Kenny Cooper is on his way back to Europe.
The former Manchester United reserve player has been sold by FC Dallas to German Bundesliga II club 1860 Munich. FC Dallas informed season ticket holders of the sale on Friday.
Cooper, 24, is coming off a Gold Cup that saw him score two goals for the U.S. national team and earn a place on the All-Gold Cup team. He scored 40 goals in 93 appearances for FC Dallas over the course of three and a half seasons.
Cooper had been linked with various British clubs in recent years, but FC Dallas turned down previous attempts to secure his services. With the current season all but over, and Cooper's contract set to expire after the 2010 season, FC Dallas decided to cash in, which will give the club more resources to work with in the winter as it looks to rebuild.
Is Bundesliga 2 a good fit for Cooper and a good landing spot for a player with aspirations of bigger things?
It's tough to say. If you look at the list of American players to play for 1860 Munich (Taylor Twellman, Josh Wolff, Gregg Berhalter, Steve Purdy), none of those players made a move upward. In fact, all four players wound up going to MLS after being with 1860.
Does that mean the same will happen to Cooper? Not necessarily, but he will be the exception to the rule of he does progress to a bigger league.
What do you think of Cooper going to 1860 Munich? Disappointed he's not going to a First Division club in Europe? Happy to see him move on? Think Germany is a good fit for him?
Share your thoughts below.
Can you imagine in a decade? Dozens and dozens, maybe hundreds of young American talent plying their trade abroad in Europe. Maybe not in the top leagues, but surely the Netherlands, France, 2nd Bundesliga, Scandinavia. We will be deep in talent. Just gotta be patient.
Americans on the move. More of our young players getting looked at by some decent European clubs. And even some of our average players are getting their chances in 3rd tier Euro leagues like Scandinavia/Belgium. We’re coming along. In a decade we’ll be even better.
Plus: “USsoccerNewsKicker reports that future USA international Jermaine Jones could be healthy & playing games at the end of August. Ahead of schedule.”
28 minutes ago from web from Twitter
and I guess as of right now you could say EJ is a sub for Fulham and a possible sub for the USMNT. so really that is 11 players who are signed with Division 1 clubs in Europe. Not too shabby for the United States. Not too shabby at all.
I think it is a good move, and I hope that he can get the team up into the first division. It will be a big lose for FC Dallas and the MLS, but if he plays every day it should improve his game, which will only help our national team. As a Bayern fan, I would have loved to see him go there but, I know there is no room for him at Bayern.
Good Luck Copper.
Make that 9 starters and 1 bench player for the USMNT playing in the first division of Europe. GO NATS!
Wow, we are super deep at right back. Don’t efff with our first team right backs Mexico. I hope you didn’t get too used to Jay Heaps.
lol
I don’t know if this is a good move or not. I’m not so sure that MLS is a less quality league than Bundesliga 1. I watch a lot of German soccer (my wife’s family is from Rostock) and really apart from FC Bayern and a few lucky streaks from Schalke and Stuttgart, the level of play isn’t really that spectacular. I guess that at least if 1860 Munich can manage to get themselves out of the second division he would have more of an opportunity to play against some bigger talent.
ThaDuece, don’t forget about Cherundolo.
It will be even better as younger players are scooped up out of college and high school.
THEN we will know our youth system is making progress.
With MLS owning all of the player contracts, Dallas will only get a porition of the transfer fee….somewhere in the neighborhood of $400K as the fee is said to ahve bene for just a bit over $1M.
Not sure this is such a great move, but then again if there were no top teams coming in after him you take what you can get. A chance for him to prove his worth and attract the attention of a bigger club. Which won’t be easy as bigger clubs in Europe don’t usually go after guys in lower divisions unless they are something special.
Wow, I just thought of something. We probably have the most first team USMNT players playing in the first division of Europe ever:
Clint Dempsey, Fulham, Premier League
Jonathon Spector, West Ham, Premier League
Tim Howard, Everton, Premier League
Oguchi Onyewu,,A.C., Serie A
Ricardo Clark, Livorno, Serie A
Carlos Bocanegra, Stade Rennais, Ligue 1
Charlie Davies, Sochaux, Ligue 1
Michael Bradley, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bundesliga
Jozy Altidore, Villareal, La Liga
That is 9 USMNT starters playing in the first division in Europe. Wow.
