As I sat watching the opening minutes of Wednesday’s World Cup semi final between Spain and Germany, easily two of the top five teams in the world battling on the biggest stage in world football, I quickly noticed a trend within the match that may go on to answer the question posed as the headline of this article.

Having caught my favorite part of the pre game introduction, the tactical lineups, I quickly noticed that each starting player (exception – 1) for the respective countries is a current product of that country’s domestic league thus lending fact to the theory that those two domestic leagues spoken of would be the two best leagues in the world. Keep in mind we are talking about a World Cup semi final here.

The Germans all (OK, let’s pretend you’re reading this pre June, 2010 as Jerome Boateng has just completed a move to Manchester City) receive their wages from the Bundesliga, a league that has oh so much right going for it – cost of admission, terraces, grab a beer at the match and financial security. The starting Spaniard’s all kick a ball in La Liga – arguably the world’s most technically brilliant league with two massive clubs.

At first glance, this moment of realization struck me as a bit odd as I pondered where all the players from “the best league in the world”, the Barclays (England’s) Premier League were. Only Spain’s Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), immortal bench warmer Pepe Reina (Liverpool) and yes now David Silva (Manchester City – is there anyone they’re not trying to buy?) represented the Premier League. Not a one of them in the starting line up.

These variables led me to ask myself if  it was now safe to assume that the Premier League in actuality is the world’s third best domestic league, a sign of the league’s waning tide. Or, is the fact that three out of four semi final teams who aren’t largely composed of Premier League players (either didn’t start or don’t have Premier League players on the roster) a simple coincidence that means little in the grand scheme of club football?

Now the point here isn’t anymore drivel about how the English players were bad playing for England. That topic has been written about in depth and change is needed, we can all agree on that. But my reason for writing this post is more of a look at the skill the Premier League continues, or for that matter doesn’t continue to draw in. How did the Premier League fall so far behind? Was it bad decision making in signing new talent, or a series of unfortunate and unforeseen events that caused the Premier League to miss out on the Mesut Ozil’s and Wesley Sneijder’s of the world?

Why now are we seeing the trend of the world’s top stars fleeing the Premier League like some petty bank robber making a get away? In recent years, Cristiano Ronaldo, KaKa, Ronaldinho, Cesc Fabregas, Arjen Robben, Xabi Alonso, and more have all either left, spoken of their desire to leave or snubbed a potential move to supposedly the world’s best league for other leagues in continental Europe – a disheartening trend in and of itself.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the Premier League is my favorite league for various reasons – a sure idea for another post – but what I’m trying to say is now, more than ever, the depth of good talent in other leagues across Europe is more transparent than ever, and the English media, pundits, TV programs and fans of the Premier League should start to show respect for these very leagues as they are due it.

Now is a time of tactics, of ball retention, skill on the ball, passing and so much more than the Premier League’s brutal physicality and full throttle style that continues to entertain all of us week in week out. For all it’s strengths, the Premier League lacks a profusion of technically gifted footballers, passers of the ball and quick passing maestros like those of the Bundesliga and La Liga.

Until England, a national team comprised entirely of Premier League players, progresses to a World Cup or Euro semi final or final, wins a major competition, or the Premier League is somehow able to pry the best Germans, Spanish and various South Americans away from the leagues and clubs they now represent, then and only then will the Premier League be able to reclaim their crown as the world’s best league. It’s just that simple.

One of the things about the World Cup is that it puts the sport into perspective. With 64 games in one month, it’s easy to get a cross-section of where a country is. How well it’s doing relative to the other teams in the tournament. What the level of officiating is. And what improvements are necessary. FIFA, and most countries, know where they stand after a World Cup ends. And they know what work is ahead of them.

But if we take a second to consider what impact that the 2010 World Cup already has and will continue to have over the next 12 months, it’s quite awe-inspiring. Soccer finally got the respect it deserved. Record breaking TV numbers. More media exposure than ever before. Everyone and their grandmother seemed to be following the World Cup or at least aware that the tournament was on. Very few dinosaur sports journalists bashing the sport. The biggest meme of the summer? Vuvuzelas – which got everyone talking about the World Cup. Now comes the challenging part. keeping the momentum going after the World Cup ends.

