Observer I am glad you raised that point because I will share with you a culture that has been perpetuated throughout the US National women's team program as well as the men. As my research has also shown me its not just a US thing but a system that is being used all over the world and the Spanish Soccer Federation addressed it since its being used in their programming right now. Players are selected by their birth years for their youth national teams. As a result when you look at players born from Jan to June as oppose to June-December, they are not only more gifted with the Physical component of the game which includes being bigger, stronger and faster but their maturity level is greater. So the US who for years have been depending on players with these gifts have been stocking our national teams with these types of players. This is not only true with the US but its a phenomenon that is used all over the world. This week while visiting with the Spanish soccer federation and was a part of a conversation confirming this exact same thing. Spain is worried about this. Since there are times player may get over looked because of their physical dimension being born in the latter half of the year. I would say though based on my definition of a technical player, we do have a few sprinkle around the various national teams we have. Some of the ones you called are legends. But since Pia Sundhage took over with the senior team I have seen a change in attitude approach and technical efficiency within the structure of the team. However, it is still a problem to me so I would say player identification selection and player development are at the core of some of the issues we are experiencing today in the women's game here in the US. However, its not just a women's thing or a US thing its all over the world. It may not seem like it because of where and because we see some of the other countries with great football players. But my friends its like that all over the world from South America, Europe etc When you have a minute just visit some of the rosters of some of these national teams and take a look at their birth year. Presently the majority of the Spanish players were Born before June