Rank the Yanks Abroad by Club

Here's a loose ranking of first teamers by league down to Norway, after ranking them by who had started in the last month. I'd add Stefan Jerome, if I did it again. It doesn't include non-USMNT-eligible players, but it might help people who want to play your game.

 

Villarreal. Dortmund.

People always forget those two players.

 

Not always. I choose not to think about them.

 

If you list the players that have started in the last month, or started in the month before an injury, you get this (based on UEFA rankings):

Onyewu - Sporting CP
Jones - Schalke
Edu - Rangers
Bocanegra - Rangers
Bedoya - Rangers
Dempsey - Fulham
Howard - Everton
Kljestan - Anderlecht
Altidore -AZ
Holden - Bolton
Chandler - Nurnburg
Spector - Birmingham
Dolo - Hanover
Mix - Stabæk
Gatt - Molde

Not a great, or IMO very accurate, list.

 

I don't see how you can justify inserting Rangers and the Mexican League above the Jupiler. Certainly, the FMF being better is subjective, but there is no possible way that Rangers could(or should) outrank Anderlecht. Every measurable context has Rangers as a lesser team.

 

I don't myself have any opinions on who would be favored if Rangers played Anderlecht. By the UEFA team rankings for 2012 (which I just discovered thanks to Long Duck), Rangers is just ahead of Anderlecht. I mostly did it the way I did to reflect Klinsmann's call ups.

If I did it again, I'd probably use the UEFA team rankings, and make an arbitrary break someplace for the Mexican league. Where do you think FMF would be in Europe?

 

this seems UEFA focused does it not. What about the YanksSouthoftheBorder in this mix?

what about Torres and Gomez and others?

Pachuca - Torres (6th place in FMF)
San Luis - Orozco (10th place)
Puebla - Beasley (13th place)
Tecos - Gomez (15th place in FMF)
America - Castillo (16th place)

I can see the ranking of it based on EPL and Serie A and Bundesliga and LaLiga ... as being the top of the heap ... but

but when you get to Holland, Denmark, France etc. you really need to pull in the FMF players as well.

Until MLS routinely beats up on the FMF teams I will continue to argue that FMF is the equivalent of Holland, Denmark, and France for level of competition.

 

Have to disagree with these rankings. Rangers is below Anderlecht. AZ Alkmar is above Anderlecht. Bolton is below Everton. Here are my rankings of the clubs:

Schalke
Sporting CP
Fulham
Everton
Bolton
Hannover
Hoffenheim
Nurnberg
AZ
Chievo Verona
Anderlecht
Rangers
Tigres UANL
Pachuca
Birmingham
San Luis
Puebla
Estudiantes Tecos
Molde
Stabæk

 

A lot of this will depend on how you comparatively rate finishing midtable in a top league vs competing for titles in a 2nd tier league (or doing well in the Europa League) since those are the two situations most of our well-known players find themselves in. That evaluation is further complicated by the reality that top league clubs don't always take the Europa League as seriously as they are expected to (see: Aston Villa fielding reserve sides for all of their games), so there might not even be a reliable common basis for comparison.

And I have no idea how you're supposed to factor the Mexican Primera into all of this.

As I've mentioned before, I'll be very interested to see how voros's system comes out on all of this.

 

That said, I'd probably organize my tiers by teams that have the quality to do the following (even if they don't always have the opportunity to do so):

Tier 1a: Compete for a Champions League title.
Tier 1b: Go deep in the Champions League and/or compete for a top 4 league title.

Tier 2a: Consistently compete for European spots in top 4 leagues
Tier 2b: Finish roughly midtable in top 4 leagues on a consistent basis, occasional relegation scares or European chases notwithstanding.

Tier 3: Compete for titles in 2nd tier leagues (i.e. leagues awarded 2 Champions League places) and/or put in respectable showings in Europe.

Tier 4: Finish midtable in 2nd tier leagues or compete for titles in 3rd tier leagues.

Tier 5: Finish midtable in 3rd tier leagues.

By that criteria, my tiers would look like this (note: I've limited this to internationally capped players who start for their clubs, for convenience sake):

Tier 1a:
Tier 1b: Dortmund, Schalke, Tottenham, Villarreal
Tier 2a: Everton (I'd have Fulham and Sporting Lisbon somewhere between 2a and 2b)
Tier 2b: Bolton, Chievo, Hannover, Hoffenheim, and Nuremberg
Tier 3: Anderlecht, AZ Alkmaar, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forrest, Pachuca, Rangers
(Club America would be somewhere between Tier 3 and Tier 4)
Tier 4: Aalborg, Brondby, Nordsjaelland, Puebla, San Luis, Tecos
Tier 5: Stabaek

 

Well, that's pretty good. Do you have opinions about the relative merits of Norwich, Ingolstadt, SønderjyskE, Maccabi Netanya, Hapoel Kiryat Shmona, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Halmstads, or Sigma Olomouc?

Also: Molde?

 

Just fyi, they weren't my ratings, they're UEFA's ratings.

