For the record, Andrea Canales is a woman.
As a long time coach deeply involved in developing players in the US, I have to respectfully disagree. LD is the rule rather than the exception.
When players stay in the US until they have fully developed their ability, you get Reyna, McBride, Dempsey, Harkes, Wynalda, Lalas, Caliguri, Cherundulo, Bocanegra, Howard, Friedel, Hanneman, Joe Max-Moore, Donovan.
When they have dual citizenship or a European passport you get Dooley, Stewart, O'brien, Spector, DeMerit, Gooch. When they go to Europe to become a better player you get Adu, Johnson, Beasley, Edu, Altidore and until he returned to the US to complete his development, Landon Donovan.
LD is the first US player without college experience or a European passport to be successful in Europe and it took him longer than Reyna and Dempsey who had the college background. You can check if you want, but I've looked it up.
The evidence tells those of us that advise young people that the proven route to success for US players is to go to college, fully develop and mature in the United States and go where you are wanted (Europe for Harkes, Reyna, Dempsey, etc. US for Jones, Balboa, Pope, etc.)
If a youngster has dual citizenship or a foreign passport, there are more possibilities (Rossi, O'Brien, Spector, Gooch, Francisco Torres, etc.)
I am happy when players succeed on any professional team, whether it be Cobi Jones on the Galaxy, Clint Dempsey at Fulham or Landon Donovan. I'm frustrated when our best young prospects waste their precious time and talent on a pipe dream of Europe. It has never worked, not once. I'm glad LD had the sense to come home, or he may have ended up like Adu or Johnson.
Does playing in Europe make LD a better player? I would argue no. Everton doesn't give him the opportunity to fully express his wide array of abilities. Does it make him sharper. Absolutely. Should he go to Everton. Sure, if Everton wants him badly enough to buy him. He's an accomplished player. He should go with the best situation he can find. His US development path has earned him that right.
I disagree with you. You have named, (and another poster, as well), A HANDFUL of US PAST and present players. A handful? For a country the size of the US, this should tell us that something is wrong with the way that we develop and identify our players. That much smaller countries, like England, can point to hundreds of past and present players that play in the EPl and other good leagues. That we follow what , ONE, two, maybe three players with passion? I also do not want to hear the usual rationization that "all our good athletics go to other sports". While that has some truth, there are also thousands of US soccer players who have potential, that are never delevoped or identified. Why? because we lack now the infrastructure to identify players. Yes, the system is improving, but it still has a long way to go, and it is my belief, the the MLS/college route is not the way.
This forum has been loaded with new US based posters interested in one player, LD. He is the face of US soccer. ONE face, discounting keepers, we have how many overseas right now???? And, there are few that generate the amount of enthusiasm shown with Landon's participation in the EPL, with Everton. I really doubt if the forum boards on other EPL teams lit up when other teams bought Altidore, Dempsey or the rest. I did not follow Hull, and my son used to play with Altidore. (I am kicking myself, and wondering why did I not follow a player, I personally knew and watched play since he was about 8 years)? I have no answer. I only started following one team, and that was Everton, and that was because of Donovan. Why, because, he is the best player that the US has produced. He also has that extra that makes him fun and exciting to watch. (It was also because of Everton, some game soul, some whatever, and I was nabbed). Donovan also did not attend college, as well as Altidore.
Europe and South America have how many players that attended colleges, came out and went into the EPL or other great leagues.....get my drift here?
Outside of a few players, like LD and Altidore, this is the course for a typical US soccer player. Youth club>college>MLS. This whole course only works IF, the player got the proper coaching and training while in the club or college programs. Compared to other countries, the answer is mostly, they do not. We have to change the format in developing and identifing players. I own a small youth club soccer forum, and I KNOW how these players are trained. Some have good, some decent and some mom and pop training. Great. They get to college, and play against the same, for 4 years against the same.
It is changing with the youth academy program, but that program and ODP are rife with politics.
The MLS is a soccer league, and one that is years behind the EPL or the others. To say that it is a "breeding ground" for up coming US players, is an overstatement. Massive... to use a term left by another poster on this board.
I saw the playoffs between Real Salt Lake and the Galaxy and I was totally saddened AND shocked,(I do not watch the MLS) by the lack of skill, creativity...... the game was crap. AND this was with Beckham and Donovan. You really think that this league provides players with the training to take the leap to the better world leagues? I am not buying it. Donovan is a great player, DESPITE the MLS.
I will end this by saying that there are probably a lot of players, that England, for example identified as having potential, and they did not make it, and are now struggling in poor paying jobs and reliving their glory days. In the states, going to college, at least offers a player that bombs out, another track and an education. In this aspect this US program works. BUT, in terms of producing EPL talent level players it does not. Period.
