USA All-team 23 member team

USA at World Cup, 1950

Although Football(soccer) is an obscure sport in the United States until the 1990's, however, the Americans performed well in the early history of the World Cup.  In 1930, they reached the semifinal.  And, in 1950, they pulled the biggest upset in WC history up to that point when they beat England 1-0.  However, the sport did not take off in the US.  Between 1950 and 1990, the Americans failed to qualify for any of the WC Finals.  

Then, in 1990's, a new generation of American players who grew up watching Pele, Beckenbauer and Cruyff playing in the NASL helped to put the national team back on the football(soccer) map.  They qualified for the 1990 WC Finals after a 40 year absence and reached the second round of the 1994 WC Finals.  In 1995, they beat Argentina 3-0 at the Copa America and advanced into the semifinal.  In 2002, the United States reached the quarterfinal of the WC Finals.

If there were an All-Time World Cup, this would be the 23 players I would bring to the tournament.  The team is not an All-Star team. I tried to be as realistic as possible.   A few of the players are selected for tactical reasons at the expense of more famous players.

Gold Cup 2007

Team
GK: Brad Friedel
Brad Friedel is the current holder of the Premier League record for most consecutive appearances with 310.  He is one of the oldest player to start a game at the Premiership.  He also played for clubs in Denmark and Turkey.  He represented the USA at the World Cup in 1994, 1998 and 2002.  Best remembered for reaching the quarterfinal in 2002. 

Friedel & Howard

GK: Tim Howard
He led the USA to the 2nd round at the World Cup Finals in 2014 with stunning performances throughout the tournament.  He first made his name with Manchester United.  He is a star player with Everton.

GK: Kasey Keller
He first made his name with Millwall, making one of the first American keepers to break through in Europe.  He went on to play in the English Premiership, La Liga and Bundesliga.  At Leicester, he won the League Cup.  He was the starting keeper at France 1998.

RB: Steve Cherundolo
He was the captain of Hannover 96 of the German Bundesliga, where he spent his entire club career. He played for the United States men's national soccer team at the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups.

RB:  Paul Caligiuri
He is best remembered for his game-winning goal widely dubbed the"Shot heard round the world," which helped the USA to qualify for the WC Finals in 1990.  He was one of the few professional players on the 1990 WC team.  He spent most of his career playing in Germany. He was capped 110 times.

CB: Eddie Pope
He was the most steady American defender for a decade.  He spent 11 seasons with DC United, where they dominated MLS in 1990's. He won the MLS defender of the Year award in 1997.   He was capped 82 times.  He went to France 1998, Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006.

Eddie Pope

CB: Marcelo Bilboa
Known for his bicycle kicks.  He was the first player to break the 100 cap barrier for the United States.  He went on to earn 128 caps.  He played in 3 WC Finals. He is best remembered for his career with Colorado Rapids and a season with Leon in Mexico.

CB/DM: Thomas Dooley 
The German-born player who won the Bundesliga with Kaiserslautern and then the UEFA Cup with Schalke 04. He was a key player as the United States reached the 2nd round at the 1994 WC Finals and was the captain at the WC 1998.

Dooley

CB/LB: Carlos Bocanegra
He was two-time MLS Defender of the Year.  Bocanegra also played professionally in England, Scotland, France, and Spain. He earned over 100 caps with the United States, serving as captain for six years.

LB: Jeff Agoos 
Jeff Agoos won 5 MLS Cup titles, a record.  He was named the Best XI All-time MLS team in 2005.  He earned 137 caps for the USA. He played in the 2002 WC Finals.  He played college soccer with Virginia.

RB/CM: Rick Davis
He was one of the few American player who played in the height of NASL.  He played with pele and Franz Beckenbauer at the NY Cosmos.

CM/RM: John Harkes    

At one point, he was considered the"Captain for life".  He had a great career in England when only a few Americans found successes overseas.  He scored the 1991 Goal of the Year in England. He was a part of the great DC United team in the mid-1990's. He played college soccer with Virginia.

CM: Michael Bradley

The son of former US head coach Bob Bradley.  He played professionally in Germany, Holland, Italy, England and now, in MLS.  He was best-known for his stint in Italy with Roma, where he established as the first American player in the league since Alexi Lalas.

