World Cup Impact: U.S. Presentation & Global Reception

Let's talk about the World Cup and how it was presented by America and how well it's done and how well it's been received around the world and especially here and your takeaways on how it was presented. Thank you for having me. First and foremost, my friends, it has been a crazy month of football and I think it's a mixed bag. I think the verdict is still out. I think there were very important highlights. One of them, there was that moment of communion between the US casual fans and the US national team. There was a moment, there was a fairytale moment for the US national team. Unfortunately, it faded away very quickly, unfortunately, for the development of football culture here. But I think that the proof is in the pudding that the culture in the United States is ready for these events. There's an audience, there's culture to talk about the round game, and most importantly, the hard questions are being asked. And what I mean is we are talking about the access to the game. I think one of the biggest talking points for the United States is the fact that we are now talking about the pay-to-play model that has been hindering the growth of the US national team. I think that this is very important. But also, globally, what I see is that the level of all the teams around the world has increased so much more. Of course, there's big teams. We have the two first places in the FIFA ranking in the final for a reason and the third and fourth in the consolation match for a reason. So the powers of football are clear and they are winning. But also, if you think about this, a team that comes to the World Cup for the very first time like Cape Verde and ties and makes it very difficult for the two finalists in their respective games. I think these are the stories that the World Cup brings and why we're so, so, so happy to have experienced that. And the growth of Norway as a world power, the growth of Morocco as a world power, and the reality that there's still a lot of work to be done in the Americas to catch up with the Europeans. It's clear that they have a leg up on the continent. And let's see, maybe Argentina raises the hand and continues. They're all saying that America is for the Americans, but we'll see. It has been a great World Cup nonetheless. Marcelino, so are you on the side of Landon Donovan and you're not on the side of Alexi Lalas here when you say that? Because Landon has also told me this as well. Landon said that when you have to pay for play, you're talking about really rich kids. You're talking about not opening up to everybody, inner city kids. And this is really one of the differences in the process of finding the right players, of finding the right 25. So you're on that side with Landon Donovan. Without a doubt, I support what Landon Donovan was putting out there throughout the World Cup. I think Alexi Lalas is a professional provocateur. He has his agenda not only to bring his take, but to rile people up. And in this case, I think that he landed flat. I think that it is clear, I understand where he's coming from, that this has been the model that we know. And there's so many interests behind it. There's a lot of club owners that do not want this to disappear. But the reality is that the pressure is on, my friend. This is something that will happen eventually. And I think that there's also big movements around this summer in New York, come to the final for the World Cup. The mayor has let the lights be on for the 24 hour all the day. From 10 at night to 7 in the morning, there's lighting on the fields of New York, providing access for free on the fields. I think these are the things that we need to do. There's so many abandoned parking lots and basketball courts that could be repurposed for street soccer. Street soccer, I think, is one of the critical points for this history to change in the US. Because like you said, it provides access to inner city kids, creates players that are bold, and they're happy to take the one-on-one. That if we notice certain teams were lacking that player that had a spark, that changed the game. We saw it with Argentina. I think the big difference between Mexico versus England and Argentina versus England is that Argentina dared to put a player that was going to make that special play. Enzo Fernandez with that massive goal. I think that we need to try to find those players and create them. And if you just reduce your pool to those who can pay between $3,000 and $7,000 a year just to be part of a club, on top of that travel fees, equipment, special trainings, privates. So if you start adding, there's a big, big pool of talent in the US that is not being allowed to compete at the same level.