(I posted this over the weekend, but wanted to give our regular readers who may have missed it a chance to chime in.)
With Brian McBride announcing his retirement from professional soccer at the end of the current MLS season there has been an outpouring of emotion from grateful U.S. national team fans who remember him for all his contributions to the game.
This had me wondering just who most people would consider their favorite U.S. national team player ever. Is it McBride? How about Landon Donovan? Do people still have love for Tab Ramos or John Harkes? How about Clint Mathis?
It's time for a poll. Who is your favorite U.S. men's national team player of all time? Remember, this isn't a poll asking who the best USA player ever was, it's who you personally considered your favorite.
Cast your vote after the jump (and apologies to the old-timers, but for the purposes of the poll we're listing players from the modern era, 1990 to present day. Feel free to include write-in ballots):
Photos by ISIPhotos.com
Who did you vote for and why? Was there a tough call you had to make? Who isn't on the ballot that you would like to have seen on it?
Share your thoughts below.
Anyone else hear Phil Misen (soccernet) on WFD last Friday? He said that “by anyone’s yardstick, Demspey’s one of the top players not only in the UK, but in all Europe” haha
Just a thought for another poll. What was the first World Cup you followed the USMNT? Obviously, since few of us were around for the 1950 Cup, the 1990 Cup will be the benchmark for almost everyone. The 1978 Cup was the first I really followed, as much as that was possible back then. I remember watching most of the games on a Spanish network for 1982 WC. Things are SO much better now in terms of coverage, but part of that is WE are there now too!
WFD has been around for years. He didn’t use that to create it. It was World Soccer Daily on Sirius at first and they had to cancel it due to Scousers coming to his house and threatening his family. They came up with WFD after that and it’s still the best soccer specific show in the US hands down. I happily pay the $5 a month for it.
Also, Mcbride has to be my favorite based on pure heart and class. He gave everything he had in every game he played in and his determination is sorely missed by the USMNT
I read the comments over the weekend and was surprised by the vitriol. The question is “Who is your FAVORITE player.” People are arguing about who is better which is not really relevant.
I voted for McBride because I think he is inspiring player and has a wonderful character on and off the field. I think Donovan is a better player and my actual favorite player of al-time was Thomas Dooley but he was not a choice.
Gotta vote for tha Deuce. Been following USMNT since 1993. Love LD, McBride, Reyna, Stewart, Tab Ramos and McBride, but Dempsey’s from the Nac in Texas!
Roy Wegerle….Queens Park Rangers baby!
Man you’re really asking for it…..
Donovan hands down I’m only 18 and been a fan of us soccer since I was 9 my 1st fifa game was the one with donovan infront I remember always playing with the us as I grew I keep following us soccer and donovan. I don’t think. Any other american made history the way donovan has keep in kmind he’s only 28 he can do way more this world cup 2was the 1st world cup. Ima remember and it was all bcause of onovan because of donovan soccer in this count2ry has become bigger. Donovan anit like most player like cr7 beckham ect he plays the game for love not fame reason y he still in la for this long.
This is actually directed at SBI’s response, rather than Joe’s comment–
“And let’s face it, if you really think he finishes in the top five in voting then I’d like some of what you’re smoking.”
If you don’t think JMM was a fan favorite during his time, I wonder what you’re smoking, not the other way around.
Cobi Jones
speaking of “Joe”s, no Joe Gaetjens either. Internet savvy soccer fans from the ’40’s and ’50’s are sure to be up in arms.
Bruce Murray will always have a special place in my heart. You always remember your first (in this case, my first National team all-time leading scorer that I was aware of – had a hand in both goals they scored in 1990, scored and assisted)
Claudinho Reyna!
Same here too….started following US soccer when LD came around so that’s why i picked him
Jay DeMerit
I have watched most of the USMNT’s games since the mid-90s and LD is CLEARLY the best American player ever. Reyna was masterful at the 2002 World Cup, but that in itself is not enough to supplant Donovan.
Chris Armas. No question.
Claudio Reyna.
WOW…No love for the team that started it all for this generation of players…unreal. Just goes to show how far we have to go as a truly “Soccer Supporting” country.
I have to support Tab Ramos. A fierce winger with good ball control and great footwork. He had speed to manage the right flank.
