WEBVTT - BONUS: The Future of U.S. Soccer 0:00:07.280 --> 0:00:09.960 The US and men's national team took to the pitch 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:13.319 in a World Cup game on American soil, and boy 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:13.760 it was. 0:00:13.720 --> 0:00:16.840 Worth the way. During the twenty twenty six World Cup, 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:20.880 the US men's national team started off with an impressive 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:23.280 four to one victory over Paraguay. 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:26.119 The US men started their World Cup run strong with 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:31.320 a goal in the first seven minutes epic, memorable, amazing. 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:34.080 The largest margin of victory in the World Cup for 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:36.800 the US since nineteen thirty, that was when the first 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:37.760 World Cup was held. 0:00:37.920 --> 0:00:40.800 It was their inagural game as hosts, and they played 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:43.400 spectacularly in front of their fans. 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:46.640 I'm not an expert when it comes to soccer or anything, 0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:49.920 but I just watched Team USA and the World Cup 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:52.200 absolutely destroyed Paraguay. 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:54.320 Is the USA good at soccer now? 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:56.520 They made it out of their group in first place, 0:00:56.920 --> 0:00:59.440 won the first knockout match, and as they've done so 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:02.760 in previous World Cups, they qualified for the round of sixteen. 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:07.240 But then Belgium came and they were eliminated in a 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:09.840 humiliating four to one defeat. 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:13.360 It was a heartbreaking in to Team USA's World Cup 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:17.000 journey as fans watched their team fall to Belgium four 0:01:17.000 --> 0:01:19.440 to one in the round of sixteen Monday. 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:24.120 Night, and the press, the fans, everybody had an opinion. 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:27.000 So happy that we're in top sixteen, but then we 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:28.440 could have done way better. 0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:29.959 I don't know what happened. 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:31.319 We just gave up. 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:33.319 This team was down in the game, and he never 0:01:33.360 --> 0:01:35.080 felt like they were gonna come back. It's almost as 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:37.800 if they were just accepting the fact that, you know what, 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:39.959 it just isn't our night and we're just gonna move on. 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:43.920 No, no, don't accept it. Fight it. 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:47.400 They just looked outclassed and outstaged, if you will. It 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:48.680 was too much pressure for him. 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:52.040 That last voice is Daniel Wetzel. He's a senior writer 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:55.680 at ESPN, where he covers all sorts of sports, including soccer. 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:59.720 The Americans kind of shrunk in the big game where 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:04.720 you watched other teams that weren't as good lose Mexico, Egypt, 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:08.840 but they fought superior opponents, you know, extremely hard, and 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:10.560 that wasn't there in the Americans. 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:13.520 And after the high of winning and the low of 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:17.000 getting eliminated, people like Dan are reckoning with a post 0:02:17.040 --> 0:02:20.080 mortem on the men's team and trying to make sense 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:21.519 of what happened. 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:25.040 In a lot of both technical and tactical ways. It's 0:02:25.040 --> 0:02:28.680 an improved team over the last twenty years, but at 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:30.760 the end of the day, the result is the same. 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:39.679 From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernando Chavarri and this is our 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:43.920 last episode of American Football, a show about soccer culture 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:47.400 in the US and its underdog roots. So today we're 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:50.440 going to look into the questions that many Americans have 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:52.880 asked at the end of previous World Cups. 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:54.480 What will it take for. 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:57.160 The US to compete with the elite teams in the future. 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:01.080 What needs to change to take US and soccer to 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:12.520 the next level. For Dan at ESPN and many other experts, 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:15.200 part of the problem stems from the way that youth 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:19.200 development is run in this country, starting with amateur leagues. 