All that is missing from our Starting XI is Landon Donovan, who is sure to go to the first division very, very soon, and Jay Demerit, Watford, Championship.
WOW, Last year I wouldn’t have considered this possible.
If FCdallas aren’t going to move their franchise, can they look into renting those really big choppers and try to move the stadium atleast.
I think if you’re going to be in the Bundesliga 2, you might as well be on a team that has a history of first division football. Hopefully this will give him a chance to grow and hopefully no Germans will cleat him in the stomach.
Sad emotions: another quality player leaving the MLS :((((((((((
Happy emotions: another US player moving on to bigger and better things :))))))))))))
His scoring record is ridiculous. I wish the best for him.
Ives, when does he move over there? You never said.
It always comes down to the same issue, I hope he gets playing time. If so, it is a good move.
I love 1860, but whoever said they are “5 divisions above MLS” is off his rocker.
1860 is a good club with history and a deep Munich fanbase. Their main problem has been financial stupidity.
PS. I am a 5th American who played for them. (But, alas, I was 15, in the 70’s, they have no record of those years now, and I certainly didn’t move up.
I wish Kenny well there, and Munich is a great city.
As long as he gets to play… Bundesliga 2 is higher quality than most MLS teams, especially FC Dallas. 10 goals this season would be great for the man. Further, it should help him get a supersub spot in 2010.
That picture of Cooper makes it look like he’s standing in front of an execution firing squad. All he needs is a cigarette.
FC Dallas won’t move… they just got a new stadium a few years ago…
FC Dallas is either rebuilding, moving, or about to be sold.
This is tragic.
Cooper will be fine. He just needs to set some personal goals.
1. Get on the 1st Team
2. Score -10 goals and 5 assists – season 1
3. Score – 20 goals and 10 assists – season 2
4. Transfer to bigger club in season 3
If he achieves step 3 sooner, step 4 will come sooner too.
Since he has already lived and played in England. Adjusting to life in Europe should not be a problem for him.
So, when are the open tryouts for FC Dallas?
I’m 32, short, and slow, and my feet are shot, but I’m really creative on the ball.
I think I’ve got a shot.
Look at them. No wonder they can’t get butts in the seats there.
Wow, I didn’t realize Cooper is only 24 years old – I hope this move works out for him.
don’t know why everyone is down on 1860. So they are in 2.Bundesliga — they still are a big club, second biggest in Munich to FC Hollywood, and they can move up.
As for comparisons to other Amis who were at 1860:
* Berhalter and Wolff were toward the end of their careers, and Wolff had suffered major injuries, making him a shadow of what he once was. At least they played quite a lot and made bank, even if it wasn’t a “launching pad.”
* Twellman went there very young, and he was there when they were in the first division. Even he now says he was not ready for it and should have begun at a smaller club but went for a little more dough and a little more prestige.
* Purdy — who cares?
Other Amis have done well in the 2.Bundesliga. Cherundolo helped Hanover up and has been there since, very happily. Casey also helped them up with a lot of goals and injuries were what hurt him.
I think 1860 and Germany are a good fit for him. So what if he never makes it to the first division, 1860 is like 5 divisions above FC Dallas and MLS, so he just did move up. Also, with this move he has a much better shot at the first division than straight from MLS, all he has to do is strut his stuff. Congrats and good luck.
FYI was not insulting the MLS, the 2nd division in Germany is a much older and much stronger league and is a huge step up for cooper who will only get better there.
Transfer fee is reportedly just over $1 million. This move will either be sink or swim. Best of luck to him.
Based on the admittedly small sample of a couple of games (both involving Heath Pearce at Hansa), Bundesliga 2 is as similar to MLS as any league I’ve seen. The one difference though is that it has that “nastiness” element (as in, sportsmanship be damned) that MLS is generally missing. Oh wait, that’s exactly what we’ve been berating Cooper for lacking.
is fc dallas going to move to another city?
