Football Update: American Soccer and the MLS aiming to compete with the likes of EPL, La Liga & Serie A
The Americans are trying hard and fast to try and build a great League, with investments and the influx of the right kind of players, some say that they are well on their way to becoming contenders of the European Leagues.
Still nothing is easy and bringing up the MLS from nothing; competing it with the best Leagues in the World and in a country which comparatively has a lot less interest in the sport, is an onerous and intricate task.
Given that, there is an added interest in the sport after the countries appearance in the last sixteen of the Football World Cup and with so many new stadiums and clubs opening up and receiving support like the Red Bulls in New York with their Red Bull Arena.
Still the fact remains that the MLS needs a lot more than just big stadiums if it even hopes to compete with the likes of the La Liga, EPL or the Serie A.
The need for ample investments is fairly obvious and almost as crucial as the distribution of the right talent, which has the right kind of exposure to the game. If all engines are a go, then the Americans just may jump-start the MLS like they did with the NHL and give the sport “a new life” in the country.
However, there are still a lot of loop holes to go through before these things can even start to become true. The fact is that the spot light of the sport remains on the European side, as there is no question in the fact that all the best players in the world go to play there and because of that, the competition is high.
The way all the best football players go to Europe, exactly the opposite thing is with Baseball, Hockey and Basketball as with them, the best players stay in the country.
Another thing that has a major impact on a sport in the country is the grooming of the local players. The success of the leagues in America has always been linked with their local heroes, as the MLB, NBA and NFL have grown with the top players being from the local side and these are the people that the general masses can relate to and worship.
A strategy trying to be applied is that they are trying to keep their stars on state side and not letting them go to the European Leagues and are trying to get the European talent to come here.
They are trying their best to actually do this like with the move of Thierry Henry to New York, with rumours of Ronaldinho and Ryan Giggs getting offers to come and with Devid Beckham’s move to Los Angeles.
However, these are some old players trying to go into retirement and there is a need of bringing the young talent and the youngsters at the peak of their career’s here but still even this is a start.
There is a need to have the most elite players of soccer in the world, playing in the MLS, as fans need more from the players. They need to be given impressions of the sport that stick with them and not only keep them hooked to the seats but make them fall in love with the game.
Another important thing that is needed for the MLS to grow is that the clubs need to care for and nurture their own and local talents. They need to market them properly for example Jordan from the Bulls or Emmitt from the Cowboys, they’re players that the fans can actually root for, as soccer needs a face that everyone can fall in love with.
MLS needs to keep Landon Donovan with them. As football is a world sport, the Americans need to make sure that the talent that they do have continues to benefit them. The level of game play of the players need to be raised to a whole new level if the MLS wants compete with the best leagues in the world.
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