What if…? USA Soccer, 2010 World Cup Dream Team

After watching the World Cup match-up between U.S.A. and England, there was a noticeable difference between the two teams. Even though the United States did play more as a team than England, the Yanks were without a doubt the less athletic of the two teams – which is pretty crazy to think about.

The United States could possibly be the most athletic country in the entire world, but since soccer is one of the least popular sports in the nation, the United States World Cup team is made up of the 4^th best athletes this country has to offer. The NBA, NFL, and MLB are some of the best, most athletic professional leagues in the entire world, and if the U.S. cared about soccer like they did the rest of these sports, the athletes that would be playing soccer would be the nation’s best athletes.

So here is the World Cup team that the U.S. would put on the field if they were able to use their best athletes. Assuming these guys played soccer their whole lives.

With these types of athletes, I would recommend the team running a 3-4-3 formation. This is an extremely aggressive/offensive type of formation, and with the types of guys that will be on this team, offense will not be an issue.

Carl Crawford – LW – Left Winger – The position of Left Winger in soccer requires someone with tremendous speed and athleticism. Not only do you need to be able to sprint with the best of them, but you need to be an all around jack-of-all-trades kind of athlete. Carl Crawford is one of the best outfielders in all of baseball, and not to mention he is among the league leaders in steals every season. He would also immediately replace any Winger on the current U.S. squad, especially LW since this is his natural handedness.

Tyson Gay – RW – Right Winger – Seeing as how speed is the most important thing when it comes to being a Winger, Tyson Gay would be a perfect fit. Gay is the best sprinter in the United States today, and with a personal best 9.69 in the 100 meter dash, it would not be a shock if he was the most unstoppable Winger in history – please remember – we are saying these guys have played soccer their whole lives.

LeBron James – CF – Center Forward – Being a CF in soccer is much like being a basketball player that is aggressive and can move without having the ball. Putting yourself in the best position at all times is extremely important, not to mention if LeBron could be in the middle during all crosses, there is no way any person on any team would be able to get as high as he does. Plus when it comes to being athletic, there is no one in the world that matches LeBron.

Chris Paul – AM – Attacking/Offensive Midfielder – Chris Paul is one of the best point guards in the world, and an AM has many of the same qualities as a PG. You need to have excellent ball handling skills, be extremely intelligent, and be able to lead your offense at all times. Scoring goals is equally important, and with the type of athletes that CP will have in front of him, leading an offense like this will be right up his alley.

Joe Mauer – DM – Defensive Midfielder – When you think of defense, the first position that comes to mind in any sport is Catcher. Then when you think of who is the best/most athletic catcher in baseball, Joe Mauer has to be the first that comes to mind. Being a DM, you need to be the first line of defense, and being a Catcher has definitely given him an advantage. Not to mention Mauer was a 3 sport phenom in high school, so athleticism is not going to be an issue.

Dwayne Wade – LWB – Left Wing Back – Since we are having the most athletic guys on this team, there is no way we couldn’t have Dwayne Wade on the team. And at Wing Back, Wade will be able to take advantage of his excellent offensive and defensive abilities since both are needed to be a successful WB. Being in excellent shape is a must for Wing Backs, and since Wade never comes out of the game for the Heat, this fits his game perfectly.

Reggie Bush – RWB – Right Wing Back – Reggie Bush is one of the wuickest motherf**kers I have ever seen. Imagining him with a soccer ball the way he moves with the football is somewhat scary. Being a wingback, you must be able to run all over the place since you have to play both offense and defense. Since Bush is just as good at running side-to-side as he is running forward, stamina and endurance will never be an issue.

Darrelle Revis & Rajon Rondo – CB – Center Fullbacks – Being a Center Fullback in a 3-4-3 could be the most important positions on the field. Much like playing man to man defense, the CB is in charge of making sure they are marking the other teams’ forwards. Darrelle Revis is the best Corner Back in all of football, especially when he is alone on an island. Rajon Rondo is one of the best/quickest defenders in the NBA, so there is no way any forward at the world cup would be able to get past either of these guys. But if they do, there is a force to be reckoned with. (See next)

Ray Lewis – SW – Sweeper – The Sweeper is the last line of defense before reaching the goalie, and since Ray Lewis does not allow people to get past him, this would be a perfect position for him. Not only would he basically run over anyone that got in his way, but I am assuming Ray Lewis going full steam at the ball is the last thing you would want to try and block. Not to mention, it’s always nice to have someone on your team that will kill people.

Dwight Howard – Goalie – Could you imagine someone as enormous as Dwight Howard in goal?  A Goal is 8 ft high by 8 yards wide, and having someone that is 7 ft tall with a 7’4” wingspan would be nearly impossible to score on. As the NBA’s defensive player of the year, blocking shots is something that he is quite familiar with. Seriously, no one would ever score on this team with Howard in goal…no one.