Who is the one player you WISH had been a YA? I know many here will go for Pope, but I wish Mastro would have gone...right after WC 2002. The kid's is such a solid player, and a lasting (great) impression of that WC was not only the Germany game (where American soccer boys became men- finally playing jugo bonita against a highly skilled opponent), but the site of some great 1v1 'victories', including Mastro (a la Beckenbauer- little energy wasted) putting some German dude on his ass with a ball fake. My honorable mentions go to 2 players whose optimal entry (or in one case, earlier entry) were (maybe) cut short by injuries: Ben Olsen (I'm not counting the Nott Forest loan) and Clint Mathis (pre 2 blown-out knees)...
Forum bug, I guess. I can delete it if you want and post it again, it is your thread (but it will only result in my being a bigger pain in the rear as a trade-off *g*).
may be predictable, but of course Eddie Pope I don't think MLS needed him that much. and he could have proved the quality of the American defender in Europe 6 years ago, instead it's only now with Bocanegra, Berhalter, Gibbs, Vanney, Gooch in the last couple years that Europe is starting to take notice. Of course others of his generation would have been a relative disappointement. I don't think staying in MLS hindered his "development", but we'll never know. I think a couple years in Europe is good for all national team players.
Shawn Wright-Phillips. If only he had been a 'Yank" it would solve our right-sided midfielder problem. Of course, if he had been a "broad", that be a different story altogether. Seriously though, I would have liked to have seen Alecko Eskandarian come through a European club side rather than the ACC.
Before his gaffe in MLS Cup IV, Kevin Hartman was rumored to have sparked interest in Mexico. The Spanish-language press fell in love with him here and gave him the nickname "Gato", or Cat. It would've been cool seeing "El Gato" representing Yanks in Mexico. Too bad.
Ricky Davis. Back in the early '80s, the guy was pretty clearly the best U.S. field player to be born and raised in this country. He had some outstanding seasons with the Cosmos, and, unlike a lot of other highly-touted American players of the time (Mark Peterson, Steve Moyers, Al Trost, etc.), he didn't look outclassed by the veteran overseas internationals around him. I would've rated him above Harkes, based on his play in the U.S., but it's really hard to say just *how* good he was since the NASL played by non-FIFA rules and the Cosmos played on astroturf, so when he played against international competition in the Transatlantic Challenge Cup those players were having to adjust to the turf, which put 'em at a disadvantage.
Thanks for the memory... I believe he was Canadian, but Branko Segota was an absolute stud at 19/20 (unbelievably hard/accurate shot). Had North America had better ways to develop guys like him, I think he would have eventually been an excellent player in Europe somewhere....
Robin Fraser He had all the tools to be a successful defender: size, speed, skill, intelligence, composure, and durability. The problem was that he graduated from college as a midfielder. (He got his early national team caps at left mid.) Once he had evolved into the dominant center back in domestic soccer, it was Catch-22. He couldn't get looks abroad without being part of the national team; he couldn't become part of the national team (at his age) without international experience. With the arrival of Bruce Arena, MLS players can now have complete careers. They earn plenty of money and are fairly considered for the national team. By contrast, Fraser was well into his 30's by the time that happened. The prime of his career slipped mostly through the cracks. If he had played abroad, it would've opened a lot of doors.
I have a totally different impression of Ricky Davis. If not due to the NASL rule of having a certain number of US players on the field, he would/should not be on the same field with the other Cosmos players. Good work rate is the only good thing I have to say about Ricky. His subsequent stint as a soccer match commentator did not help to change my mind.
Lando... Actually, Tony Meola or Kerry Zavagnin (who may be getting a chance). Meola technically was, I guess, for what, two weeks. But I wish he could have found a team to latch on to, and one that would have forced him to learn the game before the injury taught him it's not all diving for shots. He talks about what a thrill it would be to walk out onto the bernabeu (sp?) or old trafford. Nice guy, would have liked to see that happen for him.
Chris Klein. Bruce loves a particular type of player -- big, rangy, hard charging. Think Tony Sanneh. Think Armas (though 6" too short). If Klein returns to form, he is a favorite to be the US right sided midfielder in 2006 in my opinion. I'd like to have some clue about how he rates comparable to international players and also to have him seasoned in a tougher environment. I always wonder "is Klein all class or does he just fulfill Bruce's requirements?" I'd like to know. Second choice: Claudio Reyna with Barcelona in '92 when he had the chance. I doubt he'd be in a better place than where he is now (considering the number of players Barca goes through in a season, let alone a decade), but it may have been interesting.
Branko Segota was Canadian. I saw him play (on TV) for Canada in the World Cup qualifying tournament for Spain '82. I believe he was playing for the NY Arrows at the time. How about Jason Kries. He is the all-time goal scorer for MLS but never did anything with the USMNT. Some time abroad could have helped his development.
I say this as a Jason Kreis fan and someone who thinks he got a deal under BA so bad that it makes Twellman look like Chris Albright and Richie Williams combined, but I doubt JK would've done much abroad. Poor man's Joe-Max Moore really. Too many players like him (work-a-day offensive midfielders) and without really too many tools to make European teams stand up and take notice like great speed, wonderful creativity or great in the air. At best, he would've bounced around lower leagues and teams. Really, MLS needs more Jason Kreises -- durable, loyal, able to play multiple positions, etc. -- and that's what every league in the world has in spades.