USA soccer. For shame

Something is wrong with this picture. The US National soccer team is getting ready to partipate in the World Cup coming up in a few weeks. Like an Olympic hockey or basketball team, Futbol USA supposedly consists of the finest squad they could assemble, from coast to coast, border to border. The best of the best the Yanks have to offer.

How far they will go in the tournament remains to be seen, though most don't consider the American men to be a serious threat to actually win the World Cup. Try as they mightily have over the years to gain traction and public interest, the soccer folks still lag far behind many other sports in America. Baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and NASCAR racing to name a few. Maybe even, horrors, golf, especially when Tiger Woods was rocking and, ahem, rolling.

Granted, many of these other sports have seen an influx of "foreigners" as the search for talent has gone global. Indeed, pro leagues have been berry berry good to lots of players. Major league baseball has a couple Latinos, the NHL a stray Canadian here and there, and the NBA features a few players of African heritage that appear to be pretty good. Amazing. In America, they not only let women vote and drive cars, but also allow them to run for political office and pilot high-speed racing machines worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. And sometimes they actually win. Incredible! What a country. But that's not what's wrong with this picture.

What's wrong with the picture is the head coach of the US soccer team, one Jurgen Klinsmann. Herr Klinsmann is a German. He was born in Deutschland, played and coached soccer himself for teams there. Yet for the last few years, Klinsmann has been the Bill Belichick, Phil Jackson, etc. of the American futbollers.

So out of a country of more than 300 million people -- the US can't find even one of its own that's qualified to coach their national soccer team?

Corporate outsourcing for cheaper labor is one thing -- but this is ridiculous. The Americans have hired a German national to coach their Team USA? Oh my.

At that, Klinsmann has been quoted as saying the team can't win the World Cup. They're not good enough yet. Well gee. Nothing like a positive attitude from the head coach going in.

He's probably right, given the superior squads many other nations will bring to the show, but c'mon. While some things are apparent, it's not necessary to actually say them out loud publicly. It can be deflating for the fan base, and soccer doesn't need to turn off any of the few fans they have. Don't believe that? OK. Quick, other than Landon Donovan, who made the biggest news by being left off the team by Klinsmann, name three players on the US World Cup soccer squad. Bet you can't. See what I mean?

A defeatist attitude is the LAST thing the US team needs from their head coach. Though Klinsmann is paid roughly $2.5 million a year, he seems to be on a mission to tell America their entire soccer program sucks. From the World Cup players all the way down to soccer moms in mini-vans handing out orange slices to the grade schoolers they're transporting to a game -- and everything in between.

And this is the guy America has put in charge of the best soccer team they have to offer?

Ja, something is seriously wrong with this picture. Ach du lieber!