Founding Futbol

The Freddy Adu story is well known in the world of American soccer. It is one of promise and then unmet opportunity. But, in the end, one of the most important elements of the Freddy Adu story is how he brought so many people to the game of soccer in the United States. His youthful exuberance, his talent and his charisma were all the stuff of marketing fuel. And, as Adu's rose to prominence throug...

Jeff Agoos previously joined Founding Futbol to share his memories from the early days of MLS. On this episode of Extra Time, he returns to talk more about his USMNT career, and specifically recount the evolution of the team's rivalry with Mexico. He talks about two games that began to turn the rivalry into something meaningful. Agoos also shares his experience playing in the 2002 World Cup, the c...

The birth of the rivalry between US Men's National Team and Mexico wasn't a rivalry at all for decades. But then, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, that all changed. The US became competitive with its neighbor to the south and finally established itself as not only a threat to Mexico's CONCACAF dominance, but eventually as the regions strongest team. The biggest game in that progression, and one...

Few people truly understand the life that Grant Wahl lived as a soccer writer in America. Gabriele Marcotti not only followed a similar trajectory, but also became close friends with Wahl as he pursued a similar career path. Marcotti, now a senior writer for ESPN and regular contributor on ESPN FC, regularly sat in the same press boxes as Wahl covering World Cups and more. He joined Founding Futbo...

Few individuals have impacted the growth of soccer in America more than Grant Wahl. What makes his influence even more incredible is that he was neither a coach nor a player. He wasn't even an executive. Instead, Wahl is the single most prolific writer to cover the game for the most important sports publication -- Sports Illustrated -- at a time when the building blocks of soccer's popularity were...

Bob Reasso spent nearly three decades as the head coach of the Rutgers Men's Soccer team, where he recruited and coached Alexi Lalas at Rutgers. He joined Founding Futbol to talk about that, and during the interview mentioned his time working with Charlie Stillitano to get ChampionsWorld off the ground. Bob came back on the show to talk about his experiences with ChampionsWorld. What it meant to b...

European club exhibitions have become a fixture of American soccer fandom. Premier League teams like Manchester United, Arsenal Liverpool and Chelsea have built, in part, their massive followings in the United States through television exposure, but also by touring US cities and building community at live events. While clubs have a long history of touring the US, the weight and gravity of those ex...

The 1999 Women's World Cup was special for so many reasons. The event itself, hosted in the United States, was an ambitious undertaking. The US Women's National Team won in improbable and memorable fashion, with Brandi Chastain's celebration creating one of the most memorable sports photos of all time. But the bond of that team was critical and the leadership of players like Carla Overbeck has bec...

The 1999 Women's World Cup in unquestionably one of the most memorable moments in American soccer history. From the record crowds at venues across the United States, to the incredible moments on the field. Few images have been seen more than Brandi Chastain's celebratory moment after her championship winning penalty kick. Winning a second World Cup was a massive accomplishment for the USWNT and US...

Many variables contributed to the evolution of Fulhamerica. From new ownership, to ambition, to the growth of American players in England at the right time. But, unbeknownst to many, the door opening moment for US soccer players at Fulham FC may have been a decision Mohamed Al-Fayed made to bring over a trusted executive, American Lee Hoos, from his Harrods business to the front office of the Cott...

Fulham FC is among the most storied clubs in the history of English football. And, uniquely, it holds a special place in the history of soccer in America as well. After Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed bought the club in 1997, he promised the club would return to the England's top flight within five years. The owner began spending in the transfer market to improve the club's roster. And one u...

The evolution of youth soccer into the club model, and the founding of clubs such as Players Development Academy (PDA) had a positive impact on the continued growth of the sport in America. But it also accelerated the concept of "pay to play" which has made the game inaccessible to many communities, while simultaneously giving more opportunity to those that can afford participation. However, with...

The popularity of youth soccer in America has unquestionably contributed to it's rise on popularity over the years. However, in the late 90s and early 2000s, the continued evolution took on a new form. Clubs like Players Development Academy (PDA), founded in 1998, represented a new approach to organizing youth soccer in a way that broke from the state and regional alignment of USYS, and built reso...