It’s funny how some people don’t get the idea of “favorite player”. People aren’t voting who they think is most talented or most important, they are voting for favorites and that is a tricky, personal subject.
Due to my allengiance to the Fire which dates to the day the name was unveiled; I would have voted for either Bocanegra or Beasley (circa 2002) as my favorites. They would get my vote because I was thrilled to watch a couple of young players mature through my local club and make good on the big stage.
Without those on the list (and I don’t think they get enough votes to warrant inclusion), I voted for Keller for his quiet command and leadership in the back and the best individual game played by a goalkeeper game I have EVER seen.
Not by any stretch of the imagination the best player…but the guy who’s story and attitude I just couldn’t get enough of was Herculez Gomez. Love Reyna, Dempsey, the other usual suspects, but I rooted harder for Gomez to do well than anyone else. I know, it’s kind of like preferring Ringo, but I can’t help it.
Totally agree. Love the guy’s grit and bravado, not to mention the talent. I think he’s a much harder worker than most people give him credit for.
Plus, when anyone complains that soccer’s a game for wusses and divers, all you’ve got to do is point to Dempsey. The man is tough as a Bruce Willis character–keeps taking a pounding and just bounces back up to take it at you again. Yipee-ki-yo.
Kyle Rote Jr. – Dallas Tornados circa 1970’s. There is a Tornado Warning at Ownby Stadium tonight as Pele and the Cosmos are in town!!
Voted Landon, but McBride deserves a special mention. Class act.
Nice to see Wynalda voted for himself and reads the site…who else would vote for that tool?
How could you leave Paul Caligiuri off the list?!? The “Shot heard ’round the world?” He’s my favorite.
Eddie Pope!
Reyna was great. Harkes did pretty well in England for a while. and Dempsey is very good. But to me no one could touch Brian McBride. A true professional where ever he played. If Donovan had more success in Europe it may of been harder to pick. McBride is just loved because not only was he very good, he was just so hard working.
“An immigrant who used his abilities so the rest of the US team/soccer could move forward. Before him there was no player that moved like he did and caused so much trouble than him. He was the only attacking option for so many years.”
I love Tab, who I think of more as a Jersey guy rather than an immigrant if that makes any sense,but you are ignoring another immigrant, the guy who Tab basically replaced for the USMNT, Hugo Perez.
“Hugo Ernesto Pérez is a former Salvadoran American soccer midfielder. During his fourteen year career, he played professionally in the United States, France, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and his native El Salvador. Although born in El Salvador, he gained his U.S. citizenship as a youth and earned 73 caps, scoring sixteen goals, with the U.S. national team between 1984 and 1994. He was a member of the U.S. team at the both the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He was the 1991 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year and was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2008”
I’ve been following the team since 93 and Donovan has been my favorite player by far. McBride, Dempsey, Reyna, Keller, and others have been great to watch but nobody has made me cheer as much as Donovan.
Thanks for the reply, and I think you and I are on the same page. It’s hard to imagine what could have been had he not left Manchester United in his prime…but George was George, and sometimes, no, often, what he did seemingly made no sense to those who followed him. Sadly, his off the pitch demons got the best of him.
Joe Max Moore and Roy Lassiter! Cobi Jones is is up there too!
Gotta be Deuce. Donovan has been around longer and done more for the national team, but Clint has style and a killer instinct that few Yanks have shown so consistently. And it comes from his rags to riches background. He came up the hard way and it makes me respect him all the more. Definitely honorable mentions Cobi, Cletus, Donovan, and McBride.
Reyna: best player on best team the USMNT has ever fielded.
Brad could have represented us at the last two World Cups but chose not to. I love him and think he’s a great player, but that alone eliminates him from contention for me, and that also puts Howard ahead of him. Keep in mind, we’re choosing our favorite player–not necessarily the best.
No love for Eddie Pope who played his whole career in mls and represented the nats for years. I’m not voting…
I have never seen a player with the qualities Tab Ramos brought to the team; the guy COULD dribble!! Sometimes I see this team lacking the ability to beat people one on one, the ability to do something different, to change a game with one brilliant play…and I then I remember that at least we had a Tab Ramos…
As for guys who missed the cut, I’ll send a vote Carlos Bocanegra’s way. The guy has squeezed in some crucial goals in some tough spots.
