It is a well-known fact that Americans rule the roost at almost every sport; their gargantuan gold medal haul at each Olympic Games is testament to that. However, one domain where they have not experienced unrivalled success is association football (or, alternatively, “saw-ker”).
A new wave of razzmatazz talent could soon see that changing. During the past few seasons, there has been a surge in Americans departing their home nation and plying their trade overseas. This has, in turn, contributed to the national team’s upturn in results, exemplified by their plucky run in last year’s World Cup finals which included – Rob Green, look away now – holding the apparently “superior” England to a 1-1 draw.
But these footballers are not fortuitously gliding through their careers on the back of lucky breaks, or ‘keeper howlers; they are ploughing their own individual furrows. Hailing from many different towns and regions of the United States – thus demonstrating how the previous antipathy towards football is being phased out, partly down to the renaissance of the Major League Soccer (MLS), aided by the likes of David Beckham – these players are now garnering experience of the faster-paced European game. And they’re also actually pretty good.
From the team who competed in the United States’ last game – a 1-0 defeat to Ecuador on October 11th – only four of the sixteen players are on the books of an MLS team; the rest all play abroad. From Denmark, to Portugal, to Italy, to Belgium, to France, to Holland: there is seemingly no end of possibilities where these players will ply their trade, which is more than can be said for the travel-shy England internationals (Scott Carson is the only current international playing abroad, with Bursaspor in Turkey).
Here in England, the Premier League has already housed, nurtured and been enamoured by a wealth of pioneering Americans: Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, Brad Friedel, Landon Donovan, Carlos Bocanegra, Brian McBride are a smattering of names which spring to mind when thinking about those who are either established players or enjoyed prolific spells in the Premier League. But there is one player in Belgium who is making a name for himself with a number of eye-catching performances which may soon lead to an England-bound transfer.
Sacha Kljestan is a tough-tackling, part-Serbian, American-born, long-ball specialist midfielder who, since joining RSC Anderlecht from Chivas USA at the beginning of last season, has established himself with aplomb in their ranks. Wearing the number 19, he has been an ever-present in the Belgian’s rise to topping their Europa League group (obtained after defeating Carson’s Bursaspor in the play-offs).
The son of a former Serbian semi-professional player, Kljestan’s ascension materialising in the typical fashion of American sports, as he earned a scholarship for Seton Hall University in New Jersey, before being the 5th pick in Round One of the 2006 MLS draft. Chivas gained a player who was destined to perform on a greater stage, namely when his first three international goals came in the same game, versus Sweden, in January 2009. A hat-trick against one of Europe’s toughest international teams was a sign of things to come.
At 26, the man from Huntington Beach (‘Surf City’), California has shaken off the shackles of the slower-paced west coast lifestyle and slotted succinctly into European life; the other Californian to do this with similar gusto was Landon Donovan during his loan spell at Everton in the latter half of the 2009-10 season, a spell which yielded two goals in 13 appearances but a string of impressive performances.
But, there have been the disappointments: curiously omitted from Bob Bradley’s 23-man squad for last year’s World Cup finals, Kljestan had to settle for watching his compatriots embarrass the English from the comforts of his sofa at home. That was pre-Anderlecht though, which does mean he will be playing at a higher level consistently which may lead to him becoming indispensible for the The Stars And Stripes.
It must surely be a matter of time before Kljestan, like other reputable American players, will soon be gracing the Premier League. In the meantime, with qualification almost assured from Group L, Anderlecht can reap the benefits of having a domineering midfielder who can deliver on a great scale.
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