Photo by ISIphotos.com
U.S. national team midfielder Ricardo Clark looks to be the latest American to parlay Confederations Cup success into a transfer move, with Italian side Livorno reportedly ready to complete a deal for the Houston Dynamo midfielder.
According to Corriere di Livorno, Clark and Livorno are expected to finalize a deal in the coming days after Livorno and the Houston Dynamo reached an agreement on a transfer.
Clark enjoyed a strong Confederations Cup after starting it out in controversial fashion with a questionable red card in the opening match against Italy, but his performance against Spain surely turned heads and Livorno has apparently stepped up with a legitimate offer.
Livorno has also been linked with Landon Donovan, but that move has lost steam in recent days, in no small part to the Italian club balking at MLS transfer demands for the U.S. national team star.
What do you think of Clark making a move to Italy? Can you see him doing well in Serie A? Happy to see another American moving to a big European league?
Share your thoughts below.
>>With the exception of Howard and Keller, US players DO NOT get better by playing in Europe.<<
Dempsey, Harkes, Wynalda, Earnie Stewart, Cherundolo, and deMerit (to name a few) might disagree with you.
Disgrace for MLS…They need to pay players more money. Livorno would be last place in MLS.
With the exception of Howard and Keller, US players DO NOT get better by playing in Europe.
@Jmac: I was thinking the same thing. It would be good to put Cameron in a slightly more offensive position. James looks like he could fit in alright until Robinson makes a comeback. I definitely don’t want to lose Clark, but you can always trust Kinnear to make good personnel choices, so his replacement won’t be a huge step down. Let’s hope Holden doesn’t leave soon, or else we will have a gutted Houston midfield (at least the USMNT will benefit!)
Fantastic! It’s great to see Clark test himself in a top European League, and a small Serie A team like Livorno will hopefully allow him to get good playing time. Wow, if he starts, games vs. Inter, AC Milan, Roma, Lazio, Juventus…imagine Rico vs. Totti! Good going Ricardo! Now FSC needs to show Livorno games in addition to all of their AC Milan games.
I’m curious what the transfer fee is…hopefully a few million EURO at least.
Thank heavens for some good soccer news today.
I hope he plays. If not, I’m glad he is getting his payday. His MNT future wasn’t going anywhere in MLS, even with a great summer.
since man city is throwing 15mil POUNDS at benchwarmers how could Landy not be moving to europe soon.
Great move for Clark and it will be nice to see Houston get a little transfer kitty to work with. I can see their front office bringing in some good players. I am guessing his transfer fee will be in the $2 to $4 million range.
good move for him.
I think you need to let players go. It makes more players want to play here if you let them move on to bigger squads.
The transfer window is open for MLS too. Houston can replace Clark. Dax McCarty could probably be had from FC Dallas, and there are foreign options too.
This is a great thing for Rico and I totally disagree that the Dynamo can’t afford to lose him. This provides Cameron with the opportunity to move into the holding midfield role which is probably where his future is. If the club needs insurance at the position you always have Mulrooney (when he recovers from injury). I just think this is great for everyone.
Good move but will he play with the Dynamo until November? Reports from Italy always say he can’t play tell November.
Stan — you my friend are a moron if you actually believe what you said.
Seria A is miles ahead of MLS and cannot even be compared. I love MLS but will admit that a last place Seria A team would at least make the playoffs and would probably win the cup. I mean seriously their players play and turn pro from around 14 while our players come from college around 22.
Keep the teams lining up guys. Congrats to Clark.
Who is this other Rocco posting here?
If he works his way into a spot in the line-up it is great news for the US. For central mid we would have: 2 Bundesliga starters(Bradley and Jones), an SPL starter(Edu) and a Seria A regular(Clark).
Good for Clark!
Stan, I hope you are joking
Great if he plays. And I think he will play. I feel bad for Donavan. I feel like MLS is holding him hostage. FREE DONOVAN!
Seria A sucks and is so overrated. It is only marginally better than MLS. He better get minutes.
Sorry – but I am not a fan of Clark. He had a decent Confederations Cup, but other than that, has delivered inconsistent performances. And, doubt he will deliver more in Italy.
However, as a Dynamo fan, I support the move away from Houston so more money can go to Holden!
from this sound of it, this will be a post season move, some italian papers quoting team that Clark wouldnt touch the field until november.
As a Dynamo fan this softens the blow a little bit. Great move for USMNT, sad for Dynamo. Even worse knowing that Holden probably wont be too far behind.
Italian football is all about defensive organization, something the US players sorely lack. Good move
This is GREAT news, if Clark can blossom into a quality holding midfielder, the Serie A will make him that player. He will hone his skills in one of the best leagues and soccer environments in the world.
I hope Donovan doesn’t go there, I’d rather see him in Spain, but he just needs to get out of the MLS at this point.
I sure hope he gets some playing time.
With Maurice Edu, Michael Bradley, Benny Feilhaber, and potentially Jermaine Jones all ahead of him on the depth chart, he needs to make this move if he wants to get significant playing time in South Africa 2010. Best wishes to Rico.
Hopefully there wont be no complications when he gets callup for the Azteca Game in two weeks.
I’ve been waiting for Ricky to move since he was w/ the Metros. Good for him… Ironic though that our only two players in Italy are black, moving to a league full of racist Italian fans… I really hope there are no incidents, though I wouldn’t bet on it
serie a = financial troubles
americans = discount players w/ talent
recognition is coming at a good time.