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:22.720 The developmental system in the United States is fundamentally different 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:26.280 than every other country. The US system. The players that 0:03:26.320 --> 0:03:31.040 are in it, generally speaking, are from a socioeconomic background 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:36.320 middle class to wealthy, and they also geographically live in 0:03:36.360 --> 0:03:41.400 the suburban rings around major cities. They get the best training, 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:45.640 the best resources put into them, the best pitches and fields, 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:49.720 and the most attention and basically the United States, which 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.360 has three hundred and forty million people, so there's still 0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:55.360 plenty of people to create good teams, but they are 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:58.360 ignoring all of the talent that exists inside of the 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:01.680 major cities or in the rural parts of the country. 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:05.760 The system Dan is referring to is also known as 0:04:05.840 --> 0:04:08.880 pay to play. It essentially means families have to dish 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:12.440 out hundreds or thousands of dollars every year so that 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:15.480 their kids can play at amateur leagues or club teams. 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:19.800 This ultimately translates into more visibility for a chance to 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:22.880 get a college scholarship or to pursue a professional career. 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:27.080 Now we're talking specifically about the men's site here, So 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:31.400 once players turn thirteen, the most talented teenage boys could 0:04:31.400 --> 0:04:34.400 be invited to join an academy run by Major League 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:37.640 Soccer or by one of the pro league teams. So 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:40.600 to play at the highest level in amateur club teams, 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:43.240 parents need to be able to afford what is known 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:46.479 as travel soccer so that they can attend the tournaments 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:47.520 happening throughout the year. 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:50.640 You have to have the money to travel to games. 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:55.640 Besides covering this issue for ESPN, Dan raised two girls 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:58.839 who played travel soccer, so he knows what it's like 0:04:58.920 --> 0:05:01.240 to be one of those parents bouncing around from one 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:03.960 tournament to another and spending lots of money. 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:07.560 You have to have parents who are able to drive 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:12.120 you to practices, drive you to out of town games, 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:15.000 and so that we just cut out a huge portion 0:05:15.480 --> 0:05:18.640 of our country that doesn't have access to soccer and 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:20.880 instead will play a different type of sport. 0:05:21.760 --> 0:05:24.480 To be fair, there are parents in other countries who 0:05:24.520 --> 0:05:27.120 also pay for their kids to play soccer, but the 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:31.240 costs here in the United States are far greater. And 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:34.880 I should also mention that here in the US, youth basketball, football, 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:39.280 or baseball can also get pretty costly for parents. They're 0:05:39.360 --> 0:05:43.000 all part of what experts see as an unregulated amateur 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:47.360 sports landscape. But unlike these other popular sports dominated by 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:50.440 the US, the pay to play model with youth soccer 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:54.560 becomes a problem because soccer is a global sport. The 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:57.280 US is competing with players from other countries, and it 0:05:57.360 --> 0:06:01.839 lags behind Europe and Latin America, where youth development is cheaper, 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:06.320 often subsidized by the government or professional teams, and frankly 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:09.919 more effective. And Dan says that the impact of the 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:12.800 current pay to play. System doesn't stop. 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:16.479 There when you are paying a coach a club. Right 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:21.320 when I'm paying the relationship between a coach and a 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:25.599 player is no longer mentor and mentee coach player. It's 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:29.640 coach to customer. I'm paying your salary, I'm paying your 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:32.919 club to exist. How hard can you really coach me? 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:35.240 How hard can you teach me? Particularly mentally? 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:39.880 Dan says, this all business approach to youth soccer kind 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:42.200 of gets in the way of real player development. 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:48.520 The clubs as a business succeed by winning, and to 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:52.440 win at age nine to ten, you sometimes have to 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:56.400 play the kid that grew faster and is stronger or 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:59.800 faster at the time, and you're just kicking through balls 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:02.560 and this one kid is running down the field and 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:04.960 they're running in and scoring, and we win the tournament 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:07.520 and it seems like we have the best development. That 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:11.320 kid may not really have any potential. There's another kid 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:13.960 that you can see maybe at eight nine and go, 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:17.760 that kid's got fision or his technical skills really look 0:07:17.880 --> 0:07:20.200 like they could be something else. But you can't play 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:23.840 him because well, he hasn't grown yet. And so that 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:27.040 kid kind of gets pushed down because the motivation of 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:30.640 the club is to win, so the pressure to win 0:07:30.840 --> 0:07:36.239 at eight, nine to ten overrides coaching, development and really 0:07:36.280 --> 0:07:38.560 playing the kids that have the long term future. So 0:07:38.720 --> 0:07:42.880 there's a disconnect between are we creating the best players 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:46.280 in the country so that we can develop pros and 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:49.360 World Cup champions or are we just trying to make 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:50.520 the most money this year. 