Pachuca head scout Marco Garces feels that soccer in the USA is developing as a sport which is being played by people from more comfortable backgrounds than is normal elsewhere in the world.
The Mexican club have recently been scouting more players from the US despite the fact that Garces himself believes Mexican players are mentally stronger than those from the US.
When asked in an interview with XI quarterly.com if US players were stronger mentally, Garces responded with: "I wouldn't say so, no. I think Mexico in the past few years, the amount of things we've won has made everyone more confident and believe in the chance of winning something."
Garces then went onto mention Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney who rose above a poor upbringing to become mentally tough players with star quality.
"It's a very different thing (in the US)," he added.
"In Mexico, football is a way out of poverty in the bigger scheme of things. I know there are a few players in the US who would see it as a way out of poverty, but soccer here has evolved as a college boys sport.
"The US is the only place in the world that [soccer is played mostly by affluent people]. The history of soccer in the US is exactly the opposite of everywhere else in the world.
"I lived in England for four years. I know that Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, they come from some of the poorest parts of Liverpool. They play because they want to help their families out of poverty. In the US, that's not the case."
Despite this, Garces believes American players are now looking at testing themselves away from home, particularly across the border.
"It's very interesting for us in the US," he said. "There are 40 million Latin Americans, some of them play really well. And they're not attached to anyone. I think eventually you will change the rules in the US."
