Post by Bill George

Why Spain is in the World Cup finals and Americans are watching on TV: 1. Spain has a system for playing soccer, as anyone who watches them quickly realizes. It starts from the earliest ages and progresses to the national team. No deviations allowed. America is so diverse that everyone plays a different way. 2. Spain attracts players from all social-economic groups, and makes it affordable for them to play. Rising star Yamin Laval comes from a very poor family. In sharp contrast, American youth soccer is a “pay to play” system that is largely middle class and above. Many potentially great soccer players come from families who cannot afford that so they never get the opportunity. 3. Spain has consistent coaching from youth teams to the national team. National team coach Luis de la Fuentes came up through the youth system, then coached U19, U21, U23 national teams where he trained many of today’s World Cup players. American players have so many coaches requiring different playing styles that they get confused. The national team coach has only a few days to prepare his players. 4. In Spain soccer is a religion. In America it is one of many sports. No surprise: Spain is in today’s finals……