We know we promised today's blog post would feature Pep Guardiola cursing and we will keep our promise at the end of this column. For now, we have a more important topic to discuss as to why the United States will struggle in football for the foreseeable future.
The IMOTGP was minding our own business Monday when we came across the fact that the second-most read story on the New York Times was not about Trump, Hillary or some American killing another American. Rather it was about football.
No, this story wasn't about United States superstar Christian Pulisic or Manchester United's spectacular failure under Jose Mournho or about Real Madrid's 2-0 victory at Espanyol or the fact that Sevilla became the first La Liga side in history this weekend to not start a single Spanish player. This story was about something more sinister, about injuries sustained by American youths playing football.
Over the last 25 years, as youth participation is on the rise, the rate of injuries has doubled. In 2014, approximately 2.2 percent of children between 7-17 sustained an injury that required a visit to the hospital. That's a 74 percent increase from the 2004 figures, according to the esteemed medical journal Pediatrics.
There is no data as to why this is the case but the Times has its own theory:
While there is no way to know exactly why soccer appears to be getting more dangerous, parents and coaches share anecdotal reports of children being encouraged to play more aggressively and less-experienced referees who are hesitant to call fouls and eject players from the game.
We here at the IMOTGP have our own opinion, and it's based on watching your average MLS match. You have seen our reporting on how the great Andrea Pirlo complained about the league's roughhouse tactics.
Not only is Pirlo correct, the problem is even more rampant at inferior levels in the United States like the college game and youth game with maniacal parents urging Johnny and Jill to use force rather than skill to win the ball. One prominent youth coach, Mark Jaskolski, told this blog how parents are banned from watching the youth team he coaches practice on certain days (although the IMOTGP is always welcome!).
Which brings us to the problem of these overzealous parents, and how they hurt the development of the U.S. player. It's one thing to think your little girl can become a superstar at the highest level, since that's possible even though the minuscule salaries make this somewhat of a ridiculous career choice for women who want top dollar.
But to push young boys into winning unimportant youth tournaments is the height of folly. Because your son is not going to be a top-level pro - since the United States has produced so few. The best you can hope for is MLS. And don't take this idiot's advice that talent isn't important. Trust IMOTGP, your son really isn't that talented.
What about a coveted college scholarship with the cost of education soaring by about as much as stock in Christian Pulisic? Well actually, women get more football scholarships than men, who must fight for partial ones.
So there is no reason for lunatic parents to be pushing their children excessively in football. And football being an instinctual game, a child also needs valuable time to develop a football brain on his or her own by learning the game in unorganized settings. There's very little the coach of FC Winnetka can really do as far as nurturing a player who is truly talented.
As far as what the youth game should look like in the United States, it is the official opinion of the IMOTGP that all rough play should be taken out. American youths are already banned from heading the ball. Other rough stuff should also be harshly dealt with, and not just because of the injury risk. How else can our youth learn the technique and precision required to properly play the beautiful game? Certainly not by turning it into an NFL match! Certainly not by watching the MLS! We need to develop the technical ability of other top nations! So parents, it's your fault with your win-at-all costs mentality for a U-15 trophy.
There you have it, IMOTGP followers. Take this as a call to action. We must make youth football safer - after all, you don't see these kind of injury problems in proper footballing countries like Germany, Brazil and Italy. Our future as a footballing nation depends on it.
And oh yes, Guardiola saying the F word, here you go right at the beginning of this clip ...
This is 100% real, no dubbing etc.— YourMCFC (@YourMCFC) September 18, 2016
Reporter: "Can you win the Quadruple"
Pep: "What the fuck" 😂 pic.twitter.com/kDp0JFTVmJ
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