Avoiding the Drop

Here’s a little tip for all you young bloggers out there: when you think you have a good idea for a post, and you put a lot of thought into it- PUBLISH IT! IMMEDIATELY! Otherwise you risk getting “scooped” by another blog and you end up looking like a plagiarist/bandwagon jumper/Johnny-Come-Lately. Still, even if you make this mistake, finish the post and publish it anyway. After all, stealing is a way of life on the internet imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the fellows over at Unprofessional Foul are easily flattered do such good work that it’s no surprise that they come up with all of the best ideas first. That being said, who is the best American player ever?

My scientist friends tell me that you have to begin trying to answer a question like this you have to “define your terms,” so I will- after that, it’s a free-for-all. They may be my friends, but once they start getting into the details my eyes glaze over and I alternate between nodding my head and saying, “Hmmm…” until they are done talking. Anyway…

First, I’m not making any distinctions between goalkeepers and field players. They are all soccer players- period. I’m not one of these people who thinks, for example, that punters aren’t “real” football players. Everyone with a pair of eyes and a brain connected to them knows that Ray Guy should be in the Hall of Fame. I’m also not going to penalize the United States for, thus far, producing more world class goalkeepers than field players. Penn State is known for producing a surfeit of excellent linebackers and running backs and the University of Miami is known for producing a cornucopia of felons and “general studies” majors- nobody holds this against either university.

Second, I’m basing my rankings on a player’s achievements for both club and country- though not necessarily on a 50/50 basis. Some of our best players have had great success wearing the USMNT shirt and some have had their success while playing club football. A few- and the number is very small- have done both. I’ll also be giving a bit more weight to those players who have shined in leagues bigger than MLS- even if they were not on “marquee” teams in those larger leagues. Going forward I will refer to this as the “Conor Casey Quotient”- being a “squad player” in the Bundesliga, for example, is better than being a “superstar” in MLS. International experience will count, but not as much as you might think. The USMNT, after all, plays in CONCACAF which has exactly one other perennially competitive side- Mexico. Earning a boatload of caps/goals/shutouts against the likes of Guatemala and Grenada says more about the opposition than the player.

Third, I’m only ranking players who have played the bulk of their careers since the 1990 World Cup. So, feel free to regale me with tales of the exploits of Walter Bahr or Shep Messing- I’ll take your word for it. I’m going to focus on players I’ve seen play.

Finally, I am looking forward to you telling me what an idiot I am. Except, you don’t get to do that unless you provide your own list- and maybe a bit of your own reasoning.

After the jump, my top 25 American soccer players since 1990:

Our commenters were kind enough to point out a few players who should probably have been on this list.  You’ll see them in red below.

1. Brad Friedel: 459 top flight matches (and counting!), over 200 consecutive appearances, capped 82 times, etc.- but here’s the one that should convince you: BBC pundit Andy Gray named Friedel as the starting keeper on his 2000-2009 EPL “Team of the Decade,” beating out the likes of Jens Lehman, Shay Given, Peter Cech, Manuel Almunia, Pepe Reina, Edwin van der Sar, etc.

2. Kasey Keller: He didn’t play for quite as many “big” teams as Friedel, but Keller did play in the top flight in three different countries (Turkey, England, and Germany) and earned over 100 USMNT caps. He was also a three time U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year. Now, although in his 40s, he’s still one of the best keepers in MLS- make of that what you will.

3. Brian McBride: Surprised by this one? You shouldn’t be. McBride did hit the peak of his career until he joined Fulham at the age of 32. All he did then was to score 40 goals in 153 matches. He’s also the third leading scorer in USMNT history- and with a better “strike rate” that all-time leader Landon Donovan. He also retired from international soccer long before he should have.

4. Tim Howard: He’s still only 31- youngish for a goalkeeper- but he’s already played 200+ matches in the EPL, won a Community Shield, League Cup, the F.A. Cup (the first American to do so), been on the PFA’s “Best XI” squad (2003), and his next start for the USMNT will be his 50^th. He’s likely to pass Keller and Friedel in most areas by the time he’s done.

