Onyewu to Milan is really quite the shocker, regardless of his playing history or nationalty. The fact of the matter is, the only other teams who were rumored to be interested in him were newly promoted Birmingham and Wolverhampton, and in the 11th hour, a little outfit known as AC Milan swooped in and took him. Does his Confederations Cup performance have anything to do with this? Obviously. He played lights out from the third game on, shutting down Egypt and Spain, and played quite respectably against Brazil. I'm still not fully over the shock, and if I may, I believe I'd like to give a quick recap of Onyewu's career:
Signs for then-Ligue 1 FC Metz (3 Appearances in 3 years) 2002-2004
Sent on loan to La Louviere in 2003 (First Division Belgian Team that is eventually rocked by gambling scandal in 2006, and is now no longer in existence) (24 Appearances)
Sent on loan to Standard Liege, and eventually made permanent 2004-2009, wins Juniper League in 2008 and 2009, makes 179 appearances, wins Foreign Player of the Year and makes the Best XI all full years spent there
Sent on Loan to Newcastle United (2007), but is paired with Titus Bramble, and both do an excellent impression of Dumb & Dumber and the deal is not made permanent
Signed by AC Milan (2009)
Well, I noticed two things about Oguchi Onyewu. One, he did far better in Belgium than I truly realized, and two, you do NOT mess with him in ANY capacity. Look at the teams who gave up on him. Metz, one of the most prestigious teams in France, was relegated. La Louviere doesn't even exist anymore due to a gambling scandal. We all know the current fate of Newcastle. And Standard Liege plays in BELGIUM! To be fair,he really just outgrew Liege, and so they will probably not be cursed.
You don't mess with the GoochOnyewu is going in as Maldini's heir, and I really think he can live up to it. Onyewu is a human wall, and his play is very well suited to the Italian league (they play slow and deliberate, with lots of headers, he will eat them alive). But, one final question. Is this the highest an American has ever gone in the club world? Surely, it's hard to argue that a club could be more prestigious than AC Milan, but Milan is in a down time, in a down time for Italian Serie A (though it should be noted that they were the Champions of Europe in only 2007). Where does this rank as the most prestigious landings of Americans?
Tim Howard Manchester United Duration: 2003-2006, 3 Seasons
Timbo Slice probably gets the nod here. He played first choice keeper for three seasons, and made the PFA Best XI in his first year. He had that awful mistake to Porto, and he really never recovered for the Red Devils. The only reason he stayed in the lineup those next two seasons was purely off how bad his competitors were. After appearing 40 times his first year, he made only 33 apperances over the next two. After lashing out when Edwin Van der Sar was signed, he went onto Bluer pastures and signed with Everton. Overall, started promising but ultimately was quite disappointing for quite possibly the greatest American player ever.
Brad Freidel Liverpool Duration: 1997-2000, 3 Seasons
Went to a slightly worse (at the time) team in England, a little earlier. Unlike Howard, he never really solidified himself in the starting role, and only made 31 appearances over 3 seasons for the Scousers, and only 4 in his last season there. After three frustrating years, moved onto Blackburn Rovers.
Landon Donovan Bayern Munich Duration: 2009, A Few Months
Well, I would label this as glamorous a club, and it is nice as Landon is the first outfield player on this list, but honestly, he made only six competitive appearances (not counting friendlies) and has still yet to score in a competitive European match. Landy came back after Rummenigge stated that all new strikers (who would have to be backups to Klose, Toni and Podolski) should be young "with perspective." To be fair, Landon really shouldn't be backing up at this stage in his career, and it really is a shame that his German dream didn't work out. I would expect him to make a big European move sometime in the next twelve months however, and if he doesn't after the World Cup in 2010, he never will.
Jozy Altidore Villareal Duration: Ongoing, signed in 2008
Jozy now loses his crown as the outfield American on the best team. To be fair, Jozy has yet to really star for Villareal, and was on loan with Xerez for most of last season, and has made only six appearances, but did become the first American to score in La Liga. Villareal remain high on him (which is understandable, as he is only 19), and sent him to Xerez over Everton so he could better assimilate into Spanish culture. I expect only bigger and better things from Altidore, and if you seem in Barca or Real Madrid in five years, I wouldn't be surprised. However, for the time being, his being at Villareal can't compete with AC Milan.
DaMarcus Beasley PSV Eindhoven Duration: 2004-2006, 2 Years
Remember when DMB was considered the next big thing? We would argue, who would be the best American player, DMB or Landy Cakes (no Demps in the discussion)? Well, sadly for everyone involved, that argument is long over, as is DMB's hopes for the national team or any other club that isn't in the MLS unless he starts to turn everything around. It's hard to blame him, as the injuries have really piled up and he is never really game-fit anymore, but he has bounced around Europe rather unsuccessfully, and in my opinion should return to more American pastures. Unless he goes to Sweden, Norway or some other crap league, he is just going to keep struggling and if he wants any hope of coming back, he needs to be a star at SOME level again. He played in 76 games for Eindhoven, and scored 15 times (not bad for a winger), but was really more of a disappointment his second year. He became the first American to play in a semifinal of the Champions League and he got to play under Guus Hiddink. Unfortunately, he bounced from PSV to City to Rangers, and has played less and less at each destination. He has fallen out of the starting lineup of Rangers, and his performance at the Confederations Cup won't have anyone rushing to put him back in.
That's really it. I am only doing players who were transferred to perennial Champions League clubs, and with all due respect to Claudio Reyna, Maurice Edu, Jonathan Spector, Clint Dempsey, Carlos Bocanegra, Brad Freidel, Tim Howard and DMB (again), and scores of other Americans playing in Europe, but clubs such as Rangers, Manchester City, West Ham, Fulham, Rennes, Tottenham or Everton don't really make the cut. PSV could probably be left off, but DMB did play in a CL Semifinal, and that can't really be understated. Looking back, Onyewu's move is clearly the biggest ever for a field player. The only clubs on that list that truly compete with Milan in prestige are Man U, Liverpool and Bayern. Those three all ended poorly, and only one of those is an outfield player, and he was a loan. The Gooch carries quite a weight on those massive shoulders all of a sudden, because if the Gooch can solidify himself as a top-class world defender, teams are going to realize (even more than they have already) that Americans can not only play in Europe, but play at the highest level, at the best clubs. Onward, Sir Gooch, ONWARD!
1 comment:
I have nothing to add, just that I think this article was great.
Post a Comment