Where would the U.S. honestly be soccer-wise if our best athletes participated in the sport?

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I know this likely has been asked several times but soccer-heads of NT....where would our U.S. national team be ranked right now if soccer was more popular and our best athletes were playing?

I thought of this again today reading ESPN's current "Top 100 soccer players in the world" listing and seeing the highest rated American was Donovan at #50. I know the sport is "growing" in our country but we obviously are way behind the curve.

Thoughts? Is it more to it than that?
 
if athlete like lebron, kobe and chris johnson spent their whole lives playing soccer, the US would be a problem
 
if lebron was trained to be a centerback for his whole life
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I honestly think we would have the best soccer team in the world if soccer were the undisputed number one sport of this country.
 
I can't edit posts on my iPod to add this afterthought but bron as a cdm would also be straight beastly with his speed height hops to win balls and vision.
 
Originally Posted by nYcHipHopHippo

if lebron was trained to be a centerback for his whole life
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I honestly think we would have the best soccer team in the world if soccer were the undisputed number one sport of this country.

I dont think LeBron's athleticism would be used nearly to its potential if he played soccer.  Something about his build and make up just doesnt scream great soccer player.  Basketball or Football, yes. I am the first to admit I dont follow soccer as much as other sports, but are there really a lot of 6'8 players that are amazing soccer players?  Id guess no.  
I think players like Allen Iverson, Jimmy Rollins, Reggie Bush or Steve Smith (Car) would be the kind of athletes that would be amazing soccer players if they spent their lives playing it, not LeBron.

As far as OP's original question, all I can say is we would be much, much better.  I still dont know about the best, but we would be up there.
 
Soccer is much more skillful than football though (from a RB perspective). Kicking a ball at the elite level is not as natural as cutting and running between the tackles.
 
Some of the best athletes in soccer are not that good (Micah Richards anyone? Ok, he is decent, but he is also the biggest liability on the pitch). Technical skill is a big part of the equation. A better question would be: Where would the U.S. be soccer-wise if they devoted all their resources to soccer?
If they brought in the best coaches in the world to teach the little Reggies, and he practiced enough, then it would be a big problem.
 
who's gonna score on LeBron if he's been playing goalie his whole life. Dude's so athletic, his range to cover would be crazy.
 
You can't automatically assume that having your best athletes play the sport = being best at the sport. Again, soccer takes a great amount of skill so there's no way to know for sure whether these best athletes would have the necessary skill.. But no doubt that being a great athlete would help.
 
Originally Posted by ERASCISM


Some of the best athletes in soccer are not that good (Micah Richards anyone? Ok, he is decent, but he is also the biggest liability on the pitch). Technical skill is a big part of the equation. A better question would be: Where would the U.S. be soccer-wise if they devoted all their resources to soccer?
If they brought in the best coaches in the world to teach the little Reggies, and he practiced enough, then it would be a big problem.
Co-sign. Most of our players are fine athletes tbh, many of them just lack technique/tactical understanding of soccer.
 
^ they would need to be instructed on how to play soccer from about 4 years old. i don't think anybody is saying just throw lebron in a soccer game now and he would dominate.
 
only if more blacks played soccer....our people are too close minded to let their kids play anything else besides basketball or football
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a better question is, "do soccer and basketball require similar skill sets?"

i don't think someone who excels in one sport would necessarily excel in another...unless you have similar skill sets between sports.

are there exceptions, sure. we have dual or tri sport athletes. but as far as domination, i dont think lebron would be a dominant soccer player.
 
Originally Posted by ERASCISM


Some of the best athletes in soccer are not that good (Micah Richards anyone? Ok, he is decent, but he is also the biggest liability on the pitch). Technical skill is a big part of the equation. A better question would be: Where would the U.S. be soccer-wise if they devoted all their resources to soccer?
If they brought in the best coaches in the world to teach the little Reggies, and he practiced enough, then it would be a big problem.
QFT. That is all.
 
If soccer was our #1 sport and all the little kids dreamed of growing up to be a big time soccer player, i feel we would be the best.

r.bush as a winger... smh.
 
Originally Posted by BangDak

Soccer is more dependent on skill, rather then athleticism.

word, some of the frailest looking dudes are beasts on the field
 
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