Posted by: joe k | July 31, 2009 at 11:15 AM
Atlanta, please! 🙂
It’ll be interesting to see how much 1860 paid for him, considering that was a big factor in why FCD didn’t want to sell him last season. Good news for Cooper and the USMNT, terrible news for Dallas.
I bet the City of Dallas would take FC Frisco.
Good move for KC. He wasn’t getting any better playing for a marginal coach with a long-term contract.
Hopefully, he’ll learn to stay on his feet regardless of the “nudges” and become a prolific goal scorer at 1860.
Bleh, he’ll languish like all of the rest in the Bundesliga “2” land and make more money but never move to a bigger stage. He’ll be back in MLS in 5-6 years like Twellmana and Wolfe. This does nothing for me.
it’s sad to see the arguably 4th best forward in the USMNT pool go to a second division team in Germany… we need to develop some depth from guys playing in top leagues…
Drew ROC: Cooper is also like Conor Casey in that their top-end speed is pretty negligible.
Cooper is technically skilled, w/a great first touch by MLS standards, but he is just sooooooooooooooooo slow. He’s not gonna get any faster, so he needs to learn to use the one advantage he’s got that can’t be taught: his height.
I hope his German coach flat-out says, “Kenny, you won’t see the pitch unless you start playing like you’re 6’3.”
I hope this move works out for Cooper. He’s not going to get any better in MLS, and it’s a shame if someone with his combination of height and touch doesn’t maximize his potential. Bundesliga II is probably the right level for him to work on redefining his game before (hopefully) stepping up to a better league, in Germany or elsewhere.
I wished he went to England.
You know a good way to make the National Team in the lead up to a World Cup?
Go ballistic this season, leading your team in scoring en route to promotion to the Bundesliga.
Good luck Kenny! Go get ’em big man.
I think this is a good move for him. From watching some of the Budesliga games he looks like a player that will fit in with their style of play. He is big and strong but also technical. He is still relatively young so a couple of years fighting to get into the Bundesliga will make him better. If he does well the 1st division guys will take notice for sure and moving up that laddder will be a good thing. Germany is a good league and I think our players should go to these types of places more often. If Matt Taylor socred goals in 2 Bundesliga Kenny can also.
By the way if Matt Taylor keeps playing well should he get a look after the WC2010? He is a striker and we need those. If I am not mistaken he scored like 7 goals in 13 appreances in the 2 Bundesliga last year.
Ridiculous that he was selected to the All-Gold Cup team.
That aside, good for him I hope that he plays and tears up the league. Maybe he will even develop a better sense of when to shoot. (Like, not ALL the time).
Sounds like he will likely start for 1860.
I think this is a good move. Germany and England seem to be the more physical leagues, and one of the knocks on Cooper has always been his inability to use his size. Maybe he’ll learn something…and maybe he’ll stop shooting from 40 yards.
Do we know how much it was for? Surprising 1860 dished out to MLS, unless they lowered their cost…
who would have them?
I really thought he would go to a first division club in Europe but if he is going to get the chance to play every match than thats good! Any idea on the transfer fee Ives?
is fc dallas going to move to another city?
So Cooper is now in the same boat as Conor Casey. A decent player for a marginal Euro team that can perform well in MLS when motivated.
Selfishly wanted to see him in England, but glad he on to a bigger stage. I think he’s up to the challenge.
Does this mean that Dallas might have even fewer people in the stands now? 🙂 Good for Cooper, this guy has tremendous potential.
good to hear another player going to abroad, its almost ALWAYS a good thing. I’m actually glad he went to a bundesliga II side, he will have a much more legitimate shot at playing, and starting than he would at a bigger club. Also, hopefully he can learn how to be a bit more physical over there.
ANy details on the transfer fee? How much will FCD see? What does that team do now?
Wow. I had heard the championship was the most likely. But 1860 is a good club. Hope he sees the pitch.
hell yeah coops!!!
Good! Go score some goals in Germany, Cooper!