{"id":24064,"date":"2026-02-24T15:16:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/usmnt-star-reveals-harsh-reality-of-american-soccer-were-about-70-years-behind\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T15:16:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:16:23","slug":"usmnt-star-reveals-harsh-reality-of-american-soccer-were-about-70-years-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/usmnt-star-reveals-harsh-reality-of-american-soccer-were-about-70-years-behind\/","title":{"rendered":"USMNT star reveals harsh reality of American soccer: &#8216;We&#8217;re about 70 years behind&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"ue-c-article--first-letter-highlighted\"><span class=\"capital-letter\">I<\/span>In 2026, with the excitement of the World Cup and a star-studded MLS, an optimistic mood seems to be reigning over the U.S. soccer world. But historic national team player and former LAFC coach Steve Cerundolo has poured cold water on the current state of the country&#8217;s youth system.<\/p>\n<p>During a recent chat with former teammate Cobi Jones on LA Galaxy&#8217;s YouTube channel, Cerundolo candidly compared the local level of development to traditional powerhouses in Europe and South America.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"ue-c-article__subheadline\">Steve Cerundolo has doubts about U.S. Soccer<\/h2>\n<p>For Cerundolo, the problem is not a lack of talent, but the structure of competition. According to former advocates, the United States is still in a constant &#8220;chasing&#8221; phase.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"ue-c-article__blockquote\">\n<p>The development of this sport in our country is about 70 years behind.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"ue-c-article__blockquote-author\">steve cherundolo<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;We shouldn&#8217;t be afraid to copy what&#8217;s already working elsewhere, which means creating a system that forces players to improve every week,&#8221; added the former USA international.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"ue-c-article__subheadline\">Criticism of youth soccer<\/h2>\n<p>One of the most controversial points in his speech was his criticism of the high scores of the lower categories (U12 and U14). Cerundolo explained that seeing a 10-0 or 10-1 score in a game between LAFC and the Galaxy&#8217;s academy is not in anyone&#8217;s interest.<\/p>\n<p>Cerundolo established three important points.<\/p>\n<p>Irrelevant games: Landslide wins prevent young players from facing adversity Necessity to lose: According to coach, real growth occurs when players fail and must seek solutions under pressure Quality over quantity: &#8220;I think LAFC and the Galaxy would like to play 30 times a year if it guarantees meaningful games,&#8221; he added.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marca.com\/en\/football\/mls\/2026\/02\/24\/699da26522601de6048b45d9.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IIn 2026, with the excitement of the World Cup and a star-studded MLS, an optimistic mood seems to be reigning over the U.S. soccer world. But historic national team player and former LAFC coach Steve Cerundolo has poured cold water on the current state of the country&#8217;s youth system. During a recent chat with former<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-24064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>USMNT star reveals harsh reality of American soccer: &#039;We&#039;re about 70 years behind&#039; - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/usmnt-star-reveals-harsh-reality-of-american-soccer-were-about-70-years-behind\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"USMNT star reveals harsh reality of American soccer: &#039;We&#039;re about 70 years behind&#039; - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"IIn 2026, with the excitement of the World Cup and a star-studded MLS, an optimistic mood seems to be reigning over the U.S. soccer world. 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