Americans in UAE hope to see US make it out of group stage in Brazil

Two American "soccer" fans are optimistic about their team's chances in the World Cup, despite being matched against some major threats in the group stage.

Joey Gentile played football while growing up in the United States and says the game is gaining in popularity back home. Mona Al-Marzooqi / The National
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ABU DHABI // While football - or soccer as North Americans prefer - is still seen as a minority sport in the United States, Joey Gentile feels that is changing fast.

“Everybody plays in the US as a little kid,” said Mr Gentile, 30, from the Houston area in Texas. “The generation that played is growing up.”

Mr Gentile, an architect who has lived in the UAE for 18 months, said that he played the game as a child in high school and in amateur leagues, and continues to play recreationally.

The other big change right now is that the sport is finally available for viewers on TV and the internet, he said.

“It’s on the bottom of the ESPN crawl now,” he said, referring to the cable sports-news network. “Five years ago, you wouldn’t see that.”

“Ever since 1994, the US has been increasingly interested in soccer.”

Domestic football also is growing in popularity, with David Beckham financing Miami’s first Major League Soccer team and talk of increased investment interest in the sport.

“Soccer does enjoy popularity in the US, but it is tough for it to break through in a bigger way,” said Ryan Casper, 40, who is also from Houston and lives in Abu Dhabi.

But football could become a bigger draw – especially if the US could produce its own international star.

“A late-career David Beckham can sell tickets in Los Angeles, but a transformative event for soccer in the US would be if one day a home-grown American player were to become a global icon as the best player in the world,” said Mr Casper.

Mr Gentile played in amateur leagues in Los Angeles, home to one of the country’s best teams, the LA Galaxy, home to defender Omar Gonzalez, another Texan.

The squad also includes Jozy Altidore, a striker who plays Sunderland in the English Premier League, and attacker Clint Dempsey, the team captain.

Notably absent is Landon Donovan, easily the most well-known player in the US and the highest scoring American in World Cup history. The Californian is also the top scorer in Major League Soccer.

Mr Gentile said he almost cried when Donovan was not picked.

“It’s actually created a lot of attention [for the sport] in the US,” he said.

Mr Casper said he ultimately supported the decision of the coach, German goalscoring great Jurgen Klinsmann.

“I would like to have seen [Donovan] on the team, but I appreciate that the coach has to be quite cold and calculated when striking the right mix of experience, youthful energy and chemistry,” said Mr Casper.

“A coach is hired to make such decisions and accepts the responsibility for success, for failure, so the decision on Donovan has been made – time to move on.”

Despite the talent, the US is part of a tough group, matched against Germany, Portugal and Ghana. Ghana defeated the US in the 2010 World Cup, but Mr Gentile said that apart from Germany – a certain favourite – is Portugal.

“The biggest threat is Cristiano Ronaldo and his abs,” said Mr Gentile.

Mr Casper said he’s hoping the US at least can make it past the group stage.

“Every tournament needs a ‘spoiler’ to upset the predictions and bring drama and excitement,” he said. “I think the US team can play that role.”

Football’s newfound appeal in the US could lie in the game’s stark contrast to other popular American sports, like American football and baseball.

Unlike other sports typically broadcasted on US television, the play doesn’t stop frequently for commercial breaks, which Mr Gentile welcomed.

Mr Casper said that he didn’t understand the sport at first and why people were so passionate about it. He eventually realised it had a similar emotional draw to baseball, his favourite sport, where a team can suddenly break through and “the whole dynamic changes.”

“Gradually, as I watched more of it, particularly the last several World Cups, I came to appreciate both the incredible technical skills and physical endurance of the athletes,” he said.

The style of play is more natural than other sports as well, said Mr Gentile.

“It’s not choreographed. So you see personality in the way people play. Interesting things happen. Unexpected things happen.”

lcarroll@thenational.ae