5. Claudio Reyna: Too many people’s first thought at the mention of Reyna’s name is “injured,” but the fact is that in addition to over 100 national team appearances he also had successful seasons in the Bundesliga, the SPL, and the EPL and was the first American to captain a European team while at Wolfsburg!

6. Landon Donovan: That’s right, sixth. His loan spell at Everton has begun to change my mind, but the fact is that “the most talented American player ever” has essentially earned that title against MLS and CONCACAF opposition. You don’t need me to rehash his three failed attempts to play in a top European league before succeeding with the Toffees.

7. Clint Dempsey: In the past, a major injury to an American player at a European team meant losing his place and probably a quick return to MLS. This has not been the case for “The Deuce,” such has been his impact since joining Fulham in 2007. The former MLS rookie of the year has scored 23 matches in 125 matches for the London side to go with his 17 goals for the USMNT in 60 matches.

8. Tabare Ramos: A fractured skull in the 1994 World Cup effectively put Ramos’ career on a downward trajectory, but even before that he had done enough to merit his ranking on this list. A high school and college star, he had successful stints in both Spain in Mexico before becoming a Metro-Star. Ramos also played in three World Cups and made 81 national team appearances.

9. John Harkes: Harksie was one of the very first American players to embark on a successful European career. Harkes was a national player of the year in high school, a successful collegiate player, an Olympian, played for Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest, and were it not for his off-field activities, he would have played in three World Cups- not two.

10. Damarcus Beasley: Yup, between injuries and questionable tactics on the part of Bob Bradley, the last two years have been rough for DMB, but consider this: he’s still only 27 and has already played in the top leagues in Scotland, England, and the Netherlands, and is approaching 100 caps with the USMNT. In short, if he stays healthy he might move up this list- not down.

–  Eric Wynalda: I overlooked him, then surprised myself by rating him this highly.  However, he did have four successful seasons in Germany, was- when healthy- a reliable striker in MLS, and he is still the second leading scorer in USMNT history.  He’s also, in my opinion, one of the few American players who truly understands the nature of football.

11. Tony Meola: I don’t know if I have Tony ranked too high or too low. On the one hand, he played a mere two matches (for Brighton & Hove Albion) outside of MLS and lower level American leagues. On the other hand, he was good enough to hold his place in the national team goal in the face of challenges from both Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel (they are all roughly the same age).

12. Steve Cherundolo: You could make a pretty strong argument that Cherundolo is a “top ten” player on this list. He’s been at Hannover 96 for twelve years and Hannover has been in the Bundesliga for the last decade of that. He’s still only 31, has played almost 300 matches for his club, is his club’s “1^st Vice Captain,” and has earned almost 60 caps. Not too shabby.

13. Carlos Bocanegra: The former MLS Rookie of the Year and two-time MLS Defender of the Year parlayed his time with the Chicago Fire into five seasons at Fulham and is now in his second season with Stade Rennais in France’s Ligue 1. While this was going on he also earned 77 caps for the national team while appearing in the 2006 World Cup and likely appearing in the 2010 World Cup.

14. Eddie Lewis: Lewis played for almost a decade in England’s League One, Championship, and Premier League after starting his career in MLS. Preston North End, Leeds, and Derby may lack the prestige of some of the clubs his cohorts played for, but they’re probably tougher sides than many of those that Gooch faced while in Belgium’s Jupiler League. Lewis earned 82 USMNT caps.

15. Gregg Berhalter: He played in Europe for fifteen years for clubs in the top two divisions in Germany and the Netherlands and also had a short spell with Crystal Palace in England- over three hundred matches in all. He has also been part of two World Cup squads while earning almost fifty national team caps.