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:57.040 See in places like Europe and Latin America, promising young 0:07:57.120 --> 0:08:01.200 players not only get access to academies without the financial 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:04.560 burden parents have here in the US, but they also 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:09.040 get better physical, technical, and character focused development starting at 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:12.960 a young age. Dan says that also the US doesn't 0:08:12.960 --> 0:08:16.000 have as many professional teams in every small town or 0:08:16.040 --> 0:08:19.920 even in larger cities, so the for profit amateur clubs 0:08:19.920 --> 0:08:23.400 here end up filling that gap. And we know that 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:26.840 while European or Latin American systems are imperfect, I mean 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.560 they do sell star players to bigger teams for profit, 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:32.960 at least they ensure that more youth with potential have 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:35.000 proper development and visibility. 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:38.280 In terms of developing great players, I don't believe there's 0:08:38.320 --> 0:08:43.040 a lot of talent just going through the net in Argentina, 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:45.400 let alone Germany and England and France. 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:48.880 That's also why Dan thinks that despite having a population 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:52.680 of three hundred and forty million people, the US is 0:08:52.720 --> 0:08:58.800 still importing so much of its talent. Den isn't the 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:01.480 only one out there the alarm about the current pay 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:04.520 to play system. Many others have been doing so for years, 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:08.480 like former US national team star Landon Donovan, who said 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:11.040 this during an interview with CNBC Sport. 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:16.640 It's a complete disaster. It is greedy, it is winning first. 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:19.680 The players are the last thing on anyone's mind. The kids. 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:22.440 It's really disgusting. I've now seen it twice with my 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:25.360 own kids. I've always been passionate about it, but it's 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:29.040 really triggered me and that will be my next frontier 0:09:29.120 --> 0:09:31.839 and moving quickly on, meaning how do we build a 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:34.440 league that's not so obsessed with winning at such a 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:36.440 young age, not a league, a sport. 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:42.640 Completely Restructuring youth soccer in the US is a huge undertaking, 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:45.679 especially when so many people depend on it to make 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:49.240 a living or a big profit. But according to experts, 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:52.160 it has to start somewhere and soon. 0:09:52.600 --> 0:09:54.760 I think if there could be a clear path to 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:59.760 development and extend more opportunities into the city more into 0:09:59.800 --> 0:10:02.480 the rural areas, try to make it a little more affordable, 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:05.079 and just try to take away some of the confusion. 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:08.040 So there's a lot of work to do. The US 0:10:08.080 --> 0:10:10.080 has certain benefits, got a ton of money, it's got 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:12.360 a ton of people, and it's a nation of immigrants. 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:14.560 So the US is going to keep getting better, almost 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:15.600 by accident. 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:29.439 After the break, an insider's perspective about the current state 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:33.120 of US youth soccer development. I speak with Alfonso Mondelo. 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:36.640 He's the Technical Director of Competition for Major League Soccer, 0:10:37.080 --> 0:10:39.440 and we look into what the MLS is doing to 0:10:39.559 --> 0:10:42.920 help take US men's soccer to the next level internationally. 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:45.640 I think we're seeing because young as four and five 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:49.240 beginning to play. So perhaps the big difference is the culture. 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:54.720 You know, in other countries, you breathe, you live soccer more. 0:10:54.760 --> 0:11:20.679 When we come back, we're back with American Football am 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:24.760 Fernando Chavarri. Let's get into where US men's soccer stands 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:27.920 today and the role that Major League Soccer plays in 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:31.719 developing young players. To talk about this, I sat down 0:11:31.760 --> 0:11:35.839 with Alfonso Mandelo. He's the Technical director of Competition from 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:39.160 Major League Soccer. He's originally from Spain, but he has 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:42.400 spent most of his life playing and coaching here in 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:45.360 the US, and he has more than two decades of 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:50.280 experience as an insider working with MLS. Before we start 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:54.800 talking about this summer's World Cup, I'm curious, what would 0:11:54.840 --> 0:11:58.360 you say is different that you've seen between US born 0:11:58.520 --> 0:12:01.040 players and players the rest of the world. I'm talking 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:04.200 younger kids who are not at the professional level yet, 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:07.280 but who are seeing soccer as a possibility. 