Soccer's journey in America has been built on a series of events. But within those events -- and the broader context of why they matter -- are individual moments of greatness. The 1996 Olympics exemplifies that idea. The USWNT saw an opportunity to continue its ascension to the top of the women's game with a gold medal in the first ever inclusion of women's soccer in the Olympics. It mattered on s...

The Olympics has played a critical role in the evolution of soccer in America. Strong attendance during the 1984 games, hosted in Los Angeles with soccer matches played across the country, was a key factor in FIFA's decision to award the 94 World Cup to the United States. But women's soccer had not been part of the Olympics historically. That changed in 1996, which was also hosted in the US, this...

In a world of early player identification in the US Youth Soccer system, Steve Ralston's journey to Major League Soccer's first ever Rookie of the Year award was an unlikely one. As he shares with Founding Futbol, he didn't even start on his high school team. A few years later, he was drafted 18th overall in the 1996 MLS College Draft by the Tampa Bay Mutiny; Ralston played in 31 games as a rookie...

When the United States was awarded the 1994 World Cup, no top-flight professional league existed in America. But, part of the proposal to FIFA included the creation of a new domestic league, and US Soccer went to work creating Major League Soccer (MLS) in parallel to preparing for the 94 World Cup. The magnitude of the event delayed the start of MLS, but when it finally kicked off in 1996, the lea...

Janusz Michallik  is a former US Men's National Team and Major League Soccer player. He later became a coach, and is currently working as a television sports commentator for ESPN and also as a radio commentator for SiriusXM FC. Born in Poland, Michallik lends a unique perspective to the evolutions of soccer in America. He moved to the US as a teenager, after having played un the Poland national te...

You can now watch soccer at virtually any time, on any device streamed from any location in the world. Yet, before the advent of streaming technology and the first sports streaming event in 1995, that wasn't possible. Linear broadcast networks and a growing, but still limited, number of cable sports television stations determined if and what soccer you could watch in America. But that all started...

Bob Reasso spent nearly three decades as the head coach of the Rutgers Men's Soccer team. During that time he lead the Scarlet Knights to 13 NCAA appearances, including the 1990 national championship game, three Final fours, six league titles and coached 19 All-Americans. During his 29 seasons at Rutgers, Reasso compiled an overall record of 351-183-71, winning 10 or more matches in 21 seasons and...

There were so many factors that made the 1994 World Cup a success. Great marketing. Success on the pitch for the US Men's National Team. And, importantly, a roster full of personalities to whom America could uniquely connect. There's probably no better example of that than Alexi Lalas . The larger-than-life personality looked like a rock star with long red hair, and became indispensable for his pl...

Thomas Dooley was a critical piece of the US Men's National Team that made it to the knockout stage of the 1994 World Cup. He played every minute of that tournament, then played a vital role on the 98 World Cup team as well. But, born and raised in West Germany to a German mother, Dooley was focused on his aspirations of playing professionally in Germany and then also playing for the German Nation...

Gary Hopkins is the founder and CEO of HSE Sports and Entertainment , and the author of Star Spangled Soccer . He is an experienced soccer marketing executive who was intimately involved in the efforts to promote the 1994 World Cup. His book outlines the critical role that marketing played in the growth of soccer in America, overall, specifically drawing on the need to package and sell the game in...

In 1988, FIFA awarded the United States hosting rights for the 1994 World Cup. The US Men's National Team appearance in the 1990 World Cup in Italy, thanks to Paul Caligiuri's famous goal in the qualifiers, legitimized America's presence in the tournament. And, when 1994 came along, an emerging community of soccer fans was ready to capitalize on the unique opportunity to see the world's best playe...

Kevin Strunk grew up playing soccer and playing soccer video games -- specifically EA Sports FIFA. His playing career took him to Lehigh University where he was Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year in both 2010 and 2011, a feat that had only been accomplished three times in conference history. Kevin's college success earned him an MLS trial, but his professional dreams faded soon after. Wit...