American Soccer Players in the English Premier League

7/25/2019 American Soccer Players in the English Premier League

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http://www.espnfc.us/blog/espn-fc-united-blog/68/post/2331121/americans-in-the-premier-league----wh-ha!e-numbers-dropped-recentl

" #eff $arlisle

%ar 2&' 2015

Americans in the Premier League -- why

have numbers dropped recently?(here was a time when an )merican soccer fan tuning into the *nglish +remier ,eagueon a aturda morning didnt ha!e to loo !er hard to find a .. national team plaer.

n %arch 16' 2008' for eample' ulhams game !s. *!erton at $ra!en $ottage featuredsi: "rian %c"ride -- scorer of the games onl goal -- as well as 4ase 4eller' $arlos"ocanegra' *ddie #ohnson and $lint empse were plaing for the hosts' while (imoward was in goal for *!erton.

(his eample is not to sa )merican plaers were e!er a dominant force in *nglands topflight' but the ha!e been a stead presence o!er the ears. "rad riedel' currentl with(ottenham' has been in the league since 177' and the lies of #ohn ares' $laudio9ena' a%arcus "easle' tuart olden and others ha!e also flown the )merican flag.

(he re!erse migration of .. plaers bac to orth )merica that has taen place o!erthe past two ears has reduced numbers' and the struggles and recent departures of #o;)ltidore at underland and "re hea at toe $it ha!e left onl oward' )ston


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#ohnson didnt wor out at ulham but $lint empse' "rian' $arlos "ocanegra' ou canbring those gus in.>

(or-4ristian 4arlsen' a former eecuti!e with ) %onaco who has also ser!ed as a scoutwith teams such as anno!er and "aer ,e!erusen' has a different !iew.

>)n uncon!incing spell b someone signed directl from %, could possibl generatesome septicism around that particular league' but ? certainl ha!ent come across manscouts' coaches or eecuti!es who discard one league or nationalit on the basis of one ortwo plaers failing to impress'> he said. >?tll tae man more failures to draw up a realtrend.

>orth )merican plaers are still seen as first-class professionals'> 4arlsen continued. >?can remember se!eral coaches pointing out the impact )merican plaers often mae inthe dressing room. *!en when arri!ing in a *uropean league' without nowing thelanguage' the more than often ha!e a positi!e impact on the atmosphere around theplace.>

easons for the decline

o wh is the presence of ..-de!eloped plaers in the +remier ,eague on the wane@ ?tsa de!elopment with Auite a few mo!ing parts.

or one' rules regarding the acAuisition of a wor permit for those without a *uropeannion passport are an important factor. ew *ngland 9e!olution forward #uan )gudelo'who was turned down twice after signing with toe $it' nows how difficult theprocess can be.

is lac of an * passport meant he had to appear in 5 percent of competiti!e ..games o!er the two ears before his applications' a number he didnt come close toreaching. ) subseAuent appeal was reBected b the ome ffice' and the *nglish ) ispoised to further tighten restrictions.

(he immense amount of mone that continues to flow into +remier ,eague coffers is alsoa factor. ) recent announcement that the league will pull in C.7 billion o!er three earsBust for domestic tele!ision rights will continue a trend that increases the amount teamsare willing to spend on plaers.

>(heres a lot more competition to get into *ngland than there was'> said 4eller' whoadded that in other maBor leagues it might be easier to find a home.

>Dou had situations where clubs in pain' aside from the top ones' arent necessaril

paing what the used to because the got themsel!es in some financial troubles'> hecontinues. >?tal is alwas a difficult place to go to. =erman ? thin is alwas an optionfor gus' but once again' if oure looing at plaers' *ngland has their pic of the world'more or less.

>%id-table' lower-table teams are picing plaers where the would ha!e been competingagainst so man other teams' and thats not the case anmore.>
http://barclays-premier-league/story/2363598/england-fa-seek-tougher-rules-for-work-permits-for-foreign-playershttp://barclays-premier-league/story/2291898/premier-league-reveals-5-billion-british-tv-rights-deal-with-sky-and-bthttp://barclays-premier-league/story/2363598/england-fa-seek-tougher-rules-for-work-permits-for-foreign-playershttp://barclays-premier-league/story/2291898/premier-league-reveals-5-billion-british-tv-rights-deal-with-sky-and-bt


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$lubs around the world are also eenl aware of where the mone is. Eith thecompetition to get into the top *uropean leagues as intense as e!er' the race to de!elopplaers to fill those spots pro!ides a critical source of re!enue.

