"It's like a consumer product, " says Daniel Flynn, the executive director of the USSF.

FORBES: Kicks are for kids

The USSF doesn't have that luxury, but its new emphasis on the most promising young players has worked before.

FORBES: Kicks are for kids

The 53-year-old Gulati, a teacher in the economics department at Columbia University, has been the USSF president since 2006.

WSJ: U.S. Soccer's Gulati Elected to FIFA Executive Committee

Gulati won 18-17 in a balloting at the congress of North and Central American and Caribbean Football in Panama City, USSF spokesman Neil Buethe said.

WSJ: U.S. Soccer's Gulati Elected to FIFA Executive Committee

Many have suggested that a primary reason the USSF appointed Klinsmann after firing Bob Bradley was less to do with the current performance of the full international side.

FORBES: New Mexican Wave Threatening To Sink USA

But with the 2002 World Cup starting May 31 in South Korea and Japan, the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) thinks that it finally has a winning formula: invest heavily in young talent.

FORBES: Kicks are for kids