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Goal.commentary: Building America's Soccer Brand Abroad
Goal.com's Noah Davis examines how the success of an American on one club often leads to the presence of more Yanks.
Jan 9, 2009 12:35:37 PM
By Noah Davis
Word out of England is that Everton wants to procure the services of Jozy Altidore during the January transfer window. The transaction isn't likely to happen -- despite the teen's lack of playing time for the Yellow Submarines, the team likes his potential, but the mere fact that manager David Moyes would express interest in the young phenom is notable. It's another example of American success on a specific team inspiring said team's interest in another Yank.
Tim Howard plays as far away from Altidore as one can on a soccer field, yet the keeper's success and class at Everton influenced the English club more than anyone can guess.
Without any special knowledge of the Toffe's inner management, here's my case: There's a myth about the American population. We are arrogant. We don't care about others. We're not team players. While some of this is deserved, much of it is overblown. However, add this perception to the fact that soccer is a second-rate sport and suddenly our athletes become the black sheep of the footballing world. Teams like Everton -- middle of the road squads in good leagues -- have treated United States Nats as radioactive commodities. A player's bad "American" qualities will torpedo a season or get a manager fired. Put another way, if you took equally skilled players from the U.S. and Mexico, my money says European clubs would offer the latter a contract.
This is starting to change.
Over the past 15 years, Americans have slowly crept into the consciousness of Continental football (and as Goal.com's U.S. site director Greg Lalas pointed out in a recent column for SI.com, playing in Europe has become a realistic goal for those who grow up stateside). Successful careers by Eric Wynalda, Alexi Lalas, Kasey Keller, Claudio Reyna, Brad Friedel, and Brian McBride set the table.
The next step comes at the individual club level.
Success begets success and nowhere is this clearer than at European clubs that have a tradition of fielding American players. When Yanks play well, more follow because clubs learn the myths are just that. Everton's interest in Altidore comes at least in part because of Howard's stellar play. The same logic can be applied to Michael Bradley's time at Borussia Monchengladbach, a direct result of Keller's tenure there. The DaMarcus Beasley-Maurice Edu tandem in Scotland can be tied to Reyna's success on the Rangers. Even Landon Donovan's presence at Bayern Munich occurred because Jurgen Klinsmann took over managerial duties at the club. (The German is infinitely familiar with both the country -- from living here -- and the Galaxy man -- from will-he-or-won't-he-coach-the-National-Team tango.)
Fulham's Team America side last year, which included five U.S. Nats, is an interesting case. McBride's goal-scoring prowess drew the club's eye towards Clint Dempsey, Eddie Johnson, and Carlos Bocanegra. (Keller also played, but he made his own name.) While the team struggled to stay above the drop zone, the Americans can't be entirely faulted. Johnson rarely saw the pitch, but Bocanegra ended up in France and Dempsey -- who led the Cottagers in goals during the 2007-2008 campaign -- stayed put and is in the midst of a McBride-esque tear of late.
There will be, of course, missteps when Americans play together. The disastrous Derby County squad of last year that featured an overmatched Benny Feilhaber and an aging Eddie Lewis provides a prime example. That group, however, was destined to fail from the beginning, and it didn't feature prime American talent.
Still, when players come across the ocean and play well, their clubs take notice and more Nats follow in their footsteps. This is the key to getting our players out of Scandinavia and Belgium into the best leagues in the world.
In the end, Americans shouldn't be overrated, but we don't deserve to be underrated either. All we're asking for is a fair shake.
To achieve this, there is something to be said for strength in numbers.
Noah Davis covers the United States Men's National Team for Goal.com.
Word out of England is that Everton wants to procure the services of Jozy Altidore during the January transfer window. The transaction isn't likely to happen -- despite the teen's lack of playing time for the Yellow Submarines, the team likes his potential, but the mere fact that manager David Moyes would express interest in the young phenom is notable. It's another example of American success on a specific team inspiring said team's interest in another Yank.
Tim Howard plays as far away from Altidore as one can on a soccer field, yet the keeper's success and class at Everton influenced the English club more than anyone can guess.
Without any special knowledge of the Toffe's inner management, here's my case: There's a myth about the American population. We are arrogant. We don't care about others. We're not team players. While some of this is deserved, much of it is overblown. However, add this perception to the fact that soccer is a second-rate sport and suddenly our athletes become the black sheep of the footballing world. Teams like Everton -- middle of the road squads in good leagues -- have treated United States Nats as radioactive commodities. A player's bad "American" qualities will torpedo a season or get a manager fired. Put another way, if you took equally skilled players from the U.S. and Mexico, my money says European clubs would offer the latter a contract.
This is starting to change.
Over the past 15 years, Americans have slowly crept into the consciousness of Continental football (and as Goal.com's U.S. site director Greg Lalas pointed out in a recent column for SI.com, playing in Europe has become a realistic goal for those who grow up stateside). Successful careers by Eric Wynalda, Alexi Lalas, Kasey Keller, Claudio Reyna, Brad Friedel, and Brian McBride set the table.
The next step comes at the individual club level.
Success begets success and nowhere is this clearer than at European clubs that have a tradition of fielding American players. When Yanks play well, more follow because clubs learn the myths are just that. Everton's interest in Altidore comes at least in part because of Howard's stellar play. The same logic can be applied to Michael Bradley's time at Borussia Monchengladbach, a direct result of Keller's tenure there. The DaMarcus Beasley-Maurice Edu tandem in Scotland can be tied to Reyna's success on the Rangers. Even Landon Donovan's presence at Bayern Munich occurred because Jurgen Klinsmann took over managerial duties at the club. (The German is infinitely familiar with both the country -- from living here -- and the Galaxy man -- from will-he-or-won't-he-coach-the-National-Team tango.)
Fulham's Team America side last year, which included five U.S. Nats, is an interesting case. McBride's goal-scoring prowess drew the club's eye towards Clint Dempsey, Eddie Johnson, and Carlos Bocanegra. (Keller also played, but he made his own name.) While the team struggled to stay above the drop zone, the Americans can't be entirely faulted. Johnson rarely saw the pitch, but Bocanegra ended up in France and Dempsey -- who led the Cottagers in goals during the 2007-2008 campaign -- stayed put and is in the midst of a McBride-esque tear of late.
There will be, of course, missteps when Americans play together. The disastrous Derby County squad of last year that featured an overmatched Benny Feilhaber and an aging Eddie Lewis provides a prime example. That group, however, was destined to fail from the beginning, and it didn't feature prime American talent.
Still, when players come across the ocean and play well, their clubs take notice and more Nats follow in their footsteps. This is the key to getting our players out of Scandinavia and Belgium into the best leagues in the world.
In the end, Americans shouldn't be overrated, but we don't deserve to be underrated either. All we're asking for is a fair shake.
To achieve this, there is something to be said for strength in numbers.
Noah Davis covers the United States Men's National Team for Goal.com.
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