16. Cobie Jones: He played a bit in England and Brazil, he played over 300 matches in MLS, and, perhaps most impressively, he earned 164 USMNT caps- that’s the men’s record by the way. Was he ever the best player on the national team? No, he wasn’t, but he was always in the team- three World Cups, an Olympics, two Gold Cups, two MLS Cups, two U.S. Open Cups, and on and on and on…

17. Frankie Hejduk: Hejduk has grown on me for one reason- he wants to win. I have no doubt that if you told him you needed him in the net he’d just nod and take the gloves. Frankie played a bit in Switzerland and Germany and has been one of MLS’ best players for years. He’s also earned 85 caps and has appeared in two Olympics and two World Cups.

18. Bobby Convey: I hate to put Bobby this low on the list, but the fact is that after five years at Reading- two of those in the Premier League- he is falling quickly off the soccer map. That’s probably the result of several knee operations, but that’s the reality of it. If there is a ray of hope it is that Convey is still only 26 and still adding to his 45 national team caps.

19. Tony Sanneh: Sanneh has only half the caps that Eddie Pope earned (mostly due to injuries), but I can’t help but feel that he was (“is” if he plays in MLS again this year) a better player than Pope. Sanneh played over 100 matches in the top two leagues in Germany and was one of the best U.S. players at the World Cup in 2002.

20. Oguchi Onyewu: Before you get all indignant, let me make one point: Gooch made his biggest impression while at Standard Liege which is one of the better teams in a league that generally ranks as about the 15^th best in Europe. He played 11 EPL matches for Newcastle and has yet to play a Serie A match for Milan. Onyewu has 51 national team caps, but he still has a lot to prove in my eyes.

21. John O’Brien: If I were cutting slack for injuries, O’Brien would certainly be in the top ten and would be threatening the top five on this list. Before suffering a string of injuries that ended his career before the age of 30, O’Brien was a starter at Ajax for parts of six seasons, winning two Eredivisie titles. He also earned over 30 caps with the national team.

–  Alexi Lalas: He was the first American to play in Serie A, he was among the better defenders in the early years of MLS, and even I have to admit that he had a knack for scoring goals in big games- especially off set pieces.  That being said, I tend to feel that since he retired a lot of people have come to believe he was as good as he says he was.

22. Eddie Pope: Pope is part of a small group of very good players who were never quite good enough to make the grade outside of MLS. In fact, he’s the only player on this list who never played outside the U.S. Eddie was an MLS Defender of the Year, will be remembered as an integral part of D.C. United’s glory days, and he did a very good job while wearing the national team shirt.

23. Jonathan Spector: Time will surely move the 24 year old Spector up this list. He began his career at Manchester United, which was followed by a successful loan spell at Charlton. Now a fixture at West Ham United- he’s already made over 100 appearances for the club- he has begun to earn increasingly regular USMNT caps.

24. Michael Bradley: I’ll be the first to admit that his form- especially for the national side- has dipped lately and that he has always been prone to “losing the plot,” but the fact remains that he is only 22(!) and has already been a success in two European leagues (the Netherlands and Germany). Sure, his dad is currently the coach, but can you really argue that he hasn’t earned his caps?

25. Jay DeMerit: Don’t roll your eyes at me! DeMerit has played almost 200 matches in the Championship since joining Watford in 2004, and let me point a few things out about that. First, how many nation’s “top” league is as good as the Championship? Second, this is a guy that nobody in MLS wanted. Third, he has basically done this all on his own, starting in England’s ninth division and working his way up.

Finally, there are a few very good players that are not on this list- Earnie Stewart, Thomas Dooley, Roy Wegerle, and Predrag “Preki” Radosavljevic- and I have left them off for what I think is a very good reason. Simply put, they were all more or less adults when they became Americans, and this being the case, the “United States of America” really can’t take credit for “producing” them in any legitimate way, shape, or form. Don’t mistake this for meaning that they are “not real Americans” or any of that nonsense- to my mind there is nobody more “American” than an immigrant and each of these men gave their all for the national team at a time when their skills and experience were desperately needed in order to shepherd along the first generation of (mostly) native-born American soccer players. Without these players and some lesser-known ones who preceded them, many of those players on the above list would have plied their trades in a very, very different set of circumstances. We owe a debt to all of them.

Now, have at it!