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:10.280 I think the big difference is in most of the 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:13.400 countries around the world, soccer has been the predominant sport, 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:16.199 and when a young kid begins to take his first 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:18.240 steps and kicks the first ball and he sees the 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:22.480 first professional game, they dream about being professional. I don't 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:25.280 think that that was the case in the early pace 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:29.160 of youth playing here in the United States, where soccer 0:12:29.280 --> 0:12:32.000 was being seen as a way to get a college scholarship. 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:35.600 Kids played and the parents invested in the kids' soccer 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:39.240 education with the hopes that they would obtain a college scholarship. 0:12:39.800 --> 0:12:42.480 Since the US was eliminated from the twenty twenty six 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.760 World Cup after a four to one defeat to Belgium, 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:49.440 many people who care about the US national team have 0:12:49.480 --> 0:12:52.600 been trying to sort of understand why the US maybe 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:56.320 didn't go farther as a host country, and especially because 0:12:56.400 --> 0:12:59.600 they started out strong. So what is your take on 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:01.520 the u U performance this summer? 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:06.480 Well, the early rounds of the tournaments, particularly the first game, 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:09.040 it was probably the best that we've seen a US 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:12.480 national team play. Everything seemed to have come together, the players, 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:16.160 the style of play, and there was a groundswell and 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:19.400 a following for the US team, and that continued until 0:13:19.600 --> 0:13:23.000 the game against Belgium. But also in a tournament like this, 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:25.120 you can't have a bad day, and a bad day 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:27.720 your opponents punish you, and I think that that's what 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:30.400 happened with the game against Belgium. It was a shadow 0:13:30.679 --> 0:13:32.600 of the way that the team had played in the 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.640 previous matches, and when you try to react and you're 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:38.000 done by a couple of goals, it becomes very difficult. 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:40.760 So overall, I think is positive, but I think we 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:43.400 all expected the US team to go a little bit further. 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:46.319 So what began really well in a little bit of 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:47.440 disappointment towards the end. 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:50.640 I know people love to talk about what could have 0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:54.839 been done differently, or question why the US struggles when 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:58.240 they face somebody like Belgium or France in Spain, which, 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:00.120 to be frank a lot of people were shaking our 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:04.000 boots went faced with those teams and what their history represents. 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:07.080 Where do you think the US national team stands today 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:08.800 in international soccer in general? 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:12.719 The last few years, I think the US team has 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:15.880 improved quite a bit, given the fact that most of 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:18.400 the players are now playing in top of the leagues 0:14:18.400 --> 0:14:20.920 around the world. We have players that are playing in 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:24.120 Champions League caliber teams, so they're gaining that type of 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:26.360 experience that they're bringing together when they come to the 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:30.400 national team. So that gap has clearly narrowed, but we 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:31.240 still have a bits to go. 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:35.240 Where does MLS stand today if we were to compare 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:38.080 them to leagues in Europe and Latin America? 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:43.160 Wow, I think MLS has been an unbelievable success story. 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:45.440 I mean, when you think about it, we're thirty one 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:49.160 years into this league. When the league started in nineteen 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:52.360 ninety six, we began with ten teams. There was number 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:56.680 one soccer specific stadium in the United States. And now 0:14:56.720 --> 0:15:00.400 we're looking thirty one years later and we have thirty teams. 