Reviews

Who Are the Best American Soccer Players, Ever?

9/3/2013

Harry Keough, clearing for Frank Borghi in the upset of England, makes my all-time squad.

This is a good week to talk soccer, if only to celebrate two World Cup qualifiers in the next week.

The third edition of Howler Magazine – getting better issue by issue – contains an all-century team picked by Howler contributors and other so-called experts (including me.)

The first team, in classic 4-4-2 formation, consists of: Brad Friedel, Steve Cherundolo, Eddie Pope, Alexi Lalas, Carlos Bocanegra; Landon Donovan, Tab Ramos, Claudio Reyna, Clint Dempsey; Eric Wynalda and Brian McBride.

The subs are: Kasey Keller, Thomas Dooley, Jeff Agoos, Marcelo Balboa, John Harkes, DaMarcus Beasley, Cobi Jones plus Archie Stark, Billy Gonsalvez and John (Clarkie) Souza, the latter three from well before my memory.

The voting was done electronically and I cannot find my worksheet, but I am 95 percent sure this was my team:

First team: Keller; Cherundolo, Dooley, Balboa, Beasley; Donovan, Ramos, Reyna, Harkes; Dempsey, McBride.

My bench included: Friedel, Pope, Lalas, Michael Bradley, Wynalda, Jones and Harry Keough, the defender on the 1950 U.S. team that stunned England, 1-0, in the World Cup in Brazil. I was blessed to sit next to Keough at lunch in St. Louis in 2010, and I wrote about him when he passed in February of 2012. For me, Keough represents all the stalwarts in the great soccer cities, who played this sport back in the day.

One explanation: I included Beasley on the back line because he has saved this current qualifying effort by shifting to left back, and playing the full field, defense to offense. He was one of the young stars on the great 2002 run in the World Cup – and was the 80th-minute sub by Bob Bradley before the desperate 91st-minute goal against Algeria in 2010. He didn’t touch the ball on that run, but his presence was a sign that the U.S. had one run left. He makes everybody better.

If I’d waited another month or two, I might have put Jozy Altidore on my bench, too.

Readers may choose to comment.

The Summer 2013 issue of Howler is devoted to 100 years of U.S. soccer, with features on Jurgen Klinsmann, Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey, among others.

Then there is this story, I never heard before, about a bloke who was abusing Harry Redknapp at West Ham in 1994, only to have Redknapp put him in the match at halftime. The fan then put the ball in the net (but you need to read right down to the last paragraph.) Jeff Maysh finds Steve Davies and tells his weird story. Thanks to Howler for a memorable edition.

This is a good week for soccer. I hate that the match at Costa Rica Friday night disappears into a dark hole known as the beIN channel. The Mexico match in Columbus, Ohio, next Tuesday is on ESPN. A good week for soccer.

Howler Magazine-- Great reading, gorgeous graphics

John McDermott

9/4/2013 01:54:43 pm

That Lalas made Howler's first team list invalidates the whole exercise in my eyes and makes me want to know who the people were who voted. That he made your bench makes me wonder if we were watching the same player. Bora made him successful because Bora limited him to strictly doing the few things he could do well and surrounded him with much better players to cover the things he did not do well. In any case, it's hard to compile such a list in a fair way. I mean how many of the people who were asked to vote ever saw guys like Joe Gaetjens or Walter Bahr or Harry Keough play? So they get overlooked(except by you!) and the list is all post-1990 players. Maybe it's an impossible task. For what it's worth here is my list...

First eleven: Friedel; Bahr, Balboa, Dooley, Cherundolo; Caligiuri, Ramos, Reyna, Donovan; Perez, McBride.

Bench: Keller, Pope, Harkes, Dempsey, Wegerle, Gaetjens, Keough, Preki, O'Brien.

George Vecsey

9/5/2013 01:28:05 am

John, very astute. No way I can judge anybody half a century back. Just not enough collective American memory of soccer back then. My inclusion of Keough was a reflection of a lovely lunch arranged by my St. Louis pal Tom Schwarz. Harry's son Ty was there, and other soccer types. Walter Bahr is a great guy. Gaetjens scored a historic goal. I don't know the three guys on the Howler list.
As for Lalas, he had some good games for the US and was the first Yank in Serie A. So I included him. Thanks for your expertise. GV

John McDermott

9/6/2013 12:49:03 pm

Oops! I went with Brian McBride as my lead striker. But how could I forget to include my old friend Eric Wynalda on my bench? So, add Eric. As far as Altidore goes, he's looking good now. It will be interesting to see where he ends up in the pantheon of USA players ten or so years from now. No reason he shouldn't be at least up there with Brian and Eric.

