As I sat in a booth at Buffalo Wild Wings, watching Spain lift the 2012 European Championship trophy, an all-too-familiar feeling washed over me. No matter how excited I or other U.S. soccer fans get about the prospects of American soccer, it is still a long way away from being able to compete with the powers of international soccer.
I’ve watched nearly every U.S. Soccer match since the 2010 World Cup and typically find myself with one of two thoughts afterwards. One is, “Holy cow, that game was awful, I don’t even know what to think.” This was much more frequent in the Bob Bradley era — the 2011 Gold Cup Final vs. Mexico comes to mind — but has certainly been there as well in the short reign of Jurgen Klinsmann.
The other is, “That was amazing. We’re finally making progress and are ready to compete on the national stage!” This second one has been more prevalent lately, and the red, white and blue Kool-Aid has been flowing.
It started with the 1-0 victory over Italy. Yes, it was just a friendly match, but the U.S. went toe to toe with a world power, stood its ground and came away with the victory. The 5-1 drubbing of Scotland – a second- or third-tier European team – only made things that much better. Then, World Cup qualifying began, and America already looks to be in good shape after a win over Antigua & Barbuda and a draw at Guatemala.
I was feeling good about the U.S.’ chances at the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. We – yes, I’ll say we; I pay taxes, after all – have some quality players in the midfield, a world-class striker in Dempsey and the defense is starting to come together. Enter the 2012 European Cup.
In case you don’t know, the Euro Cup is held every four years in between the World Cup and matches Europe’s top international teams against each other. In America, they show it on the ESPN networks because, honestly, what else is ESPN going to show at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday? It’s a great time to see the top soccer players in the world square off against one another.
But for American soccer fans it is a wake up call.
The differences between this year’s Euro Cup games and the U.S.’ recent World Cup qualifiers and friendlies is drastic. The European players are on an entirely different level talent-wise, and it shows in their game.
The ball sticks to their feet better. Their creativity in passing and shooting exceeds anything that any American — besides Dempsey — does. Simply put, they do the little things better than the Americans, and it makes a world of difference. Even the smaller nations – teams like Greece, Denmark and the Czech Republic — do things with the ball that American soccer fans only dream about seeing from their teams.
And so, watching this year’s Euro Cup was a reality check of sorts for many U.S. soccer fans and me. We still have a long way to go, even if we do look like world-beaters against teams like Jamaica.
But don’t think this means we’ve given up for our great nation’s spot on the stage of the world’s most popular sport. I’ll be with America through and through, because it’ll be worth it if and when the United States can finally step in the ring with a major international power and match them blow for blow. The U.S. has made strides under Klinsmann and continues to get better with each game. They certainly have the resources and capabilities to rise to the top, but that time has not yet come.
