Well, there are still restrictions within the EU, just not as restrictive as from outside the EU. As the Messi case shows, money will mitigate those problems. But you are right that the EPL isn't the place for USA players anyway. USA players have done much better historically in Germany, Italy, and even Spain. Sweden has been better than the EPL also. For one thing, they speak English there.
Germany certainly, I'm not sure about Italy and Spain. For one thing the sample size is tiny..how many guys have we actually had play in those leagues?
i can think of Jozy and Keller in Spain and only Bradley, Gooch and Rossi in Italy. All far from successes. Perhaps we have more flops in England but we def have way bigger successes as well.
i suppose you're right though Boca played in the 2nd division and Gooch played only a handful of games in La Liga
Our players have had very little success in Spain and Italy. If you are looking at countries where Americans have historically had success Holland would have to be right after Germany. With Beasley and O'Brien's league titles, Bradley and Altidore's goal scoring exploits there and others like Gregg Berhalter, Vermes and now Rubio Rubin.
You could argue, though, that that's not quite high enough of a level to make a significant difference in any case. Norway and Sweden at least.
I mean yeah, we've had a few (and Rossi doesn't count), but nothing close to the numbers we've had in England and Germany.
now is that simply due to PL and German clubs 1) have more money 2) more scouts in MLS 3) more appreciation for style of US players 4) easier restrictions to foreign players
Yeah, our guys' style fits England and Germany (as well as Holland/Scandinavia/Scotland) better, and I think northern Europe is also a lot less of a culture shock for US players--our older cultural traditions here mainly come from Britain or Germany, and fluent English is spoken by pretty much everyone in Germany, Scandinavia, Holland, and to a lesser extent England.
Something that is tangentially related that I have been thinking about. I think everyone knows the massive advantage having an EU passport would be for an American player. But, there is also the fact that if you have citizenship from a former Spanish colony you can get your Spanish citizenship in 2 years instead of the usual five. Also, something I did not really know too well until recently is that because of the Cotonou Agreement that players with citizenship from some African, some Caribbean and few Asian countries would not count as non EU in some EU countries. So that means that if you are an American Soccer player who does not have a passport from somewhere else it is going to be that much tougher for you to make it in Europe.
Would this apply to Americans with dual Mexican (or other LA) citizenship? If so, get those guys to La Liga for 2 years then anywhere else in Europe from there.
I assume so. But, in Liga BBVA you are only allowed 3 non EU players and in Liga Adelante you are only allowed 2. And any level lower than that in Spanish Football I do not think you are allowed any non EU players. So that player would have to be of a high caliber because for 2 years that player is using a valuable non EU spot.
“two years if the individual is a citizen of a country of Ibero-America (including Portugal), Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, or if the individual can prove they are a Sephardi Jew with a connection to Spain” Until November 2018, Sephardic Jews had no waiting period, and the system may return to that. Brasil and Portugal are included, but not Portugal’s former African colonies. Alta California didn’t make the cut. sorry, California, Nevada, and Utah. Portugal has similar rules with their former territories, and if your grandparents were Portuguese, you can be a citizen with no waiting period.