>(he real powerhouses of world football -- pain' =erman' rance' etherlands')rgentina' "ra;il plus a few other nations -- are producing such high !olumes of

ecellent footballers these das that plaers from the net le!el down find it hard to maethe immediate impact that is reAuired to be an attracti!e signing for the etremel affluent+remier ,eague clubs'> sas 4arlsen.

(here is also the relati!e demand for )merican plaers -- at least those de!elopedstateside -- to consider. (he ootball bser!ator is a research group within the?nternational $entre for ports tudies F$?*G' a pri!ate foundation affiliated with theni!ersit of euchatel' in wit;erland.

?n a recent studthat determined b countr where Eorld $up plaers were de!eloped'the .. raned 25th' behind countries including as $osta 9ica' onduras' ?ran and*cuador.

>?ts HincredibleI in man was' but its the realit that *uropean clubs dont loo to the.. as a place where plaers are being trained and de!eloped'> said #erome de "ontin'who has wored as an eecuti!e with the lies of ) %onaco as well as the ew Dor9ed "ulls.

>?f ou are the head of scouting' if ou are a head coach and oure looing at beefing upour roster' oure more liel to go to *cuador' $osta 9ica and onduras and not the.'> he continues. >(hats an unfortunate realit. (he )merican plaer is not one that ishighl pri;ed' or for which there is an underling demand in *urope.>

ormer %anchester nited assistant manager 9ene %eulensteen' who now ser!es as a

consultant to the +hiladelphia nion' admits that the perception of )merican plaers'while generall positi!e' hasnt mo!ed much beond the stereotpe of beinghardworing' competiti!e and athletic.

>nce )merica starts to produce oung plaers that on top of being competiti!e andathletic and energetic are maing a difference from a tactical and technical point of !iew'then the perception will change'> he said.

(hat doesnt mean that orth )merican plaers are complete unnowns. ann4arbassioon' who wored as a scout for )rsenal for se!eral ears and unco!ered thelies of $osta 9ica international #oel $ampbell and .. target =edion Jelalem' countersthat the ad!ent of online scouting tools allows clubs to see plaers from all o!er the

world. (his enables *uropean clubs to eep an ee on %, plaers.>!er the past couple of ears bu;; around %, has grown so much that ? thin its Busthard to ignore'> said 4arbassioon. >(here are companies that clubs will hire to gi!ethem an o!er!iew of the top fi!e left-bacs. (he ma not ha!e ties here directl' butthe are eeping tabs on whats happening.>

(hat said' the result is that plaers such as )leBandro "edoa' who plas for antes inrance' must pro!e themsel!es in lesser *uropean leagues lie cotland and weden
http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/pdf/wcs2014_development_en.pdfhttp://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/pdf/wcs2014_development_en.pdf


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before wrangling a mo!e to a bigger league. ) direct mo!e lie the ones made b$ameron and e)ndre Dedlin' who recentl signed for (ottenham but has et to pla afirst-team game' remains a rarit.

!LS offers lucrative options

)nother maBor factor' which has become increasingl rele!ant in recent ears' is thatmaret forces ha!e conspired to create a ind of tractor beam that has drawn .. plaersbac to orth )merica. impl put' the financial opportunities being offered b %,werent a!ailable e!en three ears ago.

(he salaries earned b empse FC6.675 million per earG' %ichael "radle FC6.5millionG and )ltidore FC&.5 millionG are significantl greater than what the commandedin *urope' and these rewards ha!e ser!ed to radicall change the attracti!eness of plaingo!erseas' at least for those .. plaers in the national team pool.

?t maes for a star difference from 4ellers da' when the financial penalt for failing tomae it in *urope was more se!ere.

>or a lot of us' there was no other option' and if there was an option' it was one thatdidnt mae sense financiall'> he said. >Dou went and did whate!er it too to get toplaces' ou ept fighting' and ou ept maing it wor.>

ow the presence of the %, safet net has pro!ed seducti!e. Eh sta and fight for aplace in a team o!erseas when ou can be paid Bust as well' or better' to sta home@?ndeed' some' such as %att "esler and mar =on;ale;' ha!e turned down *uropeanoffers to sign lucrati!e new deals in the domestic league.

>?ts Bust a different mentalit'> said 4eller of how things used to be. >Doure lie' Eow'?m done if ? dont mae this wor. Ehen ou loo at pro sports' and how cutthroat andhow difficult it is' if ou lose that edge because this HsituationI will be easier' thats toughto reco!er from.

