No way..
If your talking about the rise in talent being these Henry and Beckham signings you are way off...
Both came to MLS on the downside of their careers.
When I talk about improving the quality of play, I am not talking about signing aging veterans like Beckham and Henry. While such signings are good in the short term for the visibility of the league, it's going to take a lot more to truly improve the quality of play in MLS.
What I'm talking about is more American kids and foreign kids who immigrate here with their parents choosing to play soccer and getting the coaching they need to succeed and then turning them into professionals.
Part of it is player development. The development infrastructure here is pretty lousy, but it's getting better through trial and error. Europe is much better at player development simply because they've been doing it for so long. We're America - if we put our minds to it, it'll happen.
Another part is immigration. Legal or otherwise, we're experiencing an immense influx of Latin immigrants. This is naturally going to improve the number of Americans playing the sport. Like people from the rest of the world, Hispanics are very passionate about soccer and, even though professional opportunities are limited here, their children will naturally drift more toward playing soccer than American sports.
Another - and perhaps the biggest - part is money. We have more soccer-playing youth than any other nation in the world. Why is it that they don't stick with the sport as they age? It's because, until recently, there hasn't been a professional future for amateur soccer players in America. Most kids are going to play sports like football, baseball, and basketball - sports that are going to make them rich. As MLS grows and there is a greater financial incentive to play soccer professionally, more kids will stick with the sport.
And as the player development improves and these kids are funneled through the academies of their regional MLS teams, the quality of the league will grow. As the quality of the league grows, fan support and interest from average Americans will improve and more money will be generated as they attend matches and buy merchandise. As that happens, television networks will bid more money to secure contracts to show MLS matches, increasing the wealth of the league and how much they can pay players. As that increases, more foreign players will be willing to come play in MLS during their prime years and not after they're burnt out.
It's a complex issue with more factors than I can cover here, but I think it's obvious to anyone who is honest with themselves that the future is bright for Major League Soccer.
Look at the US roster...alot of them play in the MLS, and look how poorly they played in the gold cup (a tournament they should have cake walked into the finals)
Take a top tier US team to England and pit them against Wolves, Wigan, Blackpool, etc, id still put money on the english teams..
More and more USMNT players are hopping the pond and signing contracts with European clubs. If you want to talk about the Gold Cup roster, there was actually at least one match where the starting XI comprised entirely European-based players.
Let's take a look at what I feel would be our starting lineup assuming everyone's health:
---------------Altidore---------------
Dempsey-------Holden--------Donovan
----------Jones-------Bradley--------
Lichaj------Boca------Goodson------Dolo
---------------Howard---------------
Striker:
Jozy Altidore - Owned by Villarreal of La Liga, last seen playing on loan for Bursaspor of the Turkish first division.
Midfielders:
Clint Dempsey - Plays for Fulham of the EPL.
Stuart Holden - Plays for Bolton Wanderers of the EPL.
Landon Donovan - Captains LA Galaxy of MLS.
Jermaine Jones - Owned by Schalke 04 of the Bundesliga, last seen playing on loan for Blackburn Rovers of the EPL.
Micheal Bradley - Owned by Borussia Mönchengladbach of the Bundesliga, last seen playing on loan for Aston Villa of the EPL.
Defenders:
Eric Lichaj - Owned by Aston Villa of the EPL, last seen playing on loan for Leeds United of the Football League Championship.
Carlos Bocanegra - Plays for Saint-Étienne of Ligue 1.
Clarence Goodson - Plays for Brøndby of the Danish Superliga.
Steve Cherundolo - Captains Hannover 96 of the Bundesliga.
Keeper:
Tim Howard - Plays for Everton of the EPL.
There is a significant drop off after these eleven players, and that lack of depth is a huge reason why the United States has yet to take the next step in becoming an international powerhouse. But compare the current club situation of our players compared to twenty years ago and there's a night-and-day difference. MLS has been an effective development league for American players possessing the talent to go to Europe. Prior the formation of MLS, the USMNT consisted of college kids and a few players who managed to sign on with lower-level clubs in Europe. Now every starter save for one plays in Europe (several in a Top Four league), and if Everton had the money Donovan would be a Toffee. We've yet to make a real inroads with the world's elite clubs, but the progress we have made is immense.
And a lot of the most exciting players in U.S. Soccer's youth system are signing Generation Adidas contracts and playing in MLS, improving the league and getting those players valuable minutes needed for developing into players capable of starring on the international stage for the United States. Others are skipping MLS entirely and signing with European clubs.
I believe we're capable of being a consistent threat to make a deep run in the World Cup. The pieces are coming into place. It's only a matter of time.