Andy Tansey

9/5/2013 12:40:16 am

I can't vote in good conscience. My familiarity is too recent, and even if I knew more about the past, it would be comparing apples to oranges. It is tempting to favor a disproportionate number of today's players because the team may be the best it's ever been. However, with that as the excuse for my lacking work ethic, I will jump at the chance to comment about some individuals.

Lalas? I think his visibility was good for the development of the game in the U! S! A!, and he's a pretty good commentator. Enough said?

I am really excited about Jozy! He may be as strong as Clint (please-come-back-to-Spurs-on-loan) at receiving the ball with back to goal, and how about his performance in Confederations Cup 2009 South Africa?

Mikey has been amazing. (Does anyone else call him that?) That he was on the team at first made me think the most cynical thoughts about youth soccer coached by dads, but if that's what it took to bring him aboard, then it may have been Bob's greatest move. I am being a bit cheeky, but only in that Bradley is an excellent coach and manager of young men. I'd put Michael in the top 11.

My gratitude and compliments, Mr. Vecsey! This is fun. We are finding a pub on Long Island for tomorrow's Costa Rica match (or is it a tie? or a fixture?)

George Vecsey

9/5/2013 01:40:33 am

Andy, as a public service, if you find a pub with the mysterious beIN channel, could you post it here?
Great piece by Andrew Keh in the NYT today about the gamesmanship in Costa Rica.
I can't sort out all the odd Davis Cup/World Cup nomenclature.
Calling it a match.
best, GV

Andy Tansey

9/5/2013 02:10:42 am

I found via the livesoccertv.com website:

http://www.livesoccertv.com/pubs/

The Football Factory at Legends, 6 W 33rd (must be across from the Empire State?) which claims to be showing the match, though I cannot be sure they're using beIN Sport.

http://www.footballfactoryny.com/

If you scroll down the Pubs page at livesoccertv.com, there's a link to the pubs in NY. I have my gooner on the case, and she or I will report back. Last time, she managed to see a qualifier in Rockville Centre that seemed to be an internet stream.

Andy Tansey

9/5/2013 02:11:24 am

Andy Tansey

9/5/2013 10:54:27 am

Sorry for the double-post earlier (just trying to obey the weebly).

Apparently, Direct TV carries beIN-Sport. Here are a few other places that seem to suggest they will carry the Costa Rica-USMNT match:

Monaghan's in Rockville Centre

We are checking out C. J. Wellington's in Franklin Square, across from St. Catherine of Sienna's on New Hyde Park Road, just north of Hempstead Turnpike.

In NYC: Nevada Smith's:
http://nevadasmiths.net/

Apparently, US Soccer has such a designation as "Official U. S. Soccer bars." They are apparently required to carry the games:

http://www.ussoccer.com/Community/Official-Bar-Program-2.aspx

Ed Martin

9/5/2013 05:17:58 am

always a pleasure to read about soccer. In 1952 or so, Muhlenberg played Temple and, as I wrote once before sometime, got bombed 7-0. Temple scored on the first play (5 man line), tap from center to inside, inside crosses to left wing, wing dribbles and crosses, someone, heads it in. I am still standing at midfield. The point is, however, that Temple played St.Louis University for the national championship, and St. Louis, like Philadelphia were hotbeds of soccer in the day. Ciao.

Alan Rubin link

9/6/2013 03:39:29 am

Ed

It's interesting that Muhlenberg had played Temple, who lost to St. Louis in the finals. SLU was my favorite at the time winning three consecutive finals.

I did not realize that when Lehigh beat Muhlenberg 2-0 we were going up against such a powerhouse.

Our worst defeat was only 6-0 against Swarthmore. As the goalie, I did not have the luxury of watching things from mid-field.

George Vecsey

9/7/2013 02:03:23 am

Alan, I played defender in a 7-0 loss to Grover Cleveland High School. In my nightmares, I still see half of Ridgewood and Maspeth cutting around me. Our star player, Bob Seel, says he doesn't remember. Nice of him. GV

Alan Rubin link

9/8/2013 03:34:32 am

George

There are few things worse in sports than being on the wrong end of a blow-out. It is frustrating and humiliating to be totally outclassed and not be able to do much about it.

Although Lehigh had a winning percentage during my three years, there were more than enough losses.

I can relate to your nightmares as the Swarthmore game always bothered me. Losing games in any sport rarely mattered to me as long as we played our best. The joy of playing trumped all else.

The 6-0 loss was particularly frustrating since the Lehigh was very competitive and it was one of my better games. Although we had several good scoring opportunities, it seemed that the entire game was played in our half.

Afterward, the Swarthmore coach congratulated me on a great game. I a thanked him, but ask if he was watching the same one. With a big smile, he said that the score should have been much higher, but I had stopped so many breakaways. I’m uncomfortable promoting myself, but this shows that even a 6-0 thumping can be bitter-sweet.