Here are my thoughts on 7 ways that the 2010 World Cup will change America:

1. More Americans will play in Europe. And those Americans who are already there have a big opportunity to move up the ladder to bigger clubs that they’re at now. There’s been transfer speculation that Liverpool and AC Milan are interested in signing Clint Dempsey. Landon Donovan could leapfrog from Everton to Manchester City, Chelsea or another Premier League club. Meanwhile, back in the States, foreign scouts will be on high alert looking at Major League Soccer and USSF Division 2 for the next big thing.
2. When the bidding for the US TV rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup begins, expect some serious competition. During the 2010 World Cup, ESPN has shown how high TV ratings can be. And, if the United States team does even better in the future by hiring someone like Jurgen Klinsmann as coach, expect the TV ratings to go through the roof. The one TV network that could outbid ESPN is Comcast-NBC Universal especially if they don’t want ESPN to get the crown jewels of sport – both the Summer Olympic Games and World Cup.
3. Premier League TV ratings in the United States will climb marginally. While the Premier League is definitely not the only game in town when it comes to soccer on US television, it sometimes feels like that way with TV viewing audiences of more than 500,000 for the top EPL games shown at 4:30am PT on a Saturday morning. With more Premier League games expected to be televised on ESPN this coming season than ever before, ratings can only increase especially with the familiar voices of Ian Darke, Martin Tyler, Efan Ekoku and others forming a perfect bridge from the World Cup to the start of the Premier League season.
4. Bundesliga interest will increase. German soccer has always had a special place in the heart of many Americans after the successful TV show from the late 70s and early 80s named Soccer Made In Germany. But with the Bundesliga stars and Germany team being so impressive in World Cup 2010, especially with incredible players such as Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira, expect TV ratings (and online viewing numbers) to increase on both ESPN3.com and GolTV.
5. Expect more bars and restaurants to show an interest in soccer. One of the big revelations for many people nationwide has been the success that bars and restaurants have had during the World Cup with venues packed with passionate soccer fans. When business owners see that type of reaction and dollars during a recession, it definitely opens people’s eyes to the relatively untapped commercial aspect of the game stateside. Beginning with the 2010-2011 European seasons, expect to see more bars and restaurants becoming soccer friendly in the United States.
6. Twitter adoption will continue to skyrocket among soccer fans. Twitter’s Biz Stone and his staff got a wakeup call at how popular the World Cup is worldwide after Twitter crashed on numerous occasions from the surge of World Cup traffic. The tournament was definitely a hot topic on tech shows and websites, and deservedly so. But now that the World Cup is almost over, expect soccer fans to use Twitter more often than before during the 2010-11 Premier League season, for starters.
7. More major advertisers interested in sponsoring sport during years between World Cup tournaments. With those TV ratings, how could advertisers possibly ignore soccer anymore?

The success of ESPN’s coverage of the 2010 World Cup has long-term effects that will long outlive the tournament itself. ESPN has raised the bar several levels so much so that Fox Soccer Channel has to invest some serious money into its production and talent in order to come even close to the quality that ESPN has shown. Whatever happens between now and the World Cup Final on July 11, we’ll remember ESPN’s World Cup coverage fondly for many years to come.

ESPN’s Executive Vice President for Content John Skipper deserves a knighthood. If Skipper was English, he would be in the running to get a MBE medal for the way he put his neck on the line by spending more money on the 2010 World Cup than any other sporting event in ESPN history. He put his reputation on the line by fully getting behind soccer, and his perseverance as well as the hard work of his ESPN team has paid off in a major way. And World Cup 2010 is just the beginning. ESPN has rights to the 2014 tournament too. Expect even bigger and better things in the future from ESPN beginning with the 2012 European Championship which may be the best Euros we’ve ever experienced stateside in terms of coverage.

Speaking of soccer and TV coverage, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and, to a lesser extent, Bolton Wanderers couldn’t have picked a better time to play their preseason friendlies in America. All four teams will be here beginning next week to play friendlies across the country.

When you think about it, it’s incredible what changes will come as a result of just one tournament that’s played over the course of one month. An entire season can be played and it doesn’t have the impact that a one-month tournament has. And that’s just another one of many reasons why the World Cup is so influential both inside and outside of the sport of soccer.

