part of changing the schedule we need to be fully engaged in the international market. There has to be a light at the end of the tunnel for the players, a springboard to be able to go somewhere else. There must be some positive encouragement for players to know that the MLS will open doors.”

Wynalda also said that U.S. soccer players need to have more personality.

“As a player, I was one of those guys with personality,” he said unabashedly. “We had (Tony) Meola, Alexi (Lalas), Cobi (Jones), players that weren’t afraid to express themselves on and off the field. We need that.”

Wynalda has it. And, you can witness it for yourself at this year’s NSCAA Convention.

Learn more about other coaches conducting sessions in Kansas City including: Tom Byer, Jim Cassell, Mike Curry, Jill Ellis, April Heinrichs, Mark Verstegen, Schellas Hyndman, Vanessa Martinez Lagunas, Kevin McGreskin, Tom Sermanni, Sam Snow, Taylor Twellman, Peter Vermes and Frank Wormuth.

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