US Must Earn Respect in Germany

About the only thing the United States has an inferiority complex in is the game of football. Witness national team player Oguchi Onyewu’s comments today.

“I’ve heard a few people in the United States say, `Well, they had a good run’ without us even playing,” Onyewu, 23, said. “That makes me mad knowing the majority of Americans aren’t backing us. I’m sure they’re not doing that in Mexico. I’m sure everybody in Mexico is expecting [their team] to get out of their group.

“I’d like to think soccer has progressed enough in the United States that our people have some faith in us, but you have to deal with what you have.”

Onyewu’s call for respect is something you hear often from US players and their fans. The world’s most powerful country must forever try to prove itself in a sport where it has never been all that powerful.

But Onyewu and others shouldn’t interpret reality as disrespect. The reality is that football has not progressed enough in the United States for objective fans to think that the Yanks are a sure bet to advance out of a group that includes Italy and the Czech Republic. Sure the 2002 run to the quarterfinals was impressive, but the disaster in France in 1998 still looms large in my mind. So do all the years of misery.

There’s no question the talent pool in the US is better today than any time in its history. But improved talent doesn’t mean anything until it translates to wins. And frankly that is something the US has not done enough of, especially on European soil.

I have no doubt that the US will be competitive in Germany in 2006 and it wouldn’t shock me if it advanced, but Onyewu and others should realize that just like respect, faith from fans is something that must first be earned.

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