CM/DM: Claudio Reyna 

Claudio Reyna was a star in the late 1990's.  He was on 4 World Cup teams.  In 2002,  he was named in the World Cup all-tournament team.  While playing with Wolfsburg, he became the first American-born player to captain an European club team. He also played for Rangers and Manchester City. He played college soccer with Virginia.

Claudio Reyna

RW: Cobi Jones

He is the all-time cap recorder for the USA.  He had brief spells in England and Brazil before joining the MLS in 1996, where he won two MSL Cups with LA Galaxy.

 

LM: Walter Bahr 

He was the captain of the American team that upset England at the 1950 WC Finals.   The game was considered the greatest upset in WC history.  He was a left halfback(which is left midfielder).

AM: Tab Ramos  

He was probably the best American player in the early 1990's.  He spent his career playing in Spain before moving to the MLS.  In 1994, he was seriously injured after Brazil's Leonardo hit him with his elbow during the round of 16 at the WC Finals.  Because of his injury, he never played for Real Betis again, his club team at the time and ended his career in Europe.  He returned to the USA where he became a star with NY Metrostars. The same year, Ramos was chosen as the CONCACAF Player of the Year.

Tab Ramos

FW: Bert Patenaude

Bert Patenaude was only capped by the USA for 4 times, but scored 6 goals.  He scored 4 goals at the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay.  He was also credited for scoring the first ever hattrick in WC history.  
 

FW: Billy Gonsalves 

He was on the 1930 and 194 World Cup team.  He was considered the greatest American player until the 1990's generation.He was often referred as the "Babe Ruth" of American soccer.  

SS/AM: Landon Donovan
He is perhaps the greatest American player of the modern era.  He is the all-time leading scorer for the NT.  He represented the USA for three WC Finals.  He was Honda Player of the Year for 6 times and US Soccer Athlete of the Year for 4 times and numerous awards in MLS.  He had a brief spell with Leverkusen before returning to MLS.

Donovan

FW/AM: Clint Dempsey 

He was perhaps the most successful American-born outfielder playing in Europe.  He was best remembered for playing for Fulham between 2007 and 2012.  He was their top-scorer for two seasons.  He was their Player of the Season twice.   

Clint Dempsey

FW: Eric Wynalda 

At one point, he was the all-time leading scorer for the USA. He also scored the first ever goal in MLS history when he played for San Jose Clash.  He also played in the Bundesliga.  He played at the WC Finals in 1990, 1994 and 1998.

ST: Brian McBride 

He first made his name with Colombus Crew before moving to play in the English Premier League. He played for Fulham and served as their captain for 2007-2008 season. 

McBride

Honorable Mention
Aldo Donelli, Ed McIlvenny, Bertram Patenaude, Werner Roth, Archie Stark, Juli Veee, Tony Meola,  Fernando Clavijo, Frankie Hejduk, Alexi Lalas, Preki, Roy Wegerle, Joe Gaetjen, Ernie Stewart, Jermaine Jones, Alexi Lalas, Hugo Perez, DaMarcus Beasley.


Squad Explanation

• The leftback position was very tough.  Apart from Jeff Agoos, I could not find another leftback worthy of a spot.  I considered Fernando Clavijo and Frankie Hejduk.  So I won't be bringing a left back backup.  Instead, I would use Carlos Bocanegra and Walter Bahr as the emergency backup leftbacks.  
• I omitted Alexi Lalas because his peak was too short.  It lasted for only 3 to 4 years.  I rated the four centre backs I chosen ahead of him.  
• Joe Gaetjens scored the most important goal in US history, but he only played three games for the national team.  Moreover, we do not know much about him outside the three games. 
• Aldo Donelli basically played one great game for the national team. 
• Roy Wegerle and Preki played their best games at the club level.  Perhaps, they were too old when they became eligible for the national team.  Their contributions to the USMNT were limited.
• John O'Brien and Clint Mathis would have made it if their careers were not cut short by injuries. 
• Jermaine Jones, Alexi Lalas and Hugo Perez were considered.
• I selected Cobi Jones because of his long-time service to the national team.

Starting lineup

Perhaps, Billy Gonsalves could have started instead of Dempsey, but I opted for a younger lineup. Bahr was a left half-back.  I considered him to be box-to-box midfielder or defensive midfielder. Some sources said that he could also play as a leftback.  I might move him there and start Ricky Davis or John Harkes on the midfield position.

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