US Soccer Players

Fox Tries Again

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 6, 2012) US Soccer Players -- As halftime came to an end during Sunday's Chelsea - Manchester United broadcast on Fox, studio host Rob Stone fell back on what has become a cliché of getting professional soccer over to a broader audience.  Each and every game is of unquestioned importance.  Stone said that should Chelsea's lead hold, they'd theoretically pull within four points of third-place Spurs (Tottenham plays on Monday).  The response of his co-hosts told the story.  Neither of them said much of anything. 

In fairness to Stone, Fox seems firmly committed to the 'very important people doing very important things' model for their national soccer broadcasts. This is at odds with their attempts at comedy routines for their National Football League coverage, and much closer to how they treat Major League Baseball's postseason.  It's much tougher to do that with a Premier League game in early February. 

City's Struggles

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 3, 2012) US Soccer Players -- Manchester City enter the weekend schedule still top of England's Premier League.  Unfortunately for the next super club, that lead is only through a superior goal differential to Manchester United.  City are coming of a loss to an Everton team that was going through the disruption of the transfer window closing, and once again it's City facing nagging questions about value for money. 

Though they're hardly the first team to end up in this situation, anything but winning opens Manchester City up to even tougher criticism than the ongoing complaint that they're the product of a benefactor model that isn't good for professional soccer.  Again, hardly the first English team to have to shoulder that criticism.  As the Everton loss reminds us, they still have to use their funds to put together a team capable of winning consistently. 

The Hall Calls

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 2, 2012) US Soccer Players -- The ballot for the National Soccer Hall of Fame's Class of 2012 was released earlier this week, with two of the nominees presenting themselves as obvious choices.  Claudio Reyna and Tony Meola should have no problem getting the requisite number of votes to make them first ballot Hall of Famers.  Barring a surprise in the voting, they'll be joining several of their teammates already inducted. 

As has been the case with the Hall voting, being a US National Team player is almost a requirement for getting elected in the first year of eligibility.  Since the Hall was designed for players who spent at least some time playing in the United States, that's as it should be.  We're seeing the capstone on careers that rebuilt the National Team program and took it to greater heights. 

FIFA's Rules Of The Game

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 1, 2012) US Soccer Players -- In our Corner feature a couple of weeks ago, we looked at the rules for overtime in the National Football League and compared them to soccer.  When we rated the likelihood of the issue going away, we gave it a 9 out of a possible 11.  That was mainly due to complaints about the current overtime system coming out of this summer's European championship.   Sometimes, FIFA doesn't need the complaints to suggest rule changes to the International Football Association Board (IFAB). 

In an agenda that should catch a few people by surprise, FIFA announced on Wednesday that the IFAB will be considering eight proposed changes to the Laws of the Game.  As always, some of these are procedural, where advertising boards can be placed, the color of athletic tape, and a discussion on whether or not the spray the referee uses to mark 10-yards from the ball on free kicks is working.  Then there are the actual game changers,  like the current proposal concerning an extra substitute in overtime.

The Transfer Window Slams Shut

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 31, 2012) US Soccer Players -- There's something vaguely unsettling about the final day of the January transfer window.  We watch a sour European friends become the equivalent of the person trying to set a competitive eating record.  It's intriguing, no doubt, yet at the same time slightly disgusting. 

Moves and rumors of moves play out in a few ways.  Clubs making a lot of noise while ultimately doing nothing, clubs spending wildly in the hope of the quick fix, clubs making strategic deals to block other clubs, and clubs making intelligent moves that should provide short and long-term benefits.  Those categories are presented in order, with the percentages decreasing as we work down the list. 

What American Soccer Fans Should Be Watching

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 27, 2012) US Soccer Players -- The news that Arsenal - Manchester United drew 1.2 million viewers in the United States for a live game early on a Sunday morning has opened a new discussion for the what it means for televised soccer to succeed.  Use whatever cliché you would like, but the impact of that game should have the holders of other foreign soccer rights in the US wondering what they need to do to follow Fox's lead with the Premier League.

Before dismissing that with 'buy the rights to the Premier League,' remember we're talking about broadcasters that already on the rights to competitions featuring the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and the giants of Serie A.  With that in mind, what are the most undervalued soccer properties in the USA?

UEFA And The Fairness Of Transfer Fees

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 26, 2012) US Soccer Players -- Once again with UEFA, it's the money.  Specifically, who controls it and how it's spent across Europe.  That's the broad carryover from UEFA's attempt to restructure European football club finances, a point they pressed with the 4th edition of the Club Licensing Benchmarking Report released on Wednesday.

