USA Today

Twenty years ago, it would have been virtually impossible to imagine an American soccer player like Gyasi Zardes sprinting down the left side of a Dutch soccer field, outpacing defenders and making a difficult goal look like a simple tap-in to start the scoring for the United States men’s national team in what would become a furious 4-3 comeback win against the Netherlands.

Zardes, simply put, is an athlete. With a perfect blend of speed, agility and determination, he is a menace when racing up and down the sideline. His first touch is a revelation, blending spin moves and quick turns typically seen in the NBA Finals onto the grass soccer fields rapidly emerging across the country.

It’s not that Zardes would have lacked the ability or work ethic. When he was growing up in Hawthorne, California, that was never in question.

"I always wanna work hard, and that’s always been my motto," Zardes told Bleacher Report. "I’m from Hawthorne, and people from Hawthorne work hard."

That’s not just his opinion. You might have heard of another hardworking young baller from Hawthorne by the name of Russell Westbrook. Back in 2011, Westbrook's dad shared this story of Russ' childhood drive with Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman: "He said, 'Dad, I know it's Thanksgiving. But I want to shoot. Let's go shoot.' I looked at my wife. I looked at Ray. I said, 'Let's go shoot.' And we put it in like it was a normal day."

You can probably imagine a young Westbrook putting his head down, manically charging up court for one of his coast-to-coast dunks. Add a blonde mohawk for a bit of flair, and you’re not too far away from the presence Zardes brings to the field.

That kind of intensity, combined with gifted athleticism, usually leads to success one way or another; it’s simply inconceivable that Zardes would have turned down football offers from Penn State, Oregon State and Boise State so he could work at Jamba Juice in order to afford playing soccer at Cal State Bakersfield.

But as Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia can attest, times have certainly changed. The USMNT is no longer a punchline. Instead, with a growing, athletic talent pool, young American soccer players are punching back.

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Stop me if you’ve heard something like this before: "If the U.S. had guys like Allen Iverson playing soccer, we’d be the best in the world."

Janusz Michallik, a Polish-American soccer player who was a part of the early-'90s national teams that reinvigorated America’s passion for the beautiful game and is covering the Gold Cup for Fox Sports, certainly does.

"In my days, sort of the mantra was that [the USMNT] didn’t get the best athletes," Michallik told Bleacher Report.

Michallik doesn’t necessarily think it’s all that different today—after all, the Kyrie Irvings and Todd Gurleys of America still typically choose to play basketball and football—but the potential for that to change has never been more tangible.

When Michallik came over to the U.S., several soccer leagues had already folded, including the United Soccer Association, the North American Soccer League (which has since mounted a comeback), the United Soccer League, the Western Soccer Alliance and several others. By the time Michallik was ready to play professionally, the only option was an indoor league. The thought of a soccer-specific stadium was a fantasy.

"You could understand why someone would choose to play other sports because there was no league, no way to make a living," Michallik said.

Fast-forward to 2015, and the landscape is entirely different.

"The progress is incredible," Michallik said. "If you told me in 20 years that MLS was gonna have the kind of players like [Andrea] Pirlo and [Frank] Lampard, along with so many soccer-specific stadiums and some players were earning $5 million or $6 million per year, I don’t think I would have believed that."

Though the success of MLS can be attributed to a number of different factors, none allowed the league to develop talent more than the homegrown player rule. Established in 2008, the rule allowed teams to sign players directly from their youth clubs instead of forcing them to go through the MLS draft, where any team could sign them.

Finally, teams had a financial incentive to invest in their youth teams to develop talent instead of waiting for it to come along.

Enter Gyasi Zardes.

After leading the Los Angeles Galaxy's U-20 side to a championship in 2010 while redshirting for his college squad, Zardes erupted with 23 goals in his last 39 games for Cal State. His dominance took them to their first-ever NCAA Division I tournament appearance. Shortly after, in December 2012, the Galaxy signed Zardes as a homegrown player, and he scored his first goal in his third game.

Zardes hasn’t looked back since.

He surveyed the scene in his first season before blowing up in Year 2, scoring 16 league goals. That total was sixth-best overall and set a new scoring record for homegrown players. In what was the biggest game of his career, Zardes became the first homegrown player to score a goal in the MLS Cup when he kept his balance amid a deflection and flying defenders to find the net, helping secure the Galaxy’s third title in four seasons.

