Before 1994
4 years after the 1930 World Cup, the US team was eliminated right in the round of 16 with a 1-7 defeat to Italy (at that time it was a knockout match and there was no group stage). 1950 stopped in the group stage. From 1954 to 1986, the US team did not pass the qualifiers once. 1986 was the year the US lost to Mexico in the race to host.
They returned to the World Cup in 1990 - losing all 3 group stage matches, being the host in 1994. But before the summer of 1994 began, football in the US was considered "foreign". They called football soccer, while football was... rugby.
Just 9 years before that, the country's only professional league collapsed, ending a glorious decade of the North American Football League (NASL). Most Americans knew nothing about football - a sport that still had to compete with a series of summer blockbusters - Forrest Gump, Speed, The Mask, The Lion King - at that time. The live television program of the police chasing OJ Simpson for nearly 2 hours across California was even more attractive than football.
There are no facilities for football and their dream of hosting the World Cup started with a... trailer lent by the US Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs. In the 1994 squad, 7 people were playing abroad, the rest were students or players from local leagues under the Federation's centralized contract.
They are viewed by the football world with skepticism, that "how can a country that knows nothing about football organize the biggest festival on the planet?".
Turnaround
Although the starting point is considered "zero", Americans have done everything with a different mindset. Not choosing to mechanically copy European or South American models but "doing well", combining the pragmatism of business people with Hollywood-level event management thinking.
They once wanted to change the size of the goal, wanted to take free kicks in a hockey style, wanted to divide the match into many halves. But, when standing at the threshold of professionalism, they realized that, to integrate and develop, they must respect "core fans" and FIFA's rules of the game.
The World Cup was a boost for Major League Soccer (MLS) to debut 2 years later. Also from skepticism, MLS is now proud of having 30 teams, welcoming global superstars such as David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kaka, Wayne Rooney and Lionel Messi. That is proof of focusing on the goal of turning foreign sports into a part of cultural identity. They do not try to do differently from football, they do differently from how football exists in people's lives.
The change is also spreading the value system. From having no television waves, to now being "saonic". The image of American children practicing football instead of throwing rugby balls, or the fact that European club jerseys cover every shopping center, is the result of a persistent concentration journey.
Lessons for Vietnamese football
From the development of American football, Vietnamese football can draw lessons about promoting individual strengths based on professional foundations. Vietnam has the enthusiasm and passion of fans but often struggles to find a unique model that sometimes forgets professionalism in operating thinking.
Must know how to "Vietnameseize" the way of communication, organization and management. Must have a consistent value system from youth tournaments to professional tournaments. Must focus on the goal of building a foundation system instead of temporary achievements. Must know how to sell the "value" of football as a product of entertainment, culture and pride.
There is no shortcut, only the path of "doing well" with our own identity.