 

Well, Halmstad are about to become the worst team to have played in the swedish league since 1989 unless they manage to get at least a draw in the last round this weekend. Not sure what tier that puts them in but probably not a very good one

 

I'm nitpicking here but...Schalke are one of the consistent contenders for the Bundesliga title. They also made the the Semi-finals of the Champions league last year.

 

Not nitpicking. I think I downgraded them because of their indifferent domestic form last season. Also, the Bundesliga tends to have enough teams that can compete for the league title (at least compared to other top 4 leagues), that I'm reluctant to rate too highly any club that has gone as long as Schalke has without winning a title.

But, you're right. If I'm going to rate Tottenham that highly, there's no justification for not including Schalke up there as well. I've edited that post accordingly.

 

Where is Molde...

 

Here are the first team Yanks Abroad, supplemented by the English and German Second divisions, ranked loosely in order of team quality. Curly brackets mean that they don't want to play for the national team or they aren't eligible any more. Pointy brackets mean that they haven't started in the last month.


1. {Friedel Brad 1971 Tottenham Hotspur FC England}
2. Jones Jermaine 1981 FC Schalke 04 England CM
3. {Subotic Neven 1988 Borussia Dortmund Germany}
4. {Rossi Giuseppe 1987 Villarreal CF Spain}
5. <Lichaj Eric 1988 Aston Villa FC England>
6. <Guzan Brad 1984 Aston Villa FC England>
7. Howard Tim 1979 Everton FC England
8. Onyewu Oguchi 1982 Sporting Clube de Portugal Portugal
9. Dempsey Clint 1983 Fulham FC England LM, CM, RM
10. {Hangeland Brede 1981 Fulham FC England}
11. Cherundulo Steve 1979 Hannover 96 Germany
12. <Yelldell David 1981 Bayer Leverkusen Germany>
13. Johnson Fabian 1987 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Germany RM, LM, CM,
14. Williams Daniel 1989 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Germany CM
15. <Brooks John Anthony 1993 Hertha BSC Berlin Germany>
16. <Morales Alfredo 1990 Hertha BSC Berlin Germany>
17. <Catic Dzenan 1992 1. FC Kaiserslautern Germany>
18. Chandler Timothy 1990 1. FC Nuernberg Germany RB, RM
19. Bradley Michael 1987 AC Chievo Italy CM, LM, RM
20. <Whitbread Zak 1984 Norwich City FC England>
21. <Holden Stuart 1985 Bolton Wanderers FC England>
22. <Westberg Quentin 1986 Evian TG FC France>
23. {Hoyos Michael 1991 Estudiantes de la Plata Argentina}
24. {Hoyos Kevin 1993 Estudiantes de la Plata Argentina}
25. Altidore Josmer "Jozy" 1989 AZ Alkmaar Netherlands
26. {Poulsen Simon 1984 AZ Alkmaar Netherlands}
27. Kljestan Sacha 1985 RSC Anderlecht Belgium CM, LM
28. {Delaney Thomas 1991 FC Kobenhavn Denmark}
29. Edu Maurice 1986 Rangers Scotland CM
30. Bocanegra Carlos 1979 Rangers FC Scotland CB, LB
31. <Bedoya Alejandro 1987 Rangers FC Scotland>
32. <Zahavi Alexander Abraham 1991 Vitoria FC Portugal>
33. {Ponce Briseno Miguel Angel 1989 Chivas Guadalajara Mexico}
34. <Torres Mezzell Jose Francisco 1987 Club de Futbol Pachuca Mexico>
35. <Hines Sebastian "Seb" 1988 Middlesbrough FC England>
36. <Potts Daniel 1994 West Ham United England>
37. Rachubka Paul 1981 Leeds United FC England
38. <Doyle Conor 1991 Derby County FC England>
39. Spector Jonathan 1986 Birmingham City FC England CM, RB
40. {Myhill Glyn Oliver "Boaz" 1982 Birmingham City FC England}
41. <Cropper Cody 1993 Ipswich Town FC England>
42. <Findley Robbie 1985 Nottingham Forest England>
43. <Bijev Villyan 1993 Fortuna Duesseldorf Germany>
44. <Clark Ricardo 1983 Eintracht Frankfurt Germany>
45. <Robles Luis 1984 Karlsruher SC Germany>
46. <Wood Bobby Shou 1992 TSV 1860 Muenchen Germany>
47. Buddle Edson 1981 FC Ingolstadt Germany FW
48. Starikov Eugene 1988 Tom Tomsk FW, LM
49. <Langen Dexter 1980 FC Hansa Rostock Germany>
50. Taylor Matt 1981 SC Paderborn Germany FW
51. <Castillo Carillo Edgar Eduardo 1986 Club America Mexico>
52. <Acuña Sanchez Isaac 1989 Club America Mexico>
53. <Ruelas Aguilar Gustavo Adrian 1991 Jaguares de Chiapas Mexico>
54. <Bornstein Jonathan Rey 1984 Tigres UANL Mexico>
55. Parkhurst Michael 1984 FC Nordsjaelland Denmark RB, CB, LB
56. Orozco Fiscal Michael 1986 Club San Luis Mexico CB
57. Rolfe Chris 1983 Aalborg BK Denmark RM, LM
58. Beasley DaMarcus 1982 Puebla FC Mexico LM, FW
59. <O'Brien Conor 1988 SønderjyskE A/S Denmark>
60. Goodson Clarence 1982 Brondby IF Denmark
61. de la Torre Muciño Diego Javier 1984 Deportivo Toluca FC Mexico CM, RM
62. Guadarrama Bermudez Sonny Alejandro 1987 Atlante FC Mexico CM, LB
63. Gomez Herculez 1982 Tecos Mexico FW
64. Corona Crespin Joe Benny 1990 Club Tijuana Mexico FW, CM, RM
65. Scheimann Samuel 1987 Excelsior Rotterdam Netherlands LB
66. {Gustafsson Edward "Eddie" 1977 Red Bull Salzburg Austria}
67. Gerzicich Bryan Paul 1984 Hapoel Kiryat Shmona Israel CM
68. Krupnik Leo 1979 Maccabi Netanya Israel CB
69. <Al-Madon Tom 1984 Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv Israel>
70. Adeleye Ryan Alexander 1987 Hapoel Beer Sheva Israel CB
71. <Jerome Stefan 1992 Sigma Olomouc Czech Rep.>
72. {Randolph Darren 1987 Motherwell FC Scotland}
73. Rusin Bradford "Brad" 1986 HB Køge Denmark CB
74. Gatt, Joshua 1991 Molde Norway FW RB
75. <Cunningham, Sean 1994 Molde Norway>
76. Diskerud Mikkel 1990 Staebek Norway CM
77. Barrera Daniel "Danny" 1990 FK Spartak Zlatibor Voda Serbia LM
78. Brkovic Danijal "Daniel" 1991 FK Velez Mostar B&H FW
79. Miller Ryan 1984 Halmstads Sweden
80. Moriyasu Hirofumi 1985 Sydney FC Australia LM, CM
81. {Smeltz Shane 1981 Perth Glory Australia}
82. {Djite Bruce 1987 Adelaide United Australia}
83. <Nagime Halili 1993 Auckland City FC New Zealand FW>
84. Ready Troy FK Vakhsh Tajikstan CM
85. Nguyen Lee 1986 Binh Duong FC Vietnam RM

