National Team Development and the MLS

The development of young players has been a real challenge for Major League Soccer.

Clemente Lisi writes about National Team Development and the MLS.


For years, DC United was one of the best teams in Major League Soccer. In their prime, they had foreign stars like Marco Etcheverry and Jaime Moreno alongside US National Team regulars like Eddie Pope, Tony Sanneh, John Harkes and Jeff Agoos. The team, coached in the late 1990's by future National Team manager Bruce Arena, would go on to win three of the first four MLS Cups, while also providing the USA with not just talent but proven leadership.

Unfortunately for the National Team, DC United has fallen on hard times over the past few years, culminating with this season’s horrendous 4-16-3 record. DC United no longer supplies the USA with any talent at senior level.

United striker Andy Najar, who is just 17, is the poster boy for the kind of quality that has come out United’s academy system in recent years. He is, however, a Honduran citizen. Najar said recently he would not commit to the US National Team, telling reporters in July he’s “not ready” to announce which country he'll likely play for someday.

DC United isn’t alone. There are several MLS clubs who have contributed little or nothing to the National Team pool, a troublesome trend as the USA gears up for the start of another cycle of Gold Cup and eventually World Cup qualifying games. Aside from DC United, the New England Revolution, Philadelphia Union, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes and Seattle Sounders have not contributed and do not look like they will in the near future.

An analysis conducted by Soccer America in late August yielded some eye-opening results. In 2002, of the 110 players who started on the weekend of August 31-September 1, 78 were eligible for the National Team – roughly 70 percent. That weekend, all the teams in MLS started a majority of Americans with the exception of DC United, who fielded six foreigners. Soccer America found that on the weekend of August 21-22 of this year, only 89 of the 176 starters – roughly 50 percent - were players eligible for the National team.

“To have a chance to go further in tournaments and to try to be a top team in the world, you of course take the group you have and make sure there is competition, that you’re playing good teams,” US coach Bob Bradley said in a conference call with reporters last week. “You do all those things, but at the same time we must work with MLS, with our Under-20s, U-18s and U-17s, to get the sense that what we need to continue to do to raise the bar for our players. That is an incredibly important part going forward. We’ve started a lot of good things, but to continue to make sure that our efforts are united and that we’re aware of how to do things better so we give ourselves that kind of chance going forward. Those are the kind of efforts and discussions that are ongoing and will be very important for the future of our National Team.”

DC United was once at the forefront of developing youth players. In 2001, United became the first team to establish a European-style academy system. The team would later provide the National Team players like Bobby Convey, Freddy Adu and Santino Quaranta. Although none of them made the 2010 World Cup squad, all have had moments where they've contributed at National Team. Four years ago, Najar, who was 13, tried out for United’s academy, but he was turned away because he was too young. He eventually made it onto United’s U-16 squad and signed a contract with the club this year.

Most MLS teams are also not supplying talent to US youth teams. The team that competed at the 2009 U-20 World Cup featured only five players under contract with MLS teams out of 21 named to the roster by coach Thomas Rongen. The U-20 roster named by Rongen that recently won the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland had five (out of 18) players under contract with MLS clubs. Yes, MLS was in season during the Milk Cup, but availability wasn't the only issue.

The League has always encouraged teams to sign contracts through its Generation Adidas programs, which started in 1997. Almost half the current US roster includes players who have gone through the program, including Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey.

Although all MLS clubs have youth academies (at the U-16 and U-18 levels) since 2007, some teams have not been giving these players much-needed games. For example, there are currently 18 players in the league considered homegrown players (those who have come up through the academies and signed with the team). Of those 18, five have made their league debuts but only two – Najar and Tristan Bowen of the Los Angeles Galaxy – are regulars in the lineup. With the exception of Columbus, New England, Philadelphia, Real Salt Lake, San Jose and Seattle, the rest of the MLS clubs have signed a homegrown player to a first-team contract this season.

At the start of the season, MLS announced it had added two additional roster slots (to 26 total players) in order to accommodate homegrown players. In a news release, Todd Durbin, the league’s vice-president of Player Relations and Competition, trumpeted: “Our clubs have made a significant investment in their youth academies and many of those players are ready to take the next step in their development by becoming professionals. We have increased the roster size to ensure that our teams have the ability to sign those players.”

Certainly a great plan, but one that five months later many teams have not taken advantage of yet. It's something that will undoubtedly hurt the long-term development of prospects club and country.