Any USA players in La Liga?

None currently.

It was reported somewhere that Ryan Suarez from the Galaxy is going for a trial at Osasuna, but I can't confirm that.

Here's an article that says Aguirre is looking for some reinforcements on the cheap, and Suarez would definitely fit the description.

 

Osasuna's defensive form has been a little suspect, but I'll still be surprised if they move for Suarez. They have a couple local boys on the back line who are very popular. Still, it would be great to have an American to cheer for when I go to the games, even if he's sitting on the bench.

There hasn't been an American in la Liga since Keller left, and before that all I can think of is Ante Razov playing for Racing de Ferrol, which I think was in the 2nd Division back then, but is now I believe in 2nd B.

Frankly, I've never understood why no Americans ever come here. It is such a fun league, there's no reason everyone's default goal should be the EPL.

I think it will change, and that at least one of our young starlets will sign here within five years. Teams are starting to take more notice of MLS and its players, mostly because of Freddy Adu, but there have also been newspaper stories about Szetela, Gaven, Johnson etc.

Beasley always talks about liking Spain, and frankly he would do a lot better here than in a place like England where the Gary Neville's of the world would be looking to break him in half. Spain may be more of a "pretty" league than England, but that only means hard working, spirited Americans would be more appreciated. Players with attitudes like McBride's tend to be adored by the fans here.

 

Well the main reason none of the Americans go to Spain/France/Italy is the language barrier. German and Dutch are easier to learn when English is your first language. And secondly, the Latin leagues have much more stylistic approaches, and the Americans aren't producing the types of creative players that are needed in those leagues. The Germanic leagues tend to be more based on athletic abilities and toughness, which is more suited to the players.

 

Ferrol is 2-A this season.

The issues with American players in Spain is still that of exposure. Until some MLS teams go up against Liga sides, there won't be much frame of reference for them to justify any signings. It will happen eventually. Shame the MLS All-Stars couldn't get to the Bernabeu, because some eyes might have been opened.

So how is the Instituto Internacional treating you? I always respected the Middlebury program's policy of insisting upon Spanish being spoken at all times. Thirteen years have gone by so fast that I can still smell the tortilla in the cafe downstairs. Make the most of your time there, by all means.

 

I am actually a 2004 Midd graduate who did the program in Spain two years ago and liked it so much that I came back for a year to work. I actually didn't go to the Instituto. Middlebury now also runs direct enrollment programs in a couple of different Spanish universities around the country and I studied in a small university in Segovia. They run a great program, though, and the Instituto has been remarkably successful at teaching Spanish and integrating students into the culture where other schools have failed.

I don't think that Americans lack the skill set to play in Spain. Spaniards do demand technical quality, but they also love the hustle fighter types like Salgado or Puyol and in the end tend to adore them far more than Mercurial flair players. You see the same thing in their recent infatuation with English players. The best Americans tend to be players like this, combining hustle with a bit of technical bravura. They'd stand out more here than in England, in my opinion. The language and culture barrier is real, but Spanish is not all that hard to learn, and frankly a lot of our players have at least a little Spanish understanding, and in many cases more than a little. Plus, I'd much rather play in Malaga than slog through the cold damp winters of England and Germany. Spain is a great place to live.

Someone will break down the barrier. I've got my fingers crossed that it will be Beasley--though being black here has its own problems...

 

Really, German and Dutch are impossibly difficult languages. Structurally, English is closer to Spanish. The convoluted German sentance structure, the use of declensions, 60% percent irregular verbs, extra letters in the alphabet--all really alien. Spanish has gender, an ñ and a bunch of subjunctive tenses, but other than that the sounds and spellings are phonetic and pretty much the same as English, you can muddle through and they'll still understand what words you are saying.

 

The vocab is the most important part of speaking a language and in that respect German and Dutch are very similiar to english.

 

yeah, but not really, since 70% of English words are Latin based and tend to have nearly direct cognates in Spanish. The words that are similar in Germanic languages are the simple verbs and nouns and such that were preserved despite the high cultural influence of French and Latin on Anglo-Saxons after 1066, but even then they are different enough that you have to learn them and can't just identify them on site. I really think you could decipher more words in a Spanish paragraph than in a German one. When I speak in Spanish I can usually just take an English verb or adjective with a Latin root and add the Spanish ending and it will be correct, or at least really close.

 

There is no language barrier in soccer. They can get translaters.

 

Found it.

For the record, I liked what I saw from Suarez this season. Had the opportunity to see him play live in the Galaxy 5-2 victory at RFK this summer.

 

How quickly the world forgets Tab Ramos who was the first American to play in Spain at Betis and Figueres i think...back in the late 80's early 90's.

 

and then the discussion turned to talking about yanks who HAVE played in La Liga.....

sorry to infuse your fragile young mind with a tiny bit of history......

 

Antonio Martinez (mexican-american) played at Salamanca last year (D2). It would be great if Landon wound up in La Liga.

 

IMO...the non-eu rule is a bad marketing decision, marketing in the US would be greatly bolstered by:

1) a decent TV contract (FSW, ESPN2)
2) a couple of Americans playing in La liga.

Eventually a team will take the chance on an American and that player will pave the way, but with the Non-Eu limit, those spots are too precious...

MY guess on Yanks in la liga is a player like DMB or Landon at a mid table team in the next few years.

 

Sounds about right. Beasley would fit in well in la liga - but he's doing well at PSV and I'm happy for him. Maybe in a couple of years. Donovan already speaks some Spanish so he would have a head start but he's got to make an impact at Bayer to peak someone's interest - no doubt he would rather be in sunny Spain than cold, dreary Germany.

 

I don't know what part of Spain you are thinking of, but I'm here in Pamplona and is is cold as hell and foggy and wet and overcast. Before that I was in Segovia (central spain), and it was so damn cold in the winter that I had to shell out €100 for a ski parka to walk outside. I'm from New England, too, so it's not like I'm some warm weather wuss.

The tourist Bureau does a good job making Spain out to be some sun dappled beach paradise, but it isn't true. Spain sits at a much higher altitude than almost any other European country (maybe not Switzerland), with Madrid being the highest capitol in Europe (maybe not Zurich). Except for the southern coast, the weather is not nice here in the winter. It is probably not much nicer (if at all) than in Germany or England, especially if you play for a northern landlocked team like Zaragoza or Valladolid or Osasuna.

That said, I've always thought Landon should be angling for a transfer to Malaga. With Tenerife and Las Palmas stuck in segunda, it's probably the only way he'll be able to still live the California beach bum life he seems so fond of. Plus, all that German he speaks would be equally useful down there!

I totally forgot about Tab (happens far too much these days, unfortunately).

 

Yeah nothing like those warm sun filled winters in Galicia.
My mom grewup near Leon and was always taling about all the snow they would get in the winter and how cold it was.

 

I doubt it would make any difference, Americans just don’t like soccer at this moment hence how badly MLS is doing.
Unless you have a team that has G Bush and his henchmen play against Bin Ladin and his henchmen, Americans WILL not watch soccer, period.
I say give that market up for now and concentrate on other markets, like Asia and South America.

 

That doesn't sound like a very balanced team though... they'd all be right wings.





Thank you, I'll be here all week.

 

if they showed la liga here people would watch, especially if they have an american. unfortunately when they did a few years ago they never showed any of the big teams so no one did. it seemed like we got recreativo de huelva matches every week