"Gap between the best and the rest is closing"
( 2003-10-08 15:49) (FIFAworldcup.com)
(by Claudio Reyna, Manchester City defender, and U.S. men¡¯s national team
midfielder and captain)
I think overall the quality of the players and
different countries at the Women¡¯s World Cup is improving. I think that two
World Cups ago, it was pretty clear that there were only maybe three teams that
could win it. Now, eight years on, there are five or six teams that could have
realistically been champions. You also have a lot of development on other
continents, like in South America and Asia. Overall, the quality internationally
is improving.
I think that similar to the men¡¯s game, though on a smaller scale as far as
the amount of countries involved, the gap between the best and the rest is
closing. And, the U.S. has been the best women¡¯s team since the World Cup
started. But, the gap for them is closing, and I think that this World Cup has
proved that as they were eliminated by a strong Germany team. I don¡¯t think it
really has anything to do with the U.S., they¡¯ve improved as well, but the other
teams are coming up much quicker than anyone expected maybe six or seven years
ago. It really is similar to the men¡¯s game where teams are coming out of
nowhere and developing quickly. It¡¯s nice to see. It¡¯s definitely too early to
see more than 16 teams in the finals, but I don¡¯t think it will be a long time
until you see 24 teams that could be in the tournament. I think it makes it more
exciting for everyone that there are more than two or three teams that can win
it.
In England, the coverage four years ago was only of the semi-finals and
finals, and this time around at least half the games were on television, and
every U.S. match was on live. Some of the others were shown on tape-delay
because of the time differences, but there¡¯s no doubt that the coverage has
grown. It¡¯s not big. It¡¯s difficult to draw attention over here because you have
the start of the seasons and the Champions League.
I¡¯ve talked to some of my team mates and coaches at my club, and they said a
lot of nice things about the way that the women play. I think everyone knows
that they know the game. The only thing that you can¡¯t do anything about is the
speed of the play, but if you like watching football, you appreciate that they
know what they are doing, but they just do it at a slower pace. That¡¯s all that
anyone needs to appreciate because you can never really compare men and women in
any sport because of the strength and power factors, but if you look at their
ideas and their thought-process with the ball, you can see that they know what
they¡¯re trying to do. They¡¯re very organised, and it is nice to watch, and there
are better players and teams coming through.
I don¡¯t know that much about the particulars of the WUSA. After the last
World Cup it was the perfect time to try to launch the league, but I think to be
successful they would probably have to cut some of the salaries. Honestly, I
think they were probably paying too much, particularly to the high-end players,
even if they don¡¯t want to hear that. Also, I think they probably need to focus
on markets that are more receptive to having a women¡¯s team or a professional
franchise in general. Being based in places like New York, San Jose or San
Diego, it is difficult to have a new professional team, and some of those
markets struggle with some men¡¯s teams. So, for women¡¯s soccer to try to capture
a market, I think there are certain places where it would work ¨C probably
smaller markets, like the Carolina team. Play in smaller stadiums and start
small again. Maybe have a five-team league and just try to grow a little bit
each year. I think it¡¯s important though because it¡¯s helped not only the U.S.
improve but also the other nations. Women came over from other countries and
were playing at a higher level than they were in their own countries.
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