Thierry Henry, Clint Dempsey and Charlie Davies discussing perception of American players in Europe
Read that a few years ago. Now, I’ve only been following football since '07 which is around the time time Dempsey made his move to Fulham. He was a thrill to watch and I’d reckon he def helped change some opinions around US players at the time with the likes of Pulisic or McKennie continuing to this day.
But just curious for a discussion, how prevalent are the stereotypes of US players today? Is it simply just banter or are there still managers who just don’t rate US players all that much.
When I was a kid in middle america in the 80s, the lack of american involvement had nothing to do with Europe. Americans hated the game. I remember the adults always telling me it isnt a sport. and its so boring, and play a real sport. It was also an immigrant sport and this is america. you play an american sport. Heck, there are still multitudes of americans who believe this today. there is just a large enough echo chamber that we dont have to acknowledge it.
I dont blame europeans at all for their “prove it” attitude. we have had generations to embrace the sport. now that it is finally happening, our young people need to realize that this is a calcified problem that we created.