Steve Davis broke up with England today. Although I must say it came as a mild surprise since I didn't know Steve and England were together, it's hard to blame him the way things are going for the Three Lions. England is a mess at the moment, a team of primadonnas and narcissists seemingly unable to play together under St. George's Cross as their fans so desperately want them to. Talented at every position on the field, there's no reason they shouldn't be cruising into the second round rather than hastily holding team meetings and projecting an image of impending self-destruction.
Without accounting for the individual character of all twenty-three men in England's team, and with apologies to those decent people among them, it looks from here that most of their problems boil down to the effects of superstardom. Money and fame have spoiled England's footballers to the point of petulance; playing for the England shirt just doesn't seem to be enough to motivate players who experience the massive stage of the UEFA Champions League on a regular basis. Even stars of slightly lesser than CL-quality teams like James Milner and Emile Heskey of Aston Villa might find it difficult to give as much to England as they do to Villa; the shadow cast by players from the Big Four looms that large.
On the surface, it looks like England has a collection of individuals unable play as a team. This is the exact opposite of the U.S., who, consistency aside, have shown a propensity for being greater than the sum of their parts. Forget any trite notions of the "American will to win" or culturally imbued characteristics that might lend them to such a state; this is mostly about the individual place in the soccer world of the players that make up the American squad. Playing for their national side, particularly in the World Cup with everyone watching, is as big as it will get for almost all of them. The Champions League is something only a select few of them can even hope to play in, while the giving of their all for the U.S. of A. is the pinnacle of their careers. Quite simply, they play hard for their country because it means something.
Fans of the U.S. National Team should enjoy it while it lasts. It's not a given that one day the American squad will appear to care as little as England's stars do today, but the situation will certainly change. At some point in the future, be it in fifteen years or fifty, the U.S. World Cup team will be made up of at least a few true superstars. The players will live in the same world England's do today; their fame and money so great it boggles the mind, playing for the Stars and Stripes just won't mean as much as it used to. They'll play in Champions League games, or win Premier League titles with whomever the biggest clubs of the day are. Returning to play for the U.S. will be more obligation than honor, something they have to do rather than something they want to do. One has to wonder if the "American will to win" and "fighting spirit" so often credited to the U.S. now will still be around then.
Yeah, they drive us nuts with the up and down results. Sure, we're not happy when they fall behind early, and there's always concerns about the level of talent the U.S. actually possesses. But we can never say that they don't give their all for their country. Let's hope that never changes no matter how much American soccer progresses. Let's hope they don't end up like England.
