One thing about the World Cup that is difficult for Americans to understand (besides how supposedly top-notch officials can be fooled by flopping time and again, or why the time on the clock isn’t really how much time is left in the game, and why you would decide elimination games by using penalty kicks) is that the biggest event in soccer doesn’t even feature the best teams in the sport. I’m not saying that because the United States failed to qualify (if you can’t beat Trinidad and Tobago to make the big dance, you can’t even call yourself “good” at soccer)–but rather the fact that whichever team hoists the Cup in a few weeks wouldn’t even be favored to beat one of the top-tier club teams in Europe.
Knowledgeable soccer fans know that the “best of the best” are the teams in the English Premier League, La Liga in Spain and the Bundeslega in Germany. Clubs like Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona FC, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are veritable all-star teams compared to the national squads competing in the World Cup. Nothing bears that out like the fate of Lionel Messi–considered to be one of the two best current players and one of the greatest of all time–but who has a very pedestrian World Cup record. Playing with the powerhouse Barcelona squad he’s unstoppable. Sharing the pitch with his fellow countrymen, he has appeared less than spectacular.
That is the opposite of what we see here in the US with our major sports. No one would pick the Golden State Warriors to beat the Team USA that would be assembled for the Olympics every four years. That squad would be LeBron James and 11 all-stars from the other Western Conference teams and they would stomp the “Dubs” in as many games as you would want to play head-to-head. Only the most delusional Washington Capitals fan would pick his team to beat Team Canada or Team USA–and probably Team Russia or Team Sweden–in head-to-head competition. Even in baseball, Team USA would have an incredible pitching staff and Team Dominican Republic would be unstoppable at the plate and would beat the Houston Astros in any 7-game series.
So while the World Cup may get all of the hype, anyone wanting to watch “best on best” is better off tuning into the UEFA Champions League every year–as that actually allows the European powerhouses to face off and determine the Best Soccer Team in the World.
