Very close! But Mike has played organized ball in Serie A which is outside the US. This player is still active.
I guess we need to ask whether top flight includes MLS. If so, that would exclude Diego from consideration. Dred - we need more clues.
I don't know much about US soccer in the late 80s or whatever, but Stollmeyer or some college player who got put straight on to the US team seems to be the likelihood here. How else could you never play organized ball outside the US but still make the US team without being at the top level for more than half a year?
The question is, what is top level? Is MLS top level? Is Belgium I top level? Or only the top levels in the big 4?
If MLS is not top flight, then we have many more choices of potential people - if only we can find the person born a citizen overseas.
"He never played organized soccer outside the US" has to include that he never played professional soccer outside the US. So it's not somebody who played in Belgium or Holland or England or wherever. I read "top flight" as the top division of whatever was around at the time. Since this has to be America, it would be MLS since its inception and A-league or whatever prior to 1996. Alternately, "top flight" could mean a FIFA-sanctioned Division I league and thus (correct me if I'm wrong) the A-league (even before MLS) would not count.
It said not born in America....Juli Vee was born in Hungary. Anyway, I was sort of kidding, but hey, it might be right.
Kevin in Lousiana is correct, "top flight" was not an attempt at trickery. A-League from 83 to 95 would count. Furthermore, yes, Belgium is outside the US so whether it is "top flight" is irrelevant. Good question, I meant half season at a time. Another clue coming up this evening. Don't forget I already added that this player is still active.
I looked at Sam's Army's list of active players who have been capped, looked at those who have played "at the top level" (but never abroad) and I don't seem to find anyone who meets the criteria. No one who was recently capped who could have played less than 1 season in MLS was born outside the US. Ching might fit if hadn't been born in Hawaii. There was one old guy who I couldn't find a birthplace for who played for Colorado briefly early on and has been in the A-League (Scott Benedetti). Probably not foreign-born. Seems like a hard one.
I'm confused, is the answer Brian Ching or is it Scott Benedetti. Ching was born in Hawaii, one of the 50 states, which is surely in North America. Ching also played in MLS in 2001, 2002, and 2003, so I'm not sure how it can be him.
Remember that the bit about the top flight was intended to be not more than half a season at a time, per dred's answer to my question above. If Ching didn't spend more than half a season each in 2001, 2002, and 2003, then he would still qualify there.
soccertom - MarioKempes got that one right when he answered Grover Gibson. You guy could also fit that description, but I haven't researched him to know for sure. OK, I'm going with the crowd and saying dred's guy is Brian Ching. Next up, another "mystery" player.
I was a college standout and played in England. I was known for my outspokeness and tough attitude during my stint in England. I had a good start, but like many of my American brethren, I couldn't maintain the performance I showed at the start of my career there and ended up playing for the reserves for most of my brief English career. I appeared for the US national team and, one year, scored the team's only goal of the entire year.