It's an intriguing document for a number of reasons, perhaps most of all because it stresses the importance of the benefactor model UEFA would like to remove from the game.  European clubs have lost €4 billion euros over a five year period, but what UEFA refers to as "owner and benefactor capital injections" put €3.4 back in.  Think of it as rich uncle syndrome, bailing out clubs that would otherwise be floundering economically.

Klinsmann's January

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 24, 2012) US Soccer Players -- The National Team is one game into a two-game series that caps another January camp. This annual tradition gives a coach the opportunity to audition players over several weeks, a rarity in most countries. US coach Jurgen Klinsmann has already shown a willingness to experiment, using a different formation from what we've seen with his first choice roster.

Historically, that's been an issue with the January camp. If the coach plays to the strengths of the players in camp, what's there to really learn?  That in a dire emergency it's possible to filed a competitive squad without most of the European players?  That's not the point, especially when players are spending weeks of their offseason training. Instead, it's an opportunity for players to show they have the potential for stepping into a role. That's always been the main aim of the National Team in January, finding options.

Soccer On Network TV

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 23, 2012) US Soccer Players -- On Sunday morning, the Premier League on Fox gave us a glimpse of the immediate future of professional soccer in the United States. A live regular season game on network television treated the same way as the other North American pro sports.

Fox went first, and NBC will follow with Major League Soccer later this year. The potential for soccer taking its next step into the mainstream in this country is here, and there's no downplaying the importance of success at this level.

Changing The Champions League

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 19, 2012) US Soccer Players -- It's easy enough to pick on Major League Soccer and the CONCACAF Champions League.  Not only are their flaws obvious, in most cases they can't fall back on obvious success.  Not so for Europe, where the UEFA Champions League can overlook its faults while generating massive amounts of money for all involved, especially for those teams advancing to the knockout stage.  Yet the Champions League has its problems, and some quarters might actually argue that those problems will eventually overtake it. 

That might be pushing the point too far, but there's at least the feeling that there's a better tournament hiding out in the current Champions League. With that in mind, here are some things I believe are at least worth discussing.

Another Draft For MLS

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 17, 2012) US Soccer Players -- It's the dawn of another Major League Soccer draft, this time the Supplemental Draft that until recently was part of what made the SuperDraft super.  Now, it's a Tuesday afternoon exercise in player selection minus the television coverage or live audience.  So no 'you're not singing over there' or loud support of the team closest to the host city.  Just teams on the phone making selections and then getting back to their training camp schedules.

Hardly as much fun as last Thursday, now is it? 

The Premier League's Self-Assessment

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 16, 2012) US Soccer Players -- Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore's interview with the Daily Mail's Martin Samuel has something for almost everyone.  Depending on your constituency, there's something to confirm a position, challenge a view, or generally set you off.  In retrospect, those running the Premier League might be wondering why their chief executive bothered.  The aftermath is discussion, but not necessarily of the type that flatters the highest level of not just English soccer, but English professional sports. 

For American fans, the knock is obvious.  The American way of sports business isn't the English way, cross-Atlantic club ownership notwithstanding.  For instance, here's Scudamore on North American sports, a quote that's already made the rounds with the expected result:

"I envy America their equality but theirs is an incestuous, contained, domestic world. They have pulled off a trick of putting on a lot of meaningless sport, with nothing to play for, no  promotion and relegation, yet still having people watch. The World Series isn't really. It's America and one team from Canada. I wouldn't swap our global appeal."

Watching The SuperDraft

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 11, 2012) US Soccer Players -- The first SuperDraft I covered was in 2001 when it was still held in Florida, back in the days of dial-up modems.  I drew the short straw and ended up manning the laptop rather than attending the event in person.  It was much more likely that we would be able to get the draft results out as they happened without trying to get our equipment to work at a sports bar at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. 

In 2003, the SuperDraft made its debut as a feature attraction at the NSCAA Convention.  Just like this year, that convention was held in Kansas City.  I remember a packed room, as much to do with its actual size as interest, with people spilling out into the hallway.  More than one MLS watcher told me later they couldn't get in. 

That was remedied in '04, when the Charlotte hosted the NSCAA's and used what amounted to a giant hallway to stage the draft.  Plenty of room, but plenty of sunlight to go with it.  An odd setting for something meant for television, to be sure.  It was there that the SuperDraft as an event came into its own. 

Montreal Moves On

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 10, 2012) US Soccer Players -- Whatever happens on Thursday at Major League Soccer's SuperDraft (12pm ET - ESPN2), Montreal has already made the biggest player move.  That happened in the expansion draft, when they opted against taking a player's wishes into account and used a pick on then-Houston forward Brian Ching.

