How To Coach Soccer

Joe Gaetjens secured his place in US Soccer history on the 29th of June 1950. The goal secured a shock win over England, then the self-proclaimed kings of soccer. On Sunday 11th July 2010, just over sixty years to the day since Gaetjens famous striker, is it possible that another US soccer player could write his name into the history books by scoring the goal that puts the USA on top of the soccer world?

Whilst qualification for next summers tournament is not yet guaranteed, heading the group entering the last two rounds of matches and a trip to Honduras following a 2-1 win in Chicago may, if other results go their way, render the visit of Costa Rica in the final match immaterial. A 3-1 reverse in San Jose put a dent in the US’ hopes but the 4-0 thrashing handed out to their last opponents by their next opponents in August gave Bob Bradley’s boys renewed belief that securing their place for South Africa 2010 is in their own hands.

The list of countries already certain to compete has a mixed look to it, from the unsurprising to the eye-catching. Five-times winners Brazil who have never missed qualifying for a tournament have been joined by Paraguay from the South American qualification pot. Another previous winner, Argentina, is yet to find consistent form and participation is far from a given. The World crown has never left the continents of South America and Europe and the latter will also produce strong challengers. So far, they include1966 winners England, reigning European Champions Spain, and the Netherlands who are former European Champions and widely considered to be the best side never to have won the World Cup.

2002 joint hosts Japan and South Korea have both qualified as have Australia. North Korea take to the world stage for the first time since 1966 when they had a shock win over Italy. Ghana became the first CAF side to qualify for the World Cup finals with South Africa gaining automatic qualification as the tournament hosts.  

The US national squad currently sit 11th in FIFA’s coefficient ranking list which is lower 3 of the above teams. Yet form going into a World Cup is in no way a guide to the identity of the hands who will ultimately lift the trophy.

The US competed in the first two tournaments in the 1930’s and then again in Brazil in 1950. However, without an established domestic league and overshadowed by other popular sports in the US, soccer maintained only a minority following. That changed in 1990 when qualification for the finals, on the back of FIFA awarding the 1994 tournament to the US in return for a promise to establish what is now the MLS, when despite losing all three group games the US raised their head above the parapet in the soccer world. Three subsequent qualifications for the tournaments in France, Korea/Japan and Germany in 2006 have raised international expectations of US performance. USA went as far as the quarter final stage back in France ‘98 where they lose 1-0 to Germany amidst controversy.

The current crop of players to wear the Stars and Stripes have regular competition at home and abroad. While US stalwart Landon Donovan plays in the MLS for LA Galaxy many of his fellow compatriots play in Europe and beyond.

Some of the higher profile players of the squad include DaMarcus Beasley of Rangers, Eddie Johnson and Clint Dempsey currently playing for Fulham and ex Man U keeper Tim Howard currently plying his trade with Everton. However, the list of US internationals on the rosters of foreign clubs continues to grow with representatives of the national squad also in Portugal, Denmark, Norway and Mexico to name but a further four.

The 2010 tournament will take place in South Africa’s winter which will suit many US players who ply their trade in Europe. Other than blips in 1994 and 2002 the trend in recent years seems to be for countries from the host continent to win the main tournament. The Brazil side have always been the anomaly to this trend after wins in 1994 and 2002 but the 2010 World Cup in South Africa raises the interesting question of who will be able to acclimatise best to the climate and enjoy success?

The women’s equivalent of the USA national team have experienced success in the Olympics and World Cup tournaments in recent history. As the MLS increases the popularity of the game known to the rest of the globe as ‘football’, the ability of the men to step up to the plate and produce their own piece of history will only grow as more and more players register opening up soccer as a game to those athletes who would previously have been lost to track and field, basketball, baseball, hockey, football….amongst others.

England’s national game for over a century has produced a single set of World Champions. Brazil’s poor but huge population has seen five separate triumphs. The combination of available population, facilities, ability to attract the best in the world to both play and train is present in very few nations – the US is one of those. And if it all comes to fruition one day, a new world order may just have started in soccer terms.