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:04.080 Across North America, United States and Canada, where there's in 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:08.440 about twenty six stadiums that are soccer specific. Clearly, the 0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:11.520 goal right now is to become the best league in 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:15.000 Concacat in our region. And we certainly have the older 0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:17.680 brother in Mexico that has been there for a long time, 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.360 and there has been a well established league and very 0:15:20.400 --> 0:15:23.400 successful league. But I do think that the gap has narrowed. 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:26.800 The quality of our league becomes stronger with every passing year. 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:30.200 So it's a really a league that's on the rise, 0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:32.560 and I would say at this point now it's got 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:35.000 to be among the top ten leagues in the world. 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:40.560 You started talking about seeing so many different young players 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:43.160 come up the ranks throughout the decades that you've been 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:45.680 involved with soccer in the United States. But you know, 0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:48.560 some of the criticism that we've heard is that there 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:50.880 need to be some changes to the pipeline in the 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:54.040 United States when we talk about the future of soccer here. 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:57.080 So what role do you think that Major League Soccer, 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:00.800 the MLS and other leagues play in sort of maybe 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:02.480 taking this to the next level. 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:06.040 The one positive step is that for now for the 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:09.560 MLS clubs is no longer pay to play, So players 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.720 that are being selected into the academy so of MLS. Now, 0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:15.960 these are players who really are being focused and being 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:19.040 groomed to be future professionals. Clearly, not everyone can be 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:21.440 a professional, and there will still be players that will 0:16:21.600 --> 0:16:24.160 end up going through the college pathway. But I think 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:27.200 it's important that when you have the top level talent 0:16:27.280 --> 0:16:30.640 available in an environment where they're competing day in and 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:33.520 day out, and they're being pushed towards that goal of 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:36.760 becoming top level professionals, this is where we're going to 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:40.800 see the next wave of American players continue to improve. 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:44.520 And just because I'm not in the weed so much 0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:48.160 the pay to play you're saying it's being addressed now, 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:51.160 it's been sort of addressed already. Is it in the works? 0:16:51.400 --> 0:16:52.960 What's the current state of that. 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:56.720 No, I think that's a very difficult subject to tackle. 0:16:56.760 --> 0:16:58.880 I think that pay to play is here, and I 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.080 don't think it's going on go away. I think that 0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:03.240 there are a lot of people who are living off 0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:06.800 of soccer. Parents still want to invest the soccer education 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:09.960 of their children. The country is so vast that not 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:13.600 everyone can have access to a MLS club, so it 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:16.160 will continue. What we hope is that this would become 0:17:16.240 --> 0:17:18.920 a final and the filtering of those top level players 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:22.760 that can get moved on quicker and quicker into programs 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:26.160 that will help them to be identified as potential players 0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:28.119 and then be in an environment that will help them 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:31.640 to grow. This is a major major issue for US Soccer. 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:35.400 MLS can only do their part by continuing to develop 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:38.720 those players and continuing to improve the quality of our game. 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:44.800 And there's a separation between US Soccer Federation and MLS. 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:47.960 The US the Federation looks out for the good of 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:51.080 the game as a whole, and MLS is looking to 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:52.920 develop players for the highest level. 0:17:53.800 --> 0:17:56.040 Can you tell me a little more about the MLS academies? 0:17:56.600 --> 0:17:59.320 Sure, the academies. When the league started, none of the 0:17:59.560 --> 0:18:03.640 MLS club had a player development initiative in place. And 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:07.359 it's been probably the last fourteen to fifteen years where 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:11.359 there's been an investment made into giving North American players 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:14.560 a place to develop as professionals. So since then, now 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:17.320 most of our clubs are going as young as you 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:20.400 twelve and you thirteens, So there is a whole pathway 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:24.160 of going from a young player who's dreaming about being 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:27.720 a player into becoming a pro. The last step that 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:31.000 has been taken by MLS I think four years ago 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:35.080 where we created MLS Next Pro and this is a 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:37.720 chance for the clubs to have a second team, sort 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:41.080 of a reserve team where the young players that are 0:18:41.080 --> 0:18:44.000 coming out from the academy have that final step to 0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:46.760 become a profession. The goal is in the near future 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:50.320 to have the North American players become the main stage 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:53.439 and then continually to bring the top starts from the 0:18:53.440 --> 0:18:54.080 rest of the world. 