By: Montiel the Midfielder
I still remember the collective "sigh" emanating from American soccer fans when they announced Clint Dempsey had signed with Seattle; that he’d be returning to Major League Soccer (MLS) after playing 8 successful seasons in the English Premier League (EPL). A year later, fellow US Men’s National Team (USMNT) starter, Michael Bradley, followed suit, returning to MLS after playing in Germany and Italy for close to a decade. The talking heads on every soccer program or podcast collectively groaned, “How could they just give up?” A return to MLS is widely seen as giving up.
At the time of their transfers back to MLS, Dempsey and Bradley were with Tottenham and AS Roma respectively. While they played regularly for these top-flight teams full of talented players, they never really became fixtures on the team sheet. These two teams were definitely the most prestigious teams either had ever played for, however both players were seeing their starting opportunities slowly diminish. With the 2014 World Cup in Brazil right around the corner, they knew playing time was paramount. So Dempsey and Bradley made their decision: playing every single week in a middle tier league was more important than playing sporadically in a top tier league. And they should not have been faulted for it. While I have a truckload of gripes about Bradley as a player and leader, at the time he made his transfer from AS Roma to Toronto he was in the prime of his career and a mainstay in midfield for the USMNT. He couldn’t risk a dip in form due to inactivity the year leading up to the World Cup, so I applaud his decision to abandon Europe.
The USMNT squad ought to be comprised of players who are consistently starting for their club teams. I'm tired of fans and journalists faulting American players for either staying in MLS or returning to MLS. They fawn over the young, promising talents who are picked up by various clubs as future prospects. They cry, “this player was signed by Bayern Munich! Bayern is a world class club! How could you not call him up or play him for the US?! How can you start someone from the MLS over someone who was signed by Bayern?! Inconceivable!”
Don’t mistake me, I get really pumped when I see a European club sign a young American prospect. I root for them to develop well and break into the squad as a starter. However, there is no substitute for playing the game. These young American prospects abroad are well-served playing on the reserve squad of a world class team while they’re young, but only while they’re young. Their development will eventually suffer if they cannot play consistently, week in and week out. I am for Americans trying to make it in Europe, and start for top clubs. However, the deck is stacked against them so much more than you know.
Where the Problem Lies
Every player in the world wants to play in Europe. Every young kid dreams of playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona. However the ugly reality is this: in Europe your nationality determines how many chances you get. Some players only get that one shot; if they're lucky maybe a second. Any dip in form at all, and they're left off the team sheet and benched.
If your Brazilian, Argentinian, or Portuguese the red carpet is rolled out so-to-speak. You get numerous chances to "make it" in Europe, on different teams across multiple leagues. But if you're Venezuelan, Peruvian, or American you are relegated to the bench or reserves at the first dip in form or injury. There are occasional outliers, but in general this is the reality of it. Some of this can be attributed to non-European Union (EU) player rules that vary from league to league.
For example, Serie A, the Italian top division of soccer, originally had no limits on the amount of non-EU. But over the course of the league’s history, they have instituted quotas that determine how many non-EU players a club can sign per season because the league feared their domestic players were being passed over for foreign players to the detriment of their national squad. The fine print of these rules are excruciatingly detailed, I’m not going to get into them here. But let’s flip this general concept and contextualize it for America in Major League Baseball.
What if MLB this off-season at the winter meetings had decided to institute a new rule that stipulated Major League clubs could only have 10 non-American players on their 40-man rosters. What if they had a large discussion about how the influx of Dominican and Venezuelan players was inhibiting the development of young American baseball prospects, and that the remedy for it is to cap the number of foreign players on your roster. Can you imagine the stink this would create? Folks would cry racist, and rightly so. But this is totally normal in Europe.
The Double Standard
Take Ricardo Quaresma for example. The career path of this talented Portuguese international player would make a binge-worthy Netflix miniseries. In short, he had 2-3 chances at elite clubs to become a consistent starter, but never quite made it. Throughout his career he experienced the type of setbacks most players do, like injury or simply falling out of favor with the new manager. But he also experienced setbacks most players don’t, like being benched for poor training habits or having a bad attitude. In 2011, he got into a shouting match with his manager after being subbed off at half-time which led to the team suspending him indefinitely and eventually releasing him. However, regardless of the setback, he always landed on his feet at a top club.
Quaresma is a flashy player; strong, quick, and skillful. I’m not criticizing his talent -- his trademark trivela goals are perfect for highlight reels. But this winger is in no way a maestro to be considered in the ranks of Messi, Ronaldo, de Bruyne, or Modrić. He is Portuguese, and was therefore compared to historic Portuguese footballing icons like Ronaldo, Figo, or Eusébio. Perhaps coaching staffs continued to sign him again and again because they hoped he could become the next Portuguese superstar. What I’m convinced of is that his nationality afforded him multiple opportunities to “make it.”
If an American player is having success in Europe, fantastic. If young American MLS players want to take a shot at playing in Europe they absolutely should. But if they're riding the bench or stuck in the reserves month after month, and they're approaching their mid 20's, it's perfectly ok to make a transfer to a league that won't make decisions based on their nationality but instead on their quality.
While the MLS is certainly not on the level of the top leagues in Europe, we are no slouches globally speaking. Every year the talent pool deepens. The influx of South American talent into the league raises the quality of every player, including the American ones; and that’s a good thing.
Test Case: Christian Pulisic
The most talented, promising American playing right now is without a doubt Christian Pulisic, who plays for Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga (their first division). Pulisic (20) has been spot-starting for the German giants since he was 18. Dortmund boasts the highest average attendance of any club in the entire world. You read that correctly; higher than Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, or Juventus. Moreover, Dortmund is a club that has produced elite, World Cup winning talent (Mario Götze). He also recently completed a €64,000,000 transfer to Chelsea that will see the young American join the London giants this summer, though he’ll remain with Dortmund through end of this season on loan. The hype is real with this kid.
However, Pulisic is entering the prime of his career, and still only spot-starting. He is in fierce competition with other Dortmund wingers for playing time. Dortmund right now has an embarrassment of attacking riches; British phenom Jadon Sancho, American stud Christian Pulisic, Barcelona striker Paco Alcácer, and German hero Mario Götze are all in great form and vying for one starting spot. It’s no wonder they are the best team in the Bundesliga this season. While Pulisic has played for Dortmund, and played well, he isn’t a fixture on their team sheet; he isn’t constantly starting.
What Pulisic does in the next 2-3 years leading up to the winter World Cup in Qatar is crucial. What if he can’t break into the starting 11 at Chelsea next season? Will he make the decision Dempsey or Bradley made and sign a lucrative deal here in MLS? I’m absolutely rooting for
him, but whatever he decides, remember that when it comes to European soccer, being talented isn’t everything. Unfortunately, your ethnicity can open doors that otherwise would remain closed. It’s fine to recognize that Brazilians or Argentinians are generally elite at soccer; but it’s entirely different to limit the opportunities of players because they don’t hail from traditionally world class soccer nations. This type of elitism ensures certain nations remain top dog, while others scramble to catch up.
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