There are several highly competent American players in our English Premier League.
One of them - Brad Friedel - used to play for my team, Liverpool.
Footballers are frequently seriously injured on the field. Recently, player Fabrice Muamba was medically dead for 48 minutes and owes his survival to the presence at
the game of a consultant heart specialist.
Another really gruesome injury suffered on the pitch was a compound dislocation of the ankle - not good to see even at a distance!
"Blood injuries" are common.
The reason you don't see such injuries on your sports fields is that the players don so much body armour and crash helmets!
The correct name of what you call "soccer" is "association football" and, unlike the game you call "football", it is played with the feet, surprisingly!
For your country's fixtures, see http://www.ussoccer.com/
soccer will not be as popular in the US because of American football and basketball and baseball. Those sports are way too popular to contend with. Plus the media hardly focuses on soccer here. plus there isn't as much money to be made by players and companies and investors, so there isn't much incentive to invest in it.
You are right to point out the flops and acting abilities of soccer players. it is embarrassing to see, bunch of grown men falling like little pansies. that gives soccer a bad rap here in the states. it is mocked here all the time. There are some instances where players do that shit in American sports, but it does not happen anywhere near as often as soccer.
soccer is on the rise with the MLS expanding all the time. there are dedicated fans everywhere. I have been to several DC United games, tons of fun. there are talks of a team possibly expanding to my area in the near future.
yes american soccer players can be found everywhere now. they aren't on the best teams in other leagues, but they are there making a name for themselves and gaining experience that they can bring back to the states. most of the players on our national teams have spent or are still spending time in overseas leagues. A lot of players are being loaned from MLS teams. So there is interest in American players.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/post/american-soccer-players-abroad/2012/04/29/gIQATQq6pT_blog.html
The reason you don't see such injuries on your sports fields is that the players don so much body armour and crash helmets!
i don't know where to start with this statement. Its unreal how many injuries there are in popular American sports. Plus you don't see people flopping or faking injuries except in rare cases. But i will admit that baseball players are almost as bad as soccer players. they are so fragile its pathetic. With these sports that use protective gear, people are able to hit harder than in other sports, so there is a greater chance of injury. And that is leading to an enormous increase in concussions. Just because they have on pads and helmets doesn't mean fewer injuries. I wanna see you strap on a helmet and play American football, and take a hit from a helmet in the thigh. It hurts soo much more than just a head hitting it.
some people may consider soccer boring, and it can be at times, but the Celtic v. Rangers game was great. I just saw it tonight on tv. The crowd is amazing. Wish i could be there for that. Nothing like trying to understand a bunch of Scots singing . Plus the games now mean a lot more to the teams since their seasons are coming to an end. Teams are fighting for position in their own countries' leagues and fighting for spots in the UEFA CL, so the games are becoming more intense and exciting.