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:58.280 And how early are these efforts starting age wise? 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:01.520 I think we're seeing because young at four and five 0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:05.120 beginning to play. But perhaps the big difference is the culture. 0:19:05.320 --> 0:19:09.520 You know, in other countries, you breathe, you live soccer, 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:13.280 Your parents talk about soccer at home, you see soccer 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:16.400 on TV. You really don't get away from it. And 0:19:16.800 --> 0:19:20.080 here there's still other sports. There's other distractions in soccer. 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:22.600 Especially at the youngest level, it's in activity. They go 0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:25.240 to soccer on Tuesdays and then they go to piano 0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:27.840 lessons and they go to baseball and they play other sports. 0:19:28.320 --> 0:19:31.560 Perhaps that, but when it gets to like the ten, 0:19:31.600 --> 0:19:34.240 eleven and twelve years of age, those kids in other 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:37.600 countries are really full time focus on soccer, and this 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:39.680 is what they do. They train with their teams. When 0:19:39.680 --> 0:19:41.600 they're not training with their teams, they're going off and 0:19:41.640 --> 0:19:45.320 playing with their friends, and soccer is really first and foremost, 0:19:45.400 --> 0:19:49.119 and I think the emphasis on developing their technical and 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:53.280 tactical abilities are much more enhands and focused at a 0:19:53.320 --> 0:19:56.960 younger age than perhaps we're doing here, and that certainly 0:19:56.960 --> 0:19:58.200 could be a drawback. 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:09.800 After the break, winning versus real development. 0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:13.520 So you're winning, but are you developing anybody there more? 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:35.960 When we come back, we're back with American Football. Am 0:20:36.000 --> 0:20:40.040 Fernande Chavarri. Let's wrap up my conversation with Alfonso Mandelo, 0:20:40.280 --> 0:20:44.320 technical director of Competition from Major League Soccer. At this 0:20:44.359 --> 0:20:46.440 point in our interview, I wanted to ask him about 0:20:46.480 --> 0:20:49.600 something that former US soccer star Landon Donovan had brought 0:20:49.640 --> 0:20:53.320 up his point about the win now culture and the 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:56.159 pressure that puts on youth. You know, I want to 0:20:56.200 --> 0:20:58.960 ask you about something that Donovan has brought up about 0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:02.040 the win now culture or the pressure on youth and 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:03.639 emphasis on winning. 0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:06.880 My next frontier. This will be by far the most 0:21:06.920 --> 0:21:10.560 important thing I do in this sport is tackling youth soccer. 0:21:11.080 --> 0:21:13.960 It's very clear for me how you fix this, but 0:21:14.000 --> 0:21:17.199 nobody's done it because the incentive structure is backwards and 0:21:17.880 --> 0:21:21.400 winning is what's rewarded for the coaches, for the players, 0:21:21.480 --> 0:21:24.000 for the parents, for the club, and we need to 0:21:24.080 --> 0:21:26.600 change that. And by the way, it's not a coincidence 0:21:26.680 --> 0:21:29.880 that we're not producing world class players the way other 0:21:29.920 --> 0:21:30.600 countries are. 0:21:30.840 --> 0:21:33.000 When I first sort of thought about this, I was like, well, 0:21:33.080 --> 0:21:36.119 doesn't everyone want to win? Doesn't the coach in the 0:21:36.200 --> 0:21:39.080 team in what hear to Mexico want to push for 0:21:39.160 --> 0:21:42.159 the same thing. So it's not really just a US problem. 0:21:42.160 --> 0:21:45.200 But how relevant do you think this is in terms 0:21:45.200 --> 0:21:46.760 of the future of the US. 0:21:47.359 --> 0:21:49.760 Winning is part of competing, and I think anybody who 0:21:49.840 --> 0:21:51.920 steps on the field wants to win. Yeah, but it's 0:21:52.080 --> 0:21:55.400 how you win. Are you winning developing players or are 0:21:55.440 --> 0:21:57.879 you just winning to win the title where you know 0:21:57.920 --> 0:21:59.520 you have a big, strong kid in the front, you 0:21:59.600 --> 0:22:01.800 kick the a and the big kid scores a lot 0:22:01.800 --> 0:22:05.080 of goals. Yeah, so you're winning, but are you developing 0:22:05.119 --> 0:22:07.520 anybody there? And I think that the difference with the 0:22:07.560 --> 0:22:10.720 top clubs in Mexico or Spain or Holland or Germany 0:22:10.760 --> 0:22:14.280 or whatever. They're looking to win playing well developing players 0:22:14.280 --> 0:22:17.159 that will have a future that will be well rounded. 0:22:17.480 --> 0:22:21.040 But I think sometimes winning at the lower ages can 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:24.199 mask a lot of things in hide the deficiencies that 0:22:24.280 --> 0:22:26.560 some of these players are having in the development. 0:22:27.400 --> 0:22:29.520 This really is giving me so much pause. I have 0:22:29.560 --> 0:22:33.600 a young kid thinking about when they go into sports 0:22:33.680 --> 0:22:36.040 like this, how much of that is seen on like 0:22:36.080 --> 0:22:37.480 a Saturday to Saturday game. 0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:42.040 You know. Yeah. Unfortunately, sometimes, especially at the younger age groups, 0:22:42.080 --> 0:22:44.440 winning is more important for the parents than for the kids, 0:22:45.119 --> 0:22:47.639