by Leigh Anne Gullett, FC Dallas
America’s “New” Sport
It’s the biggest sporting event on the planet. Only 32 countries qualify for the FIFA World Cup every four years and only seven countries have claimed the trophy in the tournament’s 80-year history. With 205 nations competing, simply qualifying for the tournament, a three-year process, is challenging. The United States shocked World Cup favorite England in 1950 with a stunning 1-0 win at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil’s Belo Horizonte. Author Geoffrey Douglas later chronicled the upset in his book The Game of Their Lives, which was later made into a film of the same name. However, the celebration was short lived as the Americans failed to qualify for another World Cup until 1990, 40 years later.
My, how times have changed. Only seven countries have qualified for the last SIX World Cups (1990-2010) and the United States is part of this elite group. Those countries are Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Spain, South Korea plus the U.S. The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa garnered unprecedented attention in the United States. From telecasts to radio to newspapers, magazines and blogospheres, the World Cup mattered more than ever before on American soil. Why now? For one, the U.S. National Team is better than ever. The birth of Major League Soccer in 1996 and its subsequent growth has seen matching progress for the U.S. National Teams. Since MLS began in 1996, the U.S. has qualified for all four World Cups. Of the 30 players who participated in the final U.S. World Cup training camp (including FC Dallas defender Heath Pearce and former FC Dallas defender Clarence Goodson), 23 either currently play or have played in MLS. Of the final 23 players, 17 have MLS ties. Thanks to MLS, the American player is better than ever before and earning a spot on the final 23-man roster has become more and more difficult with increased competition for fewer spots.
No one understands just how elusive those final 23 roster spots are better than Dallas’ Heath Pearce. The 25-year-old defender has 32 caps with the U.S. National Team and made 11 appearances in 2010 World Cup qualifying matches. Only nine defenders made the 30-man preliminary roster for the U.S., including Pearce. Only seven defenders made the final 23-man USMNT roster for South Africa. Worldwide, there are only 736 players on a 2010 FIFA World Cup roster. Broadening the view beyond just the U.S. National Team, MLS has players representing England (an injured David Beckham is serving as a member of his country’s technical staff), Honduras, New Zealand and Mexico. L.A. Galaxy captain Landon Donovan is widely regarded as the best U.S. player and is joined on the squad by Galaxy teammate Edson Buddle and MLS stars Jonathan Bornstein and Robbie Findley.
Brazil is the host country for the 2014 World Cup and FC Dallas has quite a few young stars, like Pearce, who should be in the mix. There’s 18-year-old phenom Bryan Leyva (Mexico) and young U.S. stars Brek Shea (20), Dax McCarty (22) and Kyle Davies (21). Exactly who will form the next generation of American soccer stars? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, we have a front row seat in Texas.
