Is bigger better? A comparison between the average size of an american soccer player and counterparts in other "top notch" soccer countries.

Don't be fooled by the mirage that was the American victory over the best national soccer team on Earth right now, Spain. A Spanish defender takes too long to clear a ball and a shot is completely misdirected by the Spanish keeper INTO the net, and we're an international powerhouse? American Soccer has arrived? Please. Brazil showed us how it is done by scoring five times (only three got counted) in the second half of the Confederations Cup final. A friend of mine who was an All-American and has won multiple amateur national championships suggested that we look at the following:

"The premise underlying the comparison is the US promotes size and strength when selecting youth talent for development. These "bigger" players have advantages of higher quality coaching, more consistent practice schedules, and better support for their future playing careers. However, as a soccer playing country, our emphasis on size and strength during early youth development might be misguided. Are we potentially missing better skilled players, because they are "late bloomers?" How does that affect: the MLS; Our National Team..."

Well, this is a tough thing to quantify, and is something that those who have not played or watched soccer at a high level in a non-American setting just instinctively KNOW. American soccer, at a College level (basically, the highest level competitively played in the US, as the MLS is too inconsistent to really have a style), is an approximate facsimile of the British and Irish games. Long passes, hard tackles, constant running and lots of long runs and playing in the air. Now, these attributes obviously lead to the style of play favoring larger players. But, against greater competition, it is to our own detriment.

Look at the last time the United States, England or Ireland won a World Cup? Well, England won once in 1966. That's it. Instead, the championship have been won by Italy, France, Germany, Brazil. Teams hat do not necessarily feature the largets players, but the most skilled.

I think that the best comparison might be college basketball versus the NBA. There are certain practices and styles of play that work well in college basketball. The press. Two good ball handlers. Big slow white guys. Try any of those in the pros, and you'll get laughed at. The level of play is just that much higher. And that is why the best college basketball players frequently don't make the best pros. It is much the same with American soccer. Sure, four huge guys in the back and some huge forwards battling them makes for good college soccer, but what happens when they try and take that style of play to the international level? Do we want someone red carded in every single game like we almost saw at the Confederations Cup? Like Tyler Hansborough in the NBA, it doesn't work.

When you look at the US National team, the only players that are under 5'9" are Donovan, Adu and Torres. Now, lets look at some of the best players in the world:

The best player in the world right now, Messi, is 5'7", as is Emre Belözoğlu. Javier Saviola is 5'6". Allessandro Del Piero is 5'8", as is Michael Owen and as was Roberto Baggio. Fabio Cannavaro, the sweeper of the defending world champions, is 5'9".

Notice anything? Yeah, they would all be among the smallest members of the US team. I believe, as does my friend, that this is a byproduct of the systems in place and the style of play practiced.

The United States' last game against Brazil is a perfect testament to this, as is one player in particular, one Jonathan Spector, the right full back. In the first half, Spector was playing a perfect American/British game (makes sense, as he also plays for West Ham in the Premier League). Hard tackles, mugging Brazilians as soon as they touched the ball, overcompensating for mistakes with hard recovery running. Well, the Americans as a whole played like that, and they were rewarded for their efforts with two goals, including one on a counterattack where Donovan basically outran the Brazilian defender.

But what happened in the second half? Where was Spector, or the American defense, when the Brazilians took to the air? Surely, their bigger size would give them an advantage on corners and set pieces? No, the Brazilians attacked with headers again and again, and their precision passing and superior skill took over as the game wore on and the Americans became more and more tired. The cream, as they say, rose to the top.

If Americans are ever going to get serious about playing soccer at an extremely high level, about getting over the hump to join the Italys, the Brazils, the Argentinas and the Spains of the World, we have to start thinking less along the lines of who looks good running and jumping for a while and start looking at who can provide the best play over 90 minutes. They may not be the Adonis or the tallest player, but who would you rather have playing for you? Cannavaro, at 5'9", or Spector, at 6'0"? Now ask yourself who most youth soccer coaches in the US would choose?