To add insult to injury, a player was out of view when he launched a scoring cross. One corner of their field sloped so much that you could not see the player. It was a bit unnerving to see a winger disappear and then have a shot on goal out of nowhere. I recently met someone who played at Swarthmore several years after me. The field had not changed and that was part of their game plan.

We played Swarthmore even in our other two games, with no loss and maybe a win.

Although many of the contributors to George’s blog have documented their soccer team's woes, it is clear that they enjoyed playing.

Alan Rubin link

9/6/2013 03:10:59 am

Everyone is correct. The discussion of the best American soccer players is timely and enjoyable. Also, it is impossible to accurately compare players across the generations.

When editing game videos, I can evaluate the merits of players almost frame by frame. Live action is too quick to pick up many of the nuances.

Conversely, I do not see enough games to get a sense of players over time.

I trust the judgments of George and John, who professions have enabled them to view professional soccer over the years. They both selected Kasey Keller (George’s first) and Brad Friedel (John’s first) as the two top keepers. What did you both consider in your selection?

How is a keeper evaluated over time? Strikers, defenders and mid-fielders are continually in the play and their actions mostly stand out. Keepers, although verbally active throughout the game, are called upon infrequently. Their fantastic saves and blunders are for all to see, but much of the subtleness of the position goes unnoticed. Was a defender moved at the right time or not, was he out of position but got away with it, does he cut the angles or read breakaways better than others, etc.?

Soccer is a much more difficult game to choose all-stars as the action is continual and players are improvising of the fly. They need to be evaluated not only on their individual skills, but whether they add it the play of their team.

Chris Anderson and David Sally in their new book, “The Numbers Game,” with the brassy subtitle “Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong”, used statistical analytics to analyzed more than 8,000 matches from 2005 to 2011 in four top European leagues (England, Germany, Spain and Italy). Among the many things analyzed was the relative effect a player’s performance had upon their team’s potential position in the table.

Of particular interest is their premise that winning in soccer is 50% skill and 50% luck.

Thor Larsen

9/6/2013 09:26:17 am

In the summers of late 1950's and early 1960's I often saw the best soccer teams come to play at Randall's Island. A standout then and many years later was Pele of Brazil. He was dazzling to say the least. Where do the above experts place Pele vs the selected players?

Alan Rubin link

9/6/2013 02:03:50 pm

Thor

I first saw Pele at Yankee Stadium in 1957, give or take a year. He was about 18 years old and Santos was playing Bromley for the championship of league made up of professional teams from Europe and Santos, maybe some others from South America. Santos won 2-0.

I was sitting behind the Bromley's goal when Pele scored the winning goal with his famous bicycle kick. I used to refer to it as a scissor kick, but I was always corrected.

Pele was about 20-25 yards out on the keeper never moved. It happened so quickly, seeming out of nowhere, that it took several moments before the crowd reacted.

I saw him many more times with Santos and the Cosmos. My favorite was not necessarily one of his better games; it was his debut with the Cosmos at Downey Stadium at Randalls Island. I lived over an hour away, but I convinced my wife that this was important enough to keep my 14 year old son out lake on a school night.

I told Josh to watch Pele even when he did not have the ball. These were new teammates for Pele, but it was a thing of beauty to watch him control the flow of the game. He seemed to know where everyone was and where they were going. Josh is now 50, but he still talks about that night.

I do not know how he compares with the many great players selected to this American Dream team, but I consider him the gold standard to be measured against.

Thor A. Larsen

9/6/2013 04:48:16 pm

Thanks for your comments, Alan. Pele was playing for the Brazilian team (I suppose Santos) and all the teams were international, English, Scottish, Russian etc and at that time, no American team of similar quality. My initial opinion would be that Pele in his prime was consirably better than any American player.

Andy Tansey

9/7/2013 01:39:00 am

I don't think any one would disagree, unless by "American" anyone means "North, South and Central Amercan." Where does DMB come out after last night?

George Vecsey

9/7/2013 02:06:44 am

Andy, did you see the match at a pub? I saw much of the Mexico match. They had a 1-0 lead at home, on a wet night, and they coughed up two quick goals in the 60-67th minutes. Shocking. Dos Santos made the first smart pass I have ever seen him make for the Mexico goal. But after that...
The US match presumably shows how much they depend on Michael B.
GV

John McDermott

9/7/2013 02:46:45 am

The loss in Costa Rica showed again how much the USA misses Steve Cherundolo. Klinsmann has yet to find an adequate replacement for the Hannover captain at right back. And just when you needed Jermaine Jones to show what he can do...he didn't. I like and admire Beasley, but he's not a permanent solution at left back. Besler was disappointing. Let's hope it was a hiccup. So the back line is still very much a work in progress. Is anyone else beginning to wonder if maybe it's time to take a closer look at Brad Guzan in goal? And Altidore. A self-inflicted yellow card(and suspension)that was the kind of lack of self-control we used to see from his current coach at Sunderland, Paolo DiCanio. VERY disappointing, that was, from a player who has lately shown so much improvement and consistency. If only his growth in maturity would match the improvement in his play. Klinsmann was much to slow to react when it was clear from the beginning that things were not going well. He waited way too long to introduce Eddie Johnson and might as well not have even bothered with Johannsson. Let's hope the kid from Iceland gets significant playing time against Mexico. Landon looked pretty sharp, Dempsey less so. And Fabian Johnson just continues to impress me game in and game out. Of all JFK's German-Americans he's the one who really stands out to me.

