International Soccer
Finally, I got to witness, in person (and at the Rose Bowl!), one of my favorite athletes in all of sports: Michael Bradley. It was my first USMNT game and let’s just say it did not work out well for us. The “pundits” are claiming that U.S. Soccer is in a state of crisis, calling for change, and reiterating our recent “failures.” Previously, I addressed that Klinsmann needs to stay at the helm, but I must stress why the current on-field leader is essential for our nation’s soccer growth.
Finally, I got to witness, in person (and at the Rose Bowl!), one of my favorite athletes in all of sports: Michael Bradley. It was my first USMNT game and let’s just say it did not work out well for us. The “pundits” are claiming that U.S. Soccer is in a state of crisis, calling for change, and reiterating our recent “failures.” Previously, I addressed that Klinsmann needs to stay at the helm, but I must stress why the current on-field leader is essential for our nation’s soccer growth.
For years I’ve been clamoring for
Bradley’s ascension to the captaincy. I deemed it inevitable. Why? Because Bradley
personifies what American soccer needs to be: Industrious. One of John Wooden’s
foundations for success is a character our national team must excel in
exhibiting. Industrious, hardworking, diligent, or whatever moniker you desire
is a cultural trait that our national team can identify with.
Americans work hard. That is both
our strength and one of our problems with catching up with the rest of the
world. We labor to achieve the American dream, but we toil too hard for our own
good, lacking in paid vacation and pushing the limits of practical human
health. Whether this work ethic is good or bad, it is nonetheless US. Our fundamental culture is not changing
anytime soon so our national soccer needs to embrace this identity.
The
best soccer countries in the world reflect their culture in their soccer
play. The most recent World Cup champ
Germany plays regimented, straightforward, fortified, and machine-like. The
national team is coined “Die Mannschaft” aka “The Team,” awfully German. The all-time
most winning Brazilians play with the flare of the samba, excelling when they
dance around their opponents. The four-time victors Italians inject more drama,
emotion, and acting into their game than into their most famous operas. The
Dutch liberal point of view spawned revolutionary tactics that allowed a
relatively small country to flourish on the international stage. Our national team should best reflect our hardworking
culture and Bradley is the model.
Bradley’s
work rate not only tops the Americans, but it is one of the highest in the
world. In helping the U.S. advance out
of the Group of Death, Bradley covered more distance than anyone in Brazil.
That means that in the group stage of the World Cup Bradley
ran more than any soccer player in the world. His workhorse attitude has
transformed him into the most
important American international because he elevates his underdog traits
into a winning formula. Bradley has
never been the fastest, the strongest, or the most talented. He is not blessed
with such natural gifts. However, he has
been the most relentless, the most studious, and the most conditioned. These characteristics
are earned and developed over a lifetime of effort. As a result, Bradley is
Team USA’s best soccer player.
Our
national team must be persistent. We are
still underdogs to the real contenders. As such, we will be either trailing in
games or withstanding a barrage and we will need to fight back and claw our way
for results. No American player hustles
more and keeps his motor going than Bradley. Our national team needs to get
smarter. We need our players to develop a mental adroitness that lends superior
vision and produces ambitious and creative play. We need our players to follow
the Bradley path and grow their study of the game abroad in Europe’s top
leagues. Our national team needs to be fitter. We need to be the number-one-most-in-shape
team in the world. We have the science, technology, training, and history to achieve
such a distinction (look how well we compete in the Olympics). With elite
conditioning we can thrive late in games instead of faltering to Mexico
emphasizing our relentless nature. Realistically, we could be the best in the
world at one crucial aspect of the futbol game. As previously alluded to, Bradley
is already world-class in this respect.
The
aforementioned hard-earned qualities translate to US punching above our
weight. Industriousness gives us a
fighting chance against the superpowers and should propel us above our historically
better archrival Mexico (achieving
results like 2002’s greatest win in US soccer history). Bradley’s
industriousness is our American model for improvement. Bradley will never be Leo
Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo. In fact, any American reaching their stratosphere
is highly unlikely given the star quality of their touch and skill. But Bradley
lays the groundwork for our next generation of soccer athletes with Lebron
blessed attributes. Bradley’s brain and motor coupled with Jozy Altidore’s strength
and Deandre Yedlin’s
speed is our future to success. Keep working hard America.
We love you
We love you
We love you
And Where you go we’ll follow
We’ll follow
We’ll follow
Because We support the US
The US
THE US
And That’s the Way We like it
We like it
We like it
Whooooooooaaaaoooooooooo
Whooooooooaaaaoooooooooo
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