I have 2 nominees: 1.Chris Henderson-capped like 30 times by age 21 in early 90s, almost never to play for USA again. 2.Mike Renfrew-promising USA career in 70s cuts short after 7 caps by...FIFA finding out he was not American!
I'll nominate Joseph Eduard Gaetjens. 3 caps, 1 goal. And on that he was elected in 1976 to the US Soccer Hall of Fame. http://www.soccerhall.org/famers/joe_gaetjens.htm
Henderson has like 70+ caps. He must've got to play some after age 21 and 30 caps. Certainly not "almost never".
he was a regular at 20.Never a regular after 1993. Born 1970 Year Record GP/GS G A Pts 1990 3-3-0 6/2 1 0 2 1991 8-3-5 16/16 0 3 3 1992 5-3-1 9/7 0 0 0 1993 9-7-10 26/26 1 5 7 1994 4-2-7 13/10 0 1 1 1995 0-1-1 2/1 0 0 0 1997 1-1-1 3/1 1 1 3 1998 1-1-0 2/0 0 0 0 2000 1-0-0 1/1 0 0 0 Total 32-21-25 78/64 3 10 16
Did Sampson just have it out for him or did he never progress very much? His MLS career certainly suggests he would've been a terrific asset to the USMNT in his prime.
Actually, Henderson was capped 22 times by age 21 and was on the roster as the youngest player on the Italia 90 World Cup squad. He got 57 more, for a total of 79 but it's still been a strage career. All but 9 of Henderson's caps came before 1995, before he turned 24. So, 72 caps between age 19-24, 7 caps since then and it's only been those 7 caps despite being one of the most consistent players in MLS since the leauge started. And, it's not like he was old when MLS started as he was 25 the first season so he's been in his prime most of that time. So, I agree, very odd. But at least he made a WC team, even though he didn't play in Italy. Almost as strange is Jovan Kirovski getting 62 caps between 94 and 04, good for 29th all time among US men, but never making a World Cup team. Kirovski is the only player in the top 30 of US caps not to make a WC team. Another strange career was that of Neil Covone, who Bob Gansler strangely selected to the 90 World Cup team at age 20, when he was still at Wake Forest, ahead of the likes of naturalized seasoned pros like Hugo Perez and Pato Margetic or Brent Goulet, who was playing regularly in Europe. Covone was a rising Sr. when he made the WC team despite having only five caps - and only 2 starts - and despite being on a WC team at such a young age, he was never capped again after Italia 90, in which he never played. By the fall of 92, Covone was in law school and he's now a successful attorney in Miami.
Peter Vermes was a "star" forward on the 1990 WC team and then got, I think, one cap a few years ago as a central defender. It was a loooong layoff and basically a 2d nats career for him considering the radical position switch. Probably not the weirdest nats career (Albright has done something similar, but without as long of a time away from the nats), but its one that came to mind when I saw this thread.
there is little doubt that , somewhere there was a place for Henderson on the US team.It has been weird.Someone described him in his prime as having three lungs.He could RUN.
I'm not saying it was the absolute oddest, and obviously there were extenuating circumstances, but Preki's career was pretty darn weird. He spent a good number of years playing indoor soccer, was capped at what, age 33 or something? Finished with less than 30 appearences for the USMNT and still made it to a World Cup.
Here’s another odd one… Between Bob Gansler’s last game as US coach in early February of 1991 and Bora Milutinovic’s first game as US coach in May of that year, John Kowalski, who was later a disaster as an MLS coach, was interim head coach of the US for three games. One of the players he gave a first cap to was an athletic forward from an obscure Southern college who was scoring goals at an amazing rate in college named Dante Washington. In his first cap, against Mexico of all teams, in a friendly in March of 91 in LA, Washington scored a goal. In his second cap, four days later against Canada, Washington scored again. That was Kowalski’s last game as US coach. The US played 13 more games that year under Bora and Washington never got a cap despite having scored in his first 2 caps. The next year, the US played 21 games and Washington never got a cap and in 1992, the US played 3 4games and Washington only got three caps, only one of them a start. Those were the only three caps Bora gave Washington. He got off to a great start in MLS, leading to a call-up from Steve Sampson, who played him all of 27 minutes as a sub in a friendly against Paraguay in Saint Louis in 97. Bruce Arena later called him into a camp or two, but he never played for the national team again. So, despite scoring in his first two games, he only got four more caps and only one of them was a start. And this in an era when we didn’t exactly have the greatest forwards in our arsenal. Very strange.
England66 is named Mike Renshaw and according to the USSf he has only 2 caps: As a sub in a 0-4 loss @Bermuda (4-0 to Bermuda? Wow!) on March 17, 1973 and as a starter in an 0-4 loss @Poland March 20, 1973.
In part, Henderson was given so many early caps because he had signed a contract with the USSF that -- following an NCAA rule change -- cost him his eligibility. He didn't actually appear in a World-Cup-related game until the 1997 draw in Azteca, a place where a third lung would really come in handy. He'd be even higher if you took out the guys whose stats were padded by the pre-WC94 run-up; it's really remarkable how many chances JK has gotten. Along a somewhat similar line, Jeff Agoos was repeatedly dropped from the team, yet managed to get 134 caps; Cobi Jones was only a first-choice starter for 3 or 4 years, yet managed 164; and Joe-Max Moore was barely ever a first-choice starter, yet managed 100. When you consider that 100 caps is viewed as a standard for greatness, those are some pretty odd careers. Good call on Dante Washington, btw.
Poor Agoos. He's the Bill Buckner of the USMNT. He was generally a fairly solid player -- not that great, not that bad... but boy, his goofs were always golden! His own-goal in the world cup against Portugal was one of the finest shots of his life... unfortuantely.
If Marcus Hahnemann takes the third keeper spot, he would have to be up there. One cap long ago. Signs with a Prem side. Sits the bench. Falls way out of the picture. Plays one or two times in the Prem. Gets megged for a goal. Transfers to Reading in the 1st division. Becomes a star. Gets another callup. Drops out of the picture again. Gets second chance when the keeper for MAnchester United goes ito an extended slump. Sits teh bench for a number of qualifiers. Gets a third cap. (Prospectively) Leads him team to promotion. Gets maybe a cap or two more. Makes WC team with four or five caps. Sits on the bench as the Americans go to the semifinals.
Has to be Bruce Arena.... One cap as a substitute goalkeeper in a friendly at Israel, iirc..... Then on to become the most successful USMNT coach ever.
Preki's career was pretty cool. I respect that as a European cast-off he got his first cap for his adopted country at an age that many people get their last then went on to score against Brazil and get an assist in the World Cup.
Preki was an indoor legend as well.... How many Brazilian Futsal stars emigrate from other countries, and then eventually play in the World Cup for them? I'll still stick with Arena though.
I believe he has said he also played in a few matches that weren't counted because they were against club teams. I remember him saying something about playing Lazio with the nats
That may well be so, but those don't count as caps. Caps are with the senior national team against other senior national teams. Playing Lazio would be cool and make for a great story later and you get to wear the national colors and all that and help your standing with the national team, but it ain't a cap.