By Martin Petty and Nathan Frandino
SAN JOSE, California, June 30 (Reuters) - Flying high in their best-ever start to a season, the San Jose Earthquakes rule soccer in these parts of California, but they're making way for new kings as the United States prepare for a World Cup knockout match against Bosnia on Wednesday.
The clash in the San Francisco Bay Area marks the third of what could be four games in California for the U.S. team, carrying the hopes of millions giddy at the prospect of their deepest
run in the showpiece event for 24 years.
For the fans, players and clubs in soccer stronghold California, hosting World Cup matches offers a chance to show mainstream America that football is no niche sport, but a global phenomenon.
"You see it in the fans, you see it in the stadiums, the crowds, when there's goals, when there's big moments that happen, just how big the sport really is across the world," Earthquakes midfielder Niko Tsakiris told Reuters by the pristine pitch of their modern, 18,000-seat stadium.
"To bring that here and for us to get a taste of that I think is massive. Because at the end of the day, that's what it's about ... the passion and the joy that it brings people."
"It'll be really special for the country, most importantly for the Bay Area, to really just show, like, 'hey listen, soccer has been a thing here and it's still continuing to grow'."
LATIN ROOTS
And that growth has been big.
California boasts by far the most teams of any U.S. state in national leagues, with four Major League Soccer clubs, three National Women's Soccer League teams and five teams in the United Soccer League, plus multiple academies and university teams.
The San Diego Wave top the NWSL, Orange County lead the USL West and the San Jose Earthquakes are level on points at the top of the MLS Western Conference, for the first time in 14 years.
The conditions are ripe for soccer to thrive in California, where the climate is warm year-round and the ethnic makeup is diverse, with about 40% of the population Latino, hailing from countries where football dominates.
The Earthquakes' academy director Luchi Gonzalez, a U.S. assistant coach at the 2022 World Cup, said the area had a "soccer-rich" population, partly due to Latin American roots shaping its football culture and local player base.
Hosting six World Cup matches and the U.S. team in the Bay Area could add more impetus to developing home-grown players who he hopes could one day be sold to European clubs, generating vital revenue.
"That's going to be a direct impact, a spark plug for the game to keep growing and the motivation to keep growing, and clubs to get better and parents to get more understanding of the game and make more sacrifices," he said of the World Cup.
WORLD CUP A CATALYST
The Earthquakes are in the midst of a turnaround under Bruce Arena, a four-times MLS coach of the year who led the U.S. to the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals.
They won nine of their first 10 games this season, an MLS record, and in January signed Germany's Timo Werner, a Champions League winner with Chelsea, who has scored four times in his seven matches since joining.
"Watching (Arena) bring the Earthquakes back up to the top of the table this year, matching that with the U.S. having the success they're having ... it's just been amazing to see," Earthquakes president Jared Shawlee said.
Ousseni Bouda, a Burkina Faso international scouted by the Earthquakes at nearby Stanford University, said the energy around the World Cup could be inspirational.
"Already a lot of people love soccer here and watch soccer, but now it's going to get more fans involved," he said. "They're going to see the people in the Bay Area really love soccer."
Academy coach Gonzalez feels a "calm excitement" about this World Cup, that it could be a catalyst for soccer to eventually become a top-tier sport for Americans.
"The game is not our game yet in the U.S.," he said. "But it will be our game one day."
(Reporting by Martin Petty and Nathan FrandinoEditing by Toby Davis)
