Goalkeeping Tips, Tidbits and Random Thoughts

Soccer bashers?

The usual bashers of our sport:

The sport is boring. There's too much standing around and not enough sustained action. Its hard-core fans are brainwashed lemmings, and its specialized press corps a bunch of shameless advocates. Plus, why should we get excited about a sport in which U.S.-born players aren't the best in the world, and in which Team USA was a washout in the recent high-profile world tournament?

But enough about baseball.

Oh, wait. While soccer may never rival the more established sports in the USA, there's no question the professional game is rooting itself here, and even more curmudgeonly media types like Terry Frei are coming around: Beckham signing shows soccer isn't so bad.

The signing of David Beckham, while not necessarily bringing respectability to Major League Soccer in one fell swoop, certainly raises soccer's profile in the States. Are we still at a point where any publicity is good publicity? Beckham will add some star power, but can't single-handedly raise the level of play in MLS, which is something that eventually needs to happen for the league to gain that respectability. A few follow-on signings with the league's new "Beckham Rule" (rumors have Ronaldo in NY and Edgar Davids in Dallas) will help, as well as having the potential to lure younger (and cheaper) talent to MLS as well.

Will we see any major goalkeeping stars come to MLS? Probably no names like Cech or Buffon. But apparently Dutch keeper Donald Waterreus is already close to joining the Red Bulls.

Labels: Goalkeeping News and Analysis