Entering 2015 with a target on his back, Zardes didn’t shy away. He debuted for the national team against Chile when he came on for Clint Dempsey in the 68th minute of a 3-2 loss. Zardes was ready a few days later against Panama, earning his first start while wreaking havoc upon defenders throughout the game.

One brilliant run completely opened up Panama’s defense, allowing Zardes to slide a beautiful pass to Dempsey, who promptly gave the U.S. an insurmountable two-goal lead.

His impact was felt once again in two June friendlies against the Netherlands and Germany. Zardes’ speed on the wing was a nightmare for the Dutch defenders, leaving players in his dust like a 2009 Chris Johnson. His composed goal opened the scoring for the USMNT and afforded the team a glimmer of hope when it went down 3-1 early in the second half.

What proceeded was an onslaught rarely, if ever, seen from a U.S. soccer team, which channeled free-flowing aggression into a magnificent 4-3 comeback victory.

While the goal contributed toward the only stat line that really matters in soccer, his pace created space for midfielders like Michael Bradley and Mix Diskerud to find angles and pass the ball upfield. Opponents have to respect his speed, and you could see Dutch defenders tracking back to make sure they didn’t get burned on counterattacks. It’s a subtle difference that creates a world of opportunity.

It was clear five days later that the boys weren’t satisfied with one magnificent win, as Zardes and company knocked off defending world champions Germany, 2-1, on their own turf.

With confidence from his national team performances, Zardes flexed all over the Philadelphia Union in one of his last MLS games before the Gold Cup began July 7. Toying with defenders, Zardes flashed up and down the wing, hit the post once, set up two goals and finished with a classic goal of his own by out-sprinting the entire Union defense despite a 20-yard head start.

The Galaxy went home with a 5-1 victory, and Zardes was named the MLS Player of the Week after he spent half the game with a defender trailing so far behind that you had to wonder if the entire defensive line had lame hamstrings.

Perhaps the most incredible aspect of Zardes’ ascension is that he’s not even playing his natural position. Preferring to play a central role, Zardes is often forced to play on the wing because of his sheer speed and athletic ability. Michallik says this will only improve his game.

"He’s an athlete, he’s physical, and I think he’s grown technically, but he’s still improving there," Michallik said. "But he’s got all the attributes a soccer player needs, and he will become even better tactically by learning to play on both sides of the ball."

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Though his performances and blonde mohawk command the spotlight, Zardes isn’t the only young American putting the world on notice. Lined up next to DeAndre Yedlin, Bobby Wood and Jordan Morris—not to mention stalwarts like Jozy Altidore and Bradley and European imports like Julian Green, Diskerud and Fabian Johnson—the young crop of athletic Americans signifies a new era for the USMNT.

"It’s definitely a sign of youth soccer and how it’s been beneficial for the American game and the MLS, so we kinda wanna be poster boys for the future of the game moving forward," said 18-year-old Galaxy teammate and fellow homegrown player Bradford Jamieson, who scored his first professional goal in his second start against the New York Red Bulls this season.

"There’s a lot of momentum, and I think there’s a lot of guys besides Gyasi and I that are young talents."

Even scarier for the rest of the world? Zardes is just getting started, according to his Galaxy and USMNT teammate, Omar Gonzalez.

"It’s hard going up against him at practice because sometimes I’m tired, and he never lets up," Gonzalez, a central defender, told Bleacher Report. "He always wants to go more, always wants to get more reps shooting with the coaches, always wants to improve his game, and it’s great to see in a young guy. …If he keeps working like that, he’s going to be great for years to come."

That work will continue at this year’s Gold Cup, which is perhaps primed to be the most competitive that it’s ever been, according to Michallik. It's typically seen as a tournament between Mexico and the USMNT; Costa Rica, Honduras and Jamaica will all throw up their hands in objection, given recent results—particularly following Costa Rica’s spectacular run to the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup.

If it’s any indication, both the USMNT and Mexico are taking jacked squads into the tourney. Despite the dazzling performances of the young guns in recent friendlies, USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann opted for a veteran-heavy lineup for the Gold Cup, though he inevitably found room for Zardes.

At this point, despite his youth, Zardes appears to be a mainstay on the USMNT. Like with Reggie Bush’s freshman year at USC, it would be irresponsible to leave such a talent off the field, despite the growing pains. A player like Zardes gets better every time he plays the game, always increasing his technique, timing and first touch. He provides a consistent game-changing threat.

He is the kind of player American soccer fans have been waiting for.