Donovan and Dempsey are tied at 57 goals apiece. I thought that was common knowledge. Donovan has more assists. Dempsey has more WCQ goals. Donovan has one more WC goal than Dempsey, because Dempsey let him take his PK that he drew against Ghana. These 2 are undoubtedly the best 2 players in USMNT history. Donovan was more gifted physically, but Dempsey had more heart. I wish we could combine the 2 players.
From a Non American point of view I'd have Dempsey, Howard and Friedel over Donovan. All 3 played at a higher level more consistently throughout their career. Lots of 'ifs and buts' around Donovan for me. Obviously I didn't follow his international career that closely so if the question is actually 'who was the best player FOR the USNT?' then it could very well be Donovan. But best overall player, I would rate Dempsey over him.
whenever people talk about Morris being one footed (much better now!) I always think of preki and this goal. If you had asked me this morning who Radosavljević was, I would have had no idea that preki even had a last name and I’m pretty sure I saw all of his USMNT appearances.
dempsey is more my style of player and person but look at the number of assists that Landon had. It’s amazing - he was the perfect person for the USMNT’s counterattacking system. If I’m drafting an all time USMNT team that actually had to play, I’d start with Jermaine Jones though.
When Donovan retired he was the goals/assist leader for both the USMNT and in MLS. He and Dempsey were very different types of players. And in reality, we rarely saw them play well together for the USMNT.
Yup. In terms of Euro career it's a "what if" situation. But he didn't have a good time at Leverkusen when he was a youngster, so returned to the US. Then he started dating and eventually married a Hollywood actress. Hence he stayed in the states, and in LA in particular.
That they are tied in goals is common knowledge. Judging by your post, that Landon whacks Clint all over the field in assists [ 58 to 21] apparently is not. Clint is arguably [and is so in my opinion] the greatest goal scorer the usmnt has ever had. But as a player who focused on the team, and helped significantly to make the whole greater than its parts, Donovan is the best this nation has produced [at least in the modern era].
I know Landon has more assists than Dempsey. Also common knowledge on BS. They played different roles in the team. I noted Donovan as the best all-around player. "Greatest" is something different and subjective. Clint was not gifted athletically, but he just had so much heart and grit that he got the job done anyway. Clint reached higher and played at Fulham and Spurs for several years, netting 57 Premiership goals. He was near the top of the scoring chart in the EPL at times. Nothing to sniff at.
Most talented: 1. Donovan 2. Howard 3. Dempsey 4. Beasley 5. Ramos (Honorable mention - Friedel, Keller, Reyna, Brooks) Most accomplished: 1. Beasley 2. Jones 3. Howard 4. Dempsey 5. Friedel (Honorable mention - Donovan, McBride, Cherundolo, Reyna) Not considering current players other than Brooks as he already has enough of a resume to judge, but Pulisic would probably be #1 in most talented and top 5 in most accomplished already.
Really too soon to tell. In 5 years we'll be able to clearly judge this. But in both talent and accomplishment, we have no basis for knowing this now.
We really need a ‘least favorite’ version of this. Imagine the possibilities Zardes V Bornstein, Agoos v Richie Williams and so on.
Nobody is judging Keller on the basis of his play at the 2010 World Cup, because he wasn't there. Not only did he not start, he wasn't even on the roster. However, I do agree that Keller at his best was amazing.
It's Donovan. If you otherwise consider Donovan and Dempsey tied, the two things that hurt Dempsey by comparison is that he never scored a goal against Mexico and never lead a team to MLS Cup victory (which Donovan did more times than anyone). Since Donovan retired, the US has not defeated Mexico in a competitive match (in 5 attempts) or qualified for a World Cup (in 1 attempt).