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| Tough Times Ahead (January 2006) |
By Jay Martin
As we enter a new year – a World Cup year – it is appropriate to ponder Where is American soccer today? Is American soccer getting better? Is Major League Soccer getting better? Certainly the performance of the U.S. Men’s National Team in the 2002 World Cup, the current world ranking among the top 10 and the record of the national team in the past three years gives us some hope. But is this success a result of an overall improvement in U.S. Soccer’s player development (i.e. the MLS); or is the United States just lucky to have this current group of senior players playing for Bruce Arena?
When MLS started 10 years ago many soccer observers thought it was the most important and final piece of the puzzle to help move the U.S. to true “soccer nation” status. They argued that without a professional league the U.S. would not be able to compete on the international stage. In fact, the U.S. was granted the 1994 World Cup with the stipulation that a professional league be developed. So MLS was created. Has MLS served the purpose of aiding the development of U.S. players? Is the quality of play in MLS improving?
In the Oct. 17 issue of Soccer America, Ridge Mahoney wrote an article about the improvement of Freddy Adu in his second year as a professional. Despite the improvement Mahoney made it clear that Adu would not be on the U.S. team in Germany this summer. He made the comparison to Adu’s D.C. United teammate Santino Quaranta. Quaranta came into the league in 2002 as a 16-year-old. In the past few years he has learned on the job. As his playing time increased he improved as a player. Now he is in the 30-player pool for the National Team.
This was a common situation a few years ago in MLS. Young players were brought in and thrown into the game and they tried to survive. Many did very well. Besides Quaranta, players such as DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey, Taylor Twellman, Eddie Johnson, Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan moved from MLS newcomers to MLS regulars to senior team participants. They were thrown into the MLS, learned on the job and became better players. The quality (or lack thereof) in MLS allowed this type of progression.
But today the roster openings for players selected from the MLS SuperDraft have decreased each year. New players are realizing that it is very difficult to earn playing time on an MLS roster. The earlier practice of playing yourself onto the team is now a challenge. Look at the struggle of last year’s Hermann Trophy winner, Danny O’Rourke. After starting 12 of the first 13 games for San Jose, he did not see any playing time in the next 20 games. Five years ago he would have been thrown into the team and learned on the job. While this comparison is not exactly like Adu and Quaranta, it does support the notion that earning MLS time is getting difficult.
But MLS was different a few years ago. The quality was at a level where young players could, in fact, survive in an MLS game. Has the level of play increased so much that the younger players cannot make this type of move into the league?
Columbus Crew goalkeeper Jon Busch thinks it has. He believes the league has changed a great deal – for the better! Busch should know. It took him five years playing in the USL’s A League to get a shot in MLS. He has been a starter since.
He cites an observation from a recent Columbus Crew mini-camp run by new head coach Sigi Schmid. The Crew invited a few “youngsters,” including the very good Oforie Sarkodie. Busch said it was interesting to see that these highly regarded young players struggled against seasoned MLS players. He contends that the quality of MLS play has improved so much that it is very difficult for good but inexperienced players to find playing time. Learning on the job is over.
Another example Busch mentioned is how difficult it has been for teammate Danny Szetela to make a mark with the Crew. He was highly regarded by MLS. The Crew won the “Danny S” lottery and everyone in Columbus was excited, but he has struggled for playing time with an MLS team that clearly is in the bottom half of the league. Busch goes on to say that Szetela and Adu would be playing in the academy program if they played for a European team. They would be getting good coaching and good playing experience as they prepared to make the first team. So it seems the MLS is getting better. But, what about the young players – where can they go to get better?
Until recently MLS and the A League (now the USL First Division) had an agreement that allowed MLS teams to send young players to designated A League teams to play. It was a “farm system” for MLS. When that agreement dissolved two years ago, it was replaced by the MLS “Reserve League”. That is now the main place for young players to gain experience.
But Busch thinks that the MLS must have reserve teams to make this work. Right now reserve games are for those who did not play with the first team in the previous game. Busch also believes that MLS rosters will have to get bigger to sustain a second or developmental league. In fact, injuries and scheduling conflicts caused many MLS teams to field front office workers for some reserve games. This is hardly the environment necessary to develop future MLS players.
The MLS wants to sign young American talent, but to keep them in this country the league must provide these promising young players with quality training and game opportunities. The reserve program is not doing the job. While other players are gaining experience in the lower leagues, the young MLS “phenoms” are looking for a game. The MLS website shows that MLS teams played 12 reserve games over a six-month season. That is not enough. The USL First Division plays 30 games. Some First Division players will earn more than the MLS minimum. Where can the players get experience today? Will players like Adu and Szetela get lost in the shuffle?
Is an academy program for each MLS team a good idea? In terms of player development the answer is a resounding yes. In terms of financial stability the answer is no.
Using the European academy model is a good idea on paper, but it will create many problems for MLS. The European model starts with young players of 9 and 10 years old and continues through the senior team. It would be very difficult in our existing soccer society to duplicate this and it would be very expensive. D.C. United and the MetroStars have “academy” programs, but they are not like the European model. They have active youth teams, but a gap exists between the young players and the first team. In fact, most MLS teams have a Director of Youth Soccer programs (or similar title) listed in their directories, but most of these positions deal with camps, clinics and youth programs in the local community.
It seems college is not the answer. The previously mentioned odyssey of Danny O’Rourke serves as an example of the best college can offer falling short of MLS playing expectations. College has served other professional sports very well. The NBA and NFL have used college graduates since their inception with great results. But the overall competitiveness of college soccer seems to prevent total player development. While U.S. players are in college for four years and playing about 20 games a year, players in other countries at the same age are immersed in soccer training and play 50 to 60 games each year. The results show.
So it seems that a young player interested in the MLS should skip college and go directly into MLS. The problem is the MLS is better today than five years ago and these players are not making it onto the MLS field. For further development of U.S. soccer, we must find a viable system for these young players. It must be a system that will provide good training and good competition so players will develop.
It seems we have a Major League Dilemma. |
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