GOAL looks at which USMNT's stars have also been the biggest names and best players for their respective clubs in Europe
For years, members of the U.S. men's national team just wanted to take part. The leap from America to Europe was a massive one, one made all the more difficult by some dismissive attitudes across the pond. American players had to fight and scrap for a chance, and many took it and ran when they did get it.
How far things have come. Now, it's not uncommon to see Americans playing on the highest level. Not just playing, too, but actually making an impact.
Over the last two decades, there have been several Americans who have been more than contributors to their club. They've been genuine stars, players that major clubs have turned to in moments of need, faces of the franchise.
Which Americans can definitively say they were their club's best player on the highest of levels? GOAL takes a look.
GettyThose that were close
Before we really dive in, we have to discuss a few of the players that were really close.
Tim Howard was an Everton star but, somehow, was never recognized as the club's Player of the Season. You could argue at many points he was the club's best player but there's a key word there: argue. It's a tough one, and maybe Howard should be on this list, but that's the fund of the debate?
Landon Donovan won Premier League Player of the Month during his time at Everton, and you could argue that he was the club's star during those brief stays. Those stays, though, were too brief to count, but it does make you wonder where he'd be if he sustained his career in Europe for a little longer.
DaMarcus Beasley was always a big piece, but never quite THE piece. He was incredible during PSV's run to the Champions League semifinals, but that team also had the likes of Park Ji-sung, Mark van Bommel, Jefferson Farfan and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink lighting it up.
As a more modern example, there's Weston McKennie, who you could argue was Juventus' best player last season. However, Dusan Vlahovic and Bremer probably had a better case.
Jermaine Jones, Fabian Johnson and John Brooks all had cases in the Bundesliga, but they were arguable, too.
AdvertisementGettyClint Dempsey: Fulham
We'll start with an obvious one, because there are few Americans as synonymous with one club as Clint Dempsey is with Fulham.
He was the team's best player for large stretches of his time in London, but that title was unquestionable from 2010-12, when he racked up back-to-back Player of the Season awards. He was the top scorer in both seasons, totaling 13 goals in 2010-11 and then 23 in 2011-12 to earn his move to Tottenham.
That version of Dempsey is the best we saw, and it's among the best players that Fulham ever saw, too.
Getty ImagesTim Ream: Fulham
We have to get creative with some dates to confirm Tim Ream's spot, but it feels fair.
After previously winning Player of the Year with Bolton twice, Ream was handed the honor at Fulham in 2017-18. He'd just led the club back to the Premier League, playing 44 Championship games to get Fulham back into the top flight. He was a massive player for Fulham at that time, particularly as they yo-yo'd back and forth to the Premier League.
Despite not getting the accolade, you could also put Ream into the mix in 2022-23, but we'll call his 2018 peak as the best version of the center back.
Getty Images SportBrad Friedel: Blackburn Rovers
Brad Friedel is among the best goalkeepers American soccer has seen and, in truth, you can take your pick of which season was his best.
You can make an argument that he was the top player at some point at Aston Villa, but there's no argument against his 2002-03 season at Blackburn Rovers. That season, he was named to the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for the club while leading the league in clean sheets with 15 for the sixth-place finishers.
Freidel was in illustrious company that season on that Team of the Season list. Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, Paul Scholes, Patrick Vieira, Ashley Cole – Friedel earned his place right there with them as Blackburn's big star in goal.