Who are the very best young players in the world?  For the purposes of this article, “young players” are those no older than 22.

First there are the obvious: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Alexandre Pato, Francesc Fabregas, Karim Benzema, etc.  Their class has been established before this mysterious “young” label vanished, and subsequently they command enormous transfer fees, if their clubs are even willing to part with them.  They often aren’t and for good reason.  These are players who will win Ballon d’Ors, change Champions League finals in a single play, and will also sell shirts.

Then there is a second tier of young players who might becomes world class, but aren’t quite there yet: Chelsea’s Mikel, Villarreal’s Giuseppe Rossi, Werder Bremen’s Mesut Ozil, Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain, etc.  Another way of saying this is, although they wouldn’t be guaranteed a starting position on a Champions League final team, they’d at least be on the bench.

Then there’s a third tier of players who are still unpolished and generally unproven, though many people believe they have the quality to go on a to great things.  These are players like Inter’s Santon, Everton’s Rodwell, AZ’s Dembele, Palermo’s Pastore, Bayern Munich’s Kroos, or Athletic Bilbao’s Muniain (the new youngest La Liga goalscorer, or “the Spanish Wayne Rooney”).

What strikes me from these lists, which are meant to be totally cursory and by no means inclusive, is the lack of EPL representation.  Considering the league has come under fire for “luring youngsters away from the academies that developed them”, why do football’s future luminaries seem to ply their trade on the continent?

Some might say they don’t, and that the best youth in the EPL could easily match Serie A and La Liga’s best young players.  Aaron Lennon, Fellaini, Agbonglahor et al, the argument goes, have just as much class.

Teams like Arsenal, Everton, West Ham, and Manchester United have fine traditions of developing youth players into great players.  These traditions, especially at Everton currently, look like they’ll continue.

Yet despite Arsenal’s policy of youth, I see few players who will go on to be world class.  Fabregas already is, Nasri has a great chance of becoming, and for Jack Wilshire and Aaron Ramsey, it’s too early to tell.  But can anyone see Bendtner as Ibrahimovic’s heir, or Denilson as a second Fabregas (or a defensive midfielder, or whatever they want to make him these days)?

In La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, the Eredivisie, and the Bundesliga, these young players have a greater chance of getting lots of playing time and actually being stars.

Would Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic (in my opinion the second best teenager in the world, behind only Pato), have started for Liverpool in the match in which he scored against them?

Probably not, likely because he isn’t good enough to do so.  As exciting a prospect as Jovetic, he still could not have replaced Gerrard, Torres, Benayoun, Riera, or Kuyt because he isn’t a better player than any of them.  He does, however, have the potential to be better than the last three especially.  Yet in Liverpool he would ride the bench this season, just as he would at Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, or Manchester City.  He would get chances at smaller clubs, but he wouldn’t taste Champions League football like he does now at Fiorentina.

At the best clubs in the EPL, the competition is too great for young stars to truly break through, it seems.  I don’t mean seeing the least four minutes ten games per season, but rather the chance to play 90 minutes regularly.

With the exception of the “predestined” youngsters – the Fabregases and Messis and  Rooneys and Ronaldos – the Serie A, La Liga, Eredivisie, and the Bundesliga provide better opportunities.

It seems the youngsters and their agents realize this too.  Javier Pastore, Palermo’s 20 year old midfielder, was hesitant to join Manchester United when the rumors were flying because of the lack of minutes.  Instead, he opted to join Serie A’s 8th place Palermo.  He might have joined a team in the Champions League, but now he gets to play about 30+ games per season, ninety minutes each.  His contract lasts until he’s 25, when by then, he could be one of the premier playmakers in the world.

When the “Big Four” come knocking, the theory goes, you don’t turn down the golden opportunity in your career.  It’s supposed to be your big chance to break into the national team, to win trophies, and become an elite player.  This doesn’t seem to be the case in the EPL, with the exception of the truly greatest.

For simply the good players, let Chelsea’s Saloman Kalou be a warning.  When the Blues signed him in 2006, it seemed like the 21-year old could be Chelsea’s Cristiano Ronaldo – a winger who could score lots of goals and dribble past opponents.  Instead, he’s gone from promising star to inconsistent substitute, age 24.  One can’t help but wonder what might have happened if the Ivorian had opted to join a German, Italian, or Spanish club instead of one of the EPL’s elite and hyper competitive giants.  Would the consistent minutes have made him a better player?  It’s very possible.