 

Thanks. I'm happy to demote Chivas and Pachuca down below Derby (or, you know, wherever). Thirty-three through 39 would then run:

33. <Hines Sebastian "Seb" 1988 Middlesbrough FC England>
34. <Potts Daniel 1994 West Ham United England>
35. Rachubka Paul 1981 Leeds United FC England
36. <Doyle Conor 1991 Derby County FC England>
37. {Ponce Briseno Miguel Angel 1989 Chivas Guadalajara Mexico}
38. <Torres Mezzell Jose Francisco 1987 Club de Futbol Pachuca Mexico>
39. Spector Jonathan 1986 Birmingham City FC England CM, RB

 

I think these lists are underrating Anderlecht's recent level. In addition to leading their league, they're crushing their Europa League group - 4-0 with 11 goals scored to one against, best record and differential in the EL.

 

Not to nitpick, but to put Ligue 1 on the same level as the Eredivisie and the Superliga is outrageous. Ligue 1 is significantly better than both.

 

I was thinking that the Belgian League was middling enough that you'd expect them to be underdogs against any team from the top five leagues, that the leading team in Holland and the third team in Portugal are probably better than the leading team in Belgium, and that the Argentine first division is about as good as Ligue 1. Does any of that seem wrong to you?

 

Here are the USMNT willing and eligible first team starters displayed. I supplemented the teams with a couple goalkeepers and a couple fullbacks who haven't started in the last month.

[LINEUP-4-5-1]Altidore, F. Johnson, Dempsey, Jones, Williams, Bradley, Chandler, Bocanegra, Onyewu, Cherundolo, Howard[/LINEUP-4-5-1]

[LINEUP-4-3-3]Starikov, Buddle, Taylor, Kljestan, Edu, Rolfe, Parkhurst, Orozco, Goodson, Spector, Rachubka[/LINEUP-4-3-3]

[LINEUP-4-4-2]Gomez, Corona, Beasley, Gerzicich, Guadarrama, de la Torre, Scheimann, Krupnik, Adeleye, Gatt, Guzan[/LINEUP-4-4-2]

[LINEUP-4-4-2]Brkovic, A. Smith, Barrera, Diskerud, Moriyasu, Nguyen, Potts, Rusin, Miller, Morales, Yelldell[/LINEUP-4-4-2]

Alex Smith (a late addition) pushes Troy Ready (who plays in Tajikistan) to the bench.

 

This is kind of fantastic. It goes all the way down to FC Ajax Lasnamae, an Estonian team that drew 4 and lost 29 in 2011. It's based on betting odds. I might be tempted to (eventually) redo the list in light of it, if the rankings seem reasonable to people. Are Porto and Benfica really that good?