George Vecsey

9/7/2013 03:35:13 am

John, I agree with you. Given the great Algeria goal, I still thought Cherundolo and Bradley were the two best American players in South Africa.
GV

Alan Rubin link

9/7/2013 05:16:14 am

John,

I have felt that way about Brad Guzan for awhile. Tim Howard still makes many brilliant saves, but he seem to react slowly far to often. I felt that he poorly handled several breakaways in recent games. This includes the winning goal in the 2-1 loss to Honduras.

I also agree with you about Steve Cherundolo.

How the team responds to the Costa Rica loss will be telling. We will see how good the depth is. Sometimes adversity forces positive decisions. The loss to Honduras had a motivating effect. There is considerable talent that is developing, some still relatively young. Josy taking a meaningless yellow at the end, and missing the Mexicao game, is once such example.

George Vecsey

9/8/2013 07:46:22 am

Bravo to Univision and ESPN for all-day coverage of Mexico-USA on Tuesday. Details:
http://view.email.ussoccer.com/?j=fe8d12757d65017574&m=fe8f15707063017573&ls=fe2e12797566077d701074&l=ff041670716500&s=fe56127776660d7f7211&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe2f1570756d007f7d1074&r

Andy Tansey

9/9/2013 12:35:48 am

We watched at Monaghan's in Rockville Centre. Mexico-Honduras was on in another corner and small consolation, as the Yankees vs. some other side was also on. The first goal was off Beasley's head and arguably an own goal. I didn't hear any mention of that fact by the commentators. The second goal came with three defenders from left (Beasley) to center in front of the goal marking absolutely no body, and the goal scorer wide open on the defensive left, where Beasley should have been. I like Beasley, but he was overmatched.

Alan Rubin link

9/11/2013 11:26:24 pm

I taped the US-Mexico qualifier as I was at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro for the Brazil-Portugal friendly.

My friends and I enjoyed an amazing evening. At 4 PM, five hours prior to the start, it took us an hour to get into the parking lot. The noise there was near ear drum shattering level. An open back pickup truck filled with large up facing speakers was parked next to us, almost shaking our car.

At the furthest point in the parking lot from the stadium complex were batteries of speakers more than twelve feet high and even wider. You could barely hold a conversation until near the stadium, which was at least three soccer fields away.

The crowd of people grew by the minute. A survey of fans wearing team colors favored Brazil more than 3-1, with male and female in almost equal numbers. They also varied from youngsters to old-timers.

The Brazilian fans went crazy when Pele was introduced. It was moving to see the players faces when he spoke to the team prior to the start.

It was worth the five hour wait to see Neymar in action. One goal and two assists, all things of beauty.

A nice summary of the game, Brazil 3- Portugal 1:

http://www.thebentmusket.com/2013/9/11/4718142/brazil-vs-portugal-2013-recap-neymar-raul-meireles-thiago-silva-scolari-gillette-stadium

George Vecsey

9/12/2013 01:01:32 am

Alan, sounds like a nice night. The parking at Foxboro is the worst, anywhere, although the Meadowlands is pretty dreadful, too. Mexico-USA pretty much gave me the last chapter for my soccer book. GV

Alan Rubin link

9/12/2013 03:32:47 am

Gillette Stadium closes many highways lanes and makes some of them one way for large crowds such as Patriot games. The owner of the diner where we ate on the way complained about it.
NE Rev soccer games are a snap.

Since we could not get to the other side of the highway, it took us two hours to reach the motel in Auburn at 1:30 AM, normally a 45 minute trip. That left us a two hour trip the next morning, but at least we were rested.

This was my friend’s first international match. Joel is a soccer convert from my OLLI Understanding Soccer course. He’s enjoyed the NE Rev games, but he never expected anything like this.

He found an opera for our wives and a soccer game for us in Bordeaux only ten minutes apart on October 10th. There is a friendly between Bordeaux and Maccabee Tel Aviv. The wives will be seeing a rarely performed Verdi opera. Joel and I would also have liked to see it, but it is not every day that one can attend a friendly in Europe.

I subscribed to Howler and the three issues are great. It was a good move to change the format in issue 03 and they should continue to improve. Thanks for the tip.

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Who Are the Best American Soccer Players, Ever?

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