I have been watching a few games of the English Premier Football League and one conclusion came to my mind: the British style of football is outdated.

 I know a lot of my fellow English friends are gonna be very upset with me but this is my very honest opinion and I’ll explain how I got to this sad conclusion.

When you analyze the dynamics of modern football you will end up talking about teams like Chelsea, Real Madrid, Milan, Barcelona, Boca Juniors, São Paulo just to name a few. These teams represent a huge evolution in strategies, efficiency, and ability. An almost perfect balance of defense and offense without taking away the finesse that the sport requires. But when it comes to National Teams we don’t see that same balance.

Some National Teams were able to evolve and some others just got stuck in their own tradition. That’s the case of England.

I don’t like to analyze football using numbers but they will play an important role in this case so let’s check them out:

Even though being the inventors of football, England only started playing in the World Cup in 1950. Since then the event happened 15 times and England qualified for 12 of them. (England did not qualify for the 1974, 1978 and 1994 WCs)

In those 12 participations England only won 1, in 1966 when they were the hosts. The next best result was a 4^th place in 1990.

England never won the European Championship. The best results were a 3^rd place in 1968 and they also got to the semi-finals in 1996. That’s it.

I know that England gave the world of football some amazing players: Gordon Banks, Bobby Charlton, Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker,  David Beckham, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney… but the question is: how many of them could actually lead the English team to a title? Well, Gordon Banks and Bobby Charlton did in 1966…

I’m not a fan of the British style of football. I grew up admiring Gary Lineker but I haven’t seen any transformation in the English team since then. I saw “the promise” Michael Owen become not more than a promise, I saw David Beckham rise in the eyes of the media but didn’t see him being really effective for the country, and I’m still waiting to see something amazing from Wayne Rooney.

England is out of the Euro 2008 so we will have to wait for the 2010 World Cup to see some changes. Well, that’s if they qualify (?)

What do you think should change in the English team to make them a winner team?

Is the massive presence of foreigner player in the Premier League a problem?

Is the fact that all players in the National Team only play in England a problem?

Do you think if England “exported” its players to countries like Spain, Portugal, Russia, Italy… the game style would be improved?

Let us know what you think…

 Hoping for some future Glory...

If your team had a player with a $50 million-dollar per year contract what would you expect from your team?

Well, if this player is David Beckham and your team is the Los Angeles Galaxy you should not expect much. Maybe a pick-up game between featuring your British Superstar versus D-List Hollywood Celebrities and former soccer players.

Don't get me wrong, I hold nothing agains Beckham or Galaxy (I actually have his jersey in my vast collection) but the thing that bothers me is how can a team base its aquisition only on marketing and publicity?

Or maybe I was really naive when at a certain point I came to think that Beckham would come to LA to bring tittles and help make SOCCER into FOOTBALL  in this country just like everywhere else. (if you know what I mean) 

But nooooo... First of all he arrived with a ankle injury that took FOREVER to heal... Then he came up with a knee sprain that took FOREVER to heal!!! As a result you only need one hand to count how many times he actually played for LA Galaxy this season.

But there he was playing and scoring twice on the 12-4 Galaxy win against the Hollywood FC in a charity game that made $100,000 for the American Red Cross and the Savation Army... WHAT A JOKE!!!

It's just sad... It's very sad to see things going down the drain like that. Why didn't they ask Beckham to donate to charity at least half of the $50 million dollars he will receive for this first year's contract ? He didn't deserve the money anyway!

I truly believe David Beckham is a good person, a good soccer player too. BUT things need to change in the structure of the MLS so that huge investments like that are made to improve the quality and level of the game in this country not just to sell jerseys and make celebrity shows headlines.

Oh, well... let me watch the Premier League, the Italian League, The Brazilian Championship or La Liga Española to  see real good socc... i mean.. FOOTBALL!

David Beckham - strated in 5 games this season. $50 million dollar per year sitting on the bench most of the time

I'm back my friends. After a loooooong vacation!!! I deserved it after the Copa America coverage!

But well, here I am. And as I promised you I will fearlessly talk about the whole "Beckham coming to America" thing and the MLS league.

We all waited anxiously for Beckham to arrive, then we waited for him to recover from his ankle injury, then we waited for his first goal and now he's injured again and we're waiting, waiting, waiting...

When is the waiting gonna be over for good soccer here in the USA?

I'll tell you when.

The teams are starting to realize that they need to bring renowned players, that's good. They are also understanding that nothing happens without good dedicated sponsors and media coverage. That's been happening too. (FC Dallas has been smartely using YOUTUBE to help promote their stuff, great job y'all) so, what else can they do???

I personally admire the commitment that the MLS management has with the league, the fans but I think the should start following what every other SOCCER league in the world do: BRING THE EXCITEMENT!!!

HOW???

What happens in the end of every MLS season? We have the championship game, right? excellent!!! But and then what? What about the following season?

Well, then we start it all over with the same teams... THAT'S WRONG!

They need to bring the PROMOTION / RELEGATION system!!!

And it's simple:

Starting next season, of course, they could invite at least 8 teams (it could be from the USL and/or from a Canadian league) to form a 2nd Division of the MLS.

These teams would receive the support from the MLS teams kinda like a older brother system to help them deal with all the MLS requirements.

Then in the end of the season the 3 best teams from the newly created 2st. Division get prmoted to the 1st. Division and the 3 worst ones from the 1st. D. are relegated.

What is the outcome of this?

EXCITEMENT!!! SOMETHING TO FIGHT FOR!!!

There should also be created a partnership with the comenbol to allow the MLS Champions to participate in Copa Libertadores... which one day could lead a well structure MLS Team to participate in the FIFA World Clubs Championship.

 But it all needs to start by making the MLS STRONGER!!! MORE COMPETITIVE AND EXCITING!

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT????