I'm all for the growth of U.S. soccer. I'm not sure that our national and club teams will really be able to compete until we raise the level of competition in the MLS and begin attracting foreign stars in their prime (as opposed to those just looking for a paycheck in their golden years). However, i've been impressed with the exploits of the national team, putting in gritty performances that have shown powerhouses like Germany that no one should be looking past us. Some MLS teams have shown similar resolve, although on the whole my impression of the domestic league is that the skill level needed to compete with the European leagues is just not there.

I also think that the friendlies with top international club sides of the last few summers are just what the doctor ordered for U.S. soccer. The first hand exposure of fans and players to overseas talent is the initial step in raising interest in soccer in the states, and beginning to bridge the talent gap. Having our national team play endless games against scrub squads like Panama and having MLS players insulated from top-tier talent, patting them on the back when they trounce local low-quality sides, is doing nothing to improve our situation. We need to be competing against the best in the world. Of course we're going to get blitzed initially, but it's the only way to continue improving our players.

I don't think this is a radical viewpoint by any stretch of the imagination, it's common sense. We don't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Argentina, Brazil, Italy, or Holland yet, regardless of what the FIFA rankings say (honestly, the only possible explanation i can come up with why the U.S. national team is now ranked 6th in the world is marketing). Similarly, the LA Galaxy and DC United are not in the same league as teams like Real Madrid and AC Milan. But for some reason, the media is putting out the party line that we have earned and are continuing to earn our right to be considered among the world footballing powers. I watched the friendly between Real Madrid and the LA Galaxy a few weeks ago, and was amused at how Madrid tore LA's defense to shreds in the first half, before they tired towards the end of the match. When Zidane and Beckham turned it on, LA's back four were getting annhilated. Despite this, the commentators were adamant that LA had given Madrid "all they could handle" and had "earned their respect". I turned on yesterday's match between the Chicago Fire and AC Milan early in the second half, and was instantly greeted with the screaming Scottish color man ranting about how Chicago was running Milan ragged. The score was 1-1, but according to the announcers Chicago was dominating. Nevertheless, Milan's Serginho and new signing Gilardino combined for a simple tap in goal 15 minutes later, and Serginho added a solo third in injury time to make the final score 3-1. A travesty, according to the commentators. Hrm? Let's be truthful ... the MLS has earned nothing so far. They don't just need to field eleven conscious players to deserve respect, they need to show that they can impose their will on the pitch. And as i said before, no one expects them to do this immediately. Let's allow the league to grow into our expectations, instead of playing silly semantic games to try to convince everyone the MLS is the equal of the great soccer leagues of the world.

I've got my Tivo set to tape this evening's friendly between my beloved Chelsea and DC United on ESPN2 ... we'll see how the MLS fares against the newly-crowned Premiership champions. This will also be my first chance to see Arjen Robben back in action (already impressing in the preseason), and Shaun Wright-Phillips in a Chelsea kit.