Last week, the United State Soccer Federation named former United States soccer star, Brian McBride as General Manager of the USMNT. McBride is a living legend in the US soccer folklore. McBride is a great choice and is a bright spot in the federation, as his vast experience in both European Soccer and MLS soccer will help the current crop of players.
Over the last few years, there has been plenty of negative talk about how the USMNT didn’t qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the U17’s who failed to win a game in their last World Cup and the U23’s who failed to make the 2016 Olympics.
With that all said, I do believe this the “American Age of Soccer.” With the new hire of GM Brian McBride, there is plenty of positive news coming out of the USMNT camp.
First, there is a huge lineup of Americans playing overseas, which is the single biggest thing that leads to a bright future for US Men’s Soccer.
Second, another promising young talent is US player and TKS student, Roman Martin (UCLA Soccer & San Diego native). Martin had spent significant time with HNK Dinamo Zagreb in the Croatian 1st Division, which led to two stints with their “B” team and was ready to break in, but opted for finishing his education and career at UCLA. Roman was known for his versatility and speed as well his uncanny ability to finish.
Here is a list of others, which may not include everyone:
Zack Steffen (Man City, on loan to Dusseldorf)
Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge)
DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United)
Sergino Dest (Ajax)
John Brooks (Wolfsburg)
Alfredo Morales (Fortuna Dusseldorf)
Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig)
Weston McKennie (Schalke)
Christian Pulisic (Chelsea)
Tyler Boyd (Besiktas)
Indiana Vassilev (Aston Villa)
Haji Wright (VVV Venlo)
Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund)
Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen)
Tim Weah (Lille)
Matt Miazga (Reading)
Geoff Cameron (QPR)
Duane Holmes (Derby County)
Niko Hamalainen (Kilmarnock)
As you can see, with Martin and the other talented players, there is plenty of options for McBride to choose from. With these players gaining European experience at en early age will only bolster the USMNT for years to come.
Thirdly, I still believe there needs to be influx of Hispanic players (Roman Martin has a hispanic heritage) that needs to be leveraged in the USMNT player pools, but the Development Academy (DA) system does not help that situation. Almost every weekend in San Diego, you can see some great talent that is not associated with the DA system
Lastly, regardless of results this is still the “American Age of Soccer,” and with McBride at the helm, he can build his team around him to ensure we leave no stone unturned in United States youth soccer. Even with the advent of Christian Pulisic, the USMNT bench is getting deeper every year.
The Kicking System 