messi xavi iniesta were the most important players on the greatest team oat and they all look like they should be serving drinks to tourists at a three star mediterranean resort

Here's a thought experiment. Let's say that Ronaldo and Messi were switched at birth with Donovan and Bradley. They had the same exposure to lol us soccer as those two guys. How good would they end up being?

muricans typically underrate the athleticism of top tier fitba players. I mean, it's the most aggressive weeding-out athletic system in the world. All the top players are absurd athletes.

With ball at feet, yes. Without, I'm not as convinced.

I mean, he's probably up there, but there's a lot more technique and skill required when you have to use the same limbs to run and to play the ball.

I think all the guys would end up being pretty much the same. Obviously Michael Bradley came from a soccer playing family, and Donovan started young as well, so putting Messi and Ronaldo in those situations I would imagine you end up with Messi and Ronaldo.

But if you randomly plop either one down randomly in Texas or Alabama, I think there's a zero percent chance either one starts playing soccer. Both would obviously be athletes doing something sports-related, but soccer is still a black hole in so much of the country that I doubt it could randomly spit out a world class soccer player, which is the problem.

Basically, for the US to produce a world class soccer player, a world class athlete has to be born into the perfect circumstances, a la Pulisic. Whereas all Messi had to do was be born anywhere but the US (or Canada or N Korea.) I am also sure that there is a kid who could be trained to throw a 95 mph fastball growing up in Germany right now who will never get to be an MLB pitcher since he is running around a soccer field.

The challenge for the US is casting a broader net so that its best players come from a pool that is larger than the children of soccer coaches.

The development of Clint Dempsey is somewhat of an interesting story. He grew up in a trailer park in Texas playing with Mexican immigrants. I don't know the backgrounds of our other star players, but I wonder how many are like Dempsey and how many are like Donovan?

Jurgen should be made president. Perfect role for him.

Fire from Jermaine Jones

https://twitter.com/natsabroad/statu...18901169635329

10 year old Messi I presume was sharpening his skills against the best 12 and 13 year olds in Argentina. I'm not sure you can replicate that in America.

Jozy Altidore starts for the USMNT. Out of a pool of NBA and D1 guards, he's in the bottom 1% in coordination and natural skill. Literally any of them would've been better soccer players than Jozy.

The amount of skill that point guards at that level have is insane and to act like they couldn't have learned how to dribble a soccer ball instead of a basketball is mildly racist at best.

There are a superfluous amount of ridiculous takes itt

The last post is no exception. Basically says that it is racist NOT to say that any black athlete could be a great soccer player. I'm certain that's how it works bro. No unique traits or skill sets required at all. Just full on Lebron = GOAT GK takes left and right. Maybe stick to whatever the **** it is you normally stick to guys.

lol for real.. the 'best athletes' horse**** is nauseating

Ya bro the skills needed to kick a soccer ball are totally orthogonal to being an elite bball player. These blacks just don't have the unique talent to do it.

orthogonal. i dig that

we can all use words we apparently don't know the meaning of...

Pretty sure if you just plopped Neymar or Kylian Mbappe or Ousmane Dembele in NYC as kids, there's no guarantee at all they'd be elite basketball players.

Of course not because they are midgets

So if Pietro Pellegri had grown in Akron he'd be declaring for the NBA next year?

ODB Jr. is an interesting study... he can juggle a soccer ball with complete ease... grew up in England iirc

Steve Nash is pretty good at basketball right? Played soccer, son of a soccer player, brother of a soccer player. Presumably, as a two time NBA MVP, if Nash had dedicated himself to soccer he would be N. America's GOAT?

Not if Iverson and Deion Sanders also did

what does this mean, precisely?

If Iverson and Deion Sanders and Steve Nash all dedicated themselves to soccer I think Iverson and Sanders would be better than Nash.

well we've got a continent full of dark-skinned soccer players... maybe you oughta investigate those athletes

This is all missing the far more important point -- even if speed, explosiveness, body control, cognition etc. were completely transferrable across sports, they're not nearly as properly developed in American soccer as in football/basketball/baseball/whatever.