Throughout history, successful professional soccer clubs and national teams possess some unique players on their squad who could truly be labeled a Hero. These individuals would come through for the team repeatedly. He or she in completion had more good days than bad ones on the pitch. These players made things happen. They even drew crowds to stadiums and matches. Spectators of other nations and clubs looked forward to watching them perform even against their teams. When these special players receive the ball, you could anticipate that they would make the most of it. When they played against weaker teams, you could tell the difference in their skill level as in comparison to those who were assigned to mark them. They punished weak teams and were competitive against strong teams. They were the ones the team could rely on. They made the right decisions on the ball. They understood their positions and played it well and aggressively. They were strong and courageous. They wanted to win. They wanted to score and knew how to score or knew how to get ball to others to score. They did not waste many chances. To be specific, I am referring mainly to a goal scorer or one who creates goal scoring opportunities. I believe the U.S. Men Soccer Team is in need of such a player.
Some of us have seen these kinds of players before on the U.S. side. One that have impressed me the most was Mia Hamm. I did not watch too many of Michell Akers games since soccer was not getting the headlines when she played but I know she was awesome as well. But the kind of player from the U.S that stood out was that of Mia Hamm. She drew excitement to the game. Players like her are one in a million. Put them with other experience players and you have a great team that draws excitement like the U.S women did in the 1990s. The Men's side need such a player to compete successfully in the big tournaments to help the team advance to the next level convincingly. Some may argue that we have already have someone to fill that role, but those of us who have played the game somewhat competitively and successfully will tell you otherwise.
The U.S. Men's team need a big name of its own like a Pele, Cruyff, George Best, Maradona, Zico, Rossie, George Weah, Scalachi, George Barnes, Romario, etc. Most recently players like Messi, Christiano Ronaldo, Marta who can compete in International competitions well. When you watch them play it will be obvious that they are standouts. This is a name where someone in another nation know immediately who they are when mentioned. Some soccer nations have those players, some are blessed to have more than one a team, but the U.S. Men is still in need of this player.
Youth soccer players spend 2-3 days a week at soccer practices, and games and tournaments on the weekend. They go to camps in the summer. Some have received private soccer sessions. Time and money have been spent on player development for decades now. Hopefully some of those "gifted players" can get inspired. Hopefully we will see the fruit of this in the future. U.S Soccer as a nation has been on the up rise. Since 1986, we have been to every world Cup. This is great. Now we are looking for that player to take us further. Hopefully, one day we will have a 'World Player Of The Year' from the U.S. Men National team. We are looking for that player to excite us. When he comes, then U.S. Men's Soccer would have arrived.
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