By Jason Davis - WASHINGTON, DC (Jul 28, 2011) US Soccer Players -- I've dedicated a few words in this space recently to the question of whether American ownership abroad has any obligation to promote American players at their clubs. They don't, but that doesn't mean some of them won't attempt to bolster a presence in the New World by bringing in a Yank or two.
Roma has flirted with the idea this summer, albeit with established performers rather than promising youth, without pulling the trigger. Liverpool, with very little preliminary chatter to warn us, has made a move.
American-owned Liverpool FC have signed at least one young American player, with more either on the way or flirting with a move. The player they’ve signed is Villyan Bijev, a skinny Californian forward.
Bijev played his way into a contract with the Reds after impressing in a trial. Beyond the confirmed Bijev other possibilities remain (per various reports). While we won’t delve into transfer scuttle here, this seems like a smoke-and-fire situation. At the very least, Liverpool is indicating by their actions a willingness to sign young Americans.
Yet there’s an important distinction to be made, one that directly relates to Major League Soccer’s academy initiative. Each of the players going or linked to Liverpool has a “Golden Ticket” of sorts. Because their parents or grandparents hail from a European country, they qualify to play in Europe without having to go through the tricky business of a work permit hearing.
With the rules as they are, it takes substantial US National Team playing time to earn the right to play in England. That Liverpool’s signing/targets each have direct ties to European Union countries is no coincidence. Doors are opened by bloodlines.
So what about all of those American kids with just as much potential as Bijev and the others on Liverpool’s short list, but without the right family background? If any of them are going to fulfill whatever potential they have, it’s up to clubs in the USA to provide them with a place to develop.
Limiting the export of young American players to only those with the right passport means many good prospects get left behind. The goal of MLS clubs specifically, and American soccer generally, should be to make sure none of those kids slip through the cracks. There are plenty more Villyan Bijevs playing soccer in the United States. Fate gives Bijev entrance to Wonka’s chocolate factory on Merseyside. By no means should others be denied the same experience, even if it’s at a slightly less prestigious locale.
It will likely always be a big deal when an American signs with Liverpool, whether he’s an academy prospect or a senior team player. There’s cache there. The New York Red Bulls and their academy don’t have it. DC United and its academy don’t have it. There isn’t a club in America that is going to compete a top English side for the excitement factor.
Clubs here will have to prove themselves capable of finding and developing good soccer players - and do it for a long, long time - before anyone looks to MLS as an alternative to the Liverpools of the world. No headlines will be written because a local youngster joins an MLS club at 17 or 18. Unfortunately, that's true even if some of those players are equal in talent to their Europe-connected peers.
That means it’s going to take a string of verifiable successes - probably ones that get sold on to big clubs in Europe - before anyone buys that MLS knows how to produce players on their own. The pool of non-Euro passport holders is much larger than than those with the “Golden Tickets.” MLS can’t stand by and let the bulk of good American talent be developed abroad. Not only will it contribute to a perception that the League can’t do the job, it will prevent them from keeping players with options here.
That’s the tipping point: a young, talented, American player with a European passport and a verified offer from a top club there chooses an MLS team instead. Not because it’s “home” or because it’s comfortable, but because there’s just as good a chance he’ll become a success here.
One of the Americans rumored for Liverpool was reportedly weighing a decision between two very different choices. One was Liverpool, of course, but the other was a scholarship with a college program. Not a chance to sign with MLS or enter an academy in preparation of a domestic start to his career, but college, that bastion of unlimited substitutions and the constantly stopping clock.
College soccer is a fine place to play, but it’s a far cry from the environment that typically produces top players. That this player’s decision came down to school and soccer or the prestigious academy of Liverpool shows just how far MLS has to go.
There won’t be a collection of transcendent stars coming out of American soccer as long as the only players getting world class instruction are the ones that happen to have the right family. Any young American at Liverpool is nice. In the end, however, it’s mostly a reminder of how far American professional soccer has to go in developing players.
Jason Davis is the founder of MatchFitUSA.com. Contact him: matchfitusa@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/davisjsn.
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