Find out why the Bundesliga is better than the Premier League according to blogger Double Pivot, as well as several other interesting articles I’m reading right now. Enjoy.

• 7 Reasons Why The Bundesliga Is Better Than The EPL (Bundesliga Talk)
• Champions League Group Previews: Group A and Group B (Champions League Talk)
• How The US Can Learn From Sven (Major League Soccer Talk)
• Roma’s Aquilani Joins Forces With Nike (Serie A Talk)
• Cuba Outplays US In Havana (World Cup Buzz)
• Mickey Thomas: A Cautionary Tale From A Welsh Wizard (The Telegraph)

DISH customers can practically kiss their chances goodbye of seeing GolTV back on their satellite provider.

The 24/7 soccer network says that it doesn’t see any compromise with DISH being reached in the near future and is recommending that DISH customers select an alternate source such as DirecTV.

On August 1st, DISH Network dumped GolTV from its lineup after a contract dispute. DISH Network wanted to reduce the amount of money it paid GolTV based on the per subscriber fee. GolTV rightly balked, but due to no agreement being made, the network is still not available on the satellite provider.

Between August 1st and now, plenty of soccer fans nationwide have cancelled their DISH Network subscriptions and signed up with DirecTV instead. Now that both the new La Liga and Bundesliga seasons have kicked off, expect more DISH customers to make the switch to DirecTV.

GolTV leaves open the possibility of a deal being reached with DISH Network to bring the network back to its lineup, but the ball seems to be in DISH’s court. By the time an agreement is reached, if any, the concern will be that the die-hard soccer fans will have already left the network.

Be sure to visit the whole network of our sites. Some of the interesting topics include:

• Kartik Krishnaiyer over at Major League Soccer Talk takes on a controversial topic that very few journalists are brave enough to write about and that’s the cozy relationship between the Mexican Federation and Major League Soccer. Krishnaiyer also discusses U.S. Soccer’s relationship with MLS. Very revealing indeed.
• Over at Champions League Talk, Lonnie Smetana has a roundup of the Champions League and UEFA Cup qualifying matches.
• Shakira Graham at Championship Talk has an article on the draw for the second round of the Carling Cup.
• At Bundesliga Talk, new columnist Double Pivot dissects his predictions for the Bundesliga season and surprises many by what team he’s picking for a third place finish.
• Kevin Walker at Serie A Talk discusses The Beast’s move to Roma. The Beast? — better known as Julio Baptista.
• What are the chances of HD coming to Fox Soccer Channel anytime soon? Ian Cahir at Soccer On Dish discusses the topic.

As of August 1, GolTV – the 24/7 soccer network – has been removed from DISH Network due to a contract dispute.

According to GolTV, “this occurs despite efforts to continue GolTV’s availability to Dish customers.” DISH Network, in retort, inserted this message when you hit the INFO button where GolTV’s channel used to be: “GolTV has removed this channel after asking for unreasonable terms to renew the contract and we’re working to solve the problem.”

In the meantime, DISH Network is offering free previews of both Setanta Sports and Fox Sports Espanol to its customers. However, even if DISH Network customers subscribed to Setanta and Fox Sports Espanol, that won’t replace the void that’s left with GolTV gone because GolTV has exclusive license rights in the United States to La Liga and Bundesliga, as well as many 2010 World Cup qualifiers and this weekend’s Emirates Cup featuring Real Madrid, Hamburg, Juventus and Arsenal.

For DISH Network, the decision to remove GolTV is idiotic. Hopefully this a short-term disagreement between GolTV and DISH Network that will be resolved soon, but the timing couldn’t be worse and soccer fans will want to make a decision soon whether to leave DISH Network before the new seasons begin. My gut instinct says that this issue won’t be resolved soon especially when GolTV tells readers on its homepage that “You can find GolTV on our current distribution partners,” which includes DirecTV.

If you love GolTV, my recommendation would be to simply cancel your DISH Network subscription and move to DirecTV where you get GolTV there instead. If you’re upset about the situtation, vote with your dollars by leaving DISH but don’t forget to send them an e-mail too to let them know why you’re cancelling and moving to their biggest competitor.