I’m 41 and I’ve been following the National team for a long time. I like Dempsey. He is creative and exciting to watch. In his interviews he seems like a no bull kind of guy with an intensity and professional attitude I admire. I have a lot of respect for McBride, Reyna, Donovan etc. but I had to pick one lol.
Dempsey for heart, Donovan for skill. I went with Dempsey.
Ramos. He was the guy that pulled me in into watching football. I was 9 watching him play during USA 94. And no other player showed the American spirit than Ramos. An immigrant who used his abilities so the rest of the US team/soccer could move forward. Before him there was no player that moved like he did and caused so much trouble than him. He was the only attacking option for so many years.
Donovan is a great player but he didn’t help get the US program going. It was already on its way to be what it is now. Ramos helped with the rest of the
McBride wouldn’t is a forward and relies on services from the rest of his team. Never liked players that can’t create that moment out of nothing by themselves. Ramos could.
This is why Tabaré Ramos Ricciardi is my favorite player.
Cherundolo. Solid, classy, quiet.
Playing with better players doesn’t make him better. A young Donovan had the benefit of playing with the Popes, Reynas and McBrides. Young Tabs, Wynaldas and Harkes did with what they could with what they had. Which is why many of on this team still don’t play beyond their abilities.
Ramos is/was better technically with a bunch of lesser quality counting solely on him to move the team. Donovan has others that can take the burden off of him.
Landon, no doubt. But after him Harkes because he’s a hometown hero and one of the first guys to do well overseas. Cleetus, because he was the man for a good year and a half. Kasey Keller, because he kept us in games we had no business being in. McHead because he’s all about the team and getting a result.
Favorite who didn’t make the list: Cherundolo. Been quietly anchoring his position for a good ten years with nary a peep.
When you watch Best footage now and compare him to modern attackers, for example C Ronaldo, what really strikes you is how basic and simple his style was; not a lot of stepovers, rabonas, Cruyff turns, etc. It shows you how far you can go with just the basics and real hard work.
What separated him from just about everyone else was that he seemed to know exactly what was going to happen a split second before it did and then was skilled enough to do something about it. If there was even the slightest hint of an opening (what they used to call a half chance) Best saw it, usually got there, and most important, could do something about it.
As Steve Heighway of Liverpool once famously said “No one goes down the middle like George”.
He did it all with two great feet and a complete set of all the basic skills, He was fast and quick and completely fearless. In those days diving was frowned upon a lot more than it is now, referees perhaps more lenient and defenders eventually literally kicked him out of the league. A long way of saying men where men then and just sucked it up and got on with it.
Besides the off field stuff (Best did say “If I’d have been born ugly, you never would have heard of Pele ” or something to that effect), what separated him from Pele was that Pele was whatever his particular team needed him to be. He would have been a great left back, center back or goalkeeper if that were the need.
Best was more about the joy of playing and expressing himself. It’s not a criticism of Best but it does explain why Pele may have lasted a lot longer.
gone away from? Or don’t have one?
I voted for Brian McBride, mainly based on the totality of his career. He was the man for the MNT, and also had a great club career…which I’ll add that achieving both in the modern era has proven rare. It was hard not to vote for Donovan, and I may very well change my opinion later once he retires.
Tony Meola was in my view the first world-class player to emerge from the U.S.
For fun, my all-time world greats:
1. George Best, Northern Ireland; Pele even said he was the greatest footballer he had ever seen. Watch some of the old footage. He had unbelievable on the ball skills, and simply made defenders look stupid.
2. Pele
3. Diego Maradona
4. Johan Cruyff
5. Franz Beckenbauer
6. Zinedine Zidane
7. Alan Shearer
8. Roberto Baggio
9. Garrincha
10. Eusebio
favorite USA player ever?
Mike Bradley, no question, what 46 caps now, and hey, no assists, zero (0), incredible.
A.S: Concur – after playing against him in HS and college. No one, not even Reyna, had the ability to hold the ball as long in tight spaces and create the chances he created.
From a leadership perspective, McBride hands down. From a pure skill and ability to hold the ball in tight spots and create goal scoring opportunities, nobody was better than Tab Ramos.