>?f oure at a club' oure fighting e!er da to get on the field' or if oure at a big club'oure fighting e!er da to sta at the club' because at an time this club can spend C50million and bu somebod to replace ou. ?ts that competition that continues to push outo different le!els. ?ts toughK its !er tough.>

?t is also the ind of scenario that .. national team manager #urgen 4linsmann wisheswere still the case' though there is little he can do to stop plaers from returning to %,'and e!en 4eller is Auic to admit he understands wh so man .. internationals ha!ereturned.

>(heres no blame game'> he said. >(hats the wa it was. ?f ou had told me H%,I wasgoing to double m wages from what ? was maing at (ottenham' ? would ha!e comehome. f course ? would ha!e.>

)n argument can be made that the number of plaers occuping roster spots in *urope isirrele!ant' especiall when it is considered that a sAuad featuring nine %, plaershelped the national team Aualif from a difficult group to reach the Eorld $up round of16 in 201&.


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(hat achie!ement certainl speas well of the strides that the league and the .. ha!emade in de!eloping plaers' but breaing into the elite le!els of the international gamereAuires the higher-caliber performers' and that raises some interesting -- and at timesuncomfortable -- Auestions.

"hat of the ne#t generation?

Ehile there is a general consensus that .. occer is producing more good plaersthans to the ad!ent of its de!elopment academ' the production rate of eceptionalplaers seems to be lessening.

(he first batch of plaers produced in the late 1770s b the 1 residenc program in"radenton' lorida -- a group that included "easle' ,andon ono!an and guchinewu' among others -- has ne!er reall been duplicated. %eanwhile' other countrieswith much smaller populations' such as =erman and the etherlands' seem to ha!emastered the process of de!eloping plaers and churn out top performers more easil.

>n a sporting le!el the range of Aualit plaers of the late 1770s and earl 2000s mightnot be there Bust now' but the impression is that its Bust a matter of time before the ..

will come up with a world class talent'> said 4arlsen. >occer is on the rise in the ..'the structures and coaching are impro!ing -- ine!itabl the countr will sooner ratherthan later start producing top plaers.>

?ndeed' while established senior internationals ma be less of an attraction' the appetitefor .. outh products certainl remains intact. *ighteen-ear-old *merson ndman'9ubio 9ubin F17G' #unior lores F18G and $hristian +ulisic F16G' for eample' ha!elatched on with *uropean clubs.

f those' ndman and 9ubin' both of whom recentl made their debuts with the full.. team' ha!e seen first-team action with ulham and $ trecht respecti!el' while

lores and +ulisic ha!e both signed with "orussia ortmund.

"ut these eamples of teenagers who are finding their wa in *urope also ser!e tohighlight a weaness in the domestic de!elopment pipeline' which is that the late teenageears ha!e long been a period when the career of man a .. product has lost its wa.

>(he mentalit that our outh ha!e' the competiti!eness that the demonstrate' and thewillingness to in!est seriousl into becoming a professional -- up to a certain age -- maethem an attracti!e proposal'> said de "ontin. >nfortunatel' we dont ha!e a properprogram to address the 1-21 age group.>

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e "ontin' who counts himself an admirer of %,' feels the orth )merican sstem intoo man cases pushes prospects -- most famousl a 1&-ear-old redd )du -- into aprofessional en!ironment before the are read. ?t is also incredibl fragmented' withacademies' colleges and professional clubs tring to bridge the gap between the lateteenage ears and the earl 20s.

(o this end' %, teams are fielding reser!e teams in the third-tier nited occer ,eaguewith more freAuenc' and %eulensteen contends that this is >creating a far better pathwa

for those ounger plaers.> e "ontin feels more can be done' howe!er.

>(he more teams Hfielding teams in the ,I' the better off we all are'> he said. >"ut isthis reall an en!ironment where ids will be cared for all ear round and brought up tobe professional plaers@ ?ts not the case' at least in the form thats being presented toda.

>Ehat we need to get to is what we see all around *urope from *ngland to ?talKacademies where we ha!e residential programs where top plaers are housed for se!eralears until that time in their career where the are mature enough to Boin the pro rans.>

(o be fair' clubs such as 9eal alt ,ae' the +hiladelphia nion' and most recentl .$.nited ha!e made in!estments in full-time residenc programs' but progress' as well asthe ultimate paoff' is down the road.

ow man other %, clubs will go that same route is still to be determined. or thatreason' it could be a long wait until we see a repeat of that memorable ulham !s.*!erton fiture.

Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter

@JeffreyCarlisle.
https://twitter.com/JeffreyCarlislehttps://twitter.com/JeffreyCarlisle

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American Soccer Players in the English Premier League