When Ching was left off of Houston's protected list, he made it clear that retirement was his first option should Montreal pick him.  Ching has received substantial media attention in Houston as the face of professional soccer in that city, developing the kind of public sportsman reputation usually associated with players in the bigger team sports.  From all appearances, he has a future in that city and the thought from all sides was he'd end his playing career in a Dynamo shirt. 

MLS Figures Out The Schedule

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 6, 2012) US Soccer Players -- During its glory years in the late 1970's, the original North American Soccer League expanded from 18 to 24 teams, increasing the regular season schedule from 26 games to 30.  By 1980, those 24 teams were playing 32 games.  The number of regular season games stayed the same through 1982, even as the number of clubs dwindled to 14. 

For most of the 1970's, the NASL was over by the 1st of September.  With a regular season that normally started in  early April, this meant that at its height the league was out of season from September through March.  Yes, there was the NASL indoor league that some teams participated in along with international tours for the higher profile clubs, but as an outdoor league the NASL went dark for seven months of the year. 

The National Team's New January

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 2, 2012) US Soccer Players -- National Team camp opens today in Phoenix, and with it a new set of expectations for the coaching staff.  With head coach Jurgen Klinsmann stressing first choice since taking the job last summer, he gets his first look at a group he's calling "the next in line behind the established players."

Understudies, if you will.  The same contrast we're used to seeing in January when Major League Soccer and Scandinavian based players have the availability for a multi-week camp.  MLS is providing the entire goalkeeping pool, six of the seven defenders, five of the six midfielders, and all of the forwards.  That gives this squad a median, what we're used to seeing in MLS. 

What The Winter Classic Means For American Soccer

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 2, 2012) US Soccer Players -- Later today, the National Hockey League will put on their annual version of what hockey would be like if it returned to an era that never really existed for professionals. The game played outdoors... with the addition of a full and modern Major League Baseball stadium. Hey, mixing metaphors is part of the point. There's a line at substituting frozen elk livers for rubber pucks, but that broadly invoked nostalgia should be expected early and often.

What we're left with is an oddly North American exercise, almost similar to what happens when the pros take the ice for the Olympic hockey tournament. Like the Winter Classic, we hear from people inside and outside of the sport making a quick and unflattering comparison to the usual NHL product. Olympic hockey is better because of the wider ice surface and the ability of skill players to avoid the physical game. The Winter Classic is better because it speaks to all that is good about hockey as a sport.

2012: European Version

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 29, 2011) US Soccer Players -- European soccer has spent another year living through interesting times.  On the field, Barcelona continued their run as the dominant club against whom all others are judged.  Off the field, Financial Fair Play looms on the horizon.  Midway through the 2011-12 seasons in Europe, we've already seen indicators of trends that could become issues next year.  Historically, inertia has done as much as planning in Europe, but that was before UEFA attempted to rewrite the financial rules.  With that in mind, here's swhat I would like to see happen over the second half of the 2011-12 season.

2012: MLS Version

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 28, 2011) US Soccer Players -- After a year where Major League Soccer added two more teams, lost several high profile players through retirement and other opportunities, and got a marquee winner in an MLS Cup final, here are a few things I would like to see from the League in 2012.  Unlike my Holiday Wishes For MLS, these are items that would require action the League can take now.  Resolutions, if you will.  No pressure, just some concepts that might have more long-term value than the onward and upward approach we've seen from the League in the expansion era.  Let's start with that….

MLS Puts Off Expansion

Instead of hearing how many people are more than willing to part with an expansion fee for an MLS club, it would be nice to think that the League is taking the long view, considering options, and potentially making the 20th MLS club the final MLS club.  That would go a long way in skirting the comparisons to the old North American Soccer League in the late 1970's.  There are enough problem clubs in Major League Soccer where relocation shouldn't be completely off the table.  19 clubs is already more than the FIFA recommendation, and it's doubtful that number got doubled because MLS is the topflight in two countries. 

UEFA's Economy

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 27, 2011) US Soccer Players -- We'll start the short week between holidays with a quote from UEFA president Michel Platini, taken from his summary of 2011 published on UEFA's official site. 

It has been a year in which certain of our national associations have had to take courageous decisions to preserve the justice and integrity of our sport. A year in which we have also had to remain solid and defend our values – sometimes alone – to guarantee the respecting of the rules and the equity of the competitions, and to prevent football becoming a hostage of a few for their own profit and interests. 

Let's consider a few things.  UEFA generates massive amounts of revenue through two prestigious competitions they control.  Both of those tournaments have been expanded, and it's tough to support the argument that those expansion decisions were based solely on competition.  Economics were and are in play.  UEFA after expansion is a much richer organization in literal terms than they were before.  So are the teams that regularly feature in their top-level tournaments.