The Next Premiere Soccer Federation

The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, or CONCACAF,  is the governing body for soccer in North and Central America as the name would suggest.  Up until recently, CONCACAF didn't have a whole lot to talk about as far as talent, really only Mexico and the States were ever consistently relevant on the international stage.  As such, CONCACAF has only ever had three automatic bids to the World Cup, with a 4 bid having to play through an international play-off, something that has happened only twice in CONCACAF's history, 2006 and this most recent World Cup.  However, the performance that we witnessed in Brazil from the CONCACAF nations definitely warrants some discussion.  As I said, for only the second time in it's history, CONCACAF nations filled the maximum 4 spots that they can hold in the World Cup.  This however, was not the impressive feat that these nations accomplished.  In this past World Cup, CONCACAF nations were the second most successful teams in the tournament behind South America, in terms of advancement to the round of 16, with 3 of the 4 teams advancing.  On top of this, Costa Rica became the 5th COCACAF nation to reach the quarterfinals, with only the USA reaching the semi-finals in the 1930 tournament.
In comparison to this performance, Europe only managed 6 for 13 of their representatives, Africa 2 for 5, South America went 5 for 6, finally, Asia 0 for 4.  Let's focus in on Asia specifically.  Asia currently gets 4 automatic bids to the World Cup, with one team going to the international playoff, giving therm a possibility to put 5 teams into the tournament.  This past tournament in Brazil, not only saw no Asian team make the elimination rounds, but fail to tally a single win, with a final combined record of 0-9-3.  FIFA has said it will not address the issue of reallocating automatic bids until next year at the earliest, but when the issue comes up, CONCACAF has the case already made for them as to why they deserve one of Asia's automatic bids, with one of the biggest factors being experience.
When the next World Cup comes around in 2018, the three CONCACAF teams that made their way to the round of 16 will have several reasons that even now point to continued success in the tournament.
Mexico's biggest loss is most likely going to be that of their captain, Rafael Márquez, who at the age of 35 has most likely seen the last of his playing days at the World Cup.  However, both Javier Hernandez and break out GK Guillermo Ochoa will only 32 and 31 respectively, meaning that they will both be perfect candidates to lead the team as the veteran class.  Besides these two, only one other player likely to represent Mexico the next time around has more caps, Andres Guardado.  With Guardado working with Ochoa to lead the defense, and Chicharito providing the attacking experience and leadership, Mexico has, albeit preliminarily, a chance for a very strong showing in the future.
Costa Rica, aka "The Ticos", were the Cinderella story of the tournament.  Marked by many experts to finish last in their group, with little chance of gaining even a single point, went undefeated in the group stage with a 2-0-1 record to top their group.  And as you know, the run didn't stop there.  But Costa Rica's success does not guarantee them success in the future, what could do that is their youth.  Costa Rica went to Brazil with only two players over the age of 30, with the oldest player being 32.  That means that Costa Rica has a chance to return every single one of their starters to the next tournament.  Obviously this could mean nothing at all, but with such a strong showing this time around, I think we can at least expect another relevant team in 4 years.
And finally, we have our very own USMNT.  I won't go into to much detail here, since Ollie has covered the topic extensively here, but the US team has such potential for growth.  Enough youth to return an entire starting line up is enough cause for excitement, but when you add in the fact that the USA's youth program continues to develop and grow larger each year means that our youth prospects coming in are continuing to become more and more talented and athletic. And on top of this, there is always one other factor to consider... Gedion Zelalem.

Be sure to check out our previous post here.

Why the USMNT Needs Gedion Zelalem

This weekend gave most American soccer fans their first look at the next potential star of the US National Team, Gedion Zelalem.  Zelalem got the start for the Arsenal senior team against the NY Red Bull on Saturday, and while he remained mainly quiet on the field, the promise for the young star couldn't help but shine through.

If you haven't heard of Gedion Zelalem before, he is a 17-year-old midfielder who is currently playing for Arsenal.  Zelalem was born in Germany, but has the potential to hold citizenship in two other countries, Ethiopia and the United States.  Zelalem moved to the States in 2006 with his father and had been playing in the Maryland youth circuit before being recruited to play for Arsenal.  He made his debut in 2013 for the Arsenal U-16 before quickly being promoted to the U-21 side.  He debuted for the senior team in January this year, coming in as a substitute for the Ox.
So what makes this young midfielder so desirable(other than the fact that Arsene Wenger saw fit to put him into an Arsenal game at the age of 16)?  Zelalem is a playmaker, a skill becoming more rare in today's stars.  Everyone is trying to become the next #10, someone who's going to dance around the defense and score by them selves, whereas what we've seen from Gedion so far is a player comfortable enough in their own skill to hold centrally and make the connecting passes downfield, "he makes the pass before the assist" writes Travis Clark of Top Drawer Soccer.  Even though he played in a right midfielder role this past Saturday, you could still see what Clark is talking about.  It doesn't seem much to write about but Zelalem showed some very crisp and intelligent passes, clean turns and great field awareness during the game.  The kid definitely showed great soccer IQ, and composure, something very rare for a player his age.
As far as what he can add immediately to the US Mens National Team, this is where it can get interesting.  At the 2014 World Cup, Jurgen Klinsmann brought 4 players capable of playing the holding mid spot that Zelalem has become accustomed to playing, Bradley, Jones, Beckerman and Cameron, with Bradley starting the center mid position.  But with Cameron playing center-back and the two others filling various midfielder roles in Klinsmann's 4-2-3-1, there was no one left on the bench to relieve the exhausted Bradley late in games, such as the Portugal game which saw Bradley make a crucial late error resulting in a goal.  Zelalem can provide that support now.  He has already proven that he can compete at the senior level, with the only consistent complaint about his playing being his size.

The most exciting aspect of Zelalem however, has to be what he can offer to the US long term.  As Zelalem himself said when discussing the international decision he will have to make (most likely before the 2016 Olympics), "The US is on the rise, Germany is already a great team".  If Zelalem goes with the US he could join the ranks of great young players, such as another German-born American player Julian Green, to whom he has been both compared and said to have even greater potential given his age when he broke out.  He could become the new face of the steadily rising team, as opposed to just yet another player on an already strong German team.  As Ollie has already written, the USA has the formula to finally break through and stop just being relevant on the international stage, and become a powerhouse.  Zelalem could be another (major) piece to that puzzle, should he opt to invoke his right to gain US citizenship.
My final bit is a sincere plea to Gedion (yeah I know...it's a pipe dream that he ever gets this in front of him).  You've spent time in America, and you've played in the youth programs here.  You know that theres still a long way to go before we can be consistently defined as premiere nation on the international stage.  And one of the things that American soccer needs to accomplish that goal, is increased awareness and participation in this fantastic sport.  And one of the elements that is needed to drive this change in social perception, is popularity (success) at the international level.  You, Gedion, have the potential to help lead our team to a level of success it has yet to realize, both immediately and then continuing our growth in the future.  Don't become just another player in a soccer centric nation.  Become the face of a nation who's fans are the most enthusiastic and dedicated in the world, and spread the good word to the rest of the nation.  And hopefully, finally, push soccer to it's rightful place among main stream sports in this amazing country of ours.

Be sure to check out our previous post here.