Nonetheless, in financial terms, US soccer is still dwarfed by other American sports and international football leagues.David Beckham is by far the highest paid player in Major League Soccer (MLS), the US professional football association, earning $6.5m a year on his contract with LA Galaxy.MLS created a new rule colloquially called the Beckham rule to allow Beckham to shatter the league’s $2.6m per team salary cap.But compared to his contemporaries in other US sports, Beckham is paid peanuts.Baseball player Alex Rodriguez wholesale jerseys, of the New York Yankees, earned a massive $33m in 2009, while San Diego Chargers star quarterback Philip Rivers pocketed almost $26m that year.Beckham’s salary is also surpassed by European giants like Wayne Rooney of Manchester United (estimated $8.8m), Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid (estimated $13.9m) and Kaka, also of Real Madrid (estimated $13.9m).Fortunately for Beckham, he is paid handsomely by sponsors, bringing his 2009 earnings to an estimated $33.5m.But even there his earnings pale compared with golfers Phil Mickelson, who reportedly earned $46m from sponsors in 2009 wholesale jerseys, and the beleaguered Tiger Woods who, in spite of personal turmoil, pulled in an astonishing $92m in sponsorship 2009.After Beckham wholesale jerseys, MLS’s next highest earning player is Cuauhtemoc Blanco of Chicago Fire at $2.9m.Indeed the median salary of the top 25 MLS players while 10 times the median income in America is miniscule compared with the other major US sports of basketball, baseball, American football and ice hockey.But with the US again in the football World Cup finals it is one of only eight teams that have qualified for every World Cup since 1990 the sport may be poised for transformation.Missed opportunitiesAlthough football has oft been considered a foreigner’s pastime in the US, the sport has had a long history in America, dating back to a famous match between Princeton and Rutgers University in 1869, if not earlier.But professionally, the sport developed in fits and starts, hampered by disorganisation.At that time, America’s diverse and disparate culture was cohering into a national identity, aided significantly by the development of radio and Hollywood movies.”At that moment when the national culture was emerging the soccer leagues in the country were horribly managed,” says Mr Foer.”They tended to be organised around ethnicity and were completely ill equipped to take advantage of that moment when baseball and the other football cemented their place in the national consciousness.”Football experienced a resurgence in the 1970s wholesale jerseys, catalysed by Brazilian soccer legend Pele signing with the New York Cosmos, a team in the North American Soccer League (NASL).Considered an enormous coup for Cosmos, the deal with Pele was nudged along by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, himself a football fan, who told Pele in a telegram that the US Brazil relationship would benefit enormously if the famous footballer were to sign it himself.But NASL collapsed in 1984 amid financial turmoil, and US professional soccer remained in the wilderness for over a decade.It was reborn in 1996 with the establishment of Major League Soccer (MLS).Beckham’s boostAfter a rough start plagued by financial problems, MLS has emerged as a viable enterprise in the US.The growth is exemplified by joining fees. Two teams joined MLS in 2005, each paying $7.5m for the privilege.By contrast, the fee for the newest team, Montreal wholesale jerseys wholesale jerseys, which will enter the competition in 2012, was $40m.”That’s a good illustration of the belief in Major League Soccer among owners and potential owners of professional sports clubs in the United States,” says MLS spokesman Dan Courtemanche.Mr Courtemanche says David Beckham’s move to LA Galaxy in 2007 was an enormous boost.”David transcends sport and brings Major League Soccer into mainstream Americana,” says Mr Courtemanche.”That was significant. We went from a niche sport to a professional sports league, and David’s presence has helped elevate the credibility of MLS.”.

9.08pm Sensational race. The Americans and the French at it on the final leg and the French get there by the nearest of margins. Boilover at the pool. Low oxygen levels also make everyone a) tired as fuck all, and b) constantly pissed off. The first time I went down the hatch, a guy broke a coffee mug over my head because I didn’t move as fast as he would have liked. Three years later wholesale jerseys, I dropped him off at the airport when he got out; I was the last person he saw as an enlisted man wholesale jerseys, and he’s one of the people I admire most in the world .

Holland Soccer Stars Johan CruyffCruyff is considered THE most important Dutch soccer player of all times and he gained legendary status wherever he played, be it for Ajax Amsterdam, FC Barcelona or even Feyenoord. Cruyff is also considered third in a list of the best all times soccer players, following Pele and Maradona closely (some even say he was over Maradona, as Maradona had feats of brilliance combined with poor games, whereas Cruyff kept a high standard for himself all throughout his career). He redefined modern soccer as we know it with his game style and vision on the pitch and many football specialists agree that Johan Cruyff was one of the smartest and most calculated players ever to feel the grass of a soccer stadium..