DISH Network can be contacted here.

On the European Continent and on the British Isles the view of the Olympic football Tournament is completely different than in the rest of the world. In Europe the tournament is seen as more of a nuisance than anything, while among those in the Western Hemisphere and in Africa it is seen as big deal.

Nigeria and Cameroon are both recent champions of the event, and after both nations achieved their Gold Medals, mass celebrations consumed the nation. Mexico fired its national coach, the biggest hero in Mexican football history Hugo Sanchez because he failed to qualify the team for the Olympics, despite a month earlier, achieving the nation’s first result on American soil against the arch rival United States in nine years. Brazil’s Dunga has survived a tumultuous World Cup qualifying campaign thus far, because he is seen as the man to bring home an Olympic Gold Medal, and Brazil did not want to change coaches so soon before the Olympics.

The United States puts more emphasis on Olympic Football than any tournament outside of the World Cup, and because for years the Olympics themselves were used as a propaganda tool by the USA, I’ve heard debate within American soccer circles as to whether or not winning the Olympic Gold Medal would actually do more for the game domestically than winning the World Cup. While I do not subscribe to this view in the least bit, it simply demonstrates how important the Olympic tournament is considered to many people. In fact, one of the best forwards then United States has ever produced, Brian McBride has come out of international retirement just for this event, because of its importance to US Soccer. Tim Vickery, who understands Latin Football better than just about any European writer, explains why this event is so important to so many in an outstanding piece.

But European clubs for the most part are more annoyed and bothered by this event than they are interested in it. Liverpool is losing more than just about any club on the planet. Ryan Babel will be featuring for Holland, Javier Mascherano for Argentina, and Lucas for Brazil. This puts the Reds behind the eight ball in the first few weeks of the Premier League season. Rafa Benetiz isn’t happy about it, but unlike some of the clubs in Germany, Liverpool understands that FIFA’s declaration that all selected U-23 players must be released is to be honored. But even more admirable is that Liverpool has released Mascherano, who is an overage player and whose release Liverpool legally could have prevented.

Chelsea has released Solomon Kalou. Blackburn has released Ryan Nelson (an overage player) and Manchester United has allowed Anderson to join Brazil. However two German clubs are refusing to release their Brazilian players: Werder Bremen with Diego, perhaps the best player in the Bundesliga last season, and Schalke with Rafinha. Both players left their clubs this week without permission to join Brazil’s training. This stands in contrast not only to the example set by the three aforementioned English clubs, but by AC Milan who just signed Ronaldinho and have made him the center of a major worldwide marketing campaign. Despite this, Milan has allowed Ronaldinho to join Brazil’s squad, perhaps because Italian clubs are more used to this situation than other European clubs: Italy has competed in more Olympic Football tournaments than any other nation. (Believe it or not, the United States has qualified for the second most Olympic Football tournaments, and would tied with Italy for the most appearances had the US not barely missed qualification for the 2004 tournament).

What’s even more disturbing are the lengths the two German clubs are going to in order to try and stop players from exercising their free will and representing their country. The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear a case being brought before it by the clubs and backed by the European Club Association to block U-23 players from joining their national teams in the Olympics. Werder Bremen has also refused to allow Dusko Tosic of Serbia to join his team and has reportedly confiscated his passport.

Olympic football is very important to many across the globe. As European clubs become more and more global in both their squad makeup and in their marketing they must learn to bend on these sorts of issues. Liverpool to their credit has reluctantly complied as they continue to try and build their global brand. The German clubs, already in a league whose international stature is waning have made a fatal mistake in the court of international football public opinion with their unreasonable stand. Though many in Europe whose focus is the club game and European tournaments may applaud Schalke and Bremen for their stands, the Bundesliga is no doubt soon to take a major beating in perception and respect level in Latin America.

While Olympic Football takes place outside the regular FIFA blackout windows, clubs in Europe must understand the importance of this event and also assume the risk for signing high profile internationals. Liverpool, as a more popular and successful club from an international standpoint clearly understands this better than Werder Breman and Schalke 04. Perhaps this helps to explain why the Premier League is head and shoulders above the Bundesliga these days when it comes to international recognition and popularity.