Top 10 American soccer players in Europe
When the 1994 World Cup was played in the U.S., Alexi Lalas, the tall red-haired American defender, was the face of the team and was noticed internationally. Just after the World Cup, he signed with Padova and became the first American to play in Italy's top soccer league, Serie A. Since then dozens of American players have crossed the pond and joined European club teams.
But the wave started as a trickle.
"There were only a handful of guys in Europe when I went over there," says Lalas, now a soccer commentator for ABC and ESPN. And those few, he says, were sometimes blackballed by teammates who refused to pass them the ball. "There was still a stigma attached to American players," he says.
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That stigma has begun to fade. As the 2010 World Cup in South Africa draws near, an estimated 50 American players are currently playing in the top ranks of Europe's best leagues. Lalas says the success of both the U.S. national team (currently ranked 14th in the world) and the U.S. league, Major League Soccer, has given American players more credibility in Europe. That's good news for U.S. soccer in general: American players can only get better by honing their skills against the best in the world.
Behind the numbers
Who are the best Americans playing in Europe? To get a list of the top 10, we turned to Castrol Rankings, which bills itself as the world's first soccer rankings system based on actual player performance in Europe's top five leagues – La Liga (Spain), Premier League (England), Bundesliga (Germany), Serie A and Ligue 1 (France). It also takes into account play in the Champions League.
Castrol relies on data gathered by Opta Sportsdata, which tracks individual player statistics in these leagues. The company tracks and scores every touch every player on the field makes in every match. A goal or completed pass is scored as a positive; a giveaway is scored as a negative. Matches are weighted by importance: For example, a Champions League match would be given more weight than a regular-season Ligue 1 game. Opta refreshes the statistics every month.
The highest-rated players on the Castrol list are the names you would expect: Lionel Messi (the Argentine who plays for Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (the Portuguese national who plays for Real Madrid) and Wayne Rooney (the British striker on Manchester United).
The best American player in Europe, according to Castrol, is goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, who has had a good season for Wolverhampton, in the Premier League. But Hahnemann will most likely ride the bench for the U.S. during the World Cup. The likely U.S. starter will be Tim Howard, who plays for Everton in the Premier League and ranks No. 4 on our list.
One more keeper makes the list, one spot ahead of Howard: Brad Friedel, who was the hero of the U.S. National Team's surprising quarterfinal run in the 2002 World Cup. The "Human Wall" has been a mainstay in the Premier League since 2000. Lalas, who played with Friedel, says he is "the one legitimate international American star."
But here's the rub: Unless something unexpected happens, Friedel will not be on the U.S. team this year. Sick of the brutal travel schedule, the 38 year-old retired from international play in 2005.
The U.S. has traditionally produced good goalkeepers. It likely has something to do with the pre-eminence of American sports, like basketball, that involve the use of hands. But Lalas hopes that the next group of U.S. international stars will be goal-scorers instead of goal-stoppers. The player closest to that description is the No. 2 player on our list, Clint Dempsey, a flashy winger for the Premier League team, Fulham. Dempsey, 27, led his club in scoring in 2009 and is one of the few legitimate U.S. offensive threats. During the World Cup this summer, the U.S. national team could uses a few Dempsey goals like the one embedded here.
One more goal-scorer makes our list, at No. 9: Jozy Altidore, a promising 20-year-old who played for Hull City in the Premier League this spring (he was on loan from Spanish team Villareal). But his season came to an ugly end on April 24 when he was ejected from a game for head-butting an opponent. He will miss the season's remaining games.
"It was too bad for Jozy," says Lalas, who says it's unlikely Hull will retain him next season. "He needs to find a good spot next year." A good showing in the World Cup, which Lalas says "can definitely happen," would help in that regard.
Along with goalkeeping, defense – at both the back and midfield position – is also an American strength. Michael Bradley, the 22-year-old son of U.S. coach Bob Bradley, has shown flashes of good play for Borussia Mönchengladbatch in the German Bundesliga. And Carlos Bocanegra, who plays for Rennes in the French Ligue 1, has been the backbone of the U.S. team's defense for the last few years.
Who's the best American player in the world? Lalas says it's still Landon Donovan, who plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer. The 28-year-old striker was loaned for 10 weeks this winter to Premier League side Everton, playing in 13 matches. He was named the club's best player for the month of January, then returned to the Galaxy in March after his loan period was over. "It's OK that he's with the MLS," says Lalas. "We need some of our good players at home, too."
The top 10:
10. Jermaine Jones: Slideshow
9. Jozy Altidore: Slideshow
8. Jonathan Spector: Slideshow
7. Steve Cherundolo: Slideshow
6. Carlos Bocanegra: Slideshow
• See the top five
