NEW YORK. (AP) — The Catch-22 for U.S. men’s soccer in the Olympics is that the better a player gets, the less likely he is to play. American under-24 coach Jason Kreis says there’s also a structural issue. Major League Soccer does not adhere to the international calendar of a season that runs from August to May, leaving most of Kreis’ players trying to regain fitness while facing opponents in midseason form. Former players Alexi Lalas and Tim Howard say the onus is on the U.S. Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer to get better players from teams. The Americans failed to qualify for the Olympics when they lost to Honduras on Sunday.