Bittersweet. I want him to succeed there but also want him in Houston until the end of the season. Hopefully if this deal goes down the Dynamo front office negociates a big fee.
I am not totally sold on Clark and I wonder if he is good enough to see the field regularly for a Serie A team. he is a little inconsistent with his speed of play and his technique, especially notable against better comp. I just hope he doesn’t become another Yank sitting on the bench in Europe when he could be playing elsewhere at such a critical stage of his career and during the year leading up to a WC. That said, it’s great to see a yank head to the top league in Italy. I wish him luck.
Posted by: Vman | July 27, 2009 at 09:26 AM
Completely wrong “V Man”. Especially in regards to the against better competition part (note Confed Cup against Spain and Brazil). I think a lot of Nats fans and Ives included wrote Clark off after a series of frustrating performances (where IMO he wasn’t THAT bad) and now that he’s playing very well can’t get those off games out of their heads. I think he’s one of those rare players who can continue to get better after his supposed prime.
Loking at the current Livorno roster it is clear we have dumped almost everyone on the defensive side of the ball. As long as he is coming right now he will have a fair shake at fighting for a starting job.
I really hope to see Clark come to Livorno.
dynamo cant afford to lose this player
who is going to play DM for the Dynamo now? Move Cameron up to DM and play Julius James at CB? When does Eddie Robinson get back?
I am so happy for Clark. I hope it goes through, but all my fellow Dynamo fans and I will dearly miss him!
I’m not sure that there’s a better place for Clark to learn that holding/defensive midfield role than Italy.
Quick passing, good skill, players that like to dive (so he’ll have to learn to challenge selectively…), and he’ll get space going forward to crack his long range shot.
If he can get PT, this will greatly enhance his career.
Anyone think this is a conspiracy vs the USMNT? Italian teams are all in on it brining in US team memebers and sitting them on the bench prior to WC10.
I’m just saying…..(totally kidding)
Rico deserves this move. He is a good player and he is surely underpaid in MLS. I think he will do well. The defensive nature of Seria A will play to his strenghts. Hopefully his touch will improve and we will have another really good option in the midfield.
Guys layoff the Mexico bashing. It really is not necessary. They ran us of the field yesterday in the last 30 minutes. They had better players on the field yesterday. These guys play/played for Arsenal, Spurs/Barca and Villareal or guys like Magallon and Torado who play for the full team killed our MLS/Scandanavian contingent of guys. Is that a big surprise? I think the best thing that could have happened was losing like that. Mexico will take all kinds of confidence from it but in reality maybe 1 or 2 of the US guys on that field will be in the 18 at the Azteca for the US.
Another thing that is funny was the Mexcican celebration after the game. I think only one guy shook hands with the US. But the look on the Mexican faces had that wow we actually won here look. Which is something that tells you how far this has come. Mexico is the bad ass of CONCACAF but they are celebrating beating the gringos like it was the WC. Mexico has this we are always better than the US but why do we lose mentality and I think this win will only make that grow stronger. Which I think will play into the US favor. Becuase when this result does not happen again for a long time frustration will build more and more.
Assuming this comes to pass, good luck to Rico. He really showed well at the Confed Cup imo, and if he plays regularly at Livorno I think he can continue to develop into a meaningful USMNT contributor.
who still needs to move?
rogers, donovan, altidore, holden
I really don’t want to see Landon go here though. Don’t think Livorno is going to pose much of a offensive game seeing they just got back to Serie A. Landon needs a team where he can get plenty of offense in, and not be forced to consistantly sit back in the D.
I am not totally sold on Clark and I wonder if he is good enough to see the field regularly for a Serie A team. he is a little inconsistent with his speed of play and his technique, especially notable against better comp. I just hope he doesn’t become another Yank sitting on the bench in Europe when he could be playing elsewhere at such a critical stage of his career and during the year leading up to a WC. That said, it’s great to see a yank head to the top league in Italy. I wish him luck.
If he plays great, if not horrible. I think that is now the mental standpoint for any transfer involving USMNT.
Lets cross are fingers and hope thats the case with all USMNT in Europe or elsewhere.
Now, finally, we can stop listening to everyone go on and on about Alexi Lalas being the only American to play in Serie A – now we’ve got 2 (hopefully) starters.
I never liked this move for Donovan, but for Clark this is great. To be able to learn the tactical side of the game to compliment his pure athletic ability would be great for Clark.
Also, I have to imagine he would have a good chance to earn alot of playing time (aka he won’t be in a situation like Altidore or Adu).
oh and congrats to rico clark
I like this move. Clark will be a good fit for Livorno. He can elevate his game to become a fixture with the US team. The rumor has been out there picking up stem day by day and it’s allowed me to look in depth at their roster. I see Clark getting minutes. I just hope he adjusts.
This is a great move, without a doubt. Hopefully he can get into the starting 11 but still the competition he will see will be miles ahead of MLS and should only help his development.
great move for him, staying where he is, he probably wouldn’t get much playing time for the USMNT anyway, this move will help him be more competitive for a US playing time
NICE!!!!
Serie A teams do a good job of developing players, so this is a great move for Ricardo Clark, unless he doesn’t get playing time. I think he’s a good fit there.