As much as I like the fact of US players going over sea, I think that the majority of men who go to Germany never really pan out. Everyone build up Conor Casey to be awesome, but he isnt. He plays in Germany because of what he didn in college which is fine, but at the U20's and with the olympic team he was just another Jovan Kirovski, Same with Cherundolo he's very inconsistent and you guys have more bad things to say about him than good. Gibbs is the only good thing Ive seen come out of Germany....Hejduk and Berhalter have both been on the decline since Germany as well
That's an awfully shortsighted look at it. Did Claudio Reyna equally suck in Germany, as well? What of Tony Sanneh? Conor Casey plays in Germany because of the Olympics, not college. Jovan Kirovski hasn't been good anywhere he's been. I personally like Cherundolo as our best right back option. HE starts for a Bundesliga side. Gibbs has yet to fully prove himself. He is not a fixture for our Nats, yet. He has 7 caps and plays in the German third division. There have been Americans in the Regionaliga for the last decade who've never donned the US kit. Gibbs is good, but he isn't a success story yet. Hejduk's fallout was Leverkusen's coaching change. But, it has certainly made him a better player. As I understand it, Berhalter is considered a leader and squad fixture for his club who are only a year removed from the top-flight. At the least, its absurd to assert that playing in Germany has caused a decline in their ability. What about Eric Wynalda? Thomas Dooley? Chad Deering and Brian McBride? Germany has traditionally been the most receptive to Yanks abroad. However, its nearly impossible to judge whether they've panned out or not. I'd say there're just as many failure stories regarding Americans in England.