Didnt Gooch have 3 Belgian titles in 4 or 5 years with them? Both were on pretty strong squads capable of challenging for the Europa League title. Friedel is interesting. Dude has played for some big teams n small ones and has the stats to prove himself as 1 of the top 10 best keepers in PL history. No small feat.
Maybe he was lacking a big tournament that season but sadly he got no recognition for that outside of Europe. No big clubs chasing him. No Ballon D'or running. I remember Tim Cahill was a nominee in 2006 (among 50 voted on) and he didnt have as solid a season as Dempsey did.
Every time I didn't watch his games, I felt like I checked the score and said to myself "Dempsey scored again"
Same here. Fulham probably has among the largest US support of any PL clubs, respectively of course thanks to the feats of Dempsey and McBride before him.
There is a pub at Fulham named after one Brian McBride from the Northside of Chicago. I always like thinking on this pub I would like to have a beer at one day and talking with the natives on this man from our American footy culture. A pub is named after you for what you did for some foreign nation club's people and specifically their goals scored happiness. Both Dempsey and McBride were on Fulham's All-Time Starting XI, which was voted on a few years back by their fans and supporters. So that is an English club with TWO! Americans on their All-Time first team. As far as Euro Cups, either the old UEFA/Cup Winners Cup or European Cup or modern UEFA Champions League, it is Jovan Kirovisky began his professional career with storied English club Manchester United, eventually spending time in the late 1990s with Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. Kirovski was in the Dortmund team the season they won the Champions League title. Though he wasn’t in the squad for the final, so far he’s the only American with a link to that honor. Beasley and his PSV Eindhoven club made it to the UEFA CL semi's one year a decade ago, losing to AC Milan iirc.
Look forward to the young players today motivated by the successes of Dempsey,McBride and our goalkeepers. Hopefully it might spur them on some. Maybe in a decade or 2 we might have a few players to win starting spots on CL teams in top 4 leagues or in the Team of the Season of those very same leagues. Some players who successes make Dempseys look almost like Wynaldas.
Hopefully! It will be quite depressing if two decades pass and we're still lamenting the old days of McBride and Dempsey at Fulham.
You have a point there. Im sure within 5 years we will have a freak accident. Maybe a Jordan Morris or someone similar will land time with a Valencia or Marseille.
I think I would useful to have two polls, one for keepers and one for field players. I would go with Fridel and Reyna.
Unless Dooley won those a fetus, then no. He was an American citizen as birth. Seriously, how is Dooley not on this list?
The same way Jermaine Jones is not on the list. He's had a better career in Europe than every other field player on this list, and it's not particularly close.
I dont get the allure with Reyna. Did he really standout at any of his clubs like say McBride/Dempsey did at Fulham? I would have to agree without a doubt Friedel. He only lacks trophies which he probably would have had as a no 2 for a Chelsea or United.
Yep. And believe it or not is our top scorer in the CL with like 4 goals. Quite pitiful really since he scored them like a decade ago.
Asides from wikipedia stats and the occasional video, how good were Wynalda/Moore in Germany, Lalas in Italy, Jones/Harkes and others in the 90s? Were they overall just average players on their clubs or did they stand out? Wikipedia lists that Harkes was a surprise success early on and won some kinda Best Rookie type award.