The European Elite Leagues are not good for their National Teams
As we approach the end of the World Cup, one glaringly obvious conclusion must be drawn: having an elite league in one’s country does not equal national team success. The top 5 leagues in Europe (and arguably the world) are:
- English Premier League
- Spanish La Liga
- German Bundesliga
- Italian Serie A
- French Ligue 1
The English, Italians, and French were all various forms of a disaster. The Germans & Spanish fought for the European crown in 2008, and are destined for a monumental clash tomorrow. 2 out of 5 is not a good rate, especially when you consider the success of impoverished nations like Uruguay, Paraguay, and Ghana.
The trajectory of American soccer is indisputably up. You might wish it was more steeply graded upwards, but upwards it is nonetheless. Major League Soccer continues to grow steadily if slowly, and US soccer interest (as evidenced by TV ratings) is burgeoning.
Ok so I used a little hyperbole in the title (@BMer916 I hear ya, I hear ya). The countries above are superpowers in both club and country. But the staggering wealth of the super leagues means the emphasis will follow the money. Inter Milan won the Champions League without a single Italian. The French really had no business being in the World Cup (handball!). Who is standing in line replace the talented, famous, but aging English midfielders? European leagues are moving towards stricter requirements for having nationals on your club team to combat this trend, but South American talent is being cultivated far better in European football than is national talent.
MLS may never be a top 5 league, though a top 10 league seems a reasonable proposition in the next decade. Nonetheless for the purposes of the growth of soccer, and the quality of the National Team…it doesn’t need to. Having an elite league does not equal success in the World Cup.
International Soccer, Major League Soccer (MLS), US National Team
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