诚如老布所言，美国足球普及程度令人吃惊，只要有这么多的青少年踢球，有无高度职业化和关注程度的联赛并不重要。跟业余奥林匹克性质运动如游泳可有一比。

美国人在20年内夺取世界杯不是笑话。关键是教练，现在的水平也很不错，如前任
SAMPSON和现任ARENA。还有就是美国球员该不该去欧洲？先进意识在本土能培养吗？美国最好的球员DONOVAN在
德国遭冷遇回到美国，让我们看他1年后回到德国时如何？

Fifteen years later, no one laughs at American soccer players anymore

By RAF CASERT, AP Sports Writer
June 15, 2005
ENSCHEDE, Netherlands (AP) -- Peter Vermes remembers when he was the only American in the Dutch League. In 1990, respect didn't come easy for U.S. soccer players.

Even playing for a team in the quaint fishing town of Volendam, his U.S. passport felt like a burden when it came to soccer. After all, the United States had not qualified for the World Cup in 40 years.

``If I said I was born in the Netherlands, my credibility would immediately increase threefold -- but I'm coming from America,'' he said at the time.

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How things have changed.

At the FIFA World Youth Championship last weekend, the U.S. under-20 team beat four-time champion Argentina 1-0 in its opener. The national team, meanwhile, is ranked 10th in the world and is in prime position to reach its fifth straight World Cup after advancing to the quarterfinals three years ago, its best showing since 1930.

And in 16-year-old Freddy Adu, the Americans have one of the most exciting talents in the world.

Even more amazing is that the international success came with a domestic league which is only major in name -- Major League Soccer. The league still pales in comparison with traditional soccer powers such as the England's Premier League, Italy's Serie A, Spain's La Liga and Germany's Bundesliga.

``They have proved to the world that you can have a good national team even if you don't have the best pro league,'' FIFA president Sepp Blatter said.

But what really amazes Blatter is the grass-root support in the United States.

``If you go to the big cities you will see the soccer parks in Chicago, St. Louis. You can see everyone playing,'' Blatter said.

Overall, there are 18 million participants in U.S. soccer, and the quality of its youth development shows at this tournament.

Steadily, soccer is getting a better foothold in the United States, where American football, baseball and basketball still dominate. Soccer-specific stadiums are being built and the league is in expansion.

``If you would have said 15 years ago, there is going to be a stadium just for soccer in L.A., 12 teams in a pro league, we would have laughed,'' Vermes said. ``You see the professionalism, the fields. It is unbelievable for a player like me who started out with nothing.''

Still, Blatter thinks the United States should switch its season around to take the next step, saying the March-to-October schedule straddles the September-to-May schedule in most soccer leagues and makes it difficult for top stars to play there.

``It is not a good season so they will never have the good pro players coming in for only half a year,'' Blatter said, adding the key was the building of more soccer-only stadiums which would give the league more independence to plan its season.

Currently, more than half a dozen such stadiums are planned.

``It will need three or four more years until the pro league will also have its right recognition,'' Blatter said.

What is just as important, said Vermes, is the mental change.

``We used to say when we played teams like Denmark, let's try to get a tie. It is not like that anymore, it is like, `Let's go out and see if we can win 3-0,' that is the mentality now. And the opponents know it is not an easy match anymore,'' Vermes said.

U.S. under-20 coach Sigi Schmid said his team would not even know how to play for a draw anymore.

``Our mentality, just the American culture, is that every time you step on the field you play to win,'' Schmid said.

On Tuesday, though, his team did get a 0-0 tie. But it was against Germany, again proving how far the U.S. game has come.

``We came here to this tournament wanting to send a message to the world that United States soccer can play,'' Schmid said. ``We have shown that we can play